January 5, 1935 – The Silly Symphony The Tortoise and the Hare is Released to Theaters
“You don’t talk tootin’, cutie. I’m the very best there is!”
On January 5, 1935, the Silly Symphony The Tortoise and the Hare was released to theaters. It was based on the Aesop fable Hare and the Tortoise. The short won the Academy Award for Best Cartoon in 1934, winning against Columbia’s Holiday Land and Universal’s Jolly Little Elves. It was released as an educational film in 1986, retitled Aesop’s Hare and the Tortoise, with an overview done by Walt Disney from an episode of Disneyland. A sequel to this short was also released in 1936, entitled Toby Tortois Returns. The short was directed by Wilfred Jackson.
The short begins on race day, with everyone turning out to see the big race between Toby Tortoise and Max Hare. Max steps out meet the cheering crowd, while Toby is greeted by laughs. Toby greets Max with a friendly “may the best man win,” with Max replying that of course he will, but promises not to beat Toby too badly. The official starts the race, and Max takes off with a shot, while Toby is still at the starting line. As Max runs by so fast that trees are pulled out from their roots, he stops when he sees Toby galloping slowly with some snails. Max decides to “take a nap” while Toby continues his pace, and when Toby sees the sleeping Hare, he tries to use the situation to his advantage. Max then gets up and speeds past Toby once again.
Max stops racing so he can chat up some girls from the local girls’ school
Max stops once he sees the girls of Miss Cottontail’s Girls’ School, thinking that he has plenty of time to chat with the young ladies. The girls see Toby galloping by, and try to stop him to talk. Toby refuses to stop, as he has a race to run. As Toby continues, Max stays with the girls to off his speed skills. Suddenly, a cheer rings out, and Max realizes that he needs to hurry to catch up to Toby. Toby sees Max running full speed and picks up his pace. It’s a fight to the finish, and Toby manages to win in the end. The crowd cheers for Toby and carries them on his shoulders as the victor.
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