Silly Symphony facts for kids
Silly Symphony was a series of animated short films made by Walt Disney Productions. These fun cartoons were produced from 1929 to 1939. They were known for their strong focus on music and often told stories without much talking.
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Disney's Musical Cartoons
When movies started having sound, Walt Disney began creating both his famous Mickey Mouse cartoons and the musical Silly Symphony shorts. To save money, Disney decided to produce his own music for the films. The first music director and composer for Disney was Carl Stalling.
Mickey Mouse cartoons often used pop music. But the Silly Symphony cartoons were special because they used Classical music. This made them feel like animated concerts!
In 1932, the Disney studio made its first cartoon in Technicolor, which meant it was in full color! This cartoon was called Flowers and Trees. It was a big step for animation.
A very popular song, Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?, came from the Silly Symphony short Three Little Pigs (1933). This song was so successful that it convinced Disney to keep making original music for his cartoons.
Around this time, Disney also introduced some characters you might know today. These included Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto and Minnie Mouse.
Over its ten-year run, Silly Symphonies won Walt Disney the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film seven times! This was a huge achievement. Only the Tom and Jerry series later matched this record. The Silly Symphony series was so popular that many other studios tried to make similar cartoons.
Beyond the Cartoons
The Silly Symphony series became more than just cartoons. It grew into a Disney media franchise. This meant it included other things like a newspaper comic strip called Silly Symphony. There was also a Dell comic book series with the same name. Plus, many children's books were created, often based on the Silly Symphony cartoons.
Famous Silly Symphony Shorts
The Silly Symphony series made many memorable short films. Here are some of the most well-known ones:
| # | Title | Release Date | Director | Fun Facts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Skeleton Dance | August 22, 1929 | Walt Disney | This was the very first Silly Symphony cartoon! |
| 3 | Springtime | October 24, 1929 | Ub Iwerks | You can see parts of this cartoon in the movie One Hundred and One Dalmatians. |
| 9 | Frolicking Fish | May 8, 1930 | Burt Gillett | This cartoon helped animation by showing smoother, more continuous movements. |
| 25 | The Ugly Duckling | December 16, 1931 | Wilfred Jackson | This early version was based on the famous story by Hans Christian Andersen. It was remade later in 1939. |
| 28 | Just Dogs | April 16, 1932 | Burt Gillett | This was the first time Pluto had a main role without Mickey Mouse! |
| 29 | Flowers and Trees | July 30, 1932 | Burt Gillett | This was the first cartoon ever made in Technicolor (full color)! It won the very first Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. |
| 31 | Bugs in Love | October 1, 1932 | Burt Gillett | This was the last Silly Symphony cartoon made in black-and-white. |
| 36 | Three Little Pigs | May 27, 1933 | Burt Gillett | This cartoon was super popular and won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. |
| 45 | The Wise Little Hen | May 19, 1934 | Wilfred Jackson | This cartoon was the first time Donald Duck ever appeared! |
| 49 | The Tortoise and the Hare | January 19, 1935 | Wilfred Jackson | This cartoon won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. |
| 56 | Three Orphan Kittens | October 19, 1935 | David Hand | This cute cartoon also won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. |
| 63 | The Country Cousin | August 15, 1936 | David Hand | This cartoon won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. |
| 68 | The Old Mill | October 22, 1937 | Wilfred Jackson | This film was important because Disney used a new "multiplane camera" for the first time, making the animation look more realistic. It won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. |
| 73 | Mother Goose Goes Hollywood | December 23, 1938 | Wilfred Jackson | This was the last film to officially show the Silly Symphony title card. |
| 75 | The Ugly Duckling | April 7, 1939 | Jack Cutting | This was a remake of the 1931 film and the very last Silly Symphony cartoon. It won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. |
Images for kids
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A poster for the Silly Symphony series from 1935.
See also
In Spanish: Silly Symphony para niños
