User Reviews

MUSICALLY ORIENTED ANIMATION had long been a popular road to take in shaping the form that a cartoon would take. Ever since Disney's ILLY SYMPHONY Series and especially the Mickey Mouse outing, THE BAND CONCERT, the other studios made their own entries into the sub-genre.

OF COURSE, THE ultimate marriage of the visual with the musical was Disney's FANTASIA (1940); which, of course, spawned a good deal of imitation. Most notably, the Italian film, Bruno Bozetto's ALLEGRO NON TROPPO (1976), has been the best known and most successful. But, we digress!

WITH THE PRODUCTION and release of THE POET AND THE PEASANT, Walter Lanz and Universal Pictures made a powerful move toward staking a claim on their share of the highbrow music cartoon market. As the central character Walter Lanz Studios had but two logical choices as MC/Conductor; that being either Woody or Andy.

IT WAS, OF course, Andy Panda who go the nod for this initial Classic outing. It was more a case of the Panda's getting a boost from the appearance rather than the cartoon's being the recipient of greater viewer-ship due to Andy's presence.

WE HAVE ALWAYS felt that Mr. Lanz & Company never brought the character of Andy Panda to its full potential. He was well handled in this THE POET AND THE PEASANT; but it could have easily been Woody, Chili Willie, Wally Walrus or even Buz Buzzard in the role without any discernible difference.

. . . 101 Dalmatians. Though he won an Oscar nomination for THE POET & PEASANT, this is not considered to be his most famous composition. "Morning, Noon and Night" was written for the Bugs Bunny episode, BATON BUDDY. Before this Andy Panda episode, THE POET & PEASANT was covered by Popeye during his SPINACH OVERTURE (1935). Walt Dizzy has Mick the Mouse fighting "The Light Cavalry" with 1942's SYMPHONY HOUR. Besides this famous trio of works, Mr. Van Soupy dashed off another 30 operas and 180 ballets, but they're pretty much forgotten and never played or recorded today. As Mark Twain used to say, "If you cannot put a cartoon to it, it doesn't mean squat."

" . . . Five blue birds in the hand or tummy is worth more than one silly goose in the bush." THE POET & PEASANT turns out to be surprisingly violent, with our avian friends bearing the brunt of the mayhem. As has been the case since the pattern was set by the profligate Steamboat Willy, food waste features prominently during this musical performance. A pie pumpkin is carelessly shattered, pulp squirting out everywhere. Later the same equine percussionist villain destroys a large quantity of eggs. A popcorn hoarder turns violent defending his stash, and a frog croaks, likely due to his lower limbs being served off-screen. This Andy episode likely will work up a hunger in some of the more voracious viewers, sending them after the Double Bamboo-Eater Burger at Panda Express.

This short was nominated for an Academy Award and marked the launching of a new series that replaced the previous Swing Symphonies series, which was called Musical Miniatures. It's an Andy Panda short and essentially, this is The Band Concert redone and it does not compare to the Disney short, though it is reasonably good in it's own right. Andy Panda is an incredibly bland character with limited scope. The story has to be engaging or the short falls flat. The Poet and Peasant is entertaining but nothing special. Worth watching.