The China Plate

This is an amazingly strange and dated little Silly Symphony cartoon from Walt Disney. It begins quite oddly--with the camera going in for a closeup of a Chinese plate. As it gets closer, suddenly the scene changes to an amazingly patronizing and stereotypical view of China of old. It's kind of like a China of the Charlie Chan variety--Chinese in name only as lots of cute stereotypical Chinese folks dance about and have fun. And, like a typical Silly Symphony, there is a baddie that comes in and tries to spoil the fun--and the little Chinese guy needs to fight him to get back his girlfriend. It's all very odd--and very un-Chinese. I'd really love to show this to some Chinese folks to watch their reactions--I am pretty sure they would NOT be very positive!! It's all an obvious relic to our past and the way we viewed 'strange people from strange lands'. In addition, it's really not that good a cartoon either--though the animation is the best for its time, as are all the Disney shorts from this era.

I have always much enjoyed the Disney Silly Symphonies, and while not quite in my top 10 favourites The China Plate is one of the better early ones to me. It is simply but still beautifully animated, with something always interesting to watch such as the umbrella reveal and the lovers' hands, and the music, with very effective use of In a Chinese Temple Garden, is both authentic and energetic, always enhancing the always entertaining action such as the tapping of the girl's shoes. There are also some interesting gags, especially the fishing gag, and the more romantic aspects are genuinely charming. The characters are in a way ethnic stereotypes but are done in a mild way, so I never felt offended watching The China Plate. The fight scene is exciting with well-incorporated and fitting music, and the story is engaging and deserves credit for choosing a setting different to nature or in a barnyard. Overall, really excellent. 10/10 Bethany Cox

A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short.

THE CHINA PLATE on the shelf has much to tell, if you examine the picture on its face carefully. There you'll find the story of a dreadful old mandarin who forbids the love of his daughter for a simple fisherman...

An interesting black & white cartoon, which alternates between action/reaction antics & the plot of the romantic story. The animation is stylized to look somewhat like a blue willow pattern plate. Quite a few racist elements in the story.

The SILLY SYMPHONIES, which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929, are among the most interesting of series in the field of animation. Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount, with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music. There was little plot in the early Symphonies, which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals, all moving frantically to the soundtrack. Gradually, however, the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot, characterization & photographic special effects. The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale, Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed. It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring. In 1939, with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon, Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES; they had run their course & served their purpose.

The artwork on a Chinese plate comes alive and the characters start moving about in time with the music. That's it, that's the premise for the entire cartoon. You have to wonder how Walt Disney never managed to get bored of making these repetitive shorts. They wear thin very, very quickly.

It's an early black-and-white effort with nothing at all to give it any lasting appeal all these years later. Some people have complained about the cartoon being "racist" or using "stereotyped characters". I wouldn't pay too much attention to that, it's harmless. These accusations are the only thing that stop it from being completely forgettable though.

I found this to be quite endearing. While I'll admit that there are some Asian stereotypes at work here, it is pretty harmless. The music is nicely put forth. The sight gags work quite well. There is criticism of Disney for making these films. It was significant because he had to put together sound and substance which later could be tweaked. There was an engaging story with some funny moments. I suppose a Chinese person today would find it offensive.