The Brave Tin Soldier (1934) User Reviews

Ex-Disney Studio legend Ub Iwerks bravely soldiers on

[wmorrow59 · 6/10 · 14 February 2004]

You've probably seen cartoons like this one: it's twilight in the toy shop, the old toy maker yawns and totters off to sleep . . . and then suddenly all the toys in his workshop come to life, singing and dancing and cavorting. Some of them even resemble movie personalities such as Eddie Cantor and Laurel & Hardy. And unfortunately, because this film was made in the 1930s, there's also the inevitable doll in black-face who bleats "Sonny Boy," but mercifully the moment passes quickly. Soon we're caught up in the familiar Hans Christian Andersen tale of the one-legged soldier and the ballerina who loves him, despite royal disapproval. Unlike some cartoons of its day -- and today, for that matter -- this one retains the unhappy elements of its source material, right down to the tragic ending.

It looks like a Disney product, but it's not: this cartoon was made by Ub Iwerks, the master animator who started out in partnership with Walt, and almost single-handedly animated such seminal classics as Steamboat Willie and The Skeleton Dance. Unhappily for his career (and his bank balance) Iwerks sold off his large share of Disney stock and launched his own production house in 1930. In addition to giving the world such unmemorable characters as Flip the Frog and Willie Whopper, the Iwerks Studio crafted a series of fairy tales along the lines of the 'Silly Symphonies' Ub had helped to create for Disney, using the cheap Cinecolor process and drawing upon similar source material. On the plus side, Iwerks' cartoons feature musical scores composed by his fellow ex-Disney staffer Carl Stalling, and the themes are often terrifically catchy. But despite Iwerks' indisputable talent as an animator, most of the cartoons he made on his own lack the warmth and personality of the Disney product.

Getting back to The Brave Tin Soldier, I'd call it one of the Iwerks' Studio's better efforts. For the most part it's engaging and sweet, with good character design and decent gags, and without the vulgarity that marred some of the studio's other offerings. There are some startling moments, however, especially as the story builds to the courtroom/firing squad finale. A caricatured Groucho Marx makes a pivotal appearance at the climax, though the vocal impersonation isn't very good. And just so the ending won't make the kiddies cry, the filmmakers provided a bizarre coda set in a trippy-looking Toy Heaven. All in all, while it isn't as good as Disney's concurrent output, this is a decent enough cartoon from the erratic Iwerks Studio, easily worth the 7 minutes of your time it takes to view.

Combined with Mr. Piper version=original!

[Gblakelii · 7/10 · 30 January 2010]

Some of the basic elements of the original story are here: one legged tin soldier, ballerina, jack-in-the-(snuff)box,toys becoming active at night, tragedy. The big difference is in the film you have the evil king & 3 jack-in-the-boxes. The original has no king, only one jack, and it is evil! Instead of the attack on the king & trial, Andersen's story has the tin soldier fall into a water filled gutter later to be eaten by a fish. The fish is then caught & he winds up back to the home of the boy who owned him. Then a similar ending, though the film has a happier epilogue akin to what Hans did with his Little Mermaid story. When the toy soldier loaded his rifle with a match, was the director making a connection with Andersen's Little Match Girl? For Babes in Toyland fans, animated Laurel & Hardy's appear along with Parade of the Wooden Soldiers music! For Brave Tin Soldier fans, you can also catch him & the ballerina, briefly, in Simple Simon(1935)! For an adaption that is at once closer & further from the original, compare with the Mr. Piper TV episode, The Tin Soldier. In that one, the soldier has both legs but can't wind-up as the other soldiers do. Also of note, the English translation of the story by Danish born Jean Hersholt has the tin soldier originally believing the girl he falls in love with only has one leg too because of the pose she is in!

Brave Tin Soldier

[Mic-57 · 2 September 2005]

Hi everyone, Just wondering if you can also remember this film from your childhood ? I remember watching it as a kid on video and it kind of haunted me at the time. My Dad recorded it off of the television and i now would like to see it again. Can you tell me where it is available to buy off of the Internet ? I can only find short versions which are 7 minutes long. I remember a scene where he falls down a drain pipe or something and rats attack him, and i remember the sad ending. Is this the version i am thinking of ? If anyone can reply it would be appreciated because i loved this cartoon. If you know any websites that would be great. thanks, Mike

A lot of good, a lot of terrible.

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 23 September 2013]

"The Brave Tin Soldier" is truly a film with multiple personalities! On one hand, it's gorgeously animated and colorful thanks to Cinecolor*. But, on the other, it's pretty sappy--with some of the most awful singing you'll find in a 1930s cartoon.

The story begins with a toymaker making a box of soldiers. However, one has a broken leg and he discards it to the trash. Later that night, the toys come to life and the soldier proves his bravery--and for that, he must die!! Come to think of it, also among the terrible is the ending--which is very dark and child-unfriendly.

Despite gorgeous animation, the bad did actually outweigh the good with this one. The singing made my flesh crawl (and that's not good) and the ending was just dark and nasty.

*Cinecolor was not a true color process but like Two-Strip Technicolor created colors which tended toward orange and blue-green. It is a good example of this type of color but not Technicolor--which, incidentally, was licensed only to Disney at this time.

Touching Cartoon With A Superb Ending

[ccthemovieman-1 · 9/10 · 20 May 2008]

This was a lot more of a dramatic cartoon than it was a comedy. Usually, that kind of thing makes it disappointing to me because I expect to laugh here and there during a cartoon. However, this was so well done and actually "touching" that I was very impressed when it was over.

The story begins with a little toy solider being tossed into a waste basket after its maker accidentally breaks one of the toy's legs. Later, when the toys come to life in the shop (as they tend to do in many cartoons), the poor tin soldier is ridiculed by his peers over his disability.

I don't want to say too much to ruin the story, because it's an "original," not what you'd expect if you don't know this fable. I thought the ending was just superb! Along the way, the cartoonists playfully make fun of some celebrities of the day such as Laurel & Hardy, Eddie Cantor and Harpo and Groucho Marx.

Ub Iwerk at his Best

[jan-rola-rozycki · 8/10 · 14 December 2006]

This is the song with which the cartoon begins, describing the actions of an old toymaker:

'Hammering away at a desk all day sits a toymaker working on his toys / Soldiers bright and neat, now the set's almost complete, so to bring lots of fun to little boys. / Careful Mr. Toymaker, careful, please, I beg / Aw, now you've dropped a soldier, can't you see you broke his leg…' After the toymaker sees the soldier has been damaged, he tosses him into a wastebasket and retires for the night, as the clock strikes twelve. A toy sentry sounds a bugle, and all the toys in the workshop awaken. Among them are two tumblers resembling Laurel and Hardy; as they tumble about and their heads are knocked together, the 'cuckoo song' heard in the opening titles of their comedies is played. The sharp-eyed viewer will spot that one of the toys is in fact the tree from Disney's 'Flowers and Trees' released two years earlier; Ub Iwerks had a trait of using minor characters who were closely similar to those created by Disney, for whom he had previously worked (in fact, Iwerks single-handedly animated the first ever Mickey Mouse short, 'Plane Crazy', at a rate of 600 drawings per day, or one drawing every minute and a half for fifteen hours NON-STOP). Intrigued by the jaunty music and the dancing toys beyond his wastebasket, the one-legged tin soldier hops onto the floor, but finds he cannot keep his balance. He uses his gun as a prop, and clumsily makes his way through the workshop. Instead of showing him sympathy, the other toys deride him until he is reduced to tears. Luckily, a beautiful ballerina with a most attractive voice falls in love with him, and when he is startled by a Harpo Marx- like jack-in-the-box and stumbles, she helps him stand on his foot again. They then use the stirrup of a hobby-horse as a swing, so that the soldier pushes the stirrup and the ballerina swings on it. All is well, until the arrival of a fat and wicked king, who wants the ballerina for himself whether she wants him or not. Does this plot sound familiar to you? Surely the one-legged soldier will use his cunning to save the day and the toys will eventually accept him for his bravery? Viewer, be prepared for a surprise. The ending of this short is certainly unique. This cartoon was made in 1934 in the Cinecolor colour process, which was inferior to Technicolor, but pleasing to the eye nevertheless. The animation is not bad (I like the way the king morphs from being carriage to person), and the sound effects and music are excellent; the clicking and clacking and so forth. I initially thought there was a lack of background detail, but on second viewing I found that there were objects in the background, such as spinning tops and wooden ducks, and that you just have to look for them. Animation in its infancy was occupied more with sight gags than character development and story, but the characterisation here is splendid- the soldier, the ballerina, and the king come off strongly- and the story is engaging and surprising, and worth your time. You can find this short on the video link in Google.

Correction of the song title

[richardh-22 · 9/10 · 19 November 2010]

Author: Gblakelii from United States posted a review in which it is noted the song "March of the Toys" from Victor Herbert's "Babes in Toyland" is heard in the soundtrack. Unfortunately this is not correct. The song heard here is called "March of the Little Tin Soldiers". The title makes it fit better with this cartoon.

These two songs are often confused with each other. The March of the Little Tin Soldiers has become a major feature of the Radio City Music Hall group "The Rockettes" every Christmas so it has become closely associated with marching toy soldiers.

It would have been quite amazing if the Iwerks cartoon DID contain March of the Wooden Soldiers as 1934 was the year the Hal Roach/MGM Laurel & Hardy film "Babes in Toyland" aka "March of the Wooden Soldiers" hit theater screens.

In another curious parallel, 65 years after the Iwerks version of the The Brave Tin Soldier Disney's Fantasia 2000 contains a version of the same story.

But to turn attention back to the Iwerks cartoon - this one is a classic in it's own right. The story departs from Hans Christian Anderson's original in a few spots but the way in which the essence of this tale is condensed into just over 7 minutes of screen time is masterful storytelling. This cartoon deserves much more acclaim.

Soldiering on bravely

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 9 June 2018]

While not one of my favourites, Ub Iwerks was responsible for a lot of interesting work. Especially when working with Walt Disney, his oldest friend and one of his best, and co-creating one of animation's most famous characters in Mickey Mouse. His career since opening his own studio had interest value but the quality was variable, often being successful in the animation and music but wanting in the story and variable in gags, lead characters and tone.

1933 to 1936 saw twenty five cartoons, mostly based on famous fairytales and familiar stories, as part of Iwerks's "ComiColor" series. The "ComiColor" series is very much worth watching and interesting, as is the case with many series some cartoons are better than others but there are no real animation nadirs. 1934's 'The Brave Tin Soldier' is remarkably very well done and one of the better cartoons of the series.

'The Brave Tin Soldier', while faithfully adhering to the basic details (and also spirit) of the story while putting its own spin, is slight and even for that particular part of the story the gutter scene's darkness goes a little overboard with the darkness and it doesn't gel with the rest of the cartoon.

However, 'The Brave Tin Soldier' in no way disgraces the story and has enough freshness to stop it from being stale. It avoids the over sentimental factor and is never dull.

There are amusing moments, that aren't too corny and never repetitive, it's very charming, is very touching (the ending made me cry admittedly) and there is a genuine likeability and cuteness without being over-sentimental. The characters drive 'The Brave Tin Soldier' well, with a very likeable titular character and a not too bland if not as interesting love interest.

Furthermore, the animation is great. Meticulously detailed, fluid in drawing, vibrant in colour and often rich in imagination and visual wit. The music is cleverly and lushly orchestrated, is infectiously catchy and adds a lot to the cartoon. The song is very memorable and clever.

Concluding, very well done. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Ub Iwerks to the rescue!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 25 August 2017]

Director: UB IWERKS. Screenplay: Ben Hardaway, George Manuell. Story: Otto Englander. Chief animator: Al Eugster. Animators: Shamus Culhane, Myron Natwick. Lay-outs: Shamus Culhane. Music: Art Turkisher. Music director: Carl W. Stalling. Color by Cinecolor. Producer: Ub Iwerks. Executive producer: Pat Powers.

Copyright 5 April 1934 by Celebrity Productions, Inc. A ComiColor Cartoon. U.S. release: 7 April 1934. 8 minutes.

COMMENT: Quaint, fast-moving and often ingeniously animated, this is a somewhat altered and considerably augmented retelling of the familiar Hans Andersen story, creatively embroidered with many delightfully way-out incidental touches, including brief lampoons of Hollywood clowns such as Groucho Marx, Eddie Cantor, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

I love that name, Ub Iwerks. I may be wrong but I believe the name is pronounced "Ub" as "Oob" to rhyme with "tube"; and "Iwerks" as "I verks", but I pronounce it as "I works" which is probably wrong but at least it has a movie quality!

AVAILABLE on DVD through Image. Quality rating: Nine out of ten.