Elmer Elephant (Disney)
Encyclopedia
Elmer Elephant is a Silly Symphonies
cartoon short produced by The Walt Disney Company
, directed by Wilfred Jackson
and released on March 28, 1936.
The short tells the story of a timid elephant named Elmer. In this story, he is invited to Tillie Tiger's birthday party, bringing her a bouquet of flowers. Tillie loves Elmer, but the other animal kids make fun of his nose (trunk) and cruelly mock him when Tillie isn't around to defend him. Brokenhearted by their teasing, Elmer leaves the party and cries in front of the nearby pond, but is reassured by a nearby giraffe who admits to him that he used to suffer the same teasing about his neck. Just then, a fire breaks out at Tillie's tree-house with her still in it, and the rescue efforts by the other children prove futile. With the help of the giraffe and some pelicans who resemble Jimmy Durante
, Elmer successfully puts out the fire and rescues Tillie.
Elmer would later go on to star in a serial in the Silly Symphonies comic strip, even getting his own strip which did not last long. And like the Three Little Pigs
before him, he would also become a popular character in merchandising. However, with the exceptions of the crowd shots in the later Silly Symphonies short Toby Tortoise Returns and a cameo appearance
in Who Framed Roger Rabbit
, Elmer was never again featured in animation. (He never even appeared in crowd shots on House of Mouse.)
Today, the Elmer Elephant short can be viewed on the Silly Symphonies DVD
set in the first wave of the Walt Disney Treasures
line. It has also been included as a bonus feature, alongside fellow Silly Symphony short The Flying Mouse
, on both DVD releases for Dumbo
. From 1983 through 1997, his short was also the featured subject of DTV
's music video of "Owner of a Lonely Heart
" by Yes
.
The monkeys and ostriches that appear in the Elmer Elephant short have been pointed out as resembling characters created for Nintendo's Donkey Kong Country in the '90s.
Silly Symphonies
Silly Symphonies is a series of animated short subjects, 75 in total, produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939, while the studio was still located at Hyperion Avenue in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles...
cartoon short produced by The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
, directed by Wilfred Jackson
Wilfred Jackson
Wilfred Jackson was an American animator, arranger, composer and director best known for his work on the Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies series of cartoons and the two segments Night on Bald Mountain and Ave Maria of Fantasia from The Walt Disney Company.Wilfred Jackson was born in Chicago,...
and released on March 28, 1936.
The short tells the story of a timid elephant named Elmer. In this story, he is invited to Tillie Tiger's birthday party, bringing her a bouquet of flowers. Tillie loves Elmer, but the other animal kids make fun of his nose (trunk) and cruelly mock him when Tillie isn't around to defend him. Brokenhearted by their teasing, Elmer leaves the party and cries in front of the nearby pond, but is reassured by a nearby giraffe who admits to him that he used to suffer the same teasing about his neck. Just then, a fire breaks out at Tillie's tree-house with her still in it, and the rescue efforts by the other children prove futile. With the help of the giraffe and some pelicans who resemble Jimmy Durante
Jimmy Durante
James Francis "Jimmy" Durante was an American singer, pianist, comedian and actor. His distinctive clipped gravelly speech, comic language butchery, jazz-influenced songs, and large nose helped make him one of America's most familiar and popular personalities of the 1920s through the 1970s...
, Elmer successfully puts out the fire and rescues Tillie.
Elmer would later go on to star in a serial in the Silly Symphonies comic strip, even getting his own strip which did not last long. And like the Three Little Pigs
Three Little Pigs (film)
Three Little Pigs is an animated short film released on May 27, 1933 by United Artists, produced by Walt Disney and directed by Burt Gillett. Based on a fairy tale of the same name, Three Little Pigs won the 1934 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons. In 1994, it was voted #11 of the 50...
before him, he would also become a popular character in merchandising. However, with the exceptions of the crowd shots in the later Silly Symphonies short Toby Tortoise Returns and a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...
, Elmer was never again featured in animation. (He never even appeared in crowd shots on House of Mouse.)
Today, the Elmer Elephant short can be viewed on the Silly Symphonies DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
set in the first wave of the Walt Disney Treasures
Walt Disney Treasures
The Walt Disney Treasures is a two-disc DVD set of classic Disney works. They cover work from the studio's earliest days to their more recent work...
line. It has also been included as a bonus feature, alongside fellow Silly Symphony short The Flying Mouse
The Flying Mouse
The Flying Mouse is a Silly Symphonies cartoon released on July 14, 1934. The cartoon was directed by David Hand.-Plot:A young mouse reaches beyond his grasp, has a nightmare's experience and then returns to the warmth of his home...
, on both DVD releases for Dumbo
Dumbo
Dumbo is a 1941 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and released on October 23, 1941, by RKO Radio Pictures.The fourth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, Dumbo is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and illustrated by Harold Pearl for the prototype of a...
. From 1983 through 1997, his short was also the featured subject of DTV
D-TV
D-TV was a series of music videos created by Walt Disney Productions in 1984 using popular music and video footage from Disney videos, mostly cartoons, created out of the trend of music videos on cable channel MTV, which inspired the name of this series...
's music video of "Owner of a Lonely Heart
Owner of a Lonely Heart
"Owner of a Lonely Heart" is a song by the progressive rock band Yes. It is the opening track of their 1983 album 90125. Written primarily by Trevor Rabin, the song reached number one on the United States Billboard Hot 100 — to date Yes's biggest chart success...
" by Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
.
The monkeys and ostriches that appear in the Elmer Elephant short have been pointed out as resembling characters created for Nintendo's Donkey Kong Country in the '90s.
External links
- Elmer Elephant on the Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts
- Elmer's profile in the Disney HooZoo