''Father Noah's Ark'' is a 1933

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

Silly Symphonies ''Silly Symphony'' is an American animation, animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the ''Silly Symphonies'' were originally inte ...

'' animated film. It is based on the story of

Noah's Ark Noah's Ark ( he, תיבת נח; Biblical Hebrew: ''Tevat Noaḥ'')The word "ark" in modern English comes from Old English ''aerca'', meaning a chest or box. (See Cresswell 2010, p.22) The Hebrew word for the vessel, ''teva'', occurs twice in t ...

. The short's musical score is an adaptation of the first dance in

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

's ''12 Contredanses''. The cartoon was released on April 8, 1933.

Plot

The short begins with the building of the Ark. Father

Noah Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...

makes the plans of the ark and gives commands to its construction. His sons,

Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut of pork, cut that has been food preservation, preserved by wet or dry Curing (food preservation), curing, with or without smoking (cooking), smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. Lo ...

Shem Shem (; he, שֵׁם ''Šēm''; ar, سَام, Sām) ''Sḗm''; Ge'ez: ሴም, ''Sēm'' was one of the sons of Noah in the book of Genesis and in the book of Chronicles, and the Quran. The children of Shem were Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, L ...

and

Japheth Japheth ( he, יֶפֶת ''Yép̄eṯ'', in pausa ''Yā́p̄eṯ''; el, Ἰάφεθ '; la, Iafeth, Iapheth, Iaphethus, Iapetus) is one of the three sons of Noah in the Book of Genesis, in which he plays a role in the story of Noah's drunk ...

"build the ark from dawn to dark and make a lot of noise" with some help from the animals, while their wives load up food supplies to see them through the flood and Noah's wife is washing clothes. Eventually, the storm rolls in and the animals are summoned, two-by-two, to the ark, purposely leaving two

skunks Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or ging ...

behind. The ark is soon buffeted around by the storm and the ark's occupants praise to the Lord. At one point, Noah gets rainwater leaking through the ceiling in his mouth and has to open a porthole to spit it out, whereupon he is chased by a stray lightning bolt, which he lets out through another porthole. 40 days later, the storm recedes and a

dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

, carrying an

olive branch The olive branch is a symbol of peace and victory associated with customs of ancient Greece and connected with supplication to gods and persons in power. It is found in most cultures of the Mediterranean basin and became associated with peace ...

, flies back to Noah and his family to signify that land has been found. They lower the gangway and the animals all come back out onto dry land (the ark, in this case, resting atop a tree).

Reception

The Pomp and Circumstance segment of ''

Fantasia 2000 ''Fantasia 2000'' is a 1999 American animated musical anthology film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distin ...

'', also based on Noah's Ark, makes minor references to this short.

Home media

The short was released on December 4, 2001, on '' Walt Disney Treasures: Silly Symphonies - The Historic Musical Animated Classics'' and on the UK VHS of ''Dumbo'' as a bonus feature.

Voice cast

* Noah: Allan Watson * Noah's Wife:

Lucille La Verne Lucille La Verne (November 7, 1872 – March 4, 1945) was an American actress known for her appearances in early sound films, as well as for her triumphs on the American stage. She is most widely remembered as the voices of the Old Witch in the 19 ...

* "Who built the ark?": Jesse Delos Jewkes

References

External links

* 1933 films 1930s color films 1933 short films 1930s Disney animated short films Films directed by Wilfred Jackson Films produced by Walt Disney Noah's Ark in film Silly Symphonies 1933 animated films Films scored by Leigh Harline 1930s American films {{Disney-animation-film-stub