The Old Mill

The Old Mill (1937)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Excellent Silly Symphonies short from Disney takes place at the title location. We see an old mill and then we witness several animals take shelter there just as a major storm starts to blow in.

If you're looking for some sort of plot or character driven story then you're going to be disappointed. This really reminded me of what Disney would do a few years later in FANTASIA as this here is really all about the visuals and the score that goes with it. The images are certainly quite beautiful and it's easy to see something like this and realize why Disney really did change animation and especially when you compare this to other bits of animation from this period. The colors of the creatures make them come to life and the storm itself just has so much detail that you can just feel the wind blowing on your neck. Certainly one of the studios best works.

Humor - Pathos - Suspense - Beauty - it's all here in this 8 minute gem! This is one I can watch again and again and again and enjoy every minute of it. A nice foreshadow of great things to come: Fantasia, Bambi, etc.

The Old Mill is a genuine masterpiece from Disney`s chest of treasures. It is not a witty movie, so those of you who must laugh at a Disneymovie better avoid this.

The setting is an old mill, which you should guess from the title. The Old Mill is filled with atmosphere, nice drawings and classic music, which makes it a real joy to watch. 9,5/10

The Old Mill was a Silly Symphony developed as a test for Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, which was just going into production at the time. What came out of it is utterly beautiful. It is possibly the best Disney short, even rivalling The Skeleton Dance. 10/10.

I was first introduced to The Old Mill when footage of it was recycled into a "Blueberry Hill" music video on DTV. I liked the dark, cloudy and atmospheric animation and the video became one of my favourites. The cartoon itself features a decrepit old windmill and the surrounding pond which is home to everything from frogs to bats. When a stormy night rolls in chaos ensues and the animals struggle to make it through.

For a 72-year-old cartoon the animation is wonderful. There's not a human or a line of dialogue in the whole 9 minutes but there's still a great little story to be told. For all of these reasons it's no wonder that it won an Academy Award.