Blogtober Day 13: Old School Disney

Today I've chosen some animated shorts that Disney produced called Disney Silly Symphonies. They started in 1929 with the now-popular Skeleton Dance and stopped making them in 1939 with The Ugly Duckling.

Today they can be enjoyed, albeit with scratchy audio, in all their glory. Some are black and white, and some from later years are in beautiful color. 

It's a highlight of one of the parts of cinema I enjoy the most, the ability of the music to do explain what's happening without need of dialogue. The noises suggest & narrate movement by use of a variety of instruments and by playing with rhythms and sounds that mimic real life actions.

It's reliant on collective understanding, and it's now built into how we enjoy cinema. We know music in minor keys means something scary is approaching and we respond to it biologically. The quick tempo causes our hearts to race, the deep unnerving tones cause our muscles to clench, and it's all very intentional to build on the overall experience of what you're watching.

It reminds me of listening to books on tape when I was younger. As a child, it's hard to keep your attention on just words, but with lots of different character voices and sound effects, it builds an imaginary world that's easy to get lost in and follow the story.  It also reminds me of some records my father had. I think one was called Jack and the Wolf. It told a story with just an orchestra, like a ballet without the dancers. It's one I used to ask him to put on for us to listen to, along with the Baby Elephant Walk and the Pink Panther sound track. 


The animations in these are very recognizably Disney. The crows are familiar of what's seen in Snow White and Dumbo, and something very noticeable is Disney's notorious capitalization on their ability to get away with re-using animation cycles. In The Cat's Out, the scarecrows dancing uses the same sequence that's in the more widely known and often  memed Skeleton Dance, and the same rooster signals the morning in each one.

For each of these, I've included one snapshot that I think most represents the theme of the short, and I hope they inspire you to watch the originals.

The Cat's Out

A cat is put outside along with the empty milk bottles for the night (despite the cat's scorned and very loud protests). But he's right to want back inside, as everywhere he looks for shelter he encounters frights, from swarms of bats to giant ravens, ghosts, and living scarecrows that revel and dance in the moonlight.
After narrowly escaping all the horrors of the night the tired cat makes its way home, weaving in between the fenceposts just as cats do, and reaches its home as the sun comes up to be greeted by its owner bringing in the new milk bottles. But just as he goes into the house, he's turned out again to find some way to spend the day. Isn't that just life!

Autumn

The scenes of nature in autumn. Porcupines, skunks, and squirrels stash away prized chestnuts and acorns, some even daring enough to swipe apples and corn from a nearby farm. 
This bit reminded me of a Chip & Dale special where they border on hoarding and fill a tree to bursting with acorns.
But in this short the crows are just as opportunistic and steal all the food right back to fill a scarecrow which they later hide in.
Then the cold wind comes and the ducks scarper, the beavers hurriedly build their homes and settle in, and everyone finds their burrow to escape the snow, with some minor disputes and relocation.