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Three Orphan Kittens is a Silly Symphony that was released on October 26, 1935. It was the winner of the 1935 Academy Award for Best Short Subject. It was followed in 1936 by a sequel, More Kittens. It was adapted into a book titled "Three Orphan Kittens: The World Is A Wonderful Place", which loosely follows the film's plot and was also included in the Powell's Book compilation "Disney Animal Stories".

Synopsis[]

The film tells the story of three kittens (the black Tuffy, and his sisters the golden Fluffy and the smoky Muffy) and their adventures in a house. It begins with the kittens left out in the snow. They then notice the house nearby and enter it for shelter. They arrive at its kitchen, and begin to play there after the house's African-American housekeeper (possibly a prototype version of Mammy Two Shoes) has finished preparing a meal. After more playing in various areas of the house, the film switches its focus to one particular kitten, Tuffy, who is chasing a feather and eventually ends up on a piano keyboard. The kitten starts to play with the feather walking down the piano keyboard and the feather lands on the 'on' switch with the kitten presses and the then-revealed pianola begins to play a variation of "Kitten on the Keys", a song composed by Zez Confrey in 1921. The other two kittens, Fluffy and Muffy, rejoin the first. When the pianola finishes its song, the kittens leave it and are caught by the housekeeper. As she prepares to throw them out, she is stopped by a little girl, who decides to adopt the kittens.

Voices[]

Production[]

The film was produced as an entry in Disney's Silly Symphonies series. At the time, the Symphonies were being used as a vehicle to test the techniques which would be used in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and to provide an informal on-the-job training program to prepare artists for the elaborate scenes that would be included in the studio's feature-length productions. As such, the films were intended to focus on the characters, which were intended to be cute, rather than a particularly developed narrative. It was directed by David Hand, who would later direct Snow White, and animated by Ken Anderson Like all Silly Symphonies made after 1932, it was produced in three-strip Technicolor. The film was copyrighted on November 20, 1935, nearly a month after its release.

Censorship[]

The original version of Three Orphan Kittens contains a scene in which one of the kittens encounter a doll that, when flipped, becomes a stereotypical African-American girl, which shouts "Mammy!" as the kitten approaches it. In the 1950s and 1960s, when Disney began censoring their cartoons before they were broadcast on television, the scene was removed from the film. The film appeared uncensored, firstly on the VHS release of Dumbo, then on 2006 DVD More Silly Symphonies, where it was placed in a section entitled "From the Vault" along with other cartoons featuring stereotypes, which was prefaced with an introduction by Leonard Maltin.

Releases[]

Television[]

Home video[]

VHS

  • Cartoon Classics: Limited Gold Editions II: How the Best Was Won: 1933-1960
  • Dumbo (UK VHS; 1985 - 1997)

Laserdisc

  • Cartoon Classics: Limited Gold Editions II: How the Best Was Won: 1933-1960

DVD

Gallery[]


v - e - d
Sillysymphonylogo
1929
The Skeleton DanceEl Terrible ToreadorSpringtimeHell's BellsThe Merry Dwarfs
1930
SummerAutumnCannibal CapersFrolicking FishArctic AnticsMidnight in a Toy ShopNightMonkey MelodiesWinterPlayful Pan
1931
Birds of a FeatherMother Goose MelodiesThe China PlateThe Busy BeaversThe Cat's OutEgyptian MelodiesThe Clock StoreThe Spider and the FlyThe Fox Hunt (1931 short)The Ugly Duckling (1931)
1932
The Bird StoreThe Bears and BeesJust DogsFlowers and TreesKing NeptuneBugs in LoveBabes in the WoodsSanta's Workshop
1933
Birds in the SpringFather Noah's ArkThree Little PigsOld King ColeLullaby LandThe Pied PiperThe Night Before Christmas
1934
The China ShopThe Grasshopper and the AntsFunny Little BunniesThe Big Bad WolfThe Wise Little HenThe Flying MousePeculiar PenguinsThe Goddess of Spring
1935
The Tortoise and the HareThe Golden TouchThe Robber KittenWater BabiesThe Cookie CarnivalWho Killed Cock Robin?Music LandThree Orphan KittensCock o' the WalkBroken Toys
1936
Elmer ElephantThree Little WolvesToby Tortoise ReturnsThree Blind MouseketeersThe Country CousinMother PlutoMore Kittens
1937
Woodland CaféLittle HiawathaThe Old Mill
1938
The Moth and the FlameWynken, Blynken and NodFarmyard SymphonyMerbabiesMother Goose Goes Hollywood
1939
The Practical PigThe Ugly Duckling
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