''Susie the Little Blue Coupe'' is a 1952

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

produced by

Walt Disney Productions The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

and originally released by

RKO Radio Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orph ...

on June 6, 1952. The eight-minute film was directed by

Clyde Geronimi Clito "Clyde" Geronimi (June 12, 1901 – April 24, 1989), known as Gerry, was an American animation director. He is best known for his work at Walt Disney Productions. Biography Geronimi was born in Chiavenna, Italy, immigrating to the United S ...

and based on an original short-story by Bill Peet. The story was adapted for the screen by Peet and

Don DaGradi Don DaGradi (March 1, 1911 – August 4, 1991) was an American writer for Disney who started out as a layout artist on 1940s cartoons including "Der Fuehrer's Face" in 1943. He eventually moved into animated features with the film ''Lady and the ...

Plot

Susie is a small blue

coupe A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

on display in a dealer showroom. She eventually is bought by a well-to-do man who is instantly smitten with her. Thrust into high society, she finds herself surrounded by much larger, faster and more luxurious cars, but eventually makes do. Her owner treats the car well but neglects to maintain her, and after years of wear and tear, the car stops running properly; the man, informed by his mechanic that Susie will need a massive overhaul, abandons her for a new vehicle. At a used car lot, Susie is purchased again, but the new owner, a cigar-smoking

drunk Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main ...

who lives in a seedier part of town, does not treat the car with the same fondness as the first owner and leaves her on the curbside at night. One night, the coupe is

stolen Stolen may refer to: * ''Stolen'' (2009 Australian film), a 2009 Australian film * ''Stolen'' (2009 American film), a 2009 American film * ''Stolen: The Baby Kahu Story'' (2010 film), a film based on the real life kidnapping of baby Kahu Durie ...

, chased by the police and

crashed "Crashed" is the third U.S. rock Single (music), single, (the fifth overall), from the band Daughtry (band), Daughtry's debut album. It was released only to U.S. rock stations on September 5, 2007. Upon its release the song got adds at those stat ...

; presumed "dead", she is sent to a junkyard. She shows stirrings of life, even in her wrecked state, and a young man notices and buys her at a bargain price. With the help of his friends, the young man completely restores and revives Susie as a brand new

hot rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...

. An overjoyed and like-new Susie rides off.

Home media

The DVD release of ''

The Love Bug ''The Love Bug'' is a 1968 American comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson and the first in a franchise by Walt Disney Productions and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution that starred an anthropomorphic pearl-white, fabric-sunroofed 19 ...

'' featured this short as a special feature. '' The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad'' DVD also features the short as a bonus episode on the DVD's trivia section. It also appeared on the ''It's A Small World of Fun Vol. 2'' DVD.

Legacy

The film's method of

anthropomorphizing Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

the cars, using the windshield for the eyes and eyelids, served as a stylistic inspiration for the 2006 Disney-

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

animated feature These lists of animated feature films compiles animated feature films from around the world and is organized alphabetically under the year of release (the year the completed film was first released to the public). Theatrical releases as well as ...

, ''

Cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

'' and its sequels and spin-offs.

References

External links

*
Bill Peet, Jr.'s page about the film

''Susie the Little Blue Coupe'' on Internet Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Susie The Little Blue Coupe 1950s Disney animated short films 1952 animated films 1952 short films Animated films about automobiles Films directed by Clyde Geronimi Films produced by Walt Disney Films scored by Paul Smith (film and television composer) 1950s English-language films American animated short films RKO Pictures short films RKO Pictures animated short films