The Country Cousin
| The Country Cousin | |
|---|---|
| Silly Symphonies series | |
Poster for The Country Cousin
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| Directed by | Wilfred Jackson |
| Produced by | Walt Disney |
| Story by | Larry Clemmons |
| Music by | Leigh Harline |
| Animation by |
Milt Schaffer Jack Hannah Les Clark Johnny Cannon Marvin Woodward Art Babbitt Cy Young Paul Allen |
| Studio | Walt Disney Productions |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) | October 31, 1936 |
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 9 minutes |
| Language | English |
The Country Cousin is a Walt Disney animated short film released on October 31, 1936 by United Artists. The winner of the 1936 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, the film was produced by Walt Disney, directed by Wilfred Jackson, and animated by Art Babbitt and Les Clark. As is true for most cartoons in the Silly Symphonies series, The Country Cousin was built around a musical score, which was written by Leigh Harline. The film's story was based on one of Aesop's Fables, The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse. It was accompanied by a storybook for young children, which was usual for the most popular Silly Symphonies.
The Country Cousin tells the story of a mouse from "Podunk" (an American English name denoting a place "in the middle of nowhere") coming to visit his relative in the city. The opening shot/title card is of the mouse in question, Abner, staring up at the city skyscrapers, with the sign directing him to Podunk facing the opposite way. He receives a telegram (titled a "Mouse-O-Gram") from his cousin, Monty, telling him to "Stop being a hick" and come live with him in the city. Without specifying the location of Abner or Monty, the film sets out to contrast the lifestyles of the archetypal country and city inhabitants.
Abner is shown walking along a railroad towards the city, and when he arrives, the differences between the two become clear. Abner is wearing overalls and is portrayed as bumbling and oblivious to the dangers of the city, whilst Monty sports a top-hat and is acutely aware of the problems they face (as exemplified whenever he tells Abner to shush, which is also the only sign of dialogue here). Monty leads Abner to a meal that the human residents of the household have set out. The two mice begin by dining on cheese, but Abner lacks any sense of etiquette, and soon begins gorging himself on celery, cream, and mustard, the latter of which generates a reaction to the excessive heat. Cooling himself with Champagne, Abner finds himself partial to the taste, and becomes drunk, provoking the disdain of Monty. Abner begins seeing in double vision, and creates more noise by bringing down a pile of bread (causing the double visions of Monty to hide behind the real one).
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Wikipedia