Birds of a Feather (1931 film)

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Birds of a Feather
Directed by Burt Gillett
Produced by Walt Disney
Animation by David Hand
Color processBlack and white
Production
company
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • February 10, 1931 (1931-02-10)
Running time
8 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Birds of a Feather is a Silly Symphonies animated Disney short film. It was released on February 10, 1931, by Columbia Pictures. [1]

Contents

Contrary to popular belief, the cartoon actually fell into the public domain on 1 January 2026 because if you look closely, it has a 1930 copyright notice instead of 1931. [2]

Plot

Swans swim by, a peacock displays its plumage in glorious black-and-white, a passing duck jeers, lyrebirds play eachother's tails, assorted songbirds chirp, a woodpecker chases a caterpillar, and a chorus of owls croon. A chicken goes after worms while ignoring her brood until a hawk circles. When the hawk captures one chick, the swallows form an attack squadron.

Voice cast

Comic adaptation

The Silly Symphony Sunday comic strip ran a three-month-long adaptation of Birds of a Feather from March 11 to June 17, 1934. [3]

Reception

Variety (April 15, 1931): "This subject suffers from too much similarity with previous cartoons of this and other series... This weakness makes it filler stuff for the intermediate programs and lesser spots only. It's a concoction of rhythmic gyration by various fowl". [4]

Home media

The short was released on December 4, 2001, on Walt Disney Treasures: Silly Symphonies - The Historic Musical Animated Classics . [5] [1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 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. 86–87. ISBN   978-1-4847-5132-9.
  2. ↑ "Title screen. 1930 copyright notice in bottom-right corner" . Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  3. ↑ Duvall, Earl; Taliaferro, Al; Osborne, Ted; De Maris, Merrill (2016). Silly Symphonies: The Complete Disney Classics, vol 1. San Diego: IDW Publishing. ISBN   978-1631405587.
  4. ↑ "Talking Shorts". Variety : 20. April 15, 1931. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Silly Symphonies: The Historic Musical Animated Classics DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved February 20, 2021.


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