The Wise Little Hen (1934)

"The Wise Little Hen" is a Technicolor 7-minute cartoon from Disney that was made over 80 years ago. And it is interesting to see how Donald is still everybody's favorite dog today while Peter Pig, his co-star in here, has been forgotten completely. The 2 fake tummy aches when the wise little hen asks them to help with planting and cropping corn because they are 2 very lazy fellas. Unfortunately for them, fortunately for us, she finds out about their charade and in the end they get disgusting medicine instead of tasty corn. Bad luck for the 2. There's always next year though. Maybe they'll learn something from it. Wilfred Jackson, Pinto Colvig and Clarence Nash worked on this little movie and the three of them are really known for their work on many other cartoons. This one here is not among my favorites from its era, but it's still a decent little Silly Symphony with a nice message (very unusual for a Donald Duck cartoon), solid music and also hilarious voice acting by Florence Gill. I recommend the watch.

With having found Walt Disney's 1921 Laugh-O-Grams to be surprisingly fun,I decided that with a poll being held on IMDbs Classic Film board for the best films of 1934,that I would take a look at a short from that year.Getting caught completely by surprise,I found out that Disney had made a short in 1934,which featured Donald Ducks debut! This led to me getting ready to find out how wise this hen could be.The plot:Gathering up all of her chick-lets,a hen begins walking round town,hoping to find someone who will help her farm the corn,so that she can have dinner with her chick-lets tonight.Visiting Donald Duck & Peter Pig,the hen is sad to find both of them suddenly becoming "ill" when she asks for their help.With their being no one else around,the hen and her chick-lets decide that they must farm the corn themselves.View on the film:Delivering the first of his landmark performances as the character,debuting Clarence Nash shows that he is far ahead of the animators (who make Donald's head a size 0!) by giving a superb performance which hits all of the wild notes that Donald would soon become famous for.Along with Nash, Florence Gill gives a strong performance as the Wise Little Hen,with Gill showing a remarkable skill in saying the dialogue sung.Giving the hen a sweet,rosy appearance,director Wilfred Jackson creates a wonderful atmosphere by using acrylic colours to give the film a forgotten nursery rhyme feel,and also keeping things lively with sight guys such as Donald Duck & Peter Pig dancing round the "Idle Hour" building,which leads to this being a wise hen,and a very wise film.

PLEASANT AND CLEVERLY set to music, THE WISE LITTLE HEN was just one of a series of Walt Disney's SILLY SYMPHONIES; that being an anthology series of Technicolour animated shorts. Being that there were so many titles, this one may well have remained in the shadow of obscurity had it not been for its accidentally discovering a future Disney star and mainstay for years to come.WHILE OTHER ENTRIES in the series were declared to be outstanding works of art, such being the likes of THREE LITTLE PIGS, FLOWERS AND TREES and THE OLD MILL, little was said about this short. It was the unheralded appearance of Donald Duck that made it so Historical.APPEARING AS ONE of the three main characters, DD is decked out in his familiar blue & white sailor's suit; but somehow he looks a trifle thin and worn out. Also his beak seems just a little thin and long.(Or is it his bill?) Perhaps his underweight condition is amplified by the co-star and partner in crime, one Peter Pig.ANY WAY, TIME, the introduction of proper duck nutrition and plastic surgery for a shorter beak/bill were all that was needed. Shortly there after, the DONALD DUCK Series was launched and Uncle Walt had him joined with Mickey Mouse and Goofy in a sort of animated comedy team.IT IS HIGHLY likely that you may not enjoy THE WISE LITTLE HEN, it not being your cup of tea; its certainly not being typical Donald Duck fare. Do make sure to see it, pretty please!

While watching The Wise Little Hen, I had to keep reminding myself that this short was made in 1934. The animation has held up well over the years and is as good as anything you'll see. The colors paint a bright picture and the attention to detail is amazing. This film is also an important milestone as it marks the first appearance of Donald Duck, it remains one of his best films.