The Flying Turtle
The Flying Turtle
| 28 June 1953 (USA)
The Flying Turtle Trailers

In this entry in Universal-International's "Foolish Fable" series (U-I production number 8327), Herman the Turtle's only ambition is to be able to fly. He reads articles on the subject and also enrolls in Madam Bluejay's Flying School, all of which leads to failure. He pays an eagle to give him flying lessons but the eagle drops him in the ocean and kills him. But Herman goes to Turtle Heaven where he is given a pair of wings and flies to his content. The "Be careful what you wish for" moral goes unstated.

Reviews
Robert Reynolds

This is a cute little uncomplicated cartoon about a turtle who wants to fly more than anything. Because I want to talk about a few details, this is a spoiler warning: Herman the Turtle dreams of flying, reads books on the subject and is teased about it by birds, including a bald eagle. He even tries taking flying lessons and building himself some wings. He ultimately winds up underwater, where he finds a treasure chest. He bribes the eagle to take him up in the air so that he can fly.There are some really good visual gags in the sequence where the eagle takes him up, with the turtle always saying "Higher!" whenever the eagle asks him if the altitude is good enough. Finally, the eagle says, "End of the line" and drops Herman off. Herman grabs two of the eagle's tail feathers and starts flapping his arms furiously. Unfortunately for him, it doesn't work very well for him at all and he drops rapidly to meet the ground.The narrator announces Herman's demise in somber tones as the scene shifts upward to "Turtle Heaven" and we see Herman flying with angel's wings and happy as a clam.This is available on one of the Columbia House DVDs and is well worth watching. Recommended.

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