"A Silly Symphony"

Release Date August 22, 1936

Running Time 7:27

Synopsis

A return bout between Max Hare and Toby Tortoise, this time mis-matched in the boxing ring.

Characters

Toby Tortoise

Max Hare

As in "Mickey's Polo Team", this short contains quite a few cameos from various earlier Silly Symphonies mostly in the audience scenes, including:

Practical Pig (from "The Three Little Pigs")

Jenny Wren (from "Who killed Cock Robin")

Dirty Bill (from "The Robber Kitten")

Donald Duck (from "The Wise Little Hen")

The Big Bad Wolf (from "The Three Little Pigs")

Fiddler Pig (from "The Three Little Pigs")

Fifer Pig (from "The Three Little Pigs")

The Bunny Sisters (from "The Tortoise and the Hare")

Cuckoo (from "Who Killed Cock Robin?")

Elmer Elephant (from "Elmer Elephant")

Ambulance Drivers (from "Pluto's Judgement Day")

Credits

Director : Wilfred Jackson

Animation

Ward Kimball

Sources

Based on the fable by Aesop, "The Hare and the Tortoise."

Cut Scenes

A scene where Toby imagines himself in a harem smoking a water pipe after being slugged has been cut out.

Videos

United States

Cartoon Classics : Second Series : Volume 4 : Silly Symphonies

France

Silly Symphonies Volume 1

Germany

Verrückte Musikanten

Italy

Silly Symphonies Volume 2

Laserdiscs

United States

Silly Symphonies / Animals Two by Two

Japan

The Tortoise and the Hare

More Silly Symphonies

DVD

Disney Treasures : Silly Symphonies

Region 1 : United States

Region 2 : France

Region 2 : Germany

Region 2 : Italy

Region 2 : Sweden

Region 2 : United Kingdom

Region 1 : United States

Walt Disney Animation Collection : Classic Short Films : Volume 4 : The Tortoise and the Hare

Region 2 : United Kingdom

Walt Disney's Fables : Volume 4

Television

The Ink and Paint Club : #49 : More Storybook Silly Symphonies

Mickey's Mouse Tracks : Episode 16

Technical Specifications

Color Type : Technicolor

Animation type : Standard

Sound mix : Mono

Aspect ration : 1.37 : 1

Negative format : 35mm

Print format : 35mm

Cinematographic process : Spherical

Original language : English

Released by United Artists Pictures

Comments

A Silly Symphony.

From Rod Bennett : This sequel is interesting in it's own right, if only for the many amusing "cameo appearences" running throughout. Among them: the Mae West-like Jenny Wren (from "Who Killed Cock Robin?"), the Three Little Pigs manning the corners, the wisecracking ambulance driver from "Pluto's Judgement Day", and three of the "Funny Little Bunnies" as Max Hare's "groupies." There's also a slow-talkin' referee who seems oddly prescient of Tex Avery's immortal Droopy Dog over at MGM!

From Patrick Malone : I don't think the three bunnies were meant to be from "Funny Little Bunnies." They were characters continued over from the original short, "The Tortoise and the Hare."

From Jerry Edwards : I dislike boxing and films and shorts about boxing. However, I do enjoy the scene of the fireworks trick backfiring on Max Hare.

From Ryan : I remember when I watched this short as a kid, my sister and I used to laugh at the ostrich who kept spitting to get Max Hare's attention. I have not seen this short for quite some time. One part I liked was when Max Hare dumped fireworks into Toby Tortise's shell. Needless to say, Toby Tortise won the match after the doctor rabbits accidentally drove Max to the hospital.

From Andrew : The thing that has always struck me as odd about this cartoon is that the style of humor is very different. Rather than the traditional Disney style of humor, they seem to give the short a Warner Bros. stylistic appraoch for their jokes.

From Baruch Weiss : This short is okay, but not one of my favorites. I dislike boxing as well, but I enjoyed the part where Jenny Wren says "Aw how ya doin tubby wubby, I like a man that takes his time."

From Gijs Grob : One of the few sequels in Disney's pre-video era, 'Toby Tortoise Returns' features the two stars of 'The Tortoise and the Hare' of 1935. This time Max Hare (who's still a bragging bully) and Toby Tortoise combat each other in a boxing match, which - of course - Toby eventually wins, albeit by means of Max's own trickery. Apart from Toby Tortoise and Max Hare there are many cameos of other Silly Symphony stars, among them the three little pigs, Dirty Bill (from 'The Robber Kitten'), Jenny Wren and the Cuckoo from 'Who Killed Cock Robin?' and, Elmer Elephant and Tilly Tiger (from 'Elmer Elephant'), as if all Silly Symphonies were taking place in the same space and time. This makes 'Toby Tortoise Returns' akin to the earlier 'Mickey's Polo Team' from the same year. The whole atmosphere is rather like that of a future Warner Brothers-cartoon, and one can sense the sheer joy the makers had in bringing all these characters together in a cartoon which sole reason of existence seems to be pure fun. Notice the black bunny and the black turtle that are Max's and Toby's helpers, respectively.

Referenced Comments

The Tortoise and the Hare (1935)

Who Killed Cock Robin? (1935)

Gallery

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