The Plausible Impossible (1956) Movie Script
(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)
ANNOUNCER: ...present
Walt Disney's Disneyland.
JIMINY CRICKET:
When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference
who you are
ANNOUNCER: Each week as
you enter this timeless land,
one of these many worlds
will open to you.
Frontierland,
tall tales and true
from the legendary past.
Tomorrowland,
promise of things to come.
Adventureland,
the wonder-world
of nature's own realm.
Fantasyland, the happiest
kingdom of them all.
Presenting this week
from Fantasyland,
"The Plausible Impossible."
And now your host,
Walt Disney.
These animation drawings
are from a part of Snow White
and the Seven Dwarfs,
that was never seen
by the public.
(SLURPS)
Ah!
These are just
a few of the drawings
out of an entire episode
that was not used
in the picture.
And this is a scene
from one of the musical
numbers in Fantasia
called A Night
On Bald Mountain.
This film portrays
a medieval superstition
that grew into our modern
conception of Halloween.
Later on, you'll see
both of these sequences.
They will illustrate
the principle in animation
which we call
the plausible impossible.
The plausible
impossible means
"taking something that is
against the laws of nature,"
something impossible,
"and making it
"appear rational
and acceptable."
In short, plausible.
I'm quoting from our book
The Art of Animation.
Herein, we have tried
to answer the questions
of not only those
who are merely curious
about animation,
but also those
serious students
who wish to go deeper
into the subject.
One entire chapter
is devoted to the
plausible impossible.
First, you must understand
the plausible impossible
is not something we,
who draw animated
cartoons, invented.
It's been around a long time.
Looking back
into history, we find
many examples in
art and literature
of things that
are impossible,
yet they were plausible
and acceptable in their time.
These Egyptian figures,
each with a human body,
but with the head of a lion,
jackal, or a bird
might seem merely
fanciful to us,
even amusing.
But to the ancient Egyptians
they were quite
real and believable,
because they were gods,
supernatural beings.
To the ancient Chinese
the dragon was very real,
even though no
one had actually
seen one that
looked like this.
Yet, there may be
a very plausible
basis for their
belief in dragons.
It is an
established fact that
monstrous creatures
roamed the Earth
in prehistoric times.
(THUNDER CRACKING)
(THUNDER CRACKING)
Now, it's possible
that the age of dinosaurs
somewhere overlapped
with man's
earliest beginnings.
And the memory
of these monsters
may have been passed on
from generation
to generation,
(THUNDER CRACKING)
to finally evolve
into the Chinese
conception of the dragon.
Greek mythology
has many strange
characters, too.
Impossible though they look,
they are not hard to justify.
For instance,
the idea of the centaur
could well have
been the simple case
of mistaken identity.
The ancient
Greeks were accustomed
to seeing horses
pulling chariots.
They'd been doing
it for centuries.
It was not until
about 1200 B.C.
that someone got
the strange idea
of riding on horseback.
Seeing a horse
and a man together
in this manner
for the first time
must have been quite a shock.
And the myth of the centaur
may well have been
created later on,
in a too enthusiastic
retelling of the incident.
So much for
the ancient history of
the plausible impossible.
Now let's see
how it applies
to the animated cartoon.
Impossible cartoon actions
will seem plausible,
if the viewer feels
the action he's watching
has some factual basis.
For example,
the idea that pulling
a cow's tail
could ring a bell
hanging on her neck,
may seem far-fetched,
but it has some basis in fact.
There is an anatomical
connection between
the bell here,
and the tail here.
That is the spinal column.
And so it seems
entirely plausible
that pulling her tail
would ring the bell.
(BELL RINGS)
(BELL RINGS)
(BELL RINGING)
(STRAINING)
(BELL RINGING)
Another important factor
in making cartoon
action believable
is correctness of sensation.
When an elevator
starts up suddenly,
we feel as though
our body is actually squashed.
So in our cartoon,
Mickey's body
really does squash.
(BELL RINGS)
And stretch.
(BELL RINGS)
Now, let's take Mickey
to the mountains
on a windy day.
Here's a different
impossibility,
it's based on
two plausibilities.
One psychological,
the other physical.
First, is the idea
that Mickey won't fall
until he realizes
he's only standing
on thin air.
And second,
if he scrambles hard enough,
he might get sufficient
traction in the air
to get back to safety.
And here, the principle
of momentum is involved.
If Mickey builds up
enough speed,
it seems quite plausible
for him to
keep right on climbing
even after he has come
to the end of his rope.
And finally,
on the baseball diamond,
with Mickey
on the pitcher's mound.
When he winds up
to throw the ball,
if his action is
vigorous enough,
it might very plausibly
take him up into the air,
like a helicopter.
And now, here's another side
of the plausible impossible.
It's been used
so extensively
in animated cartoons,
as to be almost
taken for granted,
impossible though it is.
This is a trick
of giving life
to inanimate objects.
Now, by their very nature,
it's impossible
for inanimate things
to have life.
Yet a good many years ago,
we made a picture,
in which, I think you'll find
many plausibly alive objects.
This picture is based on
Lewis Carroll's famous book,
Through the Looking-Glass.
We took many liberties
in this film,
including substituting
Mickey Mouse in
the role of Alice.
Like Alice, Mickey Mouse
found himself
in a topsy-turvy land,
where the laws of nature
were suspended and
anything could happen.
Here, the plausible
impossible was
the order of the day.
(GRUNTS)
(BARKING)
(BARKING)
Oh!
(SHOUTING IN GIBBERISH)
Oh.
(LAUGHING) Nuts.
(GRUNTING)
(PHONE RINGING)
Hello, hello, hello, hello!
Oh, what's that? Hello?
Yeah, oh, yeah.
Yeah, he's here.
Hey, you. Telephone.
(BELL RINGS)
Hello.
Hello.
Hello.
Hello.
Hello!
Hello!
Huh, what do you want?
Pick up.
(LAUGHS) Aw, skip it.
Skip it? Okay.
(SHOES TAPPING)
(TAP DANCING)
(RADIO TUNING)
(HICCUPS)
(RADIO PLAYING UPBEAT MUSIC)
(DRUMROLL PLAYING)
(MARCHING DRUMBEAT PLAYING)
Forward march.
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
Hard halt.
Hard shuffle.
Hard cut.
Hey! (LAUGHING)
(UPBEAT DANCE MUSIC PLAYING)
(WHISTLES)
(SWORDS CLANGING)
Call out the cards.
Call out the cards.
BOTH: Call out the cards.
(RADIO TUNING)
Calling all cards.
Calling all cards.
RADIO: Calling all cards.
Calling all cards.
PHONE: Help! Help! Over here!
Help! Help! Over here!
Help!
Help, please, help!
Help, please, help!
(PHONE RINGING)
(ALARM RINGING)
(SNORING)
(ALARM CONTINUES RINGING)
Hello?
Hello? Hello?
In animated cartoons,
there's nothing
quite so important
for the characters themselves
as being plausible.
Their problem is
that they are not
real individuals.
They must be created
step by step.
Each and every
animated cartoon character
starts out as a blank
piece of paper,
which is drawn
upon by a pencil.
WALT: Oh, by the way,
this pencil you are watching
is in itself
a plausible impossibility.
Animation gives movement,
which in turn,
gives life to the drawing.
But equally as important
as animation is sound.
Sound helps to give
the character plausibility
in two ways.
(LAUGHING)
First, by giving him
an appropriate voice.
Oh, that's very, very cool.
Second, we must have
convincing sound effects.
And now...
Donald, would you mind
helping with a demonstration?
Oh, sure. I'd be glad to.
"Mary had a little lamb..."
(LAUGHS) No, no, Donald.
Let's do
the sound effects first.
Okay, what do I do?
WALT: Take off your hat
and face the audience.
Like this?
That's fine.
Now we all know
that a head
isn't really hollow.
But it is this idea
which lends plausibility
to a sound like this.
(HOLLOW THUD)
(EXCLAIMS ANGRILY)
WALT: Also,
we know that a head
can't sound like a gong,
but a heavy enough
instrument can really
make your head ring.
(RINGING)
Now, you take
a real heavy object.
Say, something weighing
three or four tons.
This can produce some
very plausible effects,
both audible and visual.
First, the sound
which was made
by letting the steel tank
drop 10 feet onto
the concrete floor
of an empty swimming pool,
with reverberation added.
(EXCLAIMS IN PANIC)
(CLANGS)
Now, let's run the
film back and hear
that interesting sound again.
(REWINDING)
(EXCLAIMS IN PANIC)
(CLANGS)
And now, let's observe
the pictorial result
of our experiment.
(MAKING ACCORDION SOUNDS)
This visual accordion effect
naturally demands
an accordion sound.
(MAKING ACCORDION SOUNDS)
(BLOWING)
Now here is
an unusual effect.
When a character
is shot out of a cannon...
Oh, no! You can't.
(MUTTERING)
Ha! Let him do it himself.
Okay, Donald.
Forget the cannon.
We're all through
with the sound effects.
Come on out.
Uh-uh. No, sir.
Leave me out of it.
Oh, come on, Donald.
You'll enjoy this
next demonstration.
No, no, no, no.
Absolutely not.
Donald, the people
are waiting.
Ha! Let them wait.
Okay, Donald.
I guess we'll just have
to go ahead without you.
Now, next, we'll have
a dining room table
full of lots
of good things to eat.
WALT: First, a steaming
bowl of soup
full of succulent,
fresh garden vegetables.
Next, some French peas,
sweet, tender
and drenched with butter.
And corn on the cob,
cold cuts of meat,
spaghetti, French bread,
donuts, coffee,
and finally for dessert,
a chocolate cake
that melts in your mouth.
Marshmallow in the layers,
coconut on top and a cherry.
Oh, boy.
Actually it would be
impossible for any one
person to eat all this.
Oh, yeah? Watch me.
And since Donald absolutely
refuses to demonstrate
how this can be
plausibly achieved...
What's that?
...we'll just have to find
somebody else.
Oh, never mind, Walt.
I'd be glad to do it.
So, we'll call on
Donald's cousin, Gus Goose,
who I am sure,
can show us
just how plausible
an impossible appetite can be.
Am I hungry!
(DOORBELL BUZZING LOUDLY)
(RHYTHMIC KNOCKING ON DOOR)
All right, all right!
I'm coming!
(KNOCKING CONTINUES)
I'm coming!
(SCREAMING)
What's the big idea?
Now, run!
(HONKS)
Hey!
What is this?
(DONALD READING)
Well, Cousin Gus!
How are you?
(ALARM RINGING)
"Dinner, tea, supper, lunch."
Well, I'll be doggone!
(SNIFFING)
(HONKS)
(SLURPING)
(MAKING TYPEWRITER SOUNDS)
(LAUGHING)
(MAKING ACCORDION SOUNDS)
(LAUGHING)
Boy, what an appetite.
(EXCLAIMS IN SURPRISE)
(HONKS)
Clever.
(EXCLAIMS IN SURPRISE)
I'd better get started.
(MOCKING)
It's mine!
Such ignorance.
What? Two can play
at this game.
Hey!
Oh, yeah?
Hey!
What?
(SUCKING)
What? (MUTTERING ANGRILY)
Come on, get out, go home!
(SIGHS)
Come on, you.
This is very,
very exasperating.
I'll get rid of him.
(DONALD READING)
This will fix him.
Nice doggy.
Do your stuff.
Come and get it!
Now, for the fun.
(MEOWING)
(BARKING)
(YOWLING)
(LAUGHING)
This is very, very funny.
Lie down.
(SNICKERING)
Now, roll over.
(LAUGHING)
At last I've done it.
(BARKING)
Go get it.
(BARKING)
Goodbye.
(SLAMS)
(LAUGHING)
(CLATTERING)
(ALARM RINGING)
(HONKS)
(ALARM RINGING)
(EXCLAIMING IN FRUSTRATION)
And now, the plausible
impossible, as brought out
in the unfinished sequence
that was made
for Snow White
and the Seven Dwarfs.
While this animation
was still in the preliminary
or pencil phase,
we found that the overall
picture was too long.
Something had to be left out
and this was it.
You see, even though
we liked the sequence,
it was not essential
to the telling of the story.
So when you look
at this sequence,
it won't look like
the pictures you remember
seeing it in the theater.
Instead, you will see
the animators' original
pencil drawings.
These were photographed
over simple outline sketches
of the background,
and will look like this.
But before we see
the unfinished sequence,
let's look at a few scenes
that led up to it.
These, of course,
are from the final, finished
version of the picture,
in which all the action
was traced on celluloids,
painted in color
and photographed
over full-tone backgrounds.
As you remember,
Snow White's wicked
stepmother, the Queen,
jealous of the girl's beauty,
had attempted
to do away with her.
Here, Snow White has
found refuge in the cottage
of the seven dwarfs.
She has taken over
the household duties
and the dwarfs are about
to sample her first meal.
(SNIFFING)
ALL: Ah! Soup.
Hooray!
(CHATTERING)
(ARGUING)
SNOW WHITE:
Uh-uh, uh-uh! Just a minute.
Supper's not quite ready.
You'll just have time to wash.
ALL: Wash? Wash?
Wash? Wash? Wash?
Hah! Knew there
was a catch to it.
March straight outside
and wash, or you'll
not get a bite to eat.
WALT: Now the dwarfs
were all willing to go along
with even so radical
an idea as washing up
for each meal if need be,
in order to enjoy
Snow White's cooking.
All except Grumpy, that is.
He was holding out
his approval
until he tried the cooking.
And the thought of washing up
before supper didn't help.
(CLATTERING)
Hah!
Well, aren't you
going to wash?
(GRUNTS)
(SLAMS)
Hah, women!
DOC: Courage, men, courage.
Step up to the tub
T'ain't no disgrace
Just pull up your sleeves
and get 'em in place
Then scoop up the water and
rub it on your face and go...
(SPUTTERING)
Pick up the soap,
Now don't try to bluff
Work up a lather
And when you've got enough
Get your hands full of water
and you snort and
you snuff and go...
(SPLUTTERING)
You douse and souse
Rub and scrub
You sputter and splash
all over the tub
(BUZZING)
You may be cold
and wet when you're done
But you gotta admit
it's good clean fun
So splash all you like,
T'ain't any trick
As soon as your through,
You'll feel mighty slick
Bunch of old nanny goats,
you make me sick, going...
(SPUTTERING)
(SPUTTERING)
Hah! Next thing ya know,
she'll be tyin' your beards up
in pink ribbons
and smellin' ya up with
that stuff called "perfoom."
Hah! (SPITTING)
(WATER SLOSHING)
A fine bunch of water lilies
you turned out to be.
I'd like to see
anybody make me wash
if I didn't wanna.
(CLEARS THROAT)
(WHISPERING)
(CHUCKLING)
(WHISTLING)
Get him!
Hey, let go of me!
Get him over to the tub!
Get him over to the tub!
Let me loose, you fools!
Let me loose!
Get him up on the tub.
Get him up!
Hang onto him.
Bang him! Pound him!
Get him up on the tub!
On the tub. That's the tub.
That's the tub.
Don't, don't, don't,
don't get excited!
Don't get...
Don't get up...
Don't get...
(GRUNTS)
(CHATTERING)
Get the soap!
DOC: Steady, men.
DWARF: We'll get him there.
We'll get him.
HAPPY: Never say die.
Never say die.
GRUMPY: You don't...
(CHATTERING)
(HICCUPPING)
(ALL LAUGHING)
DOC:
Now scrub good an' hard
It can't be denied
That he'll look mighty cute
As soon as he's dried
Well it's good for the soul
And it's good
for the hide to go...
(SPUTTERING)
(LAUGHING)
(HICCUPPING)
WALT: And now,
the plausible impossible.
How they got the soap
out of Dopey.
The first public viewing
of the unfinished sequence,
still in the form
of preliminary test animation.
Supper!
(BANGING)
(ALL CLAMORING)
Yippee!
Yay!
(CHATTERING)
(ALL SLURPING AND BLOWING)
With a spoon
With a bowl
With the music in your soul
You can cheer things up
With the zub, zub, zub
Of the music in your soup
With a gulp
With a grin
(CHUCKLES)
Get a wiggle on your chin
You can make things hum
With the zum, zum, zum
Of the music in your soup
(SLURPS)
ALL:
Swing that spoon
Gotta keep on dippin'
(ALL SLURPING)
Scoop that soup
Gotta keep on sippin'
(OINKING)
Till the bowl is dry
And your face is drippin'
(GURGLING)
Let her rip!
(CLINKING)
Let her roar!
To the first and the second
and the third encore
(ALL SLURPING)
Ah!
(SLURPS)
(ALL SLURPING)
(SNIFFING)
(SLURPING)
Please! Please!
(DWARFS CONTINUE SLURPING)
(BANGING)
(SLURPING)
(SIGHS) Where did you learn
to eat soup that way?
Oh, guess it just
comes natural.
Hah. Anybody can do it.
With practice.
(LAUGHING) Yes,
but you don't understand.
This is the way
gentlemen eat soup.
DWARFS: Gentlemen?
SNOW WHITE: Yes.
Now, watch.
Spoon in the hand.
Bending the wrist
into the bowl
and out with a twist.
DWARFS: Spoon in the hand,
bending the wrist,
into the bowl,
and out with a twist.
Fine, that's perfect!
DWARFS: Perfect?
(DWARFS SLURPING)
(MAKING SLURPING
AND WHISTLING NOISES)
(HICCUPPING)
(SPOON CLATTERING)
Wha... What's the matter
with Dopey?
He's swallowed his spoon.
(HICCUPPING)
DWARF: Hey, catch him!
I got him!
(CONTINUES HICCUPPING)
(ALL CLAMORING)
(HICCUPS)
Hey!
There! Now we got him.
(HICCUPS)
Open his mouth,
I'll get it.
Say "Ah."
Ah... (HICCUPS)
DWARF: There it is! Grab it!
I got it!
(CLATTERING)
No, no, that'll never work.
Turn him upside down.
Snake it, shake it out!
(CLATTERING)
Here, I'll get it.
Bend him over.
That's it. There.
Ready?
ALL: Ready!
Clear the way.
DWARFS: Hooray!
Now, here is
a more serious side
of the plausible impossible.
It concerns music.
We all know it's impossible
to see music.
Yet many composers have tried
to take musical sounds
and give them
a pictorial meaning.
This is known
as program music.
It is meant to describe
a certain picture
or tell a definite story.
Here's an example
of program music
written by
the great Russian composer
Modest Mussorgsky.
WALT: Let's take this
characteristic theme
carried principally
by the trombones and tubas.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
No one would question
that this theme
suggests power.
But when Mussorgsky wrote it,
he wasn't thinking
in general terms.
He had a specific picture
in mind
and he intended his music
to convey that same picture
to the listener.
Now to do this is impossible
because music
is an arbitrary art form
and exists only as sound.
So regardless
of what Mussorgsky
had in mind,
his musical theme
is equally descriptive
of a wide variety of scenes.
For instance, it might picture
the power of magic
as shown in a scene from
our cartoon feature Fantasia.
Here we find
Mickey Mouse dreaming
that he is a sorcerer.
He stands on a high crag
overlooking the ocean
and imagines he is able
to direct and control the
movements of the sea itself.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
WALT: This very same
musical phrase might equally
well portray the terror
of a forest fire as shown
in this episode from
our feature cartoon Bambi.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
WALT: Or Mussorgsky's theme
could describe the battle
of the dinosaurs
from another part
of Fantasia.
Here, the gigantic Stegosaurus
meets his match
in the terrible
Tyrannosaurus rex,
the most dangerous
and vicious killer
ever created by nature.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
WALT: Of course these
were not the pictures
Mussorgsky had in mind.
What he actually wished
to portray with his music
was a Halloween night revel
of witches and goblins.
He called it
"A Night On Bald Mountain."
Now as we've just seen,
it's impossible
for the music all by itself
to describe
this picture exactly.
Also, we know witches
and goblins don't exist,
so it is impossible
to see them.
But with the combined help
of Mussorgsky's music,
the world-famous
Philadelphia Symphony
Orchestra,
the celebrated conductor,
Leopold Stokowski,
and the animated cartoon
we will try to make
this impossible thing
seem plausible.
This is Bald Mountain.
It is Halloween night.
The Prince of Darkness,
Satan himself, summons
the spirits of evil
and a ghoulish revelry
takes place
all the night long.
In the music,
this witches' Sabbath
is finally interrupted
by the sound of church bells,
which Mussorgsky used
to symbolize the triumph
of good over evil.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
(MUSIC STOPS)
(CHURCH BELL RINGS)
(CHURCH BELL RINGS)
(CHURCH BELL RINGS)
(CHURCH BELL RINGS)
(CHURCH BELL RINGS)
(CHURCH BELL RINGS)
(MELANCHOLY MUSIC PLAYING)
(CHURCH BELL RINGS)
(CHURCH BELL RINGS)
Next week, our show comes
to you from Adventureland.
We have two stories to tell.
One takes place
behind the cameras
on the island of Samoa.
The other,
behind the dykes of Holland
during one
of the darkest hours
in Dutch history.
Here, now, are a few highlight
scenes from that program.
ANNOUNCER: Next week,
Walt Disney brings you
"Cameras In Samoa."
And the thrilling
eye-witness report on
the great national disaster,
"The Holland Story."
With our people
and places cameras,
you'll visit Samoa
the island paradise
of the South Pacific.
You'll see how
Disney cameramen
photographed
the relaxed way of life
of these happy, carefree
island people.
Watch the women making
intricate and beautiful
tapa cloth designs
and the closely woven mats
for which they're famous.
In flimsy outrigger canoes,
you'll brave the rolling seas
beyond the coral reefs,
where daring Samoan fishermen
cast their nets to catch
the more than 500 varieties
of marine life
that abound there.
You'll become a part
of this idyllic land
and its people,
watching them build
their homes,
sharing their simple
pleasures,
and thrilling to the rhythms
of the native songs
and dances
that are a part
of the language
of these happy dwellers
in a Polynesian paradise.
(SINGING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE)
Then we go to Holland
to enjoy the pastoral beauty
of the country's canals.
And to visit Amsterdam,
the Venice of the North.
In winter, everyone takes
to the frozen canals
for skating and ice boating.
There's even
dancing on the ice at
the mid-winter festivals.
But the coming of spring
brings disaster.
Whipped to a fury
by hurricane winds,
the sea breaches the dykes
in more than 500 places,
creating havoc never equaled
in the history of
this lowland country.
How will the indomitable Dutch
fight back?
How will they battle time
and tide to close the breaks
in their dyke system?
How will they rebuild
their homes
and reclaim
their ruined farmland?
You'll see all this
in our dramatic report
of Holland's never-ending
battle against the sea.
So, be with us next week
when Walt Disney brings you
"Cameras in Samoa"
and the epic struggle
of man against the elements,
"The Holland Story."
(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)
ANNOUNCER: ...present
Walt Disney's Disneyland.
JIMINY CRICKET:
When you wish upon a star
Makes no difference
who you are
ANNOUNCER: Each week as
you enter this timeless land,
one of these many worlds
will open to you.
Frontierland,
tall tales and true
from the legendary past.
Tomorrowland,
promise of things to come.
Adventureland,
the wonder-world
of nature's own realm.
Fantasyland, the happiest
kingdom of them all.
Presenting this week
from Fantasyland,
"The Plausible Impossible."
And now your host,
Walt Disney.
These animation drawings
are from a part of Snow White
and the Seven Dwarfs,
that was never seen
by the public.
(SLURPS)
Ah!
These are just
a few of the drawings
out of an entire episode
that was not used
in the picture.
And this is a scene
from one of the musical
numbers in Fantasia
called A Night
On Bald Mountain.
This film portrays
a medieval superstition
that grew into our modern
conception of Halloween.
Later on, you'll see
both of these sequences.
They will illustrate
the principle in animation
which we call
the plausible impossible.
The plausible
impossible means
"taking something that is
against the laws of nature,"
something impossible,
"and making it
"appear rational
and acceptable."
In short, plausible.
I'm quoting from our book
The Art of Animation.
Herein, we have tried
to answer the questions
of not only those
who are merely curious
about animation,
but also those
serious students
who wish to go deeper
into the subject.
One entire chapter
is devoted to the
plausible impossible.
First, you must understand
the plausible impossible
is not something we,
who draw animated
cartoons, invented.
It's been around a long time.
Looking back
into history, we find
many examples in
art and literature
of things that
are impossible,
yet they were plausible
and acceptable in their time.
These Egyptian figures,
each with a human body,
but with the head of a lion,
jackal, or a bird
might seem merely
fanciful to us,
even amusing.
But to the ancient Egyptians
they were quite
real and believable,
because they were gods,
supernatural beings.
To the ancient Chinese
the dragon was very real,
even though no
one had actually
seen one that
looked like this.
Yet, there may be
a very plausible
basis for their
belief in dragons.
It is an
established fact that
monstrous creatures
roamed the Earth
in prehistoric times.
(THUNDER CRACKING)
(THUNDER CRACKING)
Now, it's possible
that the age of dinosaurs
somewhere overlapped
with man's
earliest beginnings.
And the memory
of these monsters
may have been passed on
from generation
to generation,
(THUNDER CRACKING)
to finally evolve
into the Chinese
conception of the dragon.
Greek mythology
has many strange
characters, too.
Impossible though they look,
they are not hard to justify.
For instance,
the idea of the centaur
could well have
been the simple case
of mistaken identity.
The ancient
Greeks were accustomed
to seeing horses
pulling chariots.
They'd been doing
it for centuries.
It was not until
about 1200 B.C.
that someone got
the strange idea
of riding on horseback.
Seeing a horse
and a man together
in this manner
for the first time
must have been quite a shock.
And the myth of the centaur
may well have been
created later on,
in a too enthusiastic
retelling of the incident.
So much for
the ancient history of
the plausible impossible.
Now let's see
how it applies
to the animated cartoon.
Impossible cartoon actions
will seem plausible,
if the viewer feels
the action he's watching
has some factual basis.
For example,
the idea that pulling
a cow's tail
could ring a bell
hanging on her neck,
may seem far-fetched,
but it has some basis in fact.
There is an anatomical
connection between
the bell here,
and the tail here.
That is the spinal column.
And so it seems
entirely plausible
that pulling her tail
would ring the bell.
(BELL RINGS)
(BELL RINGS)
(BELL RINGING)
(STRAINING)
(BELL RINGING)
Another important factor
in making cartoon
action believable
is correctness of sensation.
When an elevator
starts up suddenly,
we feel as though
our body is actually squashed.
So in our cartoon,
Mickey's body
really does squash.
(BELL RINGS)
And stretch.
(BELL RINGS)
Now, let's take Mickey
to the mountains
on a windy day.
Here's a different
impossibility,
it's based on
two plausibilities.
One psychological,
the other physical.
First, is the idea
that Mickey won't fall
until he realizes
he's only standing
on thin air.
And second,
if he scrambles hard enough,
he might get sufficient
traction in the air
to get back to safety.
And here, the principle
of momentum is involved.
If Mickey builds up
enough speed,
it seems quite plausible
for him to
keep right on climbing
even after he has come
to the end of his rope.
And finally,
on the baseball diamond,
with Mickey
on the pitcher's mound.
When he winds up
to throw the ball,
if his action is
vigorous enough,
it might very plausibly
take him up into the air,
like a helicopter.
And now, here's another side
of the plausible impossible.
It's been used
so extensively
in animated cartoons,
as to be almost
taken for granted,
impossible though it is.
This is a trick
of giving life
to inanimate objects.
Now, by their very nature,
it's impossible
for inanimate things
to have life.
Yet a good many years ago,
we made a picture,
in which, I think you'll find
many plausibly alive objects.
This picture is based on
Lewis Carroll's famous book,
Through the Looking-Glass.
We took many liberties
in this film,
including substituting
Mickey Mouse in
the role of Alice.
Like Alice, Mickey Mouse
found himself
in a topsy-turvy land,
where the laws of nature
were suspended and
anything could happen.
Here, the plausible
impossible was
the order of the day.
(GRUNTS)
(BARKING)
(BARKING)
Oh!
(SHOUTING IN GIBBERISH)
Oh.
(LAUGHING) Nuts.
(GRUNTING)
(PHONE RINGING)
Hello, hello, hello, hello!
Oh, what's that? Hello?
Yeah, oh, yeah.
Yeah, he's here.
Hey, you. Telephone.
(BELL RINGS)
Hello.
Hello.
Hello.
Hello.
Hello!
Hello!
Huh, what do you want?
Pick up.
(LAUGHS) Aw, skip it.
Skip it? Okay.
(SHOES TAPPING)
(TAP DANCING)
(RADIO TUNING)
(HICCUPS)
(RADIO PLAYING UPBEAT MUSIC)
(DRUMROLL PLAYING)
(MARCHING DRUMBEAT PLAYING)
Forward march.
(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING)
Hard halt.
Hard shuffle.
Hard cut.
Hey! (LAUGHING)
(UPBEAT DANCE MUSIC PLAYING)
(WHISTLES)
(SWORDS CLANGING)
Call out the cards.
Call out the cards.
BOTH: Call out the cards.
(RADIO TUNING)
Calling all cards.
Calling all cards.
RADIO: Calling all cards.
Calling all cards.
PHONE: Help! Help! Over here!
Help! Help! Over here!
Help!
Help, please, help!
Help, please, help!
(PHONE RINGING)
(ALARM RINGING)
(SNORING)
(ALARM CONTINUES RINGING)
Hello?
Hello? Hello?
In animated cartoons,
there's nothing
quite so important
for the characters themselves
as being plausible.
Their problem is
that they are not
real individuals.
They must be created
step by step.
Each and every
animated cartoon character
starts out as a blank
piece of paper,
which is drawn
upon by a pencil.
WALT: Oh, by the way,
this pencil you are watching
is in itself
a plausible impossibility.
Animation gives movement,
which in turn,
gives life to the drawing.
But equally as important
as animation is sound.
Sound helps to give
the character plausibility
in two ways.
(LAUGHING)
First, by giving him
an appropriate voice.
Oh, that's very, very cool.
Second, we must have
convincing sound effects.
And now...
Donald, would you mind
helping with a demonstration?
Oh, sure. I'd be glad to.
"Mary had a little lamb..."
(LAUGHS) No, no, Donald.
Let's do
the sound effects first.
Okay, what do I do?
WALT: Take off your hat
and face the audience.
Like this?
That's fine.
Now we all know
that a head
isn't really hollow.
But it is this idea
which lends plausibility
to a sound like this.
(HOLLOW THUD)
(EXCLAIMS ANGRILY)
WALT: Also,
we know that a head
can't sound like a gong,
but a heavy enough
instrument can really
make your head ring.
(RINGING)
Now, you take
a real heavy object.
Say, something weighing
three or four tons.
This can produce some
very plausible effects,
both audible and visual.
First, the sound
which was made
by letting the steel tank
drop 10 feet onto
the concrete floor
of an empty swimming pool,
with reverberation added.
(EXCLAIMS IN PANIC)
(CLANGS)
Now, let's run the
film back and hear
that interesting sound again.
(REWINDING)
(EXCLAIMS IN PANIC)
(CLANGS)
And now, let's observe
the pictorial result
of our experiment.
(MAKING ACCORDION SOUNDS)
This visual accordion effect
naturally demands
an accordion sound.
(MAKING ACCORDION SOUNDS)
(BLOWING)
Now here is
an unusual effect.
When a character
is shot out of a cannon...
Oh, no! You can't.
(MUTTERING)
Ha! Let him do it himself.
Okay, Donald.
Forget the cannon.
We're all through
with the sound effects.
Come on out.
Uh-uh. No, sir.
Leave me out of it.
Oh, come on, Donald.
You'll enjoy this
next demonstration.
No, no, no, no.
Absolutely not.
Donald, the people
are waiting.
Ha! Let them wait.
Okay, Donald.
I guess we'll just have
to go ahead without you.
Now, next, we'll have
a dining room table
full of lots
of good things to eat.
WALT: First, a steaming
bowl of soup
full of succulent,
fresh garden vegetables.
Next, some French peas,
sweet, tender
and drenched with butter.
And corn on the cob,
cold cuts of meat,
spaghetti, French bread,
donuts, coffee,
and finally for dessert,
a chocolate cake
that melts in your mouth.
Marshmallow in the layers,
coconut on top and a cherry.
Oh, boy.
Actually it would be
impossible for any one
person to eat all this.
Oh, yeah? Watch me.
And since Donald absolutely
refuses to demonstrate
how this can be
plausibly achieved...
What's that?
...we'll just have to find
somebody else.
Oh, never mind, Walt.
I'd be glad to do it.
So, we'll call on
Donald's cousin, Gus Goose,
who I am sure,
can show us
just how plausible
an impossible appetite can be.
Am I hungry!
(DOORBELL BUZZING LOUDLY)
(RHYTHMIC KNOCKING ON DOOR)
All right, all right!
I'm coming!
(KNOCKING CONTINUES)
I'm coming!
(SCREAMING)
What's the big idea?
Now, run!
(HONKS)
Hey!
What is this?
(DONALD READING)
Well, Cousin Gus!
How are you?
(ALARM RINGING)
"Dinner, tea, supper, lunch."
Well, I'll be doggone!
(SNIFFING)
(HONKS)
(SLURPING)
(MAKING TYPEWRITER SOUNDS)
(LAUGHING)
(MAKING ACCORDION SOUNDS)
(LAUGHING)
Boy, what an appetite.
(EXCLAIMS IN SURPRISE)
(HONKS)
Clever.
(EXCLAIMS IN SURPRISE)
I'd better get started.
(MOCKING)
It's mine!
Such ignorance.
What? Two can play
at this game.
Hey!
Oh, yeah?
Hey!
What?
(SUCKING)
What? (MUTTERING ANGRILY)
Come on, get out, go home!
(SIGHS)
Come on, you.
This is very,
very exasperating.
I'll get rid of him.
(DONALD READING)
This will fix him.
Nice doggy.
Do your stuff.
Come and get it!
Now, for the fun.
(MEOWING)
(BARKING)
(YOWLING)
(LAUGHING)
This is very, very funny.
Lie down.
(SNICKERING)
Now, roll over.
(LAUGHING)
At last I've done it.
(BARKING)
Go get it.
(BARKING)
Goodbye.
(SLAMS)
(LAUGHING)
(CLATTERING)
(ALARM RINGING)
(HONKS)
(ALARM RINGING)
(EXCLAIMING IN FRUSTRATION)
And now, the plausible
impossible, as brought out
in the unfinished sequence
that was made
for Snow White
and the Seven Dwarfs.
While this animation
was still in the preliminary
or pencil phase,
we found that the overall
picture was too long.
Something had to be left out
and this was it.
You see, even though
we liked the sequence,
it was not essential
to the telling of the story.
So when you look
at this sequence,
it won't look like
the pictures you remember
seeing it in the theater.
Instead, you will see
the animators' original
pencil drawings.
These were photographed
over simple outline sketches
of the background,
and will look like this.
But before we see
the unfinished sequence,
let's look at a few scenes
that led up to it.
These, of course,
are from the final, finished
version of the picture,
in which all the action
was traced on celluloids,
painted in color
and photographed
over full-tone backgrounds.
As you remember,
Snow White's wicked
stepmother, the Queen,
jealous of the girl's beauty,
had attempted
to do away with her.
Here, Snow White has
found refuge in the cottage
of the seven dwarfs.
She has taken over
the household duties
and the dwarfs are about
to sample her first meal.
(SNIFFING)
ALL: Ah! Soup.
Hooray!
(CHATTERING)
(ARGUING)
SNOW WHITE:
Uh-uh, uh-uh! Just a minute.
Supper's not quite ready.
You'll just have time to wash.
ALL: Wash? Wash?
Wash? Wash? Wash?
Hah! Knew there
was a catch to it.
March straight outside
and wash, or you'll
not get a bite to eat.
WALT: Now the dwarfs
were all willing to go along
with even so radical
an idea as washing up
for each meal if need be,
in order to enjoy
Snow White's cooking.
All except Grumpy, that is.
He was holding out
his approval
until he tried the cooking.
And the thought of washing up
before supper didn't help.
(CLATTERING)
Hah!
Well, aren't you
going to wash?
(GRUNTS)
(SLAMS)
Hah, women!
DOC: Courage, men, courage.
Step up to the tub
T'ain't no disgrace
Just pull up your sleeves
and get 'em in place
Then scoop up the water and
rub it on your face and go...
(SPUTTERING)
Pick up the soap,
Now don't try to bluff
Work up a lather
And when you've got enough
Get your hands full of water
and you snort and
you snuff and go...
(SPLUTTERING)
You douse and souse
Rub and scrub
You sputter and splash
all over the tub
(BUZZING)
You may be cold
and wet when you're done
But you gotta admit
it's good clean fun
So splash all you like,
T'ain't any trick
As soon as your through,
You'll feel mighty slick
Bunch of old nanny goats,
you make me sick, going...
(SPUTTERING)
(SPUTTERING)
Hah! Next thing ya know,
she'll be tyin' your beards up
in pink ribbons
and smellin' ya up with
that stuff called "perfoom."
Hah! (SPITTING)
(WATER SLOSHING)
A fine bunch of water lilies
you turned out to be.
I'd like to see
anybody make me wash
if I didn't wanna.
(CLEARS THROAT)
(WHISPERING)
(CHUCKLING)
(WHISTLING)
Get him!
Hey, let go of me!
Get him over to the tub!
Get him over to the tub!
Let me loose, you fools!
Let me loose!
Get him up on the tub.
Get him up!
Hang onto him.
Bang him! Pound him!
Get him up on the tub!
On the tub. That's the tub.
That's the tub.
Don't, don't, don't,
don't get excited!
Don't get...
Don't get up...
Don't get...
(GRUNTS)
(CHATTERING)
Get the soap!
DOC: Steady, men.
DWARF: We'll get him there.
We'll get him.
HAPPY: Never say die.
Never say die.
GRUMPY: You don't...
(CHATTERING)
(HICCUPPING)
(ALL LAUGHING)
DOC:
Now scrub good an' hard
It can't be denied
That he'll look mighty cute
As soon as he's dried
Well it's good for the soul
And it's good
for the hide to go...
(SPUTTERING)
(LAUGHING)
(HICCUPPING)
WALT: And now,
the plausible impossible.
How they got the soap
out of Dopey.
The first public viewing
of the unfinished sequence,
still in the form
of preliminary test animation.
Supper!
(BANGING)
(ALL CLAMORING)
Yippee!
Yay!
(CHATTERING)
(ALL SLURPING AND BLOWING)
With a spoon
With a bowl
With the music in your soul
You can cheer things up
With the zub, zub, zub
Of the music in your soup
With a gulp
With a grin
(CHUCKLES)
Get a wiggle on your chin
You can make things hum
With the zum, zum, zum
Of the music in your soup
(SLURPS)
ALL:
Swing that spoon
Gotta keep on dippin'
(ALL SLURPING)
Scoop that soup
Gotta keep on sippin'
(OINKING)
Till the bowl is dry
And your face is drippin'
(GURGLING)
Let her rip!
(CLINKING)
Let her roar!
To the first and the second
and the third encore
(ALL SLURPING)
Ah!
(SLURPS)
(ALL SLURPING)
(SNIFFING)
(SLURPING)
Please! Please!
(DWARFS CONTINUE SLURPING)
(BANGING)
(SLURPING)
(SIGHS) Where did you learn
to eat soup that way?
Oh, guess it just
comes natural.
Hah. Anybody can do it.
With practice.
(LAUGHING) Yes,
but you don't understand.
This is the way
gentlemen eat soup.
DWARFS: Gentlemen?
SNOW WHITE: Yes.
Now, watch.
Spoon in the hand.
Bending the wrist
into the bowl
and out with a twist.
DWARFS: Spoon in the hand,
bending the wrist,
into the bowl,
and out with a twist.
Fine, that's perfect!
DWARFS: Perfect?
(DWARFS SLURPING)
(MAKING SLURPING
AND WHISTLING NOISES)
(HICCUPPING)
(SPOON CLATTERING)
Wha... What's the matter
with Dopey?
He's swallowed his spoon.
(HICCUPPING)
DWARF: Hey, catch him!
I got him!
(CONTINUES HICCUPPING)
(ALL CLAMORING)
(HICCUPS)
Hey!
There! Now we got him.
(HICCUPS)
Open his mouth,
I'll get it.
Say "Ah."
Ah... (HICCUPS)
DWARF: There it is! Grab it!
I got it!
(CLATTERING)
No, no, that'll never work.
Turn him upside down.
Snake it, shake it out!
(CLATTERING)
Here, I'll get it.
Bend him over.
That's it. There.
Ready?
ALL: Ready!
Clear the way.
DWARFS: Hooray!
Now, here is
a more serious side
of the plausible impossible.
It concerns music.
We all know it's impossible
to see music.
Yet many composers have tried
to take musical sounds
and give them
a pictorial meaning.
This is known
as program music.
It is meant to describe
a certain picture
or tell a definite story.
Here's an example
of program music
written by
the great Russian composer
Modest Mussorgsky.
WALT: Let's take this
characteristic theme
carried principally
by the trombones and tubas.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
No one would question
that this theme
suggests power.
But when Mussorgsky wrote it,
he wasn't thinking
in general terms.
He had a specific picture
in mind
and he intended his music
to convey that same picture
to the listener.
Now to do this is impossible
because music
is an arbitrary art form
and exists only as sound.
So regardless
of what Mussorgsky
had in mind,
his musical theme
is equally descriptive
of a wide variety of scenes.
For instance, it might picture
the power of magic
as shown in a scene from
our cartoon feature Fantasia.
Here we find
Mickey Mouse dreaming
that he is a sorcerer.
He stands on a high crag
overlooking the ocean
and imagines he is able
to direct and control the
movements of the sea itself.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
WALT: This very same
musical phrase might equally
well portray the terror
of a forest fire as shown
in this episode from
our feature cartoon Bambi.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
WALT: Or Mussorgsky's theme
could describe the battle
of the dinosaurs
from another part
of Fantasia.
Here, the gigantic Stegosaurus
meets his match
in the terrible
Tyrannosaurus rex,
the most dangerous
and vicious killer
ever created by nature.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
WALT: Of course these
were not the pictures
Mussorgsky had in mind.
What he actually wished
to portray with his music
was a Halloween night revel
of witches and goblins.
He called it
"A Night On Bald Mountain."
Now as we've just seen,
it's impossible
for the music all by itself
to describe
this picture exactly.
Also, we know witches
and goblins don't exist,
so it is impossible
to see them.
But with the combined help
of Mussorgsky's music,
the world-famous
Philadelphia Symphony
Orchestra,
the celebrated conductor,
Leopold Stokowski,
and the animated cartoon
we will try to make
this impossible thing
seem plausible.
This is Bald Mountain.
It is Halloween night.
The Prince of Darkness,
Satan himself, summons
the spirits of evil
and a ghoulish revelry
takes place
all the night long.
In the music,
this witches' Sabbath
is finally interrupted
by the sound of church bells,
which Mussorgsky used
to symbolize the triumph
of good over evil.
(DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYING)
(MUSIC STOPS)
(CHURCH BELL RINGS)
(CHURCH BELL RINGS)
(CHURCH BELL RINGS)
(CHURCH BELL RINGS)
(CHURCH BELL RINGS)
(CHURCH BELL RINGS)
(MELANCHOLY MUSIC PLAYING)
(CHURCH BELL RINGS)
(CHURCH BELL RINGS)
Next week, our show comes
to you from Adventureland.
We have two stories to tell.
One takes place
behind the cameras
on the island of Samoa.
The other,
behind the dykes of Holland
during one
of the darkest hours
in Dutch history.
Here, now, are a few highlight
scenes from that program.
ANNOUNCER: Next week,
Walt Disney brings you
"Cameras In Samoa."
And the thrilling
eye-witness report on
the great national disaster,
"The Holland Story."
With our people
and places cameras,
you'll visit Samoa
the island paradise
of the South Pacific.
You'll see how
Disney cameramen
photographed
the relaxed way of life
of these happy, carefree
island people.
Watch the women making
intricate and beautiful
tapa cloth designs
and the closely woven mats
for which they're famous.
In flimsy outrigger canoes,
you'll brave the rolling seas
beyond the coral reefs,
where daring Samoan fishermen
cast their nets to catch
the more than 500 varieties
of marine life
that abound there.
You'll become a part
of this idyllic land
and its people,
watching them build
their homes,
sharing their simple
pleasures,
and thrilling to the rhythms
of the native songs
and dances
that are a part
of the language
of these happy dwellers
in a Polynesian paradise.
(SINGING IN NATIVE LANGUAGE)
Then we go to Holland
to enjoy the pastoral beauty
of the country's canals.
And to visit Amsterdam,
the Venice of the North.
In winter, everyone takes
to the frozen canals
for skating and ice boating.
There's even
dancing on the ice at
the mid-winter festivals.
But the coming of spring
brings disaster.
Whipped to a fury
by hurricane winds,
the sea breaches the dykes
in more than 500 places,
creating havoc never equaled
in the history of
this lowland country.
How will the indomitable Dutch
fight back?
How will they battle time
and tide to close the breaks
in their dyke system?
How will they rebuild
their homes
and reclaim
their ruined farmland?
You'll see all this
in our dramatic report
of Holland's never-ending
battle against the sea.
So, be with us next week
when Walt Disney brings you
"Cameras in Samoa"
and the epic struggle
of man against the elements,
"The Holland Story."
(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)