This seemed almost like a piece of “Fantasia.” The adults liked it but the children did not appreciate it. (W.V. Nevins III, Alfred Co-Op Theatre, Alfred, N.Y.)Humanised plants? Coyness? Balletic dancing? Classical-like music? Yeah, Fantasia came to my mind, too.
A very good cartoon and enjoyed by all. Was quite different. Could have been a bit of “Fantasia.” (Alex Slendak, St. Clair Theatre, St. Clair, Mich.)
Ising is at his most ersatz Disney-est here. At the start, leaves in the pastel mist laugh at a Ray Bolger-like weed that stumbles and falls while pulling himself out of the ground. The laughter is actually provided by a flute and other wind instruments.
Aw, shucks.
The weed backs into a stinging nettle. Pussywillows hiss like cats at him. He sprouts several heads before zipping away in multiples behind a rock.
Ising takes extremely good advantage of Technicolor in this short and the background paintings are impressive, but if I want Fantasia, I’ll watch Fantasia. As usual, Ising’s name is the only one in the credits.
Jerry Brewer is the co-director, and I kinda remembered Gus (Gordo) Arriola handling the layouts (?)
ReplyDeleteAnd, lets not forget, Bradley composed and recorded the music score before the cartoon was written.
I'd love to know what Disney thought of it. I wonder if he'd be as vituperative as he was with Harman's "To Spring" or "Gulliver" ("Our second string animators can do better than that"). Speaking of the latter, it was a favorite of several of the 1990s Disney animation staff, so I got from several horses' mouths.
ReplyDeleteA favorite! Although my old Eastmancolor 16mm print looks now to be in perpetual autumn.
ReplyDeleteI like how his flower girlfriend forgets about concealing her "nudity" just a couple minutes after losing her petals.
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