"Mary's Little Lamb" seems to illustrate why Ub Iwerks didn't succeed when he left Disney. He is an animation legend and is one of the key figures in the early days of Disney, but somehow he couldn't translate that success in his own venture.
This short does not stand out in any way. It's not funny, unique, or even that well drawn, which is a surprise because Mr. Iwerks was a genius when it came to drawing at Disney. Like Robert Reynolds noted, all the children seemed to be drawn the same, like they all came from one creepy village. The title character, Mary, also was awkwardly drawn and had an odd, badly timed walking style.
Mary, along with the teacher, was also drawn sort of rubbery. At the time this cartoon was made, animators were still having trouble drawing realistic-looking humans. This was evident at Disney when they did "Goddess of Spring," but they were constantly improving to make the beautiful "Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs," whereas Mr. Iwerks seemed to be stuck in this poor animation style.
And I haven't said anything about the songs. Most were absolutely horrible, especially the one "Good Morning" song sung by the teacher and the students. However, they were able to rhyme the song between Mary and the lamb, so I guess that's something. I don't mean to bash on Mr. Iwerks so much, but this was definitely not his best. He was a revolutionary animator in the early Mickey Mouse cartoons and would dabble in more innovative projects when he returned to Disney. He is definitely a legend, but for some reason, he just couldn't make it on his own.
My IMDb Rating: 2/10
This short does not stand out in any way. It's not funny, unique, or even that well drawn, which is a surprise because Mr. Iwerks was a genius when it came to drawing at Disney. Like Robert Reynolds noted, all the children seemed to be drawn the same, like they all came from one creepy village. The title character, Mary, also was awkwardly drawn and had an odd, badly timed walking style.
Mary, along with the teacher, was also drawn sort of rubbery. At the time this cartoon was made, animators were still having trouble drawing realistic-looking humans. This was evident at Disney when they did "Goddess of Spring," but they were constantly improving to make the beautiful "Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs," whereas Mr. Iwerks seemed to be stuck in this poor animation style.
And I haven't said anything about the songs. Most were absolutely horrible, especially the one "Good Morning" song sung by the teacher and the students. However, they were able to rhyme the song between Mary and the lamb, so I guess that's something. I don't mean to bash on Mr. Iwerks so much, but this was definitely not his best. He was a revolutionary animator in the early Mickey Mouse cartoons and would dabble in more innovative projects when he returned to Disney. He is definitely a legend, but for some reason, he just couldn't make it on his own.
My IMDb Rating: 2/10