"A Silly Symphony"

Synopsis

The title character vies with a Mexican officer for the affections of a comely barmaid, all set to Latin themes from classical music.

Credits

Director : Walt Disney

Music : Carl Stalling

Television

The Ink and Paint Club : #18 : A Bunch of Silly Symphonies

The Ink and Paint Club : #24 : Symphonic Silly Symphonies

DVD

United States

Disney Treasures : More Silly Symphonies

Technical Specifications

Color Type : Black and White

Animation type : Standard

Sound mix : Mono ; Cinephone

Aspect ration : 1.37 : 1

Negative format : 35mm

Print format : 35mm

Cinematographic process : Spherical

Original language : English

Released by Columbia Pictures, Inc.

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The beginning of this short where the setting is a Cantina is very similar to the Mickey Mouse short, "Gallopin Gaucho."

This cartoon is very aptly named in my opinion ... it is TERRIBLE! The human figures are poorly animated, even for this early era. The bull fight contains one of Disney's worst gross-outs - the matador literally pulling the bull inside-out at the end of the cartoon! Barf bags should have been issued at the theater for this one! I have always suspected that this was mainly animated by assistant animators, part of the reason for the poor animation.

This short was very similar to the Mickey short "Gallopin Gaucho." I enjoyed the music such as the "Toreador Song" from the opera "Carmen." One part that a person would not expect to see in a cartoon of this era was where the toreador literally pulled a bull inside out, revealing its inner body organs.

If I had to say what is the "WORST" Disney cartoon ever made then my vote would go for "El Terrible Toreador"just for the simple fact that this cartoon is TERRIBLE.The animation is very sloppy for a Disney cartoon for that time,1929 to be exact and the sound is just out crude and awful and to think this was the second "Silly Symphonies" cartoon right after "The Skeleton Dance." "ooh boy".The ending where the bullfighter turns the bull inside out was of the earliest gross out gags at the time but couldn't save this cartoon.Thank Goodness the Disney Studio never made anymore crap like "El Terrible Toreador" after that.

If Carmen ever looked like the waitress in this cartoon, Opera would be deader than it is right now. I agree with the other posters in saying this cartoon is among Disney's worst. I am almost apt to say that "Four Methods of Flush Riveting" is better animated.

As in most cartoons from the early Silly Symphonies, sight gags abound. I wonder if anyone laughed at the end of this cartoon. I gasped.

When film critic Leonard Maltin mentioned in the introduction of the More Silly Symphonies DVD set from Walt Disney Treasures that not all of those Disney shorts in that series were great or successes, or something to the effect, I can see this being one of them and why. It's not one of my favorites, I have other Silly Symphonies I prefer and I'd put ahead of or before this one, like The China Plate. But anyway, I found it to be so-so and was just fine with it regardless, until the part near the end, where the Toreador pulls out the bull's innards. That's possibly what's wrong with this particular Disney featurette the most in the sub-series: It was too freaky, repugnant and cringe-worthy, even a turn-off. That was a jacked-up moment right there. I second that with the other reviewer on here about Disney thankfully being wise enough not to try doing any more mess like that in the cartoons. Definitely one of (if not the only) Disney cartoons/Silly Symphonies that's at the bottom of the pile or barrel. And this is one (if not among others) Silly Symphony I'd watch less frequently and advise other viewers to do the same. Because once anyone else who hasn't seen it yet does, he'll/she'll be made to wonder just what possessed the writer(s)/ animators to think that up, why that particular scene was green-lit, and why anybody would think that'd be funny. It's not even the slightest amusing, at least I'm amongst those who don't find it to be. That was a rare too-out-there/left-field moment for the animation studio/company and what the audience expects of them typically. Out of ten stars, I give it half that amount or 4.