When this cartoon begins, you'll no doubt notice that it's the voice of Goofy (Pinto Colvig) playing the grasshopper. It's pretty hard not to notice that distinctive voice!
As far as the cartoon goes, it has the usual exceptional color animation you'd expect from a Disney cartoon of the era and there is no comparison between the Disney shorts and those of the nearest competition. Also, unlike some of their Silly Symphonies, this one benefits from having a lot less singing--a definite bonus. What did surprise me, however, is that despite all this wonderfulness and a great timeless story, the script actually changed the ending--and completely changed the moral lesson. Instead of an admonition to work hard lest you die of starvation in hard times, it shows the ants taking pity on the stupid grasshopper and sharing their food. This seems to give the moral lesson that you should reach out to help the lazy! An odd ending indeed. Without this happily ever after sort of ending, it might have earned a 10--it was that good. But the morally questionable ending detracted from what should have been a timeless lesson.
As far as the cartoon goes, it has the usual exceptional color animation you'd expect from a Disney cartoon of the era and there is no comparison between the Disney shorts and those of the nearest competition. Also, unlike some of their Silly Symphonies, this one benefits from having a lot less singing--a definite bonus. What did surprise me, however, is that despite all this wonderfulness and a great timeless story, the script actually changed the ending--and completely changed the moral lesson. Instead of an admonition to work hard lest you die of starvation in hard times, it shows the ants taking pity on the stupid grasshopper and sharing their food. This seems to give the moral lesson that you should reach out to help the lazy! An odd ending indeed. Without this happily ever after sort of ending, it might have earned a 10--it was that good. But the morally questionable ending detracted from what should have been a timeless lesson.