''Father Noah's Ark'' is a

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

produced ''

Silly Symphonies ''Silly Symphony'' (also known as ''Silly Symphonies'') 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 ''Si ...

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

. It is based on the biblical narrative of Noah's Ark. 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. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

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

Plot

The short begins with the building of the Ark. Father

Noah Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...

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

Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...

Shem Shem (; ''Šēm''; ) is one of the sons of Noah in the Bible ( Genesis 5–11 and 1 Chronicles 1:4). The children of Shem are Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram, in addition to unnamed daughters. Abraham, the patriarch of Jews, Christ ...

and

Japheth Japheth ( ''Yép̄eṯ'', in pausa ''Yā́p̄eṯ''; '; ; ') 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 drunkenness and the curse of Ham, and subsequently in the Table of Nation ...

"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 gin ...

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 small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

, carrying an

olive branch The olive branch, a ramus of '' Olea europaea'', is a symbol of peace. It is generally associated with the customs of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, and is connected with supplication to divine beings and persons in power. Likewise, it is f ...

, flies back to Noah and his family to signify that land has been found. They lower the gangway and the animals and their offspring 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 produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation. Produced by Roy E. Disney and Donald W. Ernst, it is the sequel to Disney's 1940 animated feature film '' Fantasia''. Like its p ...

'', 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 Sons' Wives: The Rhythmettes * Noah's Wife: Lucille La Verne * "Who built the ark?": Jesse Delos Jewkes

References

External links

* 1933 films 1930s color 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 short films Films scored by Leigh Harline 1930s American films Disney animated films based on fairy tales {{Disney-animation-film-stub