''Water Babies'' is a ''
Silly Symphonies'' cartoon released on May 11, 1935, by
United Artists.
The cartoon was directed by
Wilfred Jackson. It features 2-inch-tall nude babies playing games in and out of the water. The babies are all completely identical other than the color of their hair. The edited version of the cartoon eliminates some shots that feature nude baby bottoms as a sight gag.
This cartoon was followed in 1938 by a sequel short, ''
Merbabies''.
[
]
Plot
The cartoon begins with several water lilies opening to reveal a 2-inch-tall water baby sleeping in each one. The babies immediately awaken and leap into the water, except for one reluctant, redheaded baby who is assisted by hard slaps on the bottom from his water lily. As the babies play, the redheaded baby is being dunked repeatedly by two others. He finally comes up bottom-first and the other two babies spank him back underwater. Then, flowers played as horns sound and the babies all ride swans, fish, turtles, or leaf boats to the shore where they swing on vines and play with animals. In one scene, three babies, wearing chaps
Chaps ( or ) are sturdy coverings for the legs consisting of leggings and a belt. They are buckled on over trousers with the chaps' integrated belt, but unlike trousers, they have no seat (the term "assless chaps" is a tautology) and are not jo ...
made from leaves and nothing else, ride on frogs rodeo-style. In another scene, a baby torero, wearing only a blade of grass sash and an acorn montera
A montera is the hat traditionally worn by many males and females in the folk costumes of the Iberian peninsula. It has come to name also but not exclusively the ones used by bullfighters, introduced to the event in 1835 by Francisco "Paquiro" Mon ...
, attempts to fight a bullfrog, but the frog instead manages to pen the torero and bows in triumph to the audience. Finally the babies take another ride back to their lily pads, recite Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
Now I lay me down to sleep is a classic Christian child's prayer#Bedtime prayer, children's bedtime prayer from the 18th century.
Text
Perhaps the earliest version was written by George Wheler (travel writer), George Wheler in his 1698 book ''T ...
, and lay down in their flower beds.
Voice cast
* Whistling: Marion Darlington
* Water babies: Leone Ledoux[
]
Home media
The short was released on December 4, 2001, on '' Walt Disney Treasures: Silly Symphonies - The Historic Musical Animated Classics''[
]
References
External links
''Water Babies''
at the Internet Movie Database
1935 films
1935 short films
1935 animated films
Silly Symphonies
1930s Disney animated short films
Films directed by Wilfred Jackson
Films produced by Walt Disney
American animated short films
1930s American films
Films based on works by Charles Kingsley
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