The Wise Little Hen

The Wise Little Hen is a Silly Symphony short released on June 9, 1934. It marks the debut of Donald Duck and is based on the fairy tale The Little Red Hen.

Plot

The Wise Little Hen lived with her chicks. They were running low on food and she was worried, so she decided to plant some corn. So they set off to Peter Pig's house. She asked him if he would help her plant corn, but sadly Peter complained of having a belly ache and snorted off. The Hen realized that he would not help her, so she skipped off to Donald Duck's house. Donald did not help her either, as he also faked a belly ache and quacked off. The Hen decided to plant the corn herself. As soon as the corn had grown, the Hen asked Peter and Donald again if they would help her. They faked belly aches again and went into the club house they owned. Peter banged the door so hard the wall broke, but the Pig and the Duck were shaking hands without noticing the wall at all. The Hen saw through their trick and agreed with her chicks to not let them eat any corn when it's done. So they harvested and cooked the corn themselves for their dinner. When they were done, the Hen decided to ask Peter and Donald if they wanted corn. They agreed and came rushing over to grab the basket full of corn. They fought over it but then decided to dig in. To their surprise, it was castor oil for belly aches! The Hen and the chicks enjoyed their meal, while Peter and Donald kicked each other in the rear for the rest of the day.

Characters

• Donald Duck (voiced by Clarence Nash)
• The Wise Little Hen (voiced by Florence Gill)
• Peter Pig (voiced by Clarence Nash)
• Chicks

Trivia

• All of the characters' speeches are hard to interpret due to mixing in animal sounds.
  • This was what led to Donald to have his trademark quack-like speech.

Goofs

• Peter's leg outline was pink in one scene.

Releases

Television

• The Mickey Mouse Club, October 6, 1955
• The Mickey Mouse Club, March 25, 1958
• Donald's Quack Attack, episode #81
• Sing Me a Story with Belle: "Reap What You Sow"
• The Ink and Paint Club, episode #1.4: "Disney Firsts"
• The Ink and Paint Club, episode #1.14: "Early Donald"

Home video releases

VHS

• Walt Disney Cartoon Classics: Donald Duck's First 50 Years
• Mickey and Company

DVD

• Walt Disney Treasures: Silly Symphonies
• Walt Disney Treasures: The Chronological Donald, Volume 1
• Walt Disney's Timeless Tales: Volume 3
• Walt Disney Animation Collection: Classic Short Films: Volume 5: Wind in the Willows

Gallery

The chicks and Wise Hen are sad after Donald Duck and Peter Pig won't help them.

The Chicks and Wise Hen harvested corn!

The Chicks watering their corn with a pea can filled with water with holes in it.

The Chicks and Little Wise Hen enjoying the corn feast.

The Chicks and Wise Little Hen on a picture-book cover.

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