"The Ugly Duckling" was written by Hans Christian Andersen and has retold in multiple cartoon versions over the years--two by Disney alone in the 1930s. This version from Paul Terry is unusual, not just because it's so early but because it really is more a re-imagining than a re-telling of the tale. Much of it is different...so much that you might be surprised.
When the story begins, a nasty cat has captured a poor mouse and is using it like an organ grinder's monkey. Again and again, the mouse gobbles up change and then the cat squeezes him until the change pops out and into the cat's paw. It's odd...and has nothing to do with the story....at least for now.
After a surprisingly long time, the scene switches to a barnyard and a nervous rooster waiting for its chicks to hatch. Oddly, one of the hatchlings turns out to be a little goose--which makes you wonder WHAT the hen was doing with a goose! Anyway, the rooster doesn't want this 'chick' and soon the poor thing is all alone. What's next and how does this gosling prove its worth? See the film...and see how that nasty cat plays a part in all this.
The drawings are very simple but typical of nearly all the cartoons of the 1920s. And, like so many, the cat and mouse look so much like other characters drawn by other cartoonists. But the story itself is imaginative and actually holds up pretty well after nearly 100 years...and is worth seeing.
When the story begins, a nasty cat has captured a poor mouse and is using it like an organ grinder's monkey. Again and again, the mouse gobbles up change and then the cat squeezes him until the change pops out and into the cat's paw. It's odd...and has nothing to do with the story....at least for now.
After a surprisingly long time, the scene switches to a barnyard and a nervous rooster waiting for its chicks to hatch. Oddly, one of the hatchlings turns out to be a little goose--which makes you wonder WHAT the hen was doing with a goose! Anyway, the rooster doesn't want this 'chick' and soon the poor thing is all alone. What's next and how does this gosling prove its worth? See the film...and see how that nasty cat plays a part in all this.
The drawings are very simple but typical of nearly all the cartoons of the 1920s. And, like so many, the cat and mouse look so much like other characters drawn by other cartoonists. But the story itself is imaginative and actually holds up pretty well after nearly 100 years...and is worth seeing.
