Tag Archives: Silly Symphony

November 30, 1935 – The Silly Symphony Cock o’ the Walk is Released to Theaters

On November 30, 1935, the Silly Symphony Cock o’ the Walk was released to theaters. The music used in the film, “Carioca,” was taken from the RKO film Flying Down to Rio, which was fitting, as 1935 was the last year that United Artists would distribute Disney films, as it would move to RKO the following year after a long courtship. It was directed by Ben Sharpsteen, and marks the debut of composer Albert Hay Malotte.

The short begins with a parade, welcoming home the world’s champion boxer, Cock o’ the Walk, who struts his stuff on a float, followed by all of the hens in the town. One hick rooster is professing his love to a skinny hen, but her attention is lost when she catches the eye of Cock o’ the Walk, who asks her to dance with him. The two begin to dance, and all of the hens in town begin to gossip and join in the dancing. The entire barnyard begins to dance, including chicks, caterpillars, and peacocks.

Angered by the champion taking his girl, the hick rooster tries to break them up

As Cock o’ the Walk continues to dance with the hick’s girl, the hick decides to put an end to it, and the hens laugh as Cock o’ the Walk mocks him. The hick challenges the champion to a fight, with the hick working more to dodge the advances before getting pummeled. Cock o’ the Walk’s bag is knocked into the skinny hen’s lap as she cheers for the champion, and discovers that Cock o’ the Walk is not only married, but he has 14 baby chicks. Angered at this realization, she slaps him, and tried to revive the hick rooster with a kiss. His strength is renewed, and he beats Cock o’ the Walk, winning the fight and sending the champion flying into his trophies. The short ends with the hick rooster and his skinny hen dancing together happily before he lays a large kiss on her and lets out a loud rooster call.

October 14, 1938 – The Silly Symphony Farmyard Symphony is Released to Theaters

“How are ya, toots?”

On October 14, 1938, the Silly Symphony Farmyard Symphony was released to theaters. It was based on the story of Chanticleer the rooster, a staple in Middle Ages folklore. Interstingly enough, stories of Chanticleer are usually told with Reynard the Fox, a character that the Disney Studios were looking to make a movie about, which eventually led the way to the 1973 film Robin Hood. The songs featured in this film is “La Donna E’mobile” from the opera Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi, “The William Tell Overture” by Gioachino Rossini, and Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody. The film was directed by Jack Cutting.

The morning breaks over a pleasant farm, and a rooster is heard crowing with the dawn. Doves exit their nest, a bull scratches his back on a fencepost, and other animals wake up to greet the day. As a calf drinks from his mother’s udder, a baby pig, unable to get milk from his own mother, runs to hopefully get some milk. The claf scares the poor pig away, sending him running into the horse pen. The calf and the foal start running around together, until they spy some geese marching to the barn. The rooster crows again, although he has some trouble crowing to begin with. He marches around his domain as the literal cock of the walk, until he hears the hens snoring. He sneaks into the hen house and lets out a loud crow, waking them with a startle.

The rooster woos the hen with some serenading

The rooster is attracted to one of the hens, who flirts with him not-so-subtly, but she also flees from his rather pushy nature of running after her. He then serenades her, and the two end up serenading the farm with a duet, with the whole farm eventually joining in. The opera is interrupted by the farmer and his wife calling the animals for feeding time. The baby pig from the beginning is once again unable to get food, and runs around the farm, trying to find a way to get something to eat, but is chased off by all the animals he encounters. He runs into a building, and knocks out all the corn inside, which is soon eaten the baby pig and all of the chicks.

September 16, 1933 – The Silly Symphony The Pied Piper is Released to Theaters

“In the town of Hamelin, many years ago, the citizens were crying out a tearful tale of woe…”

On September 16, 1933, the Silly Symphony The Pied Piper was released to theaters. The short is based on the German tale The Pied Piper of Hamelin, which has been written by the likes of the Brothers Grimm and Robert Browning. The short was directed by Wilfred Jackson, and the score was done by Leigh Harline.

The short begins in the German town of Hamelin, which is under an infestation of rats. The people try all sorts of means to rid themselves of the rats, but to no avail, and the rats begin to devour every bit of food they can find. The citizens complain to the mayor, who agrees that they must get rid of the infestation. As he declares that he will give a large sack of gold to anyone who can get rid of the rats, a Pied Piper, who has just strolled into town, takes on the challenge. The mayor promises him the gold, and the Piper begins to play his instrument. The rats, mesmerized by the tune, follow him away from the town, dancing happily.

The Piper takes the rats skipping out of town, thanks to his magic pipe

The people cheer as he sends the rats on their way, and the Piper makes the rats disappear into an illusion of a giant block of cheese. The Piper heads back to Hamelin to collect his gold, and the mayor refuses to pay, since all the Piper did was “pipe a tune.” Angered, he calls the town dishonest and ungrateful, and declares that he will save the children of the town from becoming such horrible adults. The mayor believes him to be bluffing, but the Piper pipes his magic pipe, calling all the children of the town to leave their chores and follow him. Happily, the children follow him, including two babes just brought by the stork. The townspeople watch in horror as the kids are lead away to the mountains, and the Piper leads them to a place for children called Happyland. They disappear into the mountain, never to be heard from again.