. . . with this ironically portentous brief cartoon, BABES IN THE WOODS. The future Disney MegaCorp casts ITSELF as an evil, ugly witch, possessing a job-killing potion capable of turning the liveliest kid or cat into stone (as in "stone-cold dead"). This, of course, is exactly what Disney soon did to the entirety of Western Civilization, bribing the U.S. Congress to extend standard 28-year copyrights Ad Infinitum. This insures that Disney's Witching Hours will NEVER end; that Steamboat Willie and friends NEVER will be allowed to breathe free in the Public Domain. As an unintended and ever more grotesque side effect from this misuse of Disney's ill-gotten Wealth, all the Beloved Creatures of Real Artists--such as Gatsby, Bugs Bunny, Gilroy, Porky Pig, and Bogart--are similarly condemned to the static single dimension of Disney's Stone Cold Dungeons. The solution to this sorry state of affairs is embedded in the conclusion of BABES IN THE WOODS. Just as the tiny bearded gnomes liberate all the kiddies frozen by the Disney Witch, it is up to We the 99 Per Center Little People to make sure that imprisoned Disney Characters such as Goofer and Bluto FINALLY see the light of day by tagging them across America's municipal buildings and streets as often as possible!

This is an early color short in the Silly Symphonies series produced by the Disney studio. There will be spoilers ahead:This looks to be an early dry run to see if adaptations of fairy tales were possible. There are echoes of the future in here, most specifically Snow White. The witch in particular resonates with the feature film to come five years later.The story is a spin on Hansel and Gretal. It would be much better but for a curious decision (and I can't imagine it was an accident, as only the children have this problem). Their eyes are purely pupils, smallish black dots, rather than proper eyes, as with the gnomes and the witch. It gives them dead eyes and hence little personality, which is a mistake when they are technically the leads. It's a pity, because the good animation and other qualities are lessened a bit by dead eyed leads with no character.The short starts with the two leads finding a group of gnomes and the opening is cute is familiar. The entry of the witch on her broom ends the fun and the gnomes wisely scramble for the safety of their tree homes. Hansel and Gretal are too large to get in and foolishly get on the witch's broom for a ride. She shows them a cottage made of candy and gingerbread and the obvious happens, with a change.Instead of eating children, the witch changes them into bugs or animals. She changes the boy into a spider, turns a cat into stone, but is interrupted by the gnomes on a rescue mission.There follows a typical fight sequence found in a lot of Disney shorts from the early 1930s. There's a nice touch with the gnomes riding geese and throwing pumpkins which appear as if by magic in their hands. They basically rout the witch while the boy and the girl restore the other children and ultimately turn the witch into stone.It's scary and charming by turns, apart from the one glaring flaw. The short is available on the Disney Treasures Silly Symphonies DVD set and it and the set are worth finding. Recommended

In the 1930s, Disney was the top studio for animation. The quality of their work was without equal and the public adored them. So, I have no animosity against Disney cartoons of this era. However, I must admit that a few of their cartoons were NOT so wonderful and a small number were, despite GREAT animation, still very bad cartoons. This is the case with "Babes in the Woods"--a completely sub-par and creepy cartoon indeed.This short begins with two Dutch-looking children with hollow, soul-less eyes running about--lost in the woods. They happen upon a group of gnomes that look like little Santas. However, after all their cavorting about, an evil witch arrives. She kidnaps the kids and tries to eat them and the kids respond by murdering her--but it's in self-defense! Then, all the forest creatures celebrate and the film ends. On top of everything, the music in this bizarre mess is terrible. Apart from nice animation, there really is nothing worth seeing in this weird and uber-creepy short film.

I thoroughly enjoyed this Silly Symphony. I wouldn't necessarily deem it as a favourite, like I would Flowers and Trees and The Old Mill, but it manages to be both scary and charming. With nice colourful animation, particularly on the outside of the gingerbread house, a beautiful lullaby-like title song and dramatic and whimsical incidental music it is a delight visually and musically. The pace is secure and the cartoon eventful enough to be enjoyable, with some elements of other Grimm fairy tales and sticking to the overall structure of the original Hansel and Gretel tale. The characters are engaging, the two children are likable enough and look cute in the Dutch traditional dress, while the gnomes are friendly and jovial. I remember this though chiefly for the Witch, who is very scary not only how she is animated but how she speaks too. Concluded with a fun climax, in which the Witch is finally turned into stone, this is a lovely, charming Silly Symphony. 10/10 Bethany Cox