July 30, 1932 – The Academy Award Winning Silly Symphony Flowers and Trees is Released to Theaters
On July 30, 1932, the groundbreaking Silly Symphony Flowers and Trees was released to theaters. The short was directed by Burt Gillett, and became a landmark in Disney animation. Originally conceived in black and white, the short was scrapped at great cost to the studio to be redone in the new Technicolor process. Walt Disney signed an exclusive deal with Technicolor that gave him alone the rights of the process for two years, and after this short, all of the Disney shorts would be released in color. This process helped enhance the quality of Disney’s films, and Flowers and Trees would be awarded an Academy Award for Best Cartoon; at the same ceremony, Walt would be awarded a special Academy Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse.
One spring morning, the trees and flowers wake to the sound of a bird’s chirping, stretching in the morning light. One pair of trees in particular is enjoying the day, while an old stump scares the bird that tries to wake him. One tree begins to play a harp for his love, a beautiful young tree, who dances gracefully to the music while flowers dance around her. The flowers then bring her closer to her love and dance around them before making a heart shaped wreath on the ground. The male tree places it around the female’s head.
The female tree is captured by the stump, and she struggles in vain to escape
She continues to dance, unaware she is being pursued by the jealous, cranky old stump. He grabs her for his own, and the young male tree saves her before beginning a sword fight with the stump. The old stump is defeated, and decides to set the young male tree on fire. The male tries to stomp out the blaze, but to no avail. The plants that can run begin to flee, while others try to help put out the flames. The stump watches will glee as he sees the young couple being engulfed in flames, but soon finds himself victim of the blaze as well.
The flames being to grow in intensity, and the birds flock together to create a hole in the clouds that causes rain to fall and put out the fire. What’s left of the stump is found on the road, a victim of his own plan to destroy the couple, with his vultures swarming around the remains. After the storm clears, the male tree, proposes to the female, and the flowers sound the wedding bells.
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