When I first watched this I was a bit taken aback by very melodramatic grand opera tone and style of it, and I found that and the whole cutesyness overload of the Goddess' kingdom to be cheesy and just an itty bitty bit too much.. I mean, it is a very easy short to laugh at, I can't help but chuckle every time I hear that dashing Devil in a red leotard sing in his bizarre soprano! Ah, but all that stuff's just part of the whimsical, old world fantasy charm of it. And I personally don't think a few inconsistencies in the rendition of the legendary tale of these characters really negatively affects the short too much. Anyway, it's really grown on me since, and it's probably one of my favourite "Silly Symphonies" now, and it's certainly one of the most outlandish and visually interesting ones, as is its story and place as an important stepping stone in the evolution of the Disney animation process that would eventually culminate in the classic "Snow White." The story of this, for what it is, is sweet and engaging enough in its quaint, lulling and ~very~ melodious way! It's all about Persephone - she's the Goddess of Spring, and she's having a ball of a great time in her perfectly harmonious realm of bountiful nature, basking in the adoration of all the surrounding happy flora and fauna that merrily bounds about her! And everything's cool until the red hot demon Himself emerges from the fiery underworld to abduct her and drag her back to Hell to make her his queen!!! A good way to describe the look of Persephone as she willows around would probably be that she almost, looks kinda boneless, and her arms look almost like bird wings. The overall effect might be eerie if her strange motions weren't nevertheless very serene and soothing to watch. And her face at least was perfectly done and expressive. To me, regardless of the imperfections in her design, she still cuts a very striking figure of fragile beauty and grace... And, in stark contrast to her, was the Devil who's bodily proportions and movements were far more realistic - only it was *his* head that looked weird and out of place! The resulting blast of thunder and brimstone when he erupts from the ground on his hellevator(ha-ha) reminded me of the cool effects later used in "Sleeping Beauty" when Malificent transforms into the dragon. Also, her little minions in that movie are very similar to the Devil's imps you see in this! Really amazing animation throughout the whole Hades sequence. I just know I've seen a couple of them backgrounds before in the earlier "Hell's Bells" Symphony. The fire looked so good! I love the infernal, moody animation of the flames as the hue changes from green to deep red to blue. And the jazzy tune was more like something you'd find in one of the more 'out there' Fleisher offerings! The Devil wasn't much of one if you ask me, he wasn't even all that mean! He'd rather let the Goddess go free for half the year then see her miserable. I guess the thing I like the most about this short is the novel concept it offers regarding why the seasons exist, I really thought that was quite the awesome little idea. It's not perfect, but overall I now see this as a most wonderful animation indeed...
