"The Golden Touch" is an old Disney cartoon and at 10 minutes this one's a bit longer than they usually are. Director is Disney himself and the voice acting is provided by the prolific and successful Billy Bletcher. Here we have the story of King Midas that many know I am sure and really in an animated form, you cannot make it better than it is here. The looks are absolutely amazing for a film that is over 80 years old and there is a great deal of wit in here and a memorable lesson in terms of morale. Maybe you could say that the fun/comedy component is not existent here and you would be right, the somewhat funny onions comment at the very end cannot change that. But it's not a problem at all. The darker skeleton references make obvious anyway that this is not a Disney cartoon for the little ones, but teenagers and everybody above the agee can and should check this one out. We should be thankful for the huge treasure of quality films Disney left us and this is just one coin in the chest. Really loved the ending too because when he has almost nothing except a burger and his underwear is the first time he is really happy and not only tells us this film to not be greedy, but also to appreciate the little things in life, not just food-wise, that we often take for granted. This Silly Simphony is as close to a must-see as I was giving it an even higher rating. Maybe on rewatch. But I sure recommend it very much.

This cartoon is based on the tale of King Midas, the greedy king who turns anything he touches into gold.This cartoon short wasn't bad, following along with the tale well. The animation was pretty good and the story was a little exciting; makes you want to see how the king would get himself out of his gold fever.The elf, who granted Midas the golden touch, didn't really give the king strong advice about the touch, only saying it would be a curse. The king, though, was a little too sappy.The cartoon does give off a good moral, telling you not to be greedy but be grateful of what you have, and be careful in what you wish for.Grade B-

This is a color short in the Silly Symphonies series produced by the Disney studio. There will be spoilers ahead:If you know the fable of King Midas, you essentially know the plot of this one. I don't even need to go through the plot, but here's the Cliff's Notes version-a greedy king named Midas wants even more gold than he has and is given the "gift" of the golden touch, so that everything he touches turns to gold.The king here isn't the shiniest pebble in the pond, so he misses the obvious more than once in this short. Despite warnings from the elf named Goldy that this "gift" would be a curse instead, he demands to be given the "golden touch" and gets his wish.You know what happens next-the obvious: Everything turns to gold. The beauty of the short is in the details, how things happen. The animation is beautiful and the gags are great, particularly the mirror gags, which have a bite to them.The Nimrod in chief finally grasps the obvious and begs to be released. But being as his bulb is still dimmer than a ten watt bulb at half power, he makes an even more idiotic bargain than before. The end is no less than he deserves.This short is available on the Disney Treasures Silly Symphonies DVD set and it and the set are well worth finding. Highly recommended.

There was only one thing really that I didn't like about The Golden Touch was the ending, the whole idea that King Midas lost everything for a hamburger didn't convince me and came across as absurd instead. Then again, that's just me having one of my personal thoughts. Otherwise it is a great cartoon, that sadly gets a lot of hate(even from Walt Disney himself!) for some reason which I'd love to find out, especially when there are far worse Silly Symphonies out there(El Terrible Toreador for instance). Why did I love this cartoon? The animation is absolutely great, colourful and fluid throughout, with the standouts being how things turn to gold and the chilling part where Midas sees the skeleton through the mirror in his own robes, and complete with one of the catchiest beginning songs of any Silly Symphony the music is energetic and really sets the tone of the story well. The jokes are very clever, and while it is a tad predictable once Goldie offers Midas the golden touch the story is crisply paced and charming with a great message about how self-destructive greed is, though I have always wondered what happened to the cat once he's turned to gold. What is remarkable about The Golden Touch, other than the sprightly character of Goldie was the portrayal of Midas, who is so much more than the one-dimensional figure he could've been, instead he is greedy, but also subtle, pretty likable and you do feel sorry for him at the end. All in all, not a masterpiece but a great cartoon. 9/10 Bethany Cox