Cartoon a Day: Night

Night
1930
Directed by Walt Disney
Available on: Walt Disney Treasures: More Silly Symphonies

"Night" is an early entry in the Silly Symphonies series. It's simple and without a story (as are many of the shorts in this series) but it features some great animation and is another great hint at what was to come when Disney created "Fantasia."

The short begins by using bits of "The Blue Danube," which sets the tone as being a lot like "Fantasia" right from the start. However, this is still the early days of animation, so there is still a lot of silliness.

The animators focus on creatures of the night...owls, bugs, and frogs being the main characters. A great sequence involves a lightning bug dancing with the flame from a candle. It's fun to watch the shadow of the bug and then realize that cartoon characters don't cast their own shadows. That all had to be drawn and it's masterfully done. This is a great example of the simple genius of much of Disney's early work.