The Ugly Duckling (1931 film)
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The Ugly Duckling | |
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![]() The Ugly Duckling (1931) | |
Directed by | Wilfred Jackson |
Based on | "The Ugly Duckling" by Hans Christian Andersen |
Produced by | Walt Disney |
Starring | Florence Gill |
Music by | Frank Churchill Bert Lewis |
Animation by | Dick Lundy Johnny Cannon Les Clark David Hand Clyde Geronimi Hardie Gramatky Albert Hurter Charles Hutchinson Cecil Surry Frank Tipper Frenchy de Tremaudan Chuck Couch Joe D'Igalo |
Layouts by | Charles Philippi |
Backgrounds by | Mique Nelson |
Color process | Black and white |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 7 minutes |
Language | English |
The Ugly Duckling is an animated black-and-white cartoon released by Walt Disney in 1931 as part of the Silly Symphonies series. This cartoon was later remade into a color version released in 1939.[1]
Plot[]
Although the short film is loosely based on the Hans Christian Andersen 1843 fairy tale "The Ugly Duckling", the only real similarities are one bird getting confused for another and his unique abilities enabling him to become something special.
In this version, a hen is asleep when her eggs hatch. Six female chickens hatches to her delight. However, the last egg reveals a duckling who has gotten mixed in among the farmyard chickens. The hen and the chicks walk away from him. Despite the duckling's best attempts to fit in with his chick sisters, things don't work out. He tries to go to a dog, a cow and even a frog, but to no avail. Soon, the cow's mooing informs everyone to take shelter at once because there's a tornado coming their way. The hen and the chicks quickly run inside the hen house, but the duck has to go under the home due to them not accepting him.
However, when the hen's chicks are threatened by a waterfall, due to them being dropped off in a river by a tornado, the little duckling swims to the rescue having gone through various debris to get to them. The hen cries out in fear for her daughters' lives. The duck gets into hen house, but once the first tree gets through, the duck and his chick sisters are on it. He quickly tells them to run back in the hen house saves them and a second tree comes through destroying it. This time, the duck orders his sisters to run to the fireplace blower which he jumps hard on it a few times to take hem to safety. He is lauded as a hero by his sisters. The hen picks the duckling up, recognizing him as her son and hugs him to his delight.
About eight years later, in 1939, the film would be remade and would follow the original Andersen story much more faithfully.[1] This gives The Ugly Duckling the unique distinction of being the only Silly Symphony to be made twice. This film was then sold to reach about 4,000 dollars per month at the most profit, because it slowly climbed up the scale of growth.
Home media[]
The short was released on December 4, 2001, on Walt Disney Treasures: Silly Symphonies - The Historic Musical Animated Classics.[2][1]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ 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. 104–105. ISBN 978-1-4847-5132-9.
- ^ "Silly Symphonies: The Historic Musical Animated Classics DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
External links[]
- The Ugly Duckling at IMDb
- The Ugly Duckling at The Big Cartoon DataBase
- The Ugly Duckling at The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts
- 1931 films
- English-language films
- 1931 short films
- Silly Symphonies
- 1930s American animated films
- American films
- Films based on The Ugly Duckling
- Films about ducks
- Films about chickens
- Films directed by Wilfred Jackson
- Films produced by Walt Disney
- 1930s Disney animated short films
- 1931 animated films
- American black-and-white films
- Columbia Pictures animated short films
- Columbia Pictures short films
- Films without speech
- Animated films without speech
- Disney animated film stubs
- 1930s film stubs