Poe’s Saturday Cartoon: THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE ANTS (1934)

Today on Poe’s Saturday Cartoon we continue our “seven deadly sins” series by focusing on the sin that most of us are guilty of committing on a Sunday afternoon: sloth. To do this we will be showing a classic Disney Silly Symphonies short: THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE ANTS.

The Silly Symphonies are the main reason Disney was king of the animation world throughout most the 1930s. The first of the Hollywood cartoons to be filmed in the full Technicolor process and feature strong story lines along with great character animation, these shorts were light years ahead of any other animated series being produced at the time. In terms of high production values and beautiful artistry, they were second to none. The series featured 75 shorts in all and ran from 1929 to 1939. Though none of the regular Disney players were featured as stars in the shorts, many, including Pluto and Donald Duck, made their professional debuts in the series.

THE GRASSHOPPER AND THE ANTS was the 42nd entry in the series and one of the earlier color cartoons. Based on the famous Aesop fable, the short is noteworthy for featuring Pinto Colvig, best known as the voice of Goofy, as the grasshopper. Unlike the original fable, in which the ants refuse to take pity on the starving grasshopper after he fails to work and save food for the winter, the Disney short offers up a sympathetic ending. The ants end up offering the lazy, six legged bastard a hand out in the end. So according to Disney, it’s ultimately okay to bum food off of others just because you don’t like to work. I don’t think Jiminy Cricket would have approved.

Zevk,
Poe