Horst in Translation ([email protected]) These 7.5 minutes we have here are a Disney color cartoon from 1933, so the very early days of the Golden Age of Animation. It was directed by Wilfred Jackson, one of the company's finest. Well what can you say here. The looks of characters and landscapes are really amazing visually and this film is so far ahead of its time it isn't even funny. The music is also on a very high level and this one is evidence that Disney really is not relying on their trademark characters (Mickey, Donald) when it comes to making quality films. I am amazed and not surprised that this one really made it as a cartoon of under 10 minutes into the list of NBR's top10 films back then from that year. The story is good too and has a nice moral. Also this is really one movie where ecerybody has shades and you don't always see that in (old) animation. The rats early on, the piper and the townsfolk. Everybody is somehow bad in its own right, but you can make an argument for everybody too why they do what they do, even if it is certainly quite a challenge for the townsfolk. At the end, Disney keeps it light and charming with the kids arriving in Toyland and that boy even losing his crutches hides the fact very well that the parents all lost their children, even the innocents who maybe wanted to pay the piper for what he did with the rats. The stork scene was a nice addition and overall with this ending Disney definitely keeps it family friendly. I was tempted at times to give this one an even higher rating, it is definitely among the very best 1933 has to offer in terms of film, not just short film. I especially liked the piper's looks. So yeah, no hesitation here, I think you really wanna check this one out. Big thumbs-up.

utgard14 This early Disney Technicolor short, part of the Silly Symphonies series, tackles the old story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. The story is the one most of us know - town is overrun by rats so the town leaders hire the Piper to lure the rats out of town. He does this but they refuse to pay him, leading the Piper to exact his revenge in a manner that has creepier undertones these days than it did when this was made. Anyway, this is a good cartoon version of the story and teaches kids valuable lessons about paying your debts and the power of wind instruments. I guess it also teaches kids if a strange man shows up playing a flute you should follow him because he'll lead you to Toyland. The animation is very good, especially the backgrounds. The color is just gorgeous. The music is lively. All of the voice work is fine. Really not much bad to say about it except that, while it's good, it's not great.

MissSimonetta That Disney did not want to keep the sinister nature of the original poem is okay with me, but they could have improved this insipid ending. I was once in a musical children's production of The Pied Piper and the ending had the townspeople repenting and the Piper returning the kids. No, that doesn't have the punch of the original story's creepy conclusion, but it works better dramatically than, "The piper steals the kids and they all live happily forever in Toy Land!" That feels like a parody of a Disney film, not an actual one! I usually don't mind the changes Disney makes in their output, but this was too much.Everything that happens before is great though. The character animation experiments with a more realistic human form and the music is fantastic. It's a shame the ending had to be so bad, because I would otherwise give this cartoon an 8 out of 10.

TheLittleSongbird With a few new twists on the classic poem, this is an interesting and charming Silly Symphony. What I loved most was the beautiful animation and the sweet, charming music that is playful, whimsical and simple. I found myself chanting along the townspeople in the chorus "Rats!Rats!We Gotta Get Rid of the Rats!" The characters aren't too bad either, the pied Piper of the title is very likable, the children are cute and the Mayor is seen as quite greedy and manipulative.The pacing is a little uneven here, but compared to how much I enjoyed The Pied Piper it is a minor criticism. Overall, this is very enjoyable and charming with a few new and nice twists on the poem. 9/10 Bethany Cox