The Wise Little Hen (1934) Reviews

• The Cinematic Birth Of Donald Duck

  Ron Oliver2000-10-22

  A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short. Worried about having enough food to feed her family come Wintertime, THE WISE LITTLE HEN decides to plant a field of corn. Her idle friends, Peter Pig & Donald Duck, decline to help with the planting or the harvesting - leaving the little chicken to plan her sweet revenge... This is a very fine adaptation of the childhood story, with a strong, self-reliant title character (voiced by Florence Gill). But the reason this is a landmark cartoon is because it was the debut of the irascible, anti-social, temperamental, infuriating & utterly lovable Duck, a character so strong he would soon eclipse Mickey Mouse himself. With voice courtesy of the inimitable Clarence Nash, Donald would become one of the world's most popular personalities & a source of never-ending fascination for those who study anti-social behavior and its consequences. Fate would not be so kind to Peter Pig. Although his debut was just as conspicuous as the Duck's, he lacked that certain intangible quality which would set him apart from the common swine. Hollywood can be a cruel place & Peter's attempts to build a movie career - he worked for a while as Porky Pig's stunt double - proved a failure. When last heard of, Peter Pig was living in a small apartment over a garage in Pomona, California. The SILLY SYMPHONIES, which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929, are among the most fascinating of all animated series. Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount, with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music. There was little plot in the early Symphonies, which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals, all moving frantically to the soundtrack. Gradually, however, the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot, characterization & photographic special effects. The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale, Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed. It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring. In 1939, with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon, Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES; they had run their course & served their purpose.

• Wise viewing.

  Squonk1999-01-25

  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.

• The wise little hen.

  a-moss2005-05-19

  The last three days I've probably watched this thing 13 times. Not because I liked it, but because its highly addictive. Its one of those things that is so stupid, but at the same time so catchy you just can't not stop playing it. What I kind of like about it is how every sound and every movement in this Disney short seems to be going alone in a tune, with verses and all. And the singing along with it... Argh. Its annoying, but its, well, catchy. Everything. Especially the little hen. God, its like a caressing nightmare. This is Donalds first appearance ever yeah. He's basically a little tw*t, but yeah, compared to Peter Pig he's a bit funny.. and you can probably see why he got a second chance, and finally grew to be one of Disney's biggest characters. What is a bit interesting though is that he lives on a boat, so his costume for once makes a bit sense. The little hen and her little slave chickens steals the show though. God I hope she never turns up ever again! Her presence in this 8 minute short is more than enough for a whole eternity. The horror!

• You know after this gem, you gotta love Donald Duck!

  TheLittleSongbird2009-09-21

  This is a gem. The animation is beautiful, with lovely colourful backgrounds and the character animation is very good. The music was brilliant, very playful and jolly, and the theme tune somewhat reminds me of that for Peculiar Penguins. The characters are engaging, with the exception of Peter Pig, whose presence seemed unnecessary at times. The hen of the title is fun, the chicks are ADORABLE(I know I keep using this word, but most of the silly symphonies are), but what makes this short for me is the presence of Donald Duck, voiced by the one and only Ducky Nash. Everything else was fine, but my favourite duck's presence elevates this gem to a greater level. Two words for this- wonderful gem! 9.5/10 Bethany Cox

• View on "The Wise Little Hen"

  kelsey-willingham2008-11-19

  "The Wise Little Hen," this cartoon from 1938 is a very good carton for being so early in our time. It is a very short film, but for being so short it is really catchy in many ways. From it bringing back your childhood days to the music that is played is really addicting you can not stop watching it. The story is actually a really good story and also can be put in to now day's perspective very easily. This short film is not the best that I have ever seen but if you look at it; it is one of the best cartoons I feel I have ever watched. The first thing to bring up is the sound that is in this short film, and how it goes along with the short film very well. The music is very catchy and after you hear it you can not get it out of your head. The music is very up beat and goes along with what is going on in the film. When the little hen is walking with her babies and looking for someone to help the words are very uplifting and happy. But when the hen asks the pig and the duck for some help and she realizes that they are not going to help the voice of the singer goes into a deeper more depressing tone. After that though when the hen keeps walking the music goes straight to back to being happy. When she is done asking them if they can help her and them telling her no her and her babies go to the field and start planning. This part of the story the beat gets really catchy when the baby hens go up and down and move they move along with the beat. This is an important part of the film and is the reason I think that you can not stop watching it. It is just like a song most people like songs that have a good beat and the words go along real well with the beat. It is the same way with a movie, but instead of the words being with the beat it is what you're seeing that is in beat with the music. The last part about the music is when the pig and duck find out that the hen did not really give them any corn to eat the beat is kind of funny and goes along with the disappointment that they are feeling. The plot to this short film is another big reason that you can really comprehend this story, and put it into things that have happened to you. Every one that I know has gone through what the hen goes through at least once in their life. You always think that you have friends and they will be there for you, but the truth is they are always just looking out for there selves. This is the same thing that the hen goes through; every time she asked the pig and duck to help her they did not want to because they thought it would not help them out at all. Then when the hen comes and asks them if they could help her eat her corn instead of planting it they were more than welcome to. Before though when they saw that the hen was starting to walk towards them they starting acting sick again because they thought that she was going to ask them to help her do something. But when they find out that she is going to feed them they starting acting all nice to her. What the hen does next is what most people should do when they face this situation, she puts a prank on the pig and duck. When they open up the bowl that the hen had gave them, which they thought was going to be corn, they find out that it is only stomach medicine. I think just about every person can put this into perspective about a time in their life. That is why I think this is such a good short film and also a very addictive one. Most might say it is just because of the music but I promise if they really sit down and think about it that they will understand that this is a big reason too. Overall though this a great short film and it is also a little bit funny, especially when the hen says the simple word "corn" in her very hen-like voice. Behind all of that though the main reasons I liked this film and thought that is was addicting was mostly because of the music and the story line. The music being very up beat and catchy, and then the story line really fitting into what I have gone through in life. If you have never watched this short film I suggest you do so but be careful it is kind of addicting, and you might want to watch it a couple more times. Last, though this film will make you laugh a little bit and it will also bring back the younger side of your life.