April 8, 1933 – The Silly Symphony Father Noah’s Ark is Released to Theaters
“Oh, I’m Father Noah, captain of this bark, I make the plans and give commands to build the ark.”
On April 8, 1933, the Silly Symphony Father Noah’s Ark was released to theaters. This is the first of two shorts featuring the biblical story; the other was a stop-motion special short released in 1959. This Silly Symphony was directed by Wilfred Jackson.
The short begins with all the animals helping Noah build the ark, while he holds up his plans. His three sons assist with the creation of the ark, while their wives start loading food into the ship. Noah’s wife is doing laundry while singing to the audience that she is the one in control of this ship, “you bet your life.” Noah and his family have come up with ingenious ways to use the animals to help with the building, including a charging rhino to help slice the planks, and woodpeckers to hammer in nails. Suddenly, the sun is covered by angry clouds, and Noah and his sons call all the animals to the boat, as the rain has begun. The animals race over and board while Noah checks his list. Two skunks are late arriving, and when Noah and his sons see the skunks, they quickly pull up the gangplank and sail away. The skunks, however, swim out after them. The storm grows violent, and the skunks have made it on to the boat, but have to hold to the roof for dear life. Inside, the animals are shoved back and forth due to the rocking of the ship. The forty days of rain passes by slowly, but soon, the clouds abate and the sun is shining once again. The animals look out the windows and enjoy the sun. A dove flies back with an olive branch, and everyone disembarks, ready to be on land again.
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