July 14, 1934 – The Silly Symphony The Flying Mouse is Released to Theaters
“Please, I wanna fly like the birds!”
On July 14, 1934, the Silly Symphony The Flying Mouse was released to theaters. It featured a popular song called “You’re Nothin’ But a Nothin’,” composed by Larry Morey and Frank Churchill, which would later be released on sheet music. The short was directed by Dave Hand.
The short opens on a warm spring day at a quaint pumpkin house, with a mother mouse giving her youngest child a bath while her children play see-saw on a mushroom. One of her children is sitting away from everyone, admiring the birds he sees fly high in the sky. His greatest desire is to fly, and he imagines himself soaring through the sky with a beautiful pair of wings. He comes up with the idea to attach leaves to his arms, then calls over for his brothers’ attention. He runs off a branch, attempting to fly, and falls like a rock face-first into a pit of mud. His siblings laugh, but he decides that all he needs is a higher jumping point, and climbs up a flower. As he lifts into the sky, a gust of wind comes his way, and he falls into the tub of water from his sister’s bath, splashing the water everywhere, which causes his sister’s clothes to shrink.
The astonished mouse meets the fairy, who wishes to reward him for his brave deed
After a good spanking from his mother, he runs away to cry as his other siblings laugh at his folly. Suddenly, the mouse hears a cry for help from a beautiful butterfly caught in a spider web, with the spider licking his chops. He saves the butterfly, who turns out to be a beautiful fairy, and offers to grant him one wish for his kindness. Without hesitation, he tells her that he wants to fly. She warns him that mice were never meant to have wings, but after he pleads again, she grants him his wish. He kisses her hand in gratitude, and goes to join the birds in their flying dances. However, although he can fly, he is not welcome at the birds’ party, and is soon all alone. He decides to go surprise his family.
As he flies down, the family members are startled by his shadow, thinking he’s a predator, and they hide inside and throw items at him until he flees. Alone, the mouse ends up in a cave full of bats, who welcome him as one of their own, calling him brother. When the mouse cries that he’s not their brother, they tell him that since he’s not a mouse, and if he’s not a bat, then he’s a nothing. He runs as fast as he can away from the cave, and cries, realizing the wings have only brought him unhappiness. From one of his tears, the fairy reappears, asking why he’s so sad. He tells her he wishes he could die. The fairy tells him to cheer up and be happy that he’s himself, and if he does so, life will smile on him. She then removes his wings, and he’s so happy he kisses her hand once again in gratitude before running home to greet his family.
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