Birds of a Feather (1931 film)

Birds of a Feather
Birds of a Feather
Directed by	Burt Gillett
Produced by	Walt Disney
Animation by	David Hand
Color process	Black and white
Production; company	Walt Disney Productions
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	February 10, 1931;
Running time	8 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Birds of a Feather is a Silly Symphonies animated Disney short film. It was released on February 10, 1931, by Columbia Pictures.^[1]

Plot

Swans swim by, a peacock displays its plumage in glorious black-and-white, a passing duck jeers, assorted songbirds chirp, a woodpecker chases a caterpillar, and a chorus of owls croon. A chicken goes after worms while ignoring her brood until a hawk circles. When the hawk captures one chick, the crows form an attack squadron.

Voice cast

Florence Gill: Hen, assorted squawks and bird whistles
Purv Pullen and Marion Darlington: Bird Whistles
Toby Wing: Baby chicks
The Rhythmettes (including Dorothy Compton, Beatrice Hagen, and Mary Moder): Hummingbirds and Brox Sister owls^[1]

Comic adaptation

The Silly Symphony Sunday comic strip ran a three-month-long adaptation of Birds of a Feather from March 11 to June 17, 1934.^[2]

Reception

Variety (April 15, 1931): "This subject suffers from too much similarity with previous cartoons of this and other series... This weakness makes it filler stuff for the intermediate programs and lesser spots only. It's a concoction of rhythmic gyration by various fowl".^[3]

Home media

The short was released on December 4, 2001, on Walt Disney Treasures: Silly Symphonies - The Historic Musical Animated Classics.^[4]^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Merritt, Russell; Kaufman, J. B. (2016). Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series (2nd ed.). Glendale, CA: Disney Editions. pp. 86–87. ISBN 978-1-4847-5132-9.
^ Duvall, Earl; Taliaferro, Al; Osborne, Ted; De Maris, Merrill (2016). Silly Symphonies: The Complete Disney Classics, vol 1. San Diego: IDW Publishing. ISBN 978-1631405587.
^ "Talking Shorts". Variety: 20. April 15, 1931. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
^ "Silly Symphonies: The Historic Musical Animated Classics DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved February 20, 2021.