Merbabies is a Silly Symphonies animated Disney short film. It was released on December 9, 1938.[2] It is a collaboration between Walt Disney and Harman and Ising, the latter studio having donated artists to Disney to work on the production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). It is one of the last shorts of the Silly Symphonies series.

Merbabies
Directed by
Story by
Produced by
Starring
  • Pinto Colvig
  • Leone LeDoux[1]
Music byScott Bradley
Animation by
Layouts by
  • Don Smith
  • John Niendorff
  • Maurice Day
Backgrounds by
  • Art Riley
  • Don Schaffer
Color processTechnicolor
Production
companies
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • December 9, 1938 (1938-12-09)
Running time
8:34
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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A large number of identical redheaded "merbabies" materialize out of the crashing surf and are summoned to a playground on the ocean floor for an underwater circus in which marine creatures such as seahorses and starfish also take part, beginning with a parade. When a whale blows all the merbabies to the surface inside bubbles, they disappear into the waves from which they came.[3]

Home media

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The short was released on the DVD of The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea and again on December 19, 2006, on Walt Disney Treasures: More Silly Symphonies, Volume Two.[2] It was released to Disney+ on September 8, 2023, with a 4K restoration.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Scott, Keith (3 October 2022). Cartoon Voices of the Golden Age, Vol. 2. BearManor Media. p. 531.
  2. ^ a b Merritt, Russell; Kaufman, J. B. (2016). Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series (2nd ed.). Glendale, CA: Disney Editions. pp. 200–203. ISBN 978-1-4847-5132-9.
  3. ^ "Merbabies". www.bcdb.com, July 1, 2014
  4. ^ The D23 Team (June 19, 2023). "Disney+ to Debut 28 Restored Classic Walt Disney Animation Studios Shorts". D23. Retrieved June 19, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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