1955? Walt Disney's The Tortoise and the Hare. Unbreakable 78 rpm Little Golden Record RD 150. Gil Mack, the Sandpipers, Mitchell Miller and Orchestra. Record by Bestway. Jacket by Simon and Schuster, New York. Gift of Wendy Wright, Nov., '11.
Here is a short sung rendition of the story of Toby the Tortoise and Max the Hare. Max's problem is that he wastes time with a pretty female rabbit along the way. One website lists a copy as "50's." The record is certainly pre-1963 because Simon and Schuster's address in New York has a code but not a zip code. The record jacket is worn, but not badly for having lasted over fifty years! Click on the small illustration above to see a larger version of the record-jacket.
1949 Walt Disney's The Grasshopper and the Ants. Paperbound. Walt Disney Productions. $15 from Second Story Books, Georgetown, Dec., '10.
This is a genuine find! I was finishing up in Second Story when I noticed this combination of a booklet and a 45 rpm record in the window. I had just given an extensive lecture two months earlier on "The Grasshopper and the Ant," including some criticism of Disney. This booklet may be the best illustrated Disney GA that I now have. There are two records along with the booklet; the records are produced by Capitol. The narrator is Don Wilson, who is joined by the original cast. Adaptor is Alan Livingston. The booklet itself starts with the telling but surprising image of the grasshopper spitting! I am delighted to have found this combination. I have not yet been able to play the records. 45 rpm record players are hard to find these days!
2003 Walt Disney: Silly Symphonies (?). Chinese and English. SimaCulture. Epic Music Video. $7.50 from Alexlau1998 through Ebay, March, '04.
Though this DVD was sold as "Tortoise and Hare Disney's DVD," it contains over 76 minutes of a variety of "Silly Symphonies," including titles like "3 Little Wolves"; "Peculiar Penguins"; "Water Babies"; and "Father Noah's Ark." The first Silly Symphony here is in fact Disney's 1934 "The Tortoise and the Hare," featuring Max Hare and Toby Tortoise in the "Big Race." The second video was the big surprise to me: "Toby Tortoise Returns" from 1936. The two characters are back, this time in a boxing match. Max performs all of his tricks in the ring, many of them Disney's delightful fantasies, for example of Max's boxing gloves continuing to pound Toby while Max is doing other things. Max's last ploys turn on him, including filling Toby's shell with water and especially filling his shell with fireworks. The fireworks launch Toby in pursuit of Max, eventually driving Max into the ambulance he had ready for Toby. A Mae West character and the girls from the school are part of the boxing match audience. There is a typical slip-up in English on the back cover of the carton, speaking of "baller" where "ballet" is clearly called for.
2001 Walt Disney Treasures: Silly Symphonies. The Historical Musical Animated Classics. 2 dvd set. Introduced by Leonard Maltin. Unknown source.
To my surprise, the first disc in this two-disc set contains the three fables I am aware of Disney producing: TH, TMCM, and GA. TH in 1935 has the whole expanded story, including the parade for Max Hare, the stop at the girls' school, and the finish by an extended neck. Snails accompany Toby the Tortoise along the way and keep up with him. Laughter is the response to Toby several times over. "The Country Cousin," Disney's TMCM in 1936, moves straight to the fancy town mouse's home. This version is strong on the country mouse getting tipsy. This is a particularly good print of GA, done in 1934. I have used sometimes inferior prints in presenting this fable in class.
Disc 2 provides a set of fascinating features using and commenting on the cartoons. I especially appreciated "Leonard's Picks." Others focus on nature and music. A theme throughout Maltin's contributions is the way in which Disney presentations developed. Some early offerings, like "Skeleton Dance" (1928) are still spellbinding. Maltin encourages watching the make and remake of "The Ugly Duckling" in 1931 and 1939. What a difference, both in technical development and even in story sense!
2006 Walt Disney Treasures: More Silly Symphonies . The Historical Musical Animated Classics. 2 dvd set. Introduced by Leonard Maltin. Unknown source.
As the promotion says, "This second volume of the revolutionary series boasts some of Disney's rarest cartoons, including over a dozen never before released on DVD or video." Among the first disc's highlights is the never-before-released "Hell's Bells." The advertising seems to claim that "Mother Goose Goes Hollywood" in its original unedited form is also here, but I could not find it on either disc. Maltin and others highlight the stereotypes that we would find offensive today but were standard stuff in the 30's. I enjoyed "Hell's Bells" and "Broken Toys."
On Disc 2 of this second set, there are ten more cartoons. The abundant commentary highlights the development that occurred over the history of these cartoons. From the beginning, Disney's genius included the ability to break up bodies and machines and then reconstitute them. "Cock of the Walk" here repeats a fable theme: the loser becomes the winner, here when a star-struck chicken finds a picture of the "winner's" children. As I researched both pairs of Disney dvds, I discovered how expensive they are, roughly $130 and $200. I did not know what I had!
1934? Walt Disney Silly Symphony: The Tortoise and the Hare. Ten minutes? No sound. Gift of an anonymous donor. One extra copy at the same time.
The version Disney offers here is the one familiar from his early print publications of this fable. Toby Tortoise and Max Hare appear first at their training camps. Much of the cartoon centers on Miss Cottontail's boarding school. Here Max beats his own arrow to the target, hits his own pitch and then catches it, and plays tennis with himself. The cartoon ends with a celebration of the tortoise and does not go further, as does one of the early print presentations of this film.
1946? Walt Disney Jigsaw Puzzle: The Grasshopper and the Ants. Series No. 3. NY: Jayman Specialty Company. $15 at a Milwaukee antique dealer, June, '18.
"300 pieces and a 14" x 22" Picture!" proclaims the cover, which is slit in one place and bowed, as the picture shows. I have not yet tried the puzzle, whose picture on the cover is true to the Disney cartoon of GA. The series contains TH as well as "The Ugly Duckling" and "Pinnochio." Characters from other Disney favorites, like "Snow White," as well as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck grace the cover outside the picture of the puzzle.
1946? Walt Disney Character Jaymar Heavy Board Jigsaw Puzzle for Tiny Tots. TH. "Large Pieces Little Fingers Can Handle." NY: Jaymar. $9.99 from Mary Duque, Cashmere, WA, through Ebay, August, '01.
The scene is the finish line, with the tortoise stretching out his head—in fact past the corner of the box! The finished puzzle is 19" x 14" and includes about 54 pieces, all of which I can attest are present. It was fun doing this puzzle! Except for some buckling of the individual pieces, it is in very good condition. Some pieces represent objects like cars and shoes and a dog.
1950? Aesop's Fable Wallpaper. Pink and white. Four rolls 22" wide. $60 from Charles Luther, Mohawk, NY, through Ebay, April, '00.
I never would have suspected that there is Aesopic wallpaper! The paper here features a repetition of two scenes from FS. In each of the scenes, one antagonist enjoys the food while the other looks on.
2023? Wall hanging: The Bayeux Tapestry. 40" x 50". 100% polyester. $50 from Judaicaman: Joshua Jacobovitz, Shilo, Israel, Dec., '24.
Though the Bayeux Tapestry is fascinating and a good source for fable illustrations, this copy is disappointing. One would have to look very hard to find those fables and then to recognize them as fables. The advertisement says "Great to snuggle in or hang up in your den."
1930? Colored postcard presenting GA. Artist's mark is "Wal." "Vous chantiez! J'en suis fort aise./Eh bien! dansez maintenant." €10 from Jacky Mabilat, Boutigny sur Essonne, at the Paris Post Card Exhibition, Jan., '05.
I have a strong sense that I have seen Wal's work before. Here the ant seems to live in a hollowed tree. The scene is dominated by snow. Simple verso with no writing but one stain.
