Monthly Archives: October 2014

October 30, 1930 – The Silly Symphony Winter is Released to Theaters

On October 30, 1930, the Silly Symphony Winter was released to theaters. It was the last of a series of shorts dedicated to the seasons. It was directed by Burt Gillett.

It’s a blustery winter’s night, and a wolf howls into the wind. Three bears are sleeping under a giant rock formation, and the trees dance while the snow falls around them. A quartet of birds sing as they are perched on a reindeer’s antlers, and fly away as the reindeer gets up to go ice skating. Several other woodland creatures appear to dance in the snow, and one cub starts playing pranks on a sleeping bear. Unfortunately, the bear wakes up, but then starts to dance himself. A moose joins in the fun, braying loudly before joining a group of animals that are waiting for the Weather Prophet, Mr. Groundhog, to emerge from his house. He finally steps outside, covering his eyes, and looks around, unable to see his shadow. The animals dance at this news, when the sun suddenly shines, and the groundhog is spooked by his shadow. The shadow disappears once the sun is hidden by the clouds again, and another large storm brews, sending all the animals back to their homes as fast as can be.

October 24, 1929 – The Silly Symphony Springtime is Released to Theaters

On October 24, 1929, the Silly Symphony Springtime was released to theaters. It was the first in a series of Silly Symphonies about the seasons, followed by Summer (January 16, 1930), Autumn (February 15, 1930), and Winter (October 30, 1930). Springtime was directed by Walt Disney.

The flowers, trees, and bugs are all dancing around, enjoying the fair spring weather. A crow comes along and eats a dancing caterpillar, dancing away itself back to its nest, where his sweetheart is waiting. Her babies hatch and start dancing around the nest. Suddenly, a large storm develops, and one tree is seen taking a bath in the rain when he is struck by lightning. The storm quickly passes, and two grasshoppers are seen playing leapfrog when they are eaten by a frog. The frog jumps from lily pad to lily pad, with another frog playing a tune on the backs of turtles. A spider jumps down from his web and dances on a nearby log before using his web as a harp. Three frogs begin dancing on a log, croaking with the music, when a nearby crane spies them and stalks its way over. It attempts to eat the frogs, when they jump inside each other like nesting dolls and flee, but the crane eats them all and jumps away happily, although he falls into a large puddle, splashing water onto the screen.