RSS Feed

Tag Archives: Short film

March 16

Posted on March 16, 2013 by disneydetail

March 16, 1945 – The Pluto Short Film Dog Watch is Released to Theaters

vlcsnap-2013-03-16-08h23m24s84

“Pluto! You will stay aboard and stand watch. Keep a sharp look out and let no one aboard. Understand?”

On March 16, 1945, the Pluto short film Dog Watch was released to theaters. It was directed by Charles Nichols, with story by Eric Gurney.

On a big naval shipyard, Pluto runs to the deck of his ship when the command for all hands ashore is called. His commanding officer tells Pluto to stand watch over the ship and not let anyone aboard, which Pluto agrees with a salute. He begins his patrol of the boat, and spots two mysterious figures in a lifeboat. He sneaks up on the two, but when he pulls the tarp away, it is revealed to be his collection of bones. He takes one and curls up in a coil of rope, chewing away happily.

Pluto tries to intimidate the rat, but the rat doesn't show the slightest bit of fear

Pluto tries to intimidate the rat, but the rat doesn’t show the slightest bit of fear

A rat climbs one of the ropes of the docked ship and makes his way inside. He gets Pluto’s attention accidentally, and continues to explore the ship. When Pluto growls at the rat, the rat is not afraid, and pulls Pluto’s bottom lip over his nose. The rat then tries to prove that he is tougher than Pluto, and ignores any of the dog’s tactics in trying to stop him. Pluto crawls all over the ship to find the rat, finding him in the officer’s mess hall, where a block of limburger cheese is sitting out. Pluto barks madly, but his resolve falters when the rat offers Pluto one of the cookies he is eating. Although Pluto tries to take the cookie, the rat tricks him, only giving him about a quarter of it.

As the rat prepares more food, Pluto’s barking has turned into calls for food. The rat bites into a pepper, and realizes that although he doesn’t like how spicy it is, it would be perfect in getting Pluto to shut up. Just as the rat is having a good laugh about his trick, the footsteps of the commander are heard, and the rat quickly finishes making his sandwich and departs, with Pluto getting the blame for the mess in the officer’s mess hall. Pluto is then locked in the brig, and spies the rat climbing down the rope with his messy sandwich. However, the rat slips on some mustard, and Pluto takes the opportunity to trip the rat, sending him flying into the ocean. Although still in the brig, Pluto is happy that he finally tricked the creature.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

March 13

Posted on March 13, 2013 by disneydetail

March 13, 1937 – The Silly Symphony Woodland Café Premieres in Theaters

vlcsnap-2013-03-12-20h54m30s131

“All the cats get in the groove!”

On March 13, 1937, the Silly Symphony Woodland Café premiered in theaters. The short features the song “Truckin’” by Fats Waller. The café scene was a caricature of those that one would find in Hollywood around that time period. The short was directed by Wilfred Jackson.

Fireflies light up the sign for the Woodland Café, the most popular nightclub in the woods for any kind of classy bug. The grasshoppers play in the band, and the bugs jitterbug on the dance floor. The main show begins, with a pretty female fly performing on a spider’s web, trying to charm a tough spider. The two dance the tango on the web, which ends with the spider chasing the fly all over the web, until she flies away, but returns to his arms, only to turn into another chase which ends with the spider tangled in his own web. The crowd cheers, and the music starts up again.

All the bugs join in as the music starts up again

All the bugs join in as the music starts up again

Fireflies gather on a blossom to create a mirrorball effect on the floor, and the jazz band begins to sing and entertain the crowd. Snails, worms, ladybugs, and all other sorts are going crazy with the beat, and the short ends with swinging jazz music.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

March 10

Posted on March 10, 2013 by disneydetail

March 10, 1944 – The Goofy Short Film How To Play Golf is Released to Theaters

vlcsnap-2013-03-09-20h28m18s69

“Contrary to popular belief, golf is not a waste of time.”

On March 10, 1944, the Goofy short film How to Play Golf was released to theaters. It was directed by Jack Kinney, with Fred Shields as the voice of the narrator.

The narrator begins by trying to explain why golf is not a “waste of time.” Goofy steps on the course and tries to pull out his club, and ends up pulling out all of them at the same time, sending them flying over the green. Undeterred, he grabs his tee and his ball and sets up his shot. While the narrator tries to explain the grip, Goofy ends up knotting his fingers together. As he swings, he ends up hitting himself in the jaw, and tangles himself up even more trying to free his fingers. As he bounces all over the green, the ball ends up on his nose, and he creates what the narrator calls a divot, “caused by an indirect swing.” The ball slides down the divot, and into Goofy’s mouth, where he accidentally swallows it.

The figure and Goofy square off on the ball, not realizing they are about to hit each other

The figure and Goofy square off on the ball, not realizing they are about to hit each other

The narrator then begins to explain a proper swing, separating Goofy from a diagrammatical figure that Goofy tries to emulate. The figure is alarmed that Goofy’s swing has swung the poor guy around and around. The figure then takes on the task of untangling Goofy, sending him flying through the blueprint paper behind him. He finally fixes Goofy, but the two end up smacking each other with their clubs by accident, sending the ball straight into Goofy’s eye.  Back on the green, Goofy sends the ball flying near the hole, where he needs to putt. He checks all the variables before his shot, including wind velocity, humidity, rotation of the earth, time of day, temperature, drift indication, lay of the land, trajectory angle, longitude, and latitude. However, Goofy misses the putt, with rather dramatic results.

The next shot is an incorrect shot known as a hook, which has Goofy’s ball sailing around the hole and into the woods, burying itself in the dirt near some tree roots. When Goofy tries to move his ball to a better position, the figure slaps him on the hand, as moving the ball is strictly forbidden. Another example of playing the ball where it lies is when Goofy is stuck in a sand trap, and has dug himself a hole deep into the earth, with the ball just dancing around his feet. He finally sends it flying up the side, but it just slides back down into the pit, sending Goofy into a rage. The figure helps him get the ball out of the pit, but Goofy runs into another problem when the sprinkler system turns on. However he overcomes the problem and continues the play the ball where it lies – including on a bull’s nose. Goofy and the figure sprint across the green as the bull gives chase, with Goofy still playing the ball. Finally, Goofy makes it back to the bar in the lodge, where he, the bull, and the figure sit together for a drink, singing “Auld Lang Sine.”

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

March 7

Posted on March 7, 2013 by disneydetail

March 7, 1941 – The Donald Duck Short Film Golden Eggs is Released to Theaters

vlcsnap-2013-03-07-07h18m53s118

“This will never do with eggs 85 cents! Have to work faster than this!”

On March 7, 1941, the Donald Duck short film Golden Eggs was released to theaters. The film was directed by Wilfred Jackson, and stars Clarence Nash as Donald.

Donald is reading the Farmer’s Gazette, which declares that the price of eggs has skyrocketed, and labels them “liquid gold.” He leaps out of his chair and races to his chickens in the backyard, where they are lazily swaying around and laying eggs. Thinking that he needs to speed up production, he changes the record playing in the barn from “Lazy Daze” to “Hot Stuff.” With the music speeding up, the chickens lay eggs faster than before. Unfortunately, the rooster comes along and sees Donald collecting the eggs, and throws Donald out of the hen house.

Using a red rubber glove, a feather duster, and a burlap sack, Donald disguises himself as a chicken

Using a red rubber glove, a feather duster, and a burlap sack, Donald disguises himself as a chicken

Hiding in the shed, Donald watches as the rooster protects the eggs. Donald comes up with a plan to disguise himself as a chicken to retrieve the egg basket, although the glove he uses on his head keeps snapping off. The rooster is immediately smitten with Donald’s chicken, and Donald uses this to try to get close to the basket. Unfortunately, the glove snaps off his head again, and lands on top of a caterpillar. When Donald puts the glove back on, the caterpillar begins to wiggle about, which only causes the rooster’s love for Donald to grow. He is able to avoid the rooster’s advances for a moment, but when he tries to find the cause for the moving glove, the caterpillar moves away from Donald’s head and down his neck. The rooster returns and thinks Donald is dancing, and the two begin to samba together.

The rooster’s dancing begins to turn into spinning Donald about as fast as he can. Finally, all of the dancing tears off Donald’s disguise, leaving a very dizzy Donald crowing like a chicken. Having been found out, the rooster chases Donald across the farm, but Donald escapes and leaves him trapped in the pen. As Donald laughs, an egg drops out of the basket and breaks, and Donald slips on the yolk and falls into the basket, breaking every egg inside. The rooster crows with laughter at Donald’s misfortune.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

February 24

Posted on February 24, 2013 by disneydetail

February 24, 1939 – The Silly Symphony The Practical Pig is Released to Theaters

vlcsnap-2013-02-24-09h34m55s144

“He’s building another wolf machine – he must be crazy in the bean!”

On February 24, 1939, the Silly Symphony short film The Practical Pig was released to theaters. It is the fourth and final “Three Little Pigs” short film, and the second to last Silly Symphony ever made. Like the other sequels, it would never reach the level of popularity that The Three Little Pigs found. It was directed by Dick Richard.

Fiddler and Fifer Pig approach Practical Pig’s home, hearing him hammer away at his new invention. The blueprints reveal that he’s working on a lie detector, and the two laugh at his toil. As they reveal their plans to go swimming, the Practical Pig warns the two not to go, as the Wolf is nearby. They dismiss his concerns and run to the local swimming hole. From the nearby reeds, the Wolf spies on the two, salivating. He disguises himself as a mermaid on a rock, luring the two close before scooping them up in a net.

The Wolf ties up the two pigs and keeps them in a sack in front of his children

The Wolf ties up the two pigs and keeps them in a sack in front of his children

He brings the two pigs home to his family, but his kids aren’t allowed to eat the two until the Wolf captures the third pig. The kids promise not to eat the pigs until their father comes back home, but it’s an empty promise, as they start to fix them up in a pot the moment he leaves. The Wolf disguises himself as a messenger and takes a message to the Practical Pig, hoping to capture the pig when he rushes out to save his brothers. Unfortunately for the Wolf, the Practical Pig captures the wolf and uses his lie detector machine, which washes the Wolf’s mouth with soap or spanks him when he lies. The two pigs escape the kids’ clutches when too much pepper is sprinkled on them, and they sneeze, freeing themselves from the unbaked pie dough. They sprint home as fast as they can. Meanwhile the Wolf finally admits where the pigs are, and the Practical Pig sends him flying away on a firecracker before he attempts to rescue his brothers. The two pigs fly through the door, and when the Practical Pig chastises them for ignoring him, they sit down unknowingly on the lie detector and claim they never went swimming. The lie detector goes off, and the two are spanked.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

February 18

Posted on February 18, 2013 by disneydetail

February 18, 1944 – The Donald Duck Short Film Trombone Trouble is Released to Theaters

vlcsnap-2013-02-17-21h47m43s187

“Earthquake? Ha! That’s me!”

On February 18, 1944, the Donald Duck short film Trombone Trouble was released to theaters. This is the only Donald Duck short that features gods. It was directed by Jack King, with story by Jack Hannah and Carl Barks.

The gods Jupiter and Vulcan are woken up with loud noises from the earth, and wonder how long they must suffer. Zooming into earth, we see that Pete is(badly) playing the trombone, which has his neighbor Donald also unable to sleep. He storms over next door to tell Pete to stop, but is intimidated by Pete’s size. When Donald politely asks him to stop, Pete uses the trombone to send Donald flying back into his house.

Donald, delighted by the fact he now has mysterious powers, uses them to his full advantage

Donald, delighted by the fact he now has mysterious powers, uses them to his full advantage

Jupiter turns to Vulcan and points out that Donald is also unable to stand the music. They decide to give Donald power to stop the sound. Donald is suddenly amazed that he is ablet o destroy a piano rather easily, and light up a bulb with his mouth. Becoming mad with power, Donald marches over next door while the gods watch excitedly. Donald grabs Pete’s house and begins to shake it violently. He then shoots Pete with lightning bolts and sends him barreling over a cliff, and he lands on a water wheel. The gods are satisfied with Donald’s results and attempt to go to sleep, when Donald stumbles on the trombone and begins to play a lively jazz tune.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

February 15

Posted on February 15, 2013 by disneydetail

February 15, 1930 – The Silly Symphony Autumn is Released to Theaters

vlcsnap-2013-02-14-21h40m26s208

On February 15, 1930, the Silly Symphony Autumn was released to theaters. This short film was part of a series of Silly Symphonies about the seasons: Springtime released in 1929, Summer released in early 1930, and Winter released in late 1930. The short was directed by Ub Iwerks, with music by Carl Stalling.

The short opens with the leaves falling from the trees, and squirrels gathering nuts before the winter approaches. One squirrel is rather upset that he can’t shake the last nut from a tree, but when it does fall, it lands on his head and hits the ground. As he reaches to pick it up, the nut begins to dance around, surprising the squirrel. He slams his paw on it, cracking it open and revealing a caterpillar, who saunters away.

The squirrels continue to gather food, even from the corn nearby

The squirrels continue to gather food, even from the corn nearby

Other squirrels gather corn from the field nearby, one using his teeth to pull out individual kernels. As they continue to pack their food away in the trees, a crow sneaks in and steals some cobs of corn, with the other crows helping to pack their food away in the scarecrow. A skunk tries to pack away a pumpkin for the winter, only to end up smashing it after he tries to shove it into a tree. A porcupine wanders over to an apple tree and collects the fruit on his quills, while beavers build their dams nearby.

A row of ducks swims in the nearby lake, eating worms; one accidentally eats a shoelace and ends up with a boot on his head. As they swim, a cold gust of wind interrupts the scene, bringing about the beginning of winter. The ducks sound the alarm and fly off into the sky as they head for warmer weather, and the other animals take shelter from the coming cold.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

February 8

Posted on February 8, 2013 by disneydetail

February 8, 1952 – The Special Short Film Lambert, the Sheepish Lion Premieres in Theaters

vlcsnap-2013-02-07-21h11m42s207

“Lambert, the sheepish lion, Lambert, is always trying to be a wild and wooly sheep, Lambert, the sheepish lion.”

On February 8, 1952, the special short film Lambert, the Sheepish Lion premiered in theaters. The stork in this short should look familiar, as he is the same stork that was featured in Dumbo, which was also voiced by actor Sterling Holloway, who also narrated the short. An original print of the film was given to Emperor Hirohito as a gift, as it was his favorite Disney short film. The short was also nominated for an Academy Award, but lost to the Tom and Jerry short The Two Mouseketeers. The story was written by Bill Peet, Ralph Wright, and Milt Banta, and was directed by Jack Hannah.

One spring evening, a stork delivers a bundle to a sleeping flock of sheep. He opens the bundle to reveal several newborn lambs, which scurry about to claim their mothers. One ewe, however, is skipped by all the lambs, and she goes off to cry. Meanwhile, the stork has one little “lamb” that won’t wake up. When he finally does get it to open its eyes, he realizes that it’s a lion cub named Lambert, and it has already bonded with the lonely ewe. The stork tries to take Lambert to his home in South Africa, but the ewe attacks the stork and keeps Lambert with her. The next morning, the lambs begin to play, and Lambert wishes to join in, but realizes right away that he’s different. The lambs make fun of poor Lambert, who goes back to his mother. He continues to watch the lambs play, and when he tries to join in, he is continually bullied.

Lambert has grown from a cub to a full lion, with his mother still being so proud of him

Lambert has grown from a cub to a full lion, with his mother still being so proud of him

The seasons change, and soon the lambs are all grown up, and so is Lambert. However, although he is a full-grown lion, he still acts like a sheep, and is still the butt of the jokes of the rams. One night, as everyone is sleeping, the sound of a wolf wakes Lambert up, and he spies a hungry wolf surveying the flock. The wolf decides that Lambert’s mother is to be his meal, and the rams all hide behind trees. Although Lambert is terrified, he decides to screw up his courage and act like a raging lion, scaring the wolf silly. After saving his mother, the flock now considers Lambert one of them, and he lets out a triumphant “baa.”

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

February 7

Posted on February 7, 2013 by disneydetail

February 7, 1942 – The Mickey Mouse Short Film Mickey’s Birthday Party Premieres in Theaters

vlcsnap-2013-02-06-19h52m51s41

“He’s coming! Shhh! Hide!”

On February 7, 1942, the Mickey Mouse short film Mickey’s Birthday Party premiered in theaters. The short is considered a remake of the 1931 black and white short film The Birthday Party, although the earlier version did not include Donald Duck and Goofy. The 1942 short was directed by Riley Thompson.

Minnie is peering out her door’s peephole, then turns back to everyone inside and tells them to hide, as Mickey is approaching. Everyone scrambles around to find a place to hide while she reapplies her makeup. When she opens the door, Mickey steps in, asking for a little kiss. Minnie flirtatiously fends him off, and when Mickey tries to kiss her, everyone jumps out yelling “Surprise!” startling him. They wish him happy birthday, and Minnie then whispers to Goofy to go bake the cake.

Mickey dances with his cane while Minnie plays the new electric organ

Mickey dances with his cane while Minnie plays the new electric organ

Mickey is asked to open his present, and inside is a brand new electric organ. Mickey sheepishly says that he doesn’t deserve it, and Donald says that they know that. Mickey sits down to play the organ, although he’s not sure how to play the newfangled instrument. Minnie decides to play the organ while Mickey entertains their friends with his dancing. In the kitchen, Goofy has been distracted by the music and dances with the mop before checking on the cake. Unfortunately, when he uses a straw to test if it’s fully baked, the cake deflates like a balloon. Minnie checks in on him, and Goofy pretends that everything is just fine.

The party continues, with Donald dressed in a sombrero and leading a conga line. Goofy tries to bake a new cake, but has another failure. Minnie checks in again, and tells Goofy to hurry up. Donald dances with Clara Cluck, while Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow partner up. Goofy quickly tries to create yet another cake, cooking it at a setting called “volcano heat,” and the cake erupts all over the kitchen. Goofy becomes distraught, until he comes up with an idea and speeds out of the house, returning with a store-bought cake. Everyone begins to sing to Mickey, when Goofy trips and spills the cake all over the birthday mouse.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

February 3

Posted on February 3, 2013 by disneydetail

February 3, 1939 – The Mickey Mouse Short Film Society Dog Show is Released to Theaters

vlcsnap-2013-02-02-20h01m05s86

“Gosh, Pluto, we’re in society!!”

On February 3, 1939, the Mickey Mouse short film Society Dog Show was released to theaters. As was common in the Mickey Mouse shorts of this time, most of the focus is not on Mickey, but on his dog Pluto, although Pluto did have his own line of short films at this point. Fifi, Pluto’s love interest, also makes an appearance. The short was directed by Bill Roberts.

The big society dog show is in town, with much fanfare, and all of the most impressive people are arriving. Mickey shows up in a homemade cart, and the doorman looks down his nose at Mickey and Pluto as they enter the building. They reach their assigned spot – number 13 – then take a gander at all of the fancy beauty treatments the high society dogs are getting. Mickey reassures Pluto that they haven’t seen anything yet, and gets to work brushing Pluto down and shining his nose. Pluto sneezes after Mickey applies perfume, sending Mickey crashing into their supplies. As Mickey leaves to chase after a part of his kit, Pluto is distracted by the beautiful dog in the next stand, Fifi.

Mickey takes Pluto to the stand, with the two holding their heads high

Mickey takes Pluto to the stand, with the two holding their heads high

Mickey is soon called to bring Pluto to the judge’s stand, and tears Pluto away from Fifi, telling him that this is “no time for women.” The two head to the stand, where the judge is unimpressed with Pluto, even when Mickey points out that Pluto is a very fine dog, and very smart, too. However, every attempt the judge makes to study Pluto goes awry, and he calls Pluto a mutt, which angers the dog. Pluto chases the judge around the room, barking and snapping his teeth. As security runs to retrieve Pluto and Mickey, and tosses them onto the street, inside the final event is announced: trick dogs. Mickey then has the idea of making Pluto a trick skating dog and bringing him back inside. As the dogs pose for a photo, the flash powder catches on the decorations, setting them on fire. The dogs scamper away, but Fifi is trapped under a microphone and unable to leave.

Hearing Fifi’s terrified cries inside, Pluto rushes in, skates and all, and hurries to save her as the building begins to collapse. The two make it out all right, and Pluto is awarded a medal as Public Hero No. 1, and more important, wins the heart of Fifi.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
Newer Posts →