The Flying Mouse
The Flying Mouse is a Silly Symphonies cartoon produced by Walt Disney, directed by David Hand, and released to theatres by United Artists on July 14, 1934.[1] The use of color here was rather innovative as it is set during the course of a single day.
| The Flying Mouse | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | David Hand |
| Produced by | Walt Disney |
| Starring | Marcellite Garner Marion Darlington Billy Sheets The Three Rhythm Kings |
| Music by | Frank Churchill Bert Lewis |
| Animation by | Hamilton Luske Bob Kuwahara Harry Bailey Bob Wickersham |
| Backgrounds by | Carlos Manríquez |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | United Artists Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 9 min |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot edit
To the tune "I Would Like to Be a Bird", a young mouse fashions wings from a pair of leaves, to the great amusement of his brothers. When his attempts to use them fail, the mouse got blown backwards and his rear end crashes into a thorn, he falls into the tub and shrinks his sister's dress and gets spanked by his mother. When a butterfly calls for help, he rescues it from a spider. When the butterfly proves to be a fairy, the mouse wishes for wings. But his bat-like appearance doesn't fit in with either the birds or the other mice, and he finds himself friendless; even the bats make fun of him, making a point that he is "Nothin' But A Nothin'". The butterfly fairy reappears and removes the mouse's wings, telling him: "Be yourself and life will smile on you". Then the boy mouse runs all the way home where he is reunited with his mother and 3 mouse brothers.
Production edit
The Flying Mouse boy and his mother make an appearance as spectators in the 1936 Mickey Mouse cartoon Mickey's Polo Team.
Voice cast edit
- Bat: Billy Sheets
- Male voices: The Three Rhythm Kings
- Bird whistles: Marion Darlington
- Laughing mice: Marcellite Garner[1]
Home media edit
The short was released on December 4, 2001, on Walt Disney Treasures: Silly Symphonies - The Historic Musical Animated Classics.[2][1] Prior to that, the featurette also appeared on the Walt Disney Cartoon Classics Limited Gold Edition: Silly Symphonies VHS in the 1980s.
It was also released as a bonus feature, alongside fellow Silly Symphony short Elmer Elephant, on DVD/Blu-Ray releases of Dumbo.
References edit
- ^ a b c Merritt, Russell; Kaufman, J. B. (2016). Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series (2nd ed.). Glendale, CA: Disney Editions. pp. 146–147. ISBN 978-1-4847-5132-9.
- ^ "Silly Symphonies: The Historic Musical Animated Classics DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
External links edit
- The Flying Mouse at IMDb
- at the Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts