The Standard Parade

The Standard Parade is never going to be one of my favourite Disney shorts. While not unexpected, it is very light in story and structurally thin. For those more familiar with razor sharp pacing and laugh-a-minute gags, look elsewhere, there is not much that is funny here and the pace lacks energy I feel, then again in all fairness The Standard Parade is not that kind of short. Toby the Tortoise is a pleasure to see, Disney's Tortoise and the Hare is one of their shorts I have a lot of fondness for, though he is coloured in an unusually brown colour, which may strike people as odd. The animation is great though, very colourful and bouncy and it was interesting to see Mickey and Minnie leading the parade in their new look. The music is largely re-used but is orchestrated beautifully and has much character. The Standard Parade does convey a message and does so in a manner that doesn't come across as preachy, but it was the Disney characters that were the main interest and this is not just Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy and Pluto but also The Seven Dwarfs, The Three Pigs, Big Bad Wolf and Toby Tortoise and they are all fun to watch. Overall, not a favourite but interesting at least. 7/10 Bethany Cox