★ 7 / 10
"So know you know the reason, why there's a winter season, instead of eternal spring"
ackstasis
'The Goddess of Spring (1934)' is a beautiful "Silly Symphony" from Walt Disney and director Wilfred Jackson, filmed in glorious Technicolor of which full…
'The Goddess of Spring (1934)' is a beautiful "Silly Symphony" from Walt Disney and director Wilfred Jackson, filmed in glorious Technicolor of which full advantage is taken. The film was produced as a trial-run for the the feature-length 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937),' largely to experiment with the animation of humans. The progress made in the subsequent three years is startlingly apparent the heroine in this film has a pretty and graceful face, but there's very little grace in her movements. The Goddess of Spring prances around her vibrant above-ground kingdom, limbs flailing somewhat awkwardly, her gait completely unrealistic, though perhaps it was the animators' intention to have her slightly floating above the ground, as though her loveliness affords her the weightless waltz of an angel. Suddenly, the sky grows dark and the ground erupts into fire, signalling the arrival of the wicked Hades, who kidnaps the beautiful Goddess to be queen of his underground kingdom. With the fair maiden's departure, the lands are plunged into a cold, bitter winter.This Silly Symphony was loosely based upon the Ancient Greek mythology of Persephone and Hades, and so the tone of cartoon is chiefly that of an epic opera a bit like 'What's Opera, Doc? (1957),' if you need an easy comparison. The warm, nostalgic singing voice at the film's beginning gives way to the deep, operatic snarl of Hades as he comes to confiscate his future queen. Interestingly, when the pair arrive in the fire-wreathed corridors of Hell, the general atmosphere is that of a jazz club, with disconcertingly upbeat music, and dancing audiences who chant "Hidey Hades." This interpretation of down-below is very different from Ub Iwerks' version five years earlier in 'Hell's Bells (1929),' which was darker and more archaic. The most touching contrast of all is that between the above-ground kingdom's spring and winter, as the bright sunlight swiftly disappears to unleash a miserable snap of cold and bitter winds; the dwarf inhabitants shiver in the snow, and even Bambi makes a brief appearance
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★ 6 / 10
seasonal worker
lee_eisenberg
This entry in the Silly Symphonies adapts the story of Persephone (Proserpina in Latin). "The Goddess of Spring" depicts the title character in an idealistic…
This entry in the Silly Symphonies adapts the story of Persephone (Proserpina in Latin). "The Goddess of Spring" depicts the title character in an idealistic setting until Hades (Pluto in Latin) kidnaps her. Since she can't be happy in Hell, they have to reach a settlement.Obviously this is a loose adaptation. As in Disney's "Hercules", Hades gets depicted as a rendering of Satan; in Greek mythology, the underworld had no relation to the modern understanding of Hell.It's an okay cartoon. I've always been more partial to Warner Bros.'s cartoons, since they had an irreverent side (in contrast to Disney's "nice" cartoons). Jessica Dragonette (the goddess) also voiced Princess Glory in Fleischer Studios' "Gulliver's Travels". Kenny Baker (the narrator) is not to be confused with the actor who played R2D2.
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6.6/10
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