New Disney DVDs - Silly Symphonies - The Historic Musical Animated Classics     Silly Symphonies - The Historic Musical Animated Classics Description:  This groundbreaking series of 31 uncensored cartoons, released betweem 1929 and 1939 includes six Academy Award winners, and provides an astonishing look inside the evolution of animation. each boasting a unique cast of characters, these musical shorts served as Walt Disney's proving ground for emerging technology, new musical styles and experimental forms. In 1928, when Walt Disney's artists completed "The Skeleton Dance," the distributor of the Mickey Mouse shorts rejected the first "Silly Symphony" with a two-word telegram: "MORE MICE." Disney arranged to screen "Skeleton Dance" at the Carthay Circle Theater in Los Angeles, where it received an enthusiastic response, and the series took off. Seven "Silly Symphonies" won Academy Awards, beginning with "Flowers and Trees." Disney used these musically themed shorts to train young artists and test new styles, effects, and technologies: every film represented an innovation of some sort. In "Three Little Pigs," characters who looked alike demonstrated different personalities through the way they moved. "The Old Mill" showcased the newly invented Multiplane camera. The Sugar Cookie Girl in "Cookie Carnival" was one of several female characters the artists created while learning to animate a believable heroine for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The well-chosen selections in this set demonstrate how quickly Disney advanced the art of animation during the '30s. Only eight years separate the crude black-and-white version of "The Ugly Duckling" (1931) from the moving Technicolor Oscar-winner of 1939. Over 60 years later, these films have lost none of their charm. The jazz-dancing insects in "Woodland Café," the wonderfully animated caricature of Mae West in "Who Killed Cock Robin," and the instrument-characters in "Music Land" remain as delightful as ever. Leonard Maltin makes a genial host, and two hidden cartoons include Walt's introductions from the old Disneyland program. Condition:  Brand New and Factory Sealed (never before viewed, still in its original wrapper) Edition:  Limited Edition "Walt Disney's Treasures" 2 Disc DVD set in a Tin case (#141659 of 150000) Special Features:  Limited Edition Collectible Lithograph introductions by film historian Leonard Maltin gallery of original concept art, posters an interview featurette with the animators vintage television clips of Walt Disney himself collectible art "The Song of the Silly Symphonies" Leonard Maltin and Composer Richard Sherman, "Silly Symphonies Souvenirs" Leonard Maltin and Dave Smith of the Disney Archives Easter Eggs Format:  NTSC-DVD Running Time:  5 hours and 5 minutes Photo: View this auction on eBay Back to New Disney DVDs