"A Silly Symphony"

Release Date March 20, 1930

Running Time 6:15

Synopsis

A group of cannibals gather together for a tribal dance. That is, until their dance is interrupted by a ferocious lion!

Credits

Director : Bert Gillett

Cut Scenes

The ending, which shows the little cannibal chasing the toothless lion back to the village where he finishes the cartoon in the pot, were deleted when re-release prints were prepared in the 1940s. This edit has been restored in the recent (2006) "More Silly Symphonies" DVD release.

DVD

United States

Disney Treasures : More Silly Symphonies

Technical Specifications

Color Type : Black and White

Animation type : Standard

Sound mix : Cinephone; mono

Aspect ration : 1.33 : 1

Negative format : 35mm

Print format : 35mm

Cinematographic process : Spherical

Original language : English

Released by Columbia Pictures

Gallery

Click on the thumbnail for the full-sized picture

Comments

A Silly Symphony

This short was released in a edited form to the home movie market under the title "Zulu Jazz."

From Jerry Edwards : An enjoyable early Silly Symphony. The opening scene appears to be some palm trees swaying in the wind, only they turn out to be the legs and grass skirts of dancing cannibals. The jungle tribe's riotous musical celebration is interrupted by a fierce lion. The lion chases one of the natives and bites him on the bottom. The lion's teeth come out, still attached to the native's bottom. The native takes the teeth, puts them in his mouth, and chases the lion, biting him as the cartoon ends. The lion is very nicely animated for 1930. The cartoon has several fun gags, such as one native being mistaken as a turtle and thrown into the stew pot. A Mickey Mouse Club version is incomplete, ending with the lion chasing the native and leaving out the very end.

From David Gerstein : While I haven't seen the Mickey Mouse Club version of "Cannibal Capers" (as Jerry has), I did tape it from Italian TV, and it seems more may be missing from the MMC version... In the original, when it's time to pick a candidate for dinner, the cannibal under the shield isn't mistaken for a turtle the chef knows very well what he's getting, and chooses between the cannibal and the turtle by doing an "Eeny-Meeny-Miney-Mo" toss-up. Then there's a classic bit where the lion stirs the stew and tries to eat the cannibal who'd been in the pot, but the little guy's too smart for him and finds ways of hanging around behind in the spoon. Great animation of the lion smugly strutting over to the pot and stirring it beforehand, too (the animators don't make the lion very consistent, but he's really good in that one scene.)

From Ryan : This is another very rare Disney cartoon because of its depiction of African natives, which in my opinion is a bit of an overreaction since the cannibals don't even look that offensive at all. It's just a silly cartoon with funny gags. I enjoy the way that the lion is drawn and the background art. However, the cannibals are a little out of proportion with the lion as one of them appears so much smaller (small enough to fit in a spoon). This is one of my favorite Silly Symphony cartoons that I enjoy watching from time to time.