This is a color Silly Symphonies short produced by Disney studio. There will be spoilers ahead:
This is an absolutely beautiful short, with great animation, backgrounds and design. The characterization is excellent and it's quite engaging. Given that this is Disney, the ending is a bit different from the original fable.
If you know the Aesop's fable from which this springs, you know the story. While the ants toil, a grasshopper plays his fiddle and laughs at the ants for working. When it's pointed out to him that winter is coming, he laughs that off as well, saying winter is a long way off.
Cue winter. The transition between seasons is handled marvelously, which is to be expected. The ants are warm and cozy, the grasshopper is in a world of hurt and goes to the ants hoping for help. The ants, being decent sorts, help the grasshopper avoid freezing and starving, while the grasshopper sings a different song, saying he's learned his lesson and that working is actually a good idea. When you think about it, that's actually a better lesson than having the ants turn callous, turn the grasshopper away and have him die. A "road to Damascus" moment has more teaching value than a "serves you right" moment.
This short is available on the Disney Treasures Silly Symphonies DVD set and it and the set are great. Most highly recommended.
This is an absolutely beautiful short, with great animation, backgrounds and design. The characterization is excellent and it's quite engaging. Given that this is Disney, the ending is a bit different from the original fable.
If you know the Aesop's fable from which this springs, you know the story. While the ants toil, a grasshopper plays his fiddle and laughs at the ants for working. When it's pointed out to him that winter is coming, he laughs that off as well, saying winter is a long way off.
Cue winter. The transition between seasons is handled marvelously, which is to be expected. The ants are warm and cozy, the grasshopper is in a world of hurt and goes to the ants hoping for help. The ants, being decent sorts, help the grasshopper avoid freezing and starving, while the grasshopper sings a different song, saying he's learned his lesson and that working is actually a good idea. When you think about it, that's actually a better lesson than having the ants turn callous, turn the grasshopper away and have him die. A "road to Damascus" moment has more teaching value than a "serves you right" moment.
This short is available on the Disney Treasures Silly Symphonies DVD set and it and the set are great. Most highly recommended.