The Father Robin is a character featured in the 1933 Silly Symphony short Birds in the Spring.
Background[]
Otto's father is an adult robin living with his wife and three children - consisting of Otto and his two sisters. He has yellow coloration located on his head between his eyes as well as being located on his neck as well as a red ruffle on his torso resembling his son's plumage. Despite his happy personality with his three children born, he is however shown to be overprotective and strict when it comes to Otto - especially when it is about Otto's disobedience.
Appearances[]
Birds in the Spring[]
The father robin approaches his wife where he notices that his children have not hatched yet until suddenly, all three hatchlings begin to hatch from their eggs. After they hatch, the father tells all the other birds to meet their adorable children - consisting of Otto and his two sisters. Shortly later, the father robin conducts his children, teaching them to sing while his wife happily watches them sing. As the hatchlings sing together, Otto's father conducts his children while Otto's mother happily enjoys their singing. During a singing lesson, Otto sings off-key, frustrating his father who is conducting his children to sing perfectly. However, a distracted Otto sees a bee nearby, which he swallows and when he returns to the nest where his sisters are singing, Otto's father becomes furious that his son cannot chirp, because he swallowed a bee, only for Otto to spit it out, upsetting his father again.
After a singing lesson, Otto's father teaches his children how to fly like an adult bird and after a lesson, he teaches them how to fly and as they fly independently, Otto's parents are excited to see their children fly for the first time, only for them to fall. Otto's parents use a nest to protect their children from falling, except for Otto who lands on a patch of mushrooms. Worried that Otto is not home, his father comes looking for his son just as Otto continuously explores the world around him - albeit far away from his parents.
Later, when Otto is chased by a swarm of hornets, his parents and sisters notice him who is in danger as Otto's father comes to the rescue and saves his son from the hornets just as Otto and his family hide under their nest to avoid getting stung. After the hornets pass by, Otto's father becomes very upset with his son, spanking him, furious with him for wandering too far away from his family as well as teaching him a lesson.
Other appearances[]
Archived footage from Birds in the Spring was used in the song "Let's All Sing Like the Birdies Sing" in the Disney's Sing-Along Songs volume Fun with Music.
Trivia[]
- Towards the end of the short, Otto's father and the rest of his family are seen hiding in their nest to avoid getting attacked by the hornets; in real life, adult robins defend their nests from threats occurring like alerting other robins whenever there is a predator nearby.