After Harman and Ising lost their contract with MGM, their former colleague/competitor Walt Disney gave them some work to do. He subcontacted a few cartoons that had been in production for a few years, but had not yielded a satisfactory storyline. Merbabies was one of these.
Disney had produced many adaptations of fairy tales for the Silly Symphonies and was underway on translating these for features. One of the stories was Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Disney had been developing the story as a Silly Symphony for most of the 1930s.
Although Harman was not the adept storyteller that Walt was, this short could very well have passed as a Disney cartoon had RKO not intervened with their agreement. The characters do not recite the dialogue from the story word for word. Instead it carries out in a natural flow. The characters are more fleshed out and have unique personalities. The Papa bear is the most entertaining of the four characters. (I wonder who voiced him).
The length however is over ten minutes. Walt would have probably condensed some of the action if his involvement lasted through production. I imagine the Disney personnel had a lot to do with how the picture turned out though, just considering how effective they were with adapting existing stories to screen.
A very engaging and entertaining mood piece.
Disney had produced many adaptations of fairy tales for the Silly Symphonies and was underway on translating these for features. One of the stories was Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Disney had been developing the story as a Silly Symphony for most of the 1930s.
Although Harman was not the adept storyteller that Walt was, this short could very well have passed as a Disney cartoon had RKO not intervened with their agreement. The characters do not recite the dialogue from the story word for word. Instead it carries out in a natural flow. The characters are more fleshed out and have unique personalities. The Papa bear is the most entertaining of the four characters. (I wonder who voiced him).
The length however is over ten minutes. Walt would have probably condensed some of the action if his involvement lasted through production. I imagine the Disney personnel had a lot to do with how the picture turned out though, just considering how effective they were with adapting existing stories to screen.
A very engaging and entertaining mood piece.