Silly+Symphonies+and+Other+Animated+Shorts

(Time Frame: 1900s-present day)

News Story: The Silly Symphonies were Disney’s first animated series. The cartoons ran in movie theaters before the feature film started. Despite the cartoons success they had a short history only lasting for 10 years, from 1929-1939. The Symphonies dominated the Oscars during their animation run. They also used a new brand of color known as Technicolor. While the Symphonies were meant to be entertaining to adults at first, children took to the cartoons much more than the adults. Perhaps the most notable thing about the Symphonies was the music score. In 1929, The Silly Symphonies released their first short. The Skeleton dance was met with much approval from the audience and critics. It also didn’t do too bad in the box office ether. With the success of the Skeleton dance Disney would go on to produce 75 productions of the Symphonies in 10 years. The Symphonies basic storyline was taking old fairy tales and bringing them to life with animation. “The Three Little Pigs,” “The Ugly Duckling,” and //“//The Tortoise and the Hare” were all popular tales and later symphonies. When first produced many of the creators of the Symphonies thought they would appeal mostly to adults, due to their humor. But in fact, children took to the cartoons. Which is why later the Symphonies adapted many different fairy tales in order to appeal to their new found younger audiences. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the symphonies was the fact that before 1929 no one had ever seen animation this well done before. Mickey Mouse made his first appearance in 1928 with “Steamboat Willy//.”// “Steamboat Willy” pushed the boundaries for animated short films, creating the first animated film that was not silent. This innovation put the Walt Disney studio on the map; excellent for the studio since Walt Disney lost such beloved characters like Oswald the Lucky Rabbit to Universal Studios. Mickey won America’s heart and 83 years later Mickey Mouse is still one of the most famous icons in the world. The symphonies would follow Mickey’s lead and audiences loved every minute of it. The Symphonies came out during the Great Depression, and the cartoons provided a welcome escape from the harsh reality beyond the movie theater. The Symphonies were not only a new way of entertainment, but they were in fact experimenting with a new way of producing movies. Technicolor was a brand new idea in the 1930s, but the Symphonies produced most of their shorts with this new and enhanced style of color. Buena Vista and Disney, in fact, held a monopoly on Technicolor. Because of the high production of the music and animation, and the high quality of the color, Disney was able to monopolize the Academy Awards for the short animated films before //Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs// put feature films on the priority of the Disney studio. Many more animated shorts and even full length live action movies such as [|//Gentlemen Prefer Blondes//]used Technicolor. Once the Disney studio put feature films of their top priority in 1939, film studios like MGM and WB could use Technicolor for their animated films. WB developed //Looney Tunes// as an attempt to copy //Silly Symphonies.// Looney Tunes would copy the style of the Symphonies using humorous rather than cute characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Elmer Fud. In fact the Beauty and the Beast as well as Aladdin went back to the Disney roots of the Symphonies when their story lines were based off tales from the past. Once the 1940’s came, the Symphonies were history. Disney like the rest of the United States was at war. Disney began producing war propaganda cartoon as the rest the country began moving away from the simple times the Symphonies offered. But the Symphonies left a legacy that will never be forgotten. They practically started continuing animated shorts. They introduced the World to animation and if nothing else helped lift Disney into a golden age of animated movies in the 1950s and early 60s.

Survey result. When 69 Hopewell students and staff were asked "Do they enjoy watching cartoons?" 79% said yes.

Links: rss url="http://www.animatedlegends.com/?feed=rss" link="true" number="10" In edition to the Silly Symphonies Disney produced many other cartoons. This RSS feed will give you a look at what Disney produced during and after the Symphonies up until the 1950s.

media type="youtube" key="WN80Z2KZa-Y" height="349" width="425" Here is an early example of the symphonies. This is considered one of the more memorable shorts produced by Disney.

By Steve Sica