The Ugly Duckling | |
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![]() Poster for The Ugly Duckling | |
Directed by | Jack Cutting Clyde Geronimi |
Based on | "The Ugly Duckling" by Hans Christian Andersen |
Produced by | Walt Disney |
Starring | Clarence Nash (duck sounds) |
Music by | Albert Hay Malotte |
Animation by | Milt Kahl Eric Larson Milt Neil Stan Quackenbush Archie Robin Paul Satterfield Riley Thomson |
Layouts by | David Hilberman |
Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date | April 7, 1939 |
Running time | 8:59 |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Ugly Duckling (re-titled as Ugly Duckling in reissues) is an animated short film by Walt Disney, based on the 1843 fairy tale "The Ugly Duckling" by Hans Christian Andersen. The film was directed by Jack Cutting and Clyde Geronimi, and released in theaters on April 7, 1939. Music was composed by Albert Hay Malotte, who was uncredited for the film. The animated short was first distributed by RKO Radio Pictures, [1] and was shown with Love Affair .
An earlier Silly Symphony animated short based on this fairy tale had been produced in black and white in 1931. The 1939 color film won the 1940 Oscar for Best Short Subject (Cartoons), [2] and also happened to be the last entry in the Silly Symphony series, although it was branded in certain releases as a special one-shot cartoon.
In the Andersen's tale, a cygnet is harassed because of his homeliness. To his delight, he matures into a swan, the most beautiful bird of all, and his troubles are over. In this version, the baby swan's sufferings are shortened, as he is found by his family after only a few minutes of rejection and ostracism instead of a whole year. This abbreviated version is read by Lilo to Stitch in the 2002 Disney film Lilo & Stitch . The story has a deep impact on Stitch, who sets out to look for his real family.
An expectant mallard duck father is pacing by his wife's side. Suddenly, the mother duck's eggs begin to hatch, much to the father's delight, giving birth to four little ducklings. But then, a fifth egg hatches, revealing a mismatched white duckling, and the father argues with the mother over this, forcing the two to go their separate ways after she slaps him (it is implied that the father is accusing the mother of having an affair with a swan).
The ugly duckling attempts to join the duck family, but they turn their backs on him, after which he discovers how different he is from them. So the duckling attempts to join a family of birds and even attempts to befriend a duck hunting decoy, but they all turn him down. The duckling breaks down and cries until a mother swan and her cygnets approach him. He joins this family and they accept him.
The mother duck and her ducklings are surprised to realize what he is and what he has the potential to become; they invite him to come back to them, but he refuses and proudly swims off with his new family.
The Silly Symphony Sunday comic strip ran a month-long adaptation of The Ugly Duckling from March 26 to April 16, 1939. [3]
The Film Daily wrote: "The Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale translated to cartoon language emerges a delight to the ear and the eye... Though the story concerns only the feathered folk, this Disney short is fused with real feeling and pathos." [4]
The short was released on December 4, 2001 on Walt Disney Treasures: Silly Symphonies - The Historic Musical Animated Classics . [5] It was included on the DVD release in the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. [6] It is also available on Disney+ with restored Silly Symphony title cards.
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Silly Symphony is an American animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the Silly Symphonies were originally intended as whimsical accompaniments to pieces of music. As such, the films usually did not feature continuing characters, unlike the Mickey Mouse shorts produced by Disney at the same time. The series is notable for its innovation with Technicolor and the multiplane motion picture camera, as well as its introduction of the character Donald Duck making his first appearance in the Silly Symphony cartoon The Wise Little Hen in 1934. Seven shorts won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
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The first wave of Walt Disney Treasures was released on December 4, 2001. It includes four different DVD sets.
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, which follows the original Andersen story much more faithfully. 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.
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The Pointer is an American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures on July 21, 1939, shown in theaters with Way Down South. The short was directed by Clyde Geronimi and animated by Fred Moore, Frank Thomas, Lynn Karp, Seamus Culhane, Ollie Johnston, Preston Blair, Lester Norvi, John Lounsbery, Claude Smitha, Art Palmer, and Josh Meador. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoon) in 1940. It was the 106th short in the Mickey Mouse film series to be released, and the third for that year.
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