Le magasin de porcelaine

An old china shop owner closes the store for the night. As he leaves, all the statues come to life. They are all happy not until a devil ruins the party and creates havoc (including transforming the ostrich in a kiwi and burning the peacock's tail). It will be up to the young prince and the clock to break him and stop the chaos, and when the next morning the owner sees all the broken statues he transforms his shop in rare antiques.

I think that the writers of TOY STORY might have had ispiration from this short as there are the toys that come to life. It has nice animation and a good soundtrack as usual with Disney in those times. Only a few scenes made me sad (the ones aforementioned about the ostrich and the peacock), but that is a minor quibble. Still, just another decent Silly Symphony.

In the mid-1930s, the Walt Disney Company signed an exclusive contract with the Technicolor Company. Because of this, other company's cartoons were either black & white or used the much uglier 2-color process (made of blends of green and orange). Because of this, Disney's Silly Symphony series was simply gorgeous...and the fine quality animation sure was a big plus.

So, I wasn't surprised that "The China Shop" was a pretty film to watch...simply lovely. However, it also is incredibly dull...with practically no plot whatsoever.

The film consists of a lot of porcelain coming to life after the owner of the shop leaves. A green devil attacks a dancing couple...and he's dispatched. The end.

Singing, dancing and no plot. I cannot imagine most people enjoying this film and it proves that even the Disney folks aren't perfect.

This is just living proof that you can never grow too old to appreciate Disney for the pure art it is. The China Shop is enormously entertaining, and has everything you can ever ask for in a silly symphony. Brilliant Technicolour animation, a truly excellent music score and a very fun storyline. All the characters are great, the elderly owner, the two dancing antiques, the monkeys and the green (centaur-shaped) antagonistic satyr. Give yourself a treat from watching the China Shop, it is an unforgettable Disney gem, that not only brings back fond memories, but is so beautiful in story and presentation, you have to like it. 10/10 Bethany Cox

A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short.

When the old proprietor closes down THE CHINA SHOP for the evening, all the various plates, mugs & figurines come alive and start to frolic. Among these are the little china figures of a young lord & lady. Their romantic interlude is shattered, literally, by a jealous goat-legged satyr, who wants possession of the little lady. The resulting struggle between the young lord & his antagonist creates havoc about the shop.

A pleasant, though unremarkable cartoon. Disney often used romantic tension to fuel his plots. Seldom, however, does his hero & heroine end up so battered & bruised as they do here.

The SILLY SYMPHONIES, which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929, are among the most interesting of series in the field of animation. Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount, with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music. There was little plot in the early Symphonies, which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals, all moving frantically to the soundtrack. Gradually, however, the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot, characterization & photographic special effects. The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale, Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed. It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring. In 1939, with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon, Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES; they had run their course & served their purpose.

This is like a pre-Toy Story adventure, where various figurines and mugs come to life in a China stop after the owner leaves. Some excitement and intriguing moments when a demonic figure captures an upper-class lady and then does battle with her lord.

A clever and imaginative story here, with all the shattering and clanging of dishes.