Mendelssohn’s Spring Song (1931, 5:40) begins the exploration with a barnstorming entry by effects legend Cy Young made to promote the two-strip Brewstercolor system. In fact, it’s said that this was the short that brought him to Walt Disney’s attention and kick started his long career at that studio. After the success of the Silly Symphonies, many other companies followed suit, often merging the word “cartoon” musically with “tune” or playing with other musical terms to come up with Merrie Melodies and the like. This one is the first and only from a planned Jingles series, and one can see why it garnered Young praise: it’s elaborately animated, with many inventive ideas that give it a surrealistic edge that was missing from many other of the Symphony imitators.
