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The Tortoise and the Hare (film)
Encyclopedia
The Tortoise and the Hare is an animated
short film released on January 5, 1935 by United Artists
, produced by Walt Disney
and directed by Wilfred Jackson
. Based on an Aesop's fable of the same name
, The Tortoise and the Hare won the 1934 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons
. This cartoon is also believed to be one of the influences for Bugs Bunny
Max seems to dominate the race, zooming past everything on the road. At one point, possibly as an homage to the fable, Max pretends to nap under a tree, just to watch Toby's progress. Thinking that Max really is asleep, Toby quietly creeps past him. Not long after, Max gets up and bolts past him again. A little further down the road, Max passes a girls' school. He stops to talk to the bunny girls. As Toby lumbers past, the girls invite him to stop as well, but Toby says no, since he's committed to finishing the race. Max opts to stay for a while, even though Toby is now in the lead, he's so slow, Max will have no trouble catching up. Max uses the girls' sports field to show off his amazing athletic skills in archery, baseball and tennis.
Just then, Max hears the crowd cheering and sees that Toby is not far from the finish line. He bids the girls farewell and charges off, still confident that he will win easily. Toby sees Max catching up and picks up his pace by stretching his legs. In the end, the race is close. Max crosses the finish line and skids to a rough halt. Once he gets up and dusts himself off, he realizes that he lost by a "neck's length." The crowd rushes to congratulate the winner, Toby Tortoise.
, while Toby Tortoise is on a poster in the toontown alleyway and appears during the final scene of Who Framed Roger Rabbit
. Toby and Max also appear as guests in Disney's House of Mouse.
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
short film released on January 5, 1935 by United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
, produced by Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
and directed by Wilfred Jackson
Wilfred Jackson
Wilfred Jackson was an American animator, arranger, composer and director best known for his work on the Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies series of cartoons and the two segments Night on Bald Mountain and Ave Maria of Fantasia from The Walt Disney Company.Wilfred Jackson was born in Chicago,...
. Based on an Aesop's fable of the same name
The Tortoise and the Hare
The Tortoise and the Hare is a fable attributed to Aesop and is number 226 in the Perry Index. The story concerns a hare who ridicules a slow-moving tortoise and is challenged by him to a race. The hare soon leaves the tortoise behind and, confident of winning, decides to take a nap midway through...
, The Tortoise and the Hare won the 1934 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons
Academy Award for Animated Short Film
The Academy Award for Animated Short Film is an award which has been given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as part of the Academy Awards every year since the 5th Academy Awards, covering the year 1931-32, to the present....
. This cartoon is also believed to be one of the influences for Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
Summary
Unlike the original fable, the race is a major sporting event, as opposed to a challenge between the hare and the tortoise. Max Hare is the heavy favorite to win. He's cocky, athletic and incredibly fast. His challenger, Toby Tortoise is teased and jeered for being sluggish and clumsy. He does seem to have the ability to stretch, which comes in handy in certain situations. Max tells Toby that he intends to play fair, but is seems obvious that Max is just out to humiliate his competition. The race begins and Max zooms off. It takes an extra nudge from the starter to get Toby going.Max seems to dominate the race, zooming past everything on the road. At one point, possibly as an homage to the fable, Max pretends to nap under a tree, just to watch Toby's progress. Thinking that Max really is asleep, Toby quietly creeps past him. Not long after, Max gets up and bolts past him again. A little further down the road, Max passes a girls' school. He stops to talk to the bunny girls. As Toby lumbers past, the girls invite him to stop as well, but Toby says no, since he's committed to finishing the race. Max opts to stay for a while, even though Toby is now in the lead, he's so slow, Max will have no trouble catching up. Max uses the girls' sports field to show off his amazing athletic skills in archery, baseball and tennis.
Just then, Max hears the crowd cheering and sees that Toby is not far from the finish line. He bids the girls farewell and charges off, still confident that he will win easily. Toby sees Max catching up and picks up his pace by stretching his legs. In the end, the race is close. Max crosses the finish line and skids to a rough halt. Once he gets up and dusts himself off, he realizes that he lost by a "neck's length." The crowd rushes to congratulate the winner, Toby Tortoise.
Other appearances
The girl bunnies and the animal pedestrians make cameos in ToontownToontown
Toontown is a fictional anthropomorphic city where animated cartoon characters, known as Toons, reside.-Description:In the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the whole city of Toontown is cartoonish, except for anything foreign to the city, such as people and objects from outside of Toontown...
, while Toby Tortoise is on a poster in the toontown alleyway and appears during the final scene of Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...
. Toby and Max also appear as guests in Disney's House of Mouse.