Introduction and Booksigning by Russell Merritt

Russell Merritt is the co-author of Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies: A Companion to the Classic Cartoon Series as well as Walt in Wonderland.

From his first squeak, Mickey Mouse was Walt Disney's superstar, but alongside Mickey, Disney released a series of cartoon shorts that created a fantasy universe more daring, quirkier, and more diverse than anything starring the Mouse. The Silly Symphonies followed Mickey by less than a year, but from the start they were Disney's Tiffany line, where he adapted his first fairy tales, pioneered his most important technical innovations, and routinely assigned his best artists. The gems in this program include Three Little Pigs, the one everyone knows, in a gorgeous new print; Who Killed Cock Robin?, Disney's classic death-trap satire featuring a torchy Mae West warbler; Egyptian Melodies, where hieroglyphics come alive to put on a chariot race; Music Land, the brilliant musical war pitting the Isle of Jazz against the Land of Symphony; the demented Funny Little Bunnies, in which workaholic rabbits paint zoned-out Easter eggs-and more!

Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies is available in the Museum Store for $45; purchase a copy at the screening and receive a 10 percent discount!