This is a color Silly Symphony produced by the Disney studio. There will be spoilers ahead:
If you know the basic plot of the poem upon which this is based, then you know the bulk of the story here. But since this was done by Disney, there have been changes to make it less dark in tone in some ways and to make the Pied Piper seem more kindly than simply a disgruntled contractor getting even with someone who cheated him.
This is essentially a mini-opera, with everything sung. The rats display more defined character than the humans typically do here and the scenes with the rats are better animated and more interesting.
The piper is hired to rid the town of rats, which he does slightly more humanely than the original does (they vanish in a block of cheese instead of drowning) and the piper is cheated by the mayor and the townspeople. He threatens to pipe the children away and the adults mock and deride him. The children are shown as being the only ones who do any work, so being taken is more a liberation than a kidnapping. One change made corrects what I see as an injustice (though I'm biased) and thus I like the ending. The colors are a bit off, but it's technically well done.
This short is available on the Disney Treasures More Silly Symphonies DVD set. It's worth getting.
If you know the basic plot of the poem upon which this is based, then you know the bulk of the story here. But since this was done by Disney, there have been changes to make it less dark in tone in some ways and to make the Pied Piper seem more kindly than simply a disgruntled contractor getting even with someone who cheated him.
This is essentially a mini-opera, with everything sung. The rats display more defined character than the humans typically do here and the scenes with the rats are better animated and more interesting.
The piper is hired to rid the town of rats, which he does slightly more humanely than the original does (they vanish in a block of cheese instead of drowning) and the piper is cheated by the mayor and the townspeople. He threatens to pipe the children away and the adults mock and deride him. The children are shown as being the only ones who do any work, so being taken is more a liberation than a kidnapping. One change made corrects what I see as an injustice (though I'm biased) and thus I like the ending. The colors are a bit off, but it's technically well done.
This short is available on the Disney Treasures More Silly Symphonies DVD set. It's worth getting.