Tag Archives: 1930s

September 26, 1936 – The Silly Symphony Three Blind Mouseketeers is Released to Theaters

“My traps are set in every room; those mice are marching to their doom. This is the end of the Three Mouseketeers!”

On September 26, 1936, the Silly Symphony Three Blind Mouseketeers was released to theaters. It was directed by Dave Hand

The Three Blind Mouseketeers introduce themselves in song, dancing around and practicing their fencing. They decide to head to the banquet hall to get some cheese, but don’t realize that the evil Captain Katt has set up several traps for them and is hiding in a barrel as he waits for his victory. The three narrowly miss the first trap set in front of the hole in the wall, and separately spring the other traps while retrieving the food, narrowly missing being killed every time. They manage to get away with all off the food, with Captain Katt sleeping in his hiding place, unaware of their victory.

The mice are ready to open champagne, unaware that Captain Katt is sleeping nearby

As the mice pop open the champagne in victory, they wake Captain Katt, pelting him with the corks from the bottles. He sneaks over to attack the three, and the mice scatter, with one getting trapped under a bowl. Captain Katt then tries to find the mouse under one of the three bowls in front of him, but is unable to. When he finally does, the mouse stabs him in the nose, infuriating him. When he finds that a mouse has been hiding under each one, he goes crazy and chases after them with a hatchet. One of the mice gets his tail stuck in the floor, but is able to use his reflection on a pile of bottles in front of him to make it appear that he has a giant Mouseketeer army at his disposal. Captain Katt is scared away from the banquet hall, and lands in each of his traps as he tries to flee.

September 10, 1932 – The Silly Symphony King Neptune is Released to Theaters

“I’m Neptune, the King of the Sea, and a jolly old king am I!”

On September 10, 1932, the Silly Symphony King Neptune was released to theaters. This short briefly features the classical piece “Light Cavalry Overture” by Franz von Suppe. King Neptune was directed by Burt Gillett.

The short begins with Neptune introducing himself to the audience as a ruler with an iron hand who is friends with the sailors. A parade takes place with several sea creatures, and they bring forward some mermaids in a clam shell. They leave the shell and dance about before flirting with the King. The mermaids then travel to the surface and lounge as a pirate ship passes by with several bawdy, drunk pirates. One pirate spies the mermaids and calls out to the rest, and they quickly drop anchor in front of the rock. The mermaids scream in fright, alerting King Neptune, who is greeted with an anchor on the head.

The pirates quickly capture a mermaid and bring her on board

The pirates manage to capture a mermaid, who fights back once she is on deck. The other mermaids sound the alarm, and every sea creature nearby runs to her rescue. A pack of swordfish cut down the mast, but one of the pirates locks the mermaid in a treasure chest amongst all the confusion. The pirates are soon overtaken by the sea creatures, and Neptune finally frees himself from the anchor and sends the ship straight into a whirlpool of his creation. He laughs at the pirates’ misfortune as they are tossed about helplessly, and Neptune lands on top of the ship, causing it to sink to the bottom. The mermaid is freed from the chest, clad in jewels and pearls. The short ends with everyone once again happy in the sea, including jolly old Neptune.

September 1, 1934 – The Silly Symphony Peculiar Penguins is Released to Theaters

“There’s a place called Penguin Island in the cold Antarctic Sea, where there’s 50 million penguins in a penguin colony.”

On September 1, 1934, the Silly Symphony Peculiar Penguins was released to theaters. It was directed by Wilfred Jackson.

Set on a penguin island in the middle of the Antarctic Sea, two penguins named Peter and Polly are seen getting ready for a date. Peter prepares a snow cone for Polly, which she accepts happily, giving him an Eskimo kiss for his trouble. This affection has causes Peter to turn cartwheels. After he does so, he spots fish in a nearby hole in the ice, and dives in to catch one. He eventually does and brings it back to Polly, who swallows it down happily, although they eventually find that she has eaten a puffer fish, which starts puffing up inside her. Finally, the fish escapes Polly and jumps back into the pond, but Polly reacts badly to this, slapping Peter and walking away before diving in the water and swimming away.

Peter tearfully watches as Polly angrily swims away after the puffer fish incident

Peter watches tearfully as Polly swims away, and is soon alarmed to see a shark following her. He calls out after her, but she will have none of it, and continues to swim away. The shark gains on her and attempts to devour her, but Polly swims away, although the shark continues to follow her. Peter dives into the water to rescue her, and beats him in the nose with a club just as the shark has Polly in his clutches. The shark then follows Peter through the water, hoping to have the penguin for a snack, but Peter uses the club to keep the shark’s mouth from chomping down. As Peter dives out of the water, he pulls on a root that releases a large boulder. The boulder is accidentally swallowed by the shark, and he sinks to the bottom of the ocean, unable to swallow anyone ever again. The short ends with Peter and Polly happily reunited, holding each other close as the sky shines with a rainbow.