The Merry Dwarfs (1929)

Admirable film.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I'm not a critical viewer of these animated things, but this one was just plain dull. What they did was create a basic image of their dwarf and then made carbon copies. They then lined them up and created dance sequences where they appeared to dance side by side. The problem was that dancing was all they did. The dances were surprisingly alike. There was no plot other than they were sort of having some sort of beer binge. There were a couple variations, but they, too, were not interesting.

Before you can get to see "Cannibal Capers" and a few other 'special' cartoons on the "Walt Disney Treasures: More Silly Symphonies" DVD set, you are forced to watch an introduction by Leonard Maltin. He talks about the times in which they were made and how politically incorrect the films are. I am not against this, but hate how once you view it, you must ALWAYS view Maltin's speech again if you come back to any of the offensive cartoons. The same thing happens in some of the other Treasures DVDS--such as the second Donald Duck set.My assumption why this was among the few 'bad' cartoons in the set that needed a special introduction is that it uses the word dwarfs. It could also be because they are rolling a barrel of beer. All I know is that the dwarfs in question look more like Brownies or Pixies--and I don't think any attempt was being made to make fun of dwarfism or little people. Perhaps there's something else about this one that offends that I am missing. All I knew is that compared to the rest of the films on the DVD, this one is pretty dull.

Out of the ten or so "Silly Symphonies" I've seen to date, 'The Merry Dwarfs (1929)' seems to be the weakest of all of them. Though 'The Skeleton Dance (1929)' and 'Springtime (1929)' were enjoyable, despite just portraying characters dancing in time with classical music, this particular cartoon seems to be lacking something. Surprisingly, there's very little charm in watching those little bearded fellows tap-dance across the grass, and, unlike the more nature-orientated Symphonies, we're stuck with the same performers throughout the six minutes. The most notable element of this cartoon is the unmistakable blueprint for Disney's first feature-length film 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937),' though, in the intervening eight years, you can certainly recognise how efficiently the studio managed to evolve its craft.This particular short was directed by Walt Disney himself, and contains no dialogue, only dancing set to pleasant classical music. At the end, Disney does have some fun with the dwarfs' inherent drunkenness, and the entire screen warps as they consume more alcohol than is healthy for them. They dance inside barrels, they dance inside hats, they dance on their hands, they dance of their beards; these dwarfs are enjoying such an agreeable morning that they're quite willing to dance any old way. It's just a shame that watching them dance isn't quite so exciting. 'The Merry Dwarfs' is ultimately a worthwhile early cartoon for fans of the Silly Symphonies, but there are many that can be considered a major improvement upon this effort. Just for the record, my favourite to date is Wilfred Jackson's 'The Old Mill (1937).'

A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short.It is a lovely day and THE MERRY DWARFS are frolicking in their woodland home, playing with the tiny insects & getting very drunk, indeed...There's no plot in this very early series entry; basically it's pleasant action/reaction animation. A comparison of the little fellows in this cartoon with Snow White's 7 companions eight years later reveals just how greatly Disney's artists improved during that time.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.