The Ugly Duckling (1939)

The Ugly Duckling is an animated short film produced by Walt Disney and the 75th entry in the Silly Symphonies series. The film is based on the fairy tale "The Ugly Duckling" by Hans Christian Andersen where a duckling is harassed and persecuted because of his homeliness but eventually matures into a swan, the most beautiful bird of all. Walt Disney had earlier produced a black and white Silly Symphonies episode under the same title in 1931 but with several key differences (I.E.-the Ugly Duckling in the 1931 version actually is a duck who is hatched by a chicken). The color film, produced in 1939, more closely follows the original story and won the 1939 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons).

In this version, the baby swan's suffering is shortened, as he is found and taken in by the Swans after only a day of rejection and ostracism rather than a whole year. The abbreviated version is read by Lilo to Stitch in the 2002 Disney film Lilo & Stitch. The story has a deep impact on Stitch, who is inspired to set out to look for his real family.

The Ugly Duckling was Disney's last Silly Symphony and the only one to be a remake of an earlier episode.

Synopsis
A remake of an earlier Silly Symphony retells the story of an outcast duckling whose search for a family to accept him leads to constant rejection before learning his true identity as a swan.

Characters

 * Ugly Duckling
 * Mother Duck
 * Father Duck
 * Mother Swan