It should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed Disney to any degree that this short took some (in this case, understandable and legitimate) liberties with the original source material. Based on the story of how Persephone came to become the wife of Hades, god of the Underworld, this is a truncated version, leaving out any reference to Demeter, Persephone's mother (and sister to Hades) and leaving out the detail of why Persephone must return to the Underworld and stay for a specific duration. It's a fascinating story, but the changes made were reasonable ones and the short itself is quite good. Because I want to discuss the short in a bit of detail, this is a spoiler warning:
As the short opens, it is made abundantly clear that the "Goddess of Spring" is well nigh universally loved and adored by all creatures, great and small. The opening sequence shows a lush, verdant paradise over which she reigns with tenderness and warmth, which is returned many times over.
Then the ruler of the Underworld appears and basically kidnaps her, taking her below to make her his wife. He seems absolutely certain that the idea of marrying him and of becoming his queen is so clearly a desirable thing that her disinterest and continued sadness first confuse and then disturb him.
She continues to plead with him to allow her to return to her world above, because she fears that, if she never goes back, both she and every creature are doomed to die. He reluctantly agrees-on the condition that she spend part of each year in the Underworld, as his queen.
There are three predominant visual contrasts-the eternal spring before her kidnapping and at the end, when she returns to the surface, the visual depiction of the Underworld and the depiction of the winter cast over the world by her departure to the Underworld. While all three are quite good, the contrast between spring and winter makes those sequences a bit more impressive. The colors used in the Underworld were a bit too bright at times and I think a bit more use of shadow and darkness would have made for a sharper juxtaposition of the two radically different realms.
This short is available on the DVD set, More Silly Symphonies, part of the Disney Treasures series and both this short and the DVD set are highly recommended.
As the short opens, it is made abundantly clear that the "Goddess of Spring" is well nigh universally loved and adored by all creatures, great and small. The opening sequence shows a lush, verdant paradise over which she reigns with tenderness and warmth, which is returned many times over.
Then the ruler of the Underworld appears and basically kidnaps her, taking her below to make her his wife. He seems absolutely certain that the idea of marrying him and of becoming his queen is so clearly a desirable thing that her disinterest and continued sadness first confuse and then disturb him.
She continues to plead with him to allow her to return to her world above, because she fears that, if she never goes back, both she and every creature are doomed to die. He reluctantly agrees-on the condition that she spend part of each year in the Underworld, as his queen.
There are three predominant visual contrasts-the eternal spring before her kidnapping and at the end, when she returns to the surface, the visual depiction of the Underworld and the depiction of the winter cast over the world by her departure to the Underworld. While all three are quite good, the contrast between spring and winter makes those sequences a bit more impressive. The colors used in the Underworld were a bit too bright at times and I think a bit more use of shadow and darkness would have made for a sharper juxtaposition of the two radically different realms.
This short is available on the DVD set, More Silly Symphonies, part of the Disney Treasures series and both this short and the DVD set are highly recommended.