Silly Symphony(initially titledSilly Symphonies) is a weeklyDisney comic stripthat debuted on January 10, 1932, as atopperfor theMickey Mousestrip's Sunday page.[1]The strip featured adaptations ofWalt Disney'spopular short film series,Silly Symphony,which released 75 cartoons from 1929 to 1939, as well as other cartoons and animated films.[2]The comic strip outlived its parent series by six years, ending on October 7, 1945.[1]
| Silly Symphony | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Earl Duvall,Ted Osborne,Merrill De Maris,Hubie Karp, Bill Walsh |
| Illustrator(s) | Earl Duvall,Al Taliaferro,Hank Porter, Bob Grant, Karl Karpé,Paul Murry,Dick Moores |
| Current status/schedule | Concluded Sunday topper strip |
| Launch date | January 10, 1932 |
| End date | October 7, 1945 |
| Syndicate(s) | King Features Syndicate |
| Genre(s) | Humor Funny animals |
Silly Symphonyinitially related the adventures ofBucky Bug,the first Disney character to originate in the comics.[3]It went on to print loose adaptations ofSilly Symphonyshorts, often using the characters and setting of the original shorts, but adding new plotlines and incidents. Later, it went on to print adaptations of some of Disney's feature films, as well as periods of gag strips featuringDonald DuckandPluto.By late 1935, the strip had become a standalone half-page, and was no longer strictly a topper for theMickey MouseSunday strip.
The strip was initially titledSilly Symphonies;after two years, the name was changed toSilly Symphony.The switch happened in the February 18, 1934 strip, just three weeks before Bucky Bug would be replaced with a new storyline, "Birds of a Feather".[4]
The complete strip has been reprinted in four hardcover collections,Silly Symphonies: The Complete Disney Classics,published from 2016 to 2019 byIDW Publishing'sLibrary of American Comicsimprint.
Development
editThe original creative team for the strip was animatorEarl Duvalland artistAl Taliaferro,with Duvall responsible for writing and penciling, and Taliaferro inking. Duvall, who wrote theSilly SymphonyshortBugs in Love,created Bucky Bug as the hero of the new Sunday strip.[5]In the first sequence, which lasts for three months, a young bug is born and sets forth into the world to make a name for himself. Stumped for a name, he asks the readers for help, and the strip encouraged readers to write to their newspapers with name suggestions. In the strip, a big pile of letters is delivered to the bug, and he spends two weeks combing through the letters to reveal the winning name: Bucky Bug.[4]Bucky travels through the forest to make his fortune, meeting up with a "friendly tramp" named Bo, and traveling to the insect city of Junkville. Bucky falls in love with the beautiful June Bugg, and her father—the mayor of Junkville—makes Bucky a general of his army. The bug couple is happy, but just a few strips later, the alarm sounds to alert the community that war has been declared by the flies.[4]
Duvall began an epic battle against the flies which raged for 28 weeks, but just before the story ended in April 1933, Duvall suddenly left the Disney studio. AnimatorJack Kinneywrote that Duvall owed Walt Disney several weeks worth of storyboards, and Duvall simply gathered his belongings one day and left the company, "leaving Walt holding the bag".[6]Alberto Becattini suggests that Duvall's hasty exit was due to owing money to his colleagues that he couldn't pay.[7]Whatever the reason for Duvall's departure was, Taliaferro became the artist for the strip, and he remained in that position for six years, withTed Osborneas the strip's writer. Osborne and Taliaferro continued the story of Bucky for another 11 months, finally ending the saga on March 4, 1934.[5]
In 1934, Taliaferro drew theSilly Symphonystory arc based on the cartoonThe Wise Little Hen,which featured the first appearance of Donald Duck as a secondary character. That story, which lasted on the Sunday pages from September to December 1934, gave Taliaferro a particular liking for the Duck's character.[4]He pitched the idea of a Donald strip toWalt Disney,and Disney allowed him a trial run in theSilly Symphonycomic. Finishing up a "The Three Little Pigs"adaptation, Taliaferro and writerTed Osbornebegan an extended run of Donald Duck gag strips from August 30, 1936, to December 5, 1937.[8]Taliaferro then pitched the idea of a solo Donald comic strip to King Features Syndicate, working with writersMerrill De MarisandHomer Brightman.[9]On February 2, 1938, theDonald Duckcomic strip started appearing in daily newspapers. A Sunday version was added on December 10, 1939.[1]
For the strip's first four years—from "Bucky Bug" through "The Further Adventures of the Three Little Pigs" —all of the dialogue was written in rhyming couplets. This changed with the 15-month period from August 1936 to December 1937 when Donald Duck was featured in the strip, often performing pantomime gags with little or no dialogue at all. When Donald relinquished the strip in favor of an adaptation of the newSnow White and the Seven Dwarfsfilm, the dialogue was written in storybook style, without rhyming couplets, and the rhymes never returned.[10]
TheSnow White and the Seven Dwarfssequence was the first of many newspaper comic strip adaptations of newly released Disney animated features. The film's general release in February 1938 came in the middle of the newspaper continuity, which was published from December 1937 to April 1938. The strip used a number of story ideas that were ultimately abandoned in the film, including a more elaborate and comical meeting between the Prince andSnow White(in which Snow White creates a "dummy" of her dream prince, which the real Prince sneaks into), and an entire storyline in which theEvil Queenkidnaps the Prince to prevent him from saving Snow White.[11]
After theSnow Whiteadaptation in 1938, the strip featured a mix of the three established motifs—further adaptations ofSilly Symphonyshorts (Farmyard Symphony,The Ugly Duckling) and animated features (PinocchioandBambi) and several runs of gag strips featuring a popular character,Pluto.
Pluto was given star billing in a five-week run of strips titledPluto the Pup,which ran from February 19 to March 19, 1939. The dog's owner, Mickey Mouse, was already featured in the other cartoon on theMickey Mousestrip's Sunday page, and by this time, Donald Duck was also busy in his own strip, so in Pluto's firstSilly Symphonyrun, he lives with Mickey's friend,Goofy(in the first strip, Goofy complains to Pluto, "Why'd I tell Mickey I'd take care of yuh?" ). Later, Pluto is also seen being cared for byMinnie Mouse,Clarabelle CowandHorace Horsecollar.[12]
Pluto's run was interrupted by a month-long adaptation ofThe Ugly Duckling,and then he returned for a much longer period, from April 23 to December 17, 1939. This was followed by a two-month adaptation ofPinocchio,and then Pluto returned for his third and finalSilly Symphonystint, from April 14 to November 3, 1940.[12]
Starting in 1942, the strip featuredJosé Carioca,who had recently been introduced in the filmSaludos Amigos.According to comics historian Maurice Horn: "The first Sunday page opened with a panoramic tour of Rio de Janeiro before closing up on the shack that was 'the home of a young-man-about-town, a gay carefree Brazilianpapagaionamed José Carioca'. This marked the first U.S. appearance of the nattily-dressed, pleasure-seeking parrot... The gags were quite unsophisticated and revolved around three main themes: the antihero's scheming to get a free meal, his pursuit of the opposite sex, and his imaginative avoidance of work ".[13]The strip also included José's friends João and Nestor, and featured continuing stories. Alberto Becattini notes: "In spite of always being broke, the parrot liked to attend posh restaurants and hotels, where he often met with such curvy bird-facedchicasas the wealthy María Rocha Vaz, the blonde dancer Rae, and Gloria del Orto, in a series of adventures that even led him to the Amazon forest ".[14]
In April 1944, José was joined by the MexicanroosterPanchito,who would be introduced as José's companion in the 1945 filmThe Three Caballeros.José and Panchito competed to win the heart of the horse-riding Mimi, and a few months later, in October, Panchito took over the strip.[14]
With Panchito as the main character, the action of the strip moved to Mexico, and became a gag-a-week strip featuring the rooster and his horse, Señor Martinez.[14]Horn describes this cycle as well: "José made way for another Latin-American knockabout, the fiery rooster Panchito... As energetic as José was lazy, the sombrero-hatted, gun-toting Mexican fowl was always shown riding horses, fighting bulls, and lassoing cattle, when he was not busy wooing his chick, the fickle Chiquita".[13]The final strip ran on October 7, 1945.[1]
Ending
editOn October 14, 1945, the strip was replaced byUncle Remus and His Tales of Br'er Rabbit,a strip inspired by the upcoming 1946 filmSong of the South.TheUncle Remusstrip began, like the others, as a topper for theMickey Mousestrip, but after the first few years, almost always appeared on its own.[15]The previous comic strip adaptations of Disney films lasted for four or five months, but theUncle Remusstrip continued for almost thirty years, telling new stories of Br'er Rabbit and friends, until the strip was discontinued on December 31, 1972.[16]
Two moreSilly Symphony-style feature film adaptations appeared in the early 50s, running 16 weeks each:Cinderella(1950) andAlice in Wonderland(1951).[14]
A similar Sunday strip,Walt Disney's Treasury of Classic Tales,launched on July 13, 1952, withThe Story of Robin Hood,a five-month adaptation of Disney's 1952 live-action film. The strip, which was principally a vehicle for promoting new and re-released Disney films,[17]adapted both live-action films and cartoons. The strip ran for 35 years, until February 15, 1987.[18]
Storylines
editThe headings in the table below refer to theIDW Publishingreprint collections,Silly Symphonies: The Complete Disney Classics.Writing and art credits are from the reprint collections.
| Title | Year | Dates | Based on | Writing | Art |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volume 1: Introducing Bucky Bug (1932-1935) | |||||
| Bucky Bug | 1932-1934 | Jan 10, 1932 - Mar 4, 1934 | Bugs in Love(1932) | Earl Duvall,Ted Osborne &Merrill De Maris |
Earl Duvall &Al Taliaferro |
| Birds of a Feather | 1934 | Mar 11 - June 17 | Birds in the Spring(1933) | Ted Osborne | Al Taliaferro |
| Penguin Isle | July 1 - Sept 9 | Peculiar Penguins(1934) | |||
| The Wise Little Hen | Sept 16 - Dec 16 | The Wise Little Hen(1934) | |||
| The Boarding-School Mystery | 1934-1935 | Dec 23 - Feb 17 | The Tortoise and the Hare(1935) | ||
| The Robber Kitten | 1935 | Feb 24 - Apr 21 | The Robber Kitten(1935) | ||
| Cookieland | Apr 28 - July 21 | The Cookie Carnival(1935) | |||
| Volume 2: Featuring the Three Little Pigs (1935-1939) | |||||
| Three Little Kittens | 1935 | July 28 - Oct 20 | Three Orphan Kittens(1935) | Ted Osborne | Al Taliaferro |
| The Life and Adventures of Elmer the Elephant | 1935-1936 | Oct 27 - Jan 12 | Elmer Elephant(1936) | ||
| The Further Adventures of the Three Little Pigs | 1936 | Jan 19 - Aug 23 | Three Little Wolves(1936) | ||
| Donald Duck | 1936-1937 | Aug 30, 1936 - Dec 5, 1937 | Gag strips featuringDonald Duck | ||
| Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | 1937-1938 | Dec 12 - Apr 24 | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs(1937) | Merrill De Maris | Hank Porter (pencil) & Bob Grant (ink) |
| The Practical Pig | 1938 | May 1 - Aug 7 | The Practical Pig(1939) | Al Taliaferro | |
| Mother Pluto | Aug 14 - Oct 16 | Mother Pluto(1936) | |||
| The Farmyard Symphony | Oct 23 - Nov 27 | Farmyard Symphony(1938) | |||
| Timid Elmer | 1938-1939 | Dec 4 - Feb 12 | Elmer Elephant(1936) | ||
| Volume 3: Featuring Pluto, Goofy, Pinocchio... and More! (1939-1942) | |||||
| Pluto the Pup | 1939 | Feb 19 - March 19 | Gag strips featuringPluto | Merrill De Maris | Al Taliaferro |
| The Ugly Duckling | March 26 - April 16 | The Ugly Duckling(1939) | |||
| Pluto the Pup | Apr 23 - Dec 17 | Gag strips featuringPluto | Hubie Karp | Bob Grant (pencil) & Al Taliaferro (ink) | |
| Pinocchio | 1939-1940 | Dec 24 - April 7 | Pinocchio(1940) | Merrill De Maris | Hank Porter (pencil) & Bob Grant (ink) |
| Pluto the Pup | 1940 | April 14 - Nov 3 | Gag strips featuringPluto | Hubie Karp | Bob Grant |
| Little Hiawatha | 1940-1942 | Nov 10 - July 12 | Little Hiawatha(1937) | ||
| Volume 4: Featuring José Carioca and Panchito (1942-1945) | |||||
| Bambi | 1942 | July 19 - Oct 4 | Bambi(1942) | Merrill De Maris | Bob Grant (pencil) & Karl Karpé (ink) |
| José Carioca | 1942-1944 | Oct 11- Oct 1 | Gag strips featuringJosé Carioca | Hubie Karp | first Bob Grant (pencil) & Dick Moores (ink); later Paul Murry (pencil) & Karl Karpé (ink) |
| Panchito | 1944-1945 | Oct 8- Oct 7 | Gag strips featuringPanchito | Bill Walsh | Paul Murry (pencil) & Dick Moores (ink) |
Comic books
editStrips fromSilly Symphonywere reprinted in Disney's flagship anthology comic bookWalt Disney's Comics and Stories,beginning with somePluto the Pupstrips in issue #12 (September 1941),[19]followed byThe Boarding-School Mysteryin issue #14 (November 1941),[20]The Further Adventures of the Three Little Pigsin issue #15 (December 1941),[21]and an abridged version ofBucky Bug Gets His Namein issue #20 (May 1942).[22]
Three of theSilly Symphonystories inspired long-running features inWalt Disney's Comics and Stories.
Bucky Bug
editIn 1942–43,Walt Disney's Comics and Storiesreprinted all of Duvall and Taliaferro'sBucky Bugstrips in issues #20-28. Following this, the editors decided to produce new Bucky Bug stories, retaining the strip's use of verse in the story's dialogue and captions.[5]The first new Bucky story, "A Cure for Gout", appeared in issue #39 (December 1943), drawn by Taliaferro and Dick Moores.[23]
The second original story, "The Playground Plot", appeared in the following issue, #40 (January 1944).[24]This story was written and drawn by Carl Beuttner, who continued as the series' main creator until 1946, with his last story in issue #72 (Sept 1946). Beuttner added new characters, such as the Ant King and the Sheriff of Junkville.[5]
The Bucky stories published from issue #73 to #77 were written alternately by Vivie Risto and George Waiss, and then Ralph Heimdahl took over the series, starting with issue #78 (March 1947).[25]Heimdahl created all the Bucky stories until issue #99 (December 1948). Heimdahl introduced June's younger brother Junior Bugg in #79 (April 1947), and Junior continued to appear until #100 (January 1949).[5]
After Heimdahl's run, the remainingWDC&SBucky stories were written by several creators, includingTony Strobl,Gil Turner,Jim Pabianand Tony Pabian. Bucky's lastComics and Storiesstory appeared in issue #120 (September 1950).[5]
Following this, Bucky's final solo comic story was published in theSilly Symphoniescomic #6 (August 1956), drawn by Al Hubbard and featuring Bucky and Bo the tramp trying to capture a green lake monster.[26]
Bucky Bug stories never lost their popularity in the Netherlands, where original Bucky comics have been made continuously from the 1970s to the present day.[27]
Bucky Bug stories came back into fashion in the USA in the late 1980s, whenGladstone Publishingoccasionally reprinted 1940s Bucky tales inWalt Disney's Comics and Stories.These were followed by additional stories inDisney Comics,Gemstone,andIDWissues ofWDCSover the years, as well as in various larger anthologies of historic Disney comics (e.g. Gemstone'sWalt Disney Treasurespaperback collection, 2006;IDW'sWalt Disney's Comics and Stories 75th Anniversary Special,2015). While some of these stories were vintage American reprints, others were new-to-the-USA Dutch stories.
In a singular instance,WDCS677 (2007) featured an entirely new American Bucky story, "Bucky's Birthday Party," made for the character's 75th anniversary. To date, it is the only entirely new North American Bucky story to have been produced in many years.
Li'l Bad Wolf
edit"The Three Little Pigs" feature inspired the creation ofLi'l Bad Wolf,theBig Bad Wolf'serrant son, who wants to be friends with the Pigs. Li'l Bad Wolf's adventures began inWalt Disney's Comics and Storiesissue #52 (Jan 1945), and he made continuous appearances until almost the end of the comic's original run, issue #259 (April 1962).
In later decades, while never again a continuous feature, Wolf stories continued to appear in the magazine at least several times per year, often in all-new or new-to-the-USA material. In the 2000s, the Big Bad Wolf often became the title character in the stories, though Li'l Wolf continued to play a major role.
Little Hiawatha
editLittle Hiawatha had his own monthly story inWalt Disney's Comics and Storiesfor two years, from issue #143 (Aug 1952) to #168 (September 1954).
Silly Symphonies comic book
editDell Comicsalso published aSilly Symphoniesanthology comic book, with nine issues released at irregular intervals between September 1952 and February 1959. The series printed adaptations of a few of theSilly Symphonyshorts that weren't adapted in the Sunday comic strip -The Grasshopper and the Ants,The Golden TouchandThe Country Cousin- as well as stories featuringSilly Symphonycharacters, including Bucky Bug, Little Hiawatha, Elmer Elephant, Toby Tortoise and Spotty the Pig. There were also adaptations of non-SymphonyDisney shorts likeLambert the Sheepish Lion,Morris the Midget Moose,andChicken Little,and a large number of stories featuring characters from other projects, includingJiminy Cricket,Dumbo,Thumper,the Seven Dwarfs,Humphrey the Bear,and Bongo the Wonder Bear fromFun and Fancy Free.[5]
Reprints
editThe complete strip has been reprinted in four hardcover collections,Silly Symphonies: The Complete Disney Classics,published byIDW Publishing'sLibrary of American Comicsimprint.
The first volume, published in 2016, includes all of the strips from "Bucky Bug" (1932) to "Cookieland" (1935). Volume 2, also published in 2016, includes "Three Little Kittens" (1935) to "Timid Elmer" (1939). Volume 3, published in 2018, includes "Pluto the Pup" (1939) to "Little Hiawatha" (1942). The fourth volume, published in 2019, concludes the series with "Bambi" (1942) through "Panchito" (1945).
The copyright then passed toFantagraphics,who started republishing the strips with a different layout in a new collection entitledWalt Disney's Silly Symphonies,beginning in April 2023.
References
edit- ^abcdHoltz, Allan (2012).American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide.Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. p. 351.ISBN9780472117567.
- ^Merritt, Russell; Kaufman, J. B. (2016).Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series(2nd ed.). Glendale, CA:Disney Editions.ISBN978-1-4847-5132-9.
- ^Bucky Bug
- ^abcdDuvall, Earl; Taliaferro, Al; Osborne, Ted; De Maris, Merrill (2016).Silly Symphonies: The Complete Disney Classics, vol 1.San Diego: IDW Publishing.ISBN978-1631405587.
- ^abcdefgBecattini, Alberto (2019). "Disney Beyond Mickey".American Funny Animal Comics in the 20th Century: Volume One.Seattle, WA: Theme Park Press.ISBN978-1683901860.
- ^Kinney, Jack (1989).Walt Disney & Assorted Other Characters: An Unauthorized Account of the Early Years at Disney's.Harmony Books. p. 75.ISBN978-0517570579.
- ^Becattini, Alberto (2016).Disney Comics: The Whole Story.Theme Park Press. p. 17.ISBN978-1683900177.
- ^Taliaferro, Al; Osborne, Ted; De Maris, Merrill (2016).Silly Symphonies: The Complete Disney Classics, vol 2.San Diego: IDW Publishing.ISBN978-1631408045.
- ^Knudde, Kjell (1994)."Al Taliaferro".Lambiek Comiclopedia.RetrievedDecember 9,2018.
- ^Kaufman, J.B. (2016). "Introduction".Silly Symphonies: The Complete Disney Classics, vol 2.San Diego: IDW Publishing. pp. 7–8.ISBN978-1631408045.
- ^"Michael Sporn Animation – Splog » Snow White – the original strip".michaelspornanimation.com.Retrieved2014-08-06.
- ^abKarp, Hubie; Grant, Bob; De Maris, Merrill; Taliaferro, Al; Porter, Hank (2018).Silly Symphonies: The Complete Disney Classics, vol 3.San Diego: IDW Publishing.ISBN978-1631409882.
- ^abHorn, Maurice (1996).100 Years of American Newspaper Comics: An Illustrated Encyclopedia.New York: Random House.ISBN0-517-12447-5.
- ^abcdBecattini, Alberto (2016).Disney Comics: The Whole Story.Theme Park Press. p. 19.ISBN978-1683900177.
- ^Holtz, Allan (2012).American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide.Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. p. 400.ISBN9780472117567.
- ^Markstein, Don."Br'er Rabbit".Don Markstein's Toonopedia.Archivedfrom the original on May 27, 2024.RetrievedJanuary 18,2007.
- ^"The Black Hole: How Deep Is it?" by David E. Jefferson.The Collected Jack Kirby Collectorv.2. p.96 Raleigh, NC: TwoMorrows Publishing, 2004. "... Disney used their Treasury of Classics Sunday comics strip as a vehicle to promote new films..."
- ^Holtz, Allan (2012).American Newspaper Comics: An Encyclopedic Reference Guide.Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. pp. 393–394.ISBN9780472117567.
- ^"Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #12".Inducks.Retrieved22 July2019.
- ^"Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #14".Inducks.Retrieved22 July2019.
- ^"Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #15".Inducks.Retrieved22 July2019.
- ^"Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #20".Inducks.Retrieved22 July2019.
- ^"Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #39".Inducks.Retrieved26 July2019.
- ^"Bucky Bug: The Playground Plot".Inducks.Retrieved26 July2019.
- ^"Walt Disney's Comics and Stories #78".Inducks.Retrieved26 July2019.
- ^"Silly Symphonies #6".Inducks.Retrieved26 July2019.
- ^"Bucky Bug content created in the Netherlands".Inducks.Retrieved8 June2024.
External links
edit- Silly Symphoniesat theINDUCKS
