Underplayed Gems

Symphony Hour (1942)

Symphony Hour poster
Directed by
Riley Thomson
Genre
comedy film, musical film, animated film, family film
Country
United States
Runtime
6 min
Rated
NR
Rating
6.8 of 10 from 50 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

Mickey Mouse conducts a symphony orchestra that is sponsored by Pete. Things go wrong in a comedic way during the performance.

playfulwhimsicalchaoticlivelyfast-pacedhumorouszanyenergetic

What happens

Symphony Hour is a 1942 American animated short film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The cartoon depicts Mickey Mouse conducting a symphony orchestra sponsored by Pete. The film was directed by Riley Thomson and features music adapted from the "Light Cavalry Overture" by Franz von Suppé. The voice cast includes Walt Disney as Mickey, Billy Bletcher as Pete (as Sylvester Macaroni), and John McLeish as a radio announcer. It was the 117th short in the Mickey Mouse film series to be released, and the second for that year. The film marked the last theatrical appearance of Horace Horsecollar, Clarabelle Cow, and Clara Cluck for over 40 years, finally reappearing in Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983). Symphony Hour is also the last time that Mickey appeared with either Donald Duck or Goofy in a theatrical film for the same length of time. Symphony Hour bears similarities with the 1935 film The Band Concert. Leonard Maltin called this short a "Spike Jones version of The Band Concert". The soundtrack for the "ruined" version of the Light Cavalry Overture was used in the October 22, 1956 episode of The Mickey Mouse Club. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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This page is from Underplayed Gems. Not quite it? You can browse by genre, country and year, or take this one into the 3D catalogue and ask the Catbot for something closer.