Sign in or register
for additional privileges

Birth of An Industry: Blackface Minstrelsy and the Rise of American Animation

Nicholas Sammond, Author
Labor, page 20 of 21
Previous page on path     Next page on path

 

You appear to be using an older verion of Internet Explorer. For the best experience please upgrade your IE version or switch to a another web browser.

Labor, Page 132

Demonstrating animation's important role in using  music to sell the new technology of sound film, The Band Concert (1935) was the first Mickey Mouse cartoon in color, and featured Mickey conducting an outdoor concert of the William Tell Overture. Donald Duck's invasion of the concert, playing "Turkey in the Straw" on a fife, hearkens back to the vaudeville stage...and to blackface minstrelsy, since "Turkey in the Straw" was originally known as "Old Zip Coon."

As Mickey struggles to maintain control over the band, the storm segment of the overture seems to produce an actual tornado. The issue of Mickey's control over the music, and how much the music in turn controlled the entire band, echoes performances of the animator's control over their own animation and audience.

Compare this short to earlier Disney's first sync-sound cartoon, Steamboat Willie (1928), which also uses "Old Zip Coon."
Comment on this page
  • Local Discussion
    •
  • Popout
    •
 

Discussion of "Labor, Page 132"

Add your voice to this discussion.

Checking your signed in status ...

Previous page on path Labor, page 20 of 21 Next page on path
Moving Image    Sound    Black and White    Color    Walt Disney    Mickey Mouse

Related:  Race, Page 239,  Performance, Page 47,  Labor, Page 122,  Space, Page 189,  Space, Page 183,  Labor, Page 128,  Space, Page 146,  Race, Page 213,  Performance, Page 50,  Race, Page 204,  Race, Page 230,  Performance, Page 74,  Introduction, Page 2,  Labor, Page 98,  Conclusion, Page 303,  Performance, Page 82,  Conclusion, Page 302,  Race, Page 220,  Space, Page 165,  Conclusion, Page 296,  Labor, Page 109,  Space, Page 162,  Performance, Page 72,  Labor, Page 110,  Race, Page 232,  Space, Page 190,  Race, Page 231,  Conclusion, Page 291,  Race, Page 251,  Space, Page 181,  Performance, Page 77,  Conclusion, Page 298,  Race, Page 229,  Race, Page 221,  Space, Page 197,  Performance, Page 46,  Space, Page 191,  Performance, Page 35,  Performance, Page 84,  Labor, Page 123,  Space, Page 143,  Race, Page 253,  Introduction, Page 14,  Race, Page 225,  Race, Page 247,  Space, Page 182,  Space, Page 194,  Labor, Page 88,  Labor, Page 129,  Space, Page 172,  Space, Page 178,  Space, Page 155,  Introduction, Page 6,  Space, Page 187,  Race, Page 258,  Space, Page 175,  Race, Page 248,  Labor, Page 133,  Introduction, Page 21,  Performance, Page 34,  Race, Page 206,  Labor, Page 112,  Conclusion, Page 300,  Labor, Page 101,  Space, Page 177,  Introduction, Page 23,  Introduction, Page 30,  Race, Page 254,  Race, Page 235,  Space, Page 170,  Space, Page 184,  Conclusion, Page 292,  Labor, Page 131,  Conclusion, Page 304,  Space, Page 163,  Introduction, Page 29,  Space, Page 150,  Space, Page 148,  Space, Page 188,  Labor, Page 113,  Conclusion, Page 289,  Race, Page 224,  Conclusion, Page 286,  Space, Page 138,  Performance, Page 42,  Conclusion, Page 290,  Conclusion, Page 275,  Performance, Page 43,  Introduction, Page 1,  Conclusion, Page 273,  Performance, Page 70,  Space, Page 141,  Performance, Page 54,  Race, Page 252,  Labor, Page 119,  Introduction, Page 4,  Race, Page 261,  Performance, Page 52,  Space, Page 193,  Space, Page 152,  Performance, Page 45,  Performance, Page 44,  Labor, Page 102,  Conclusion, Page 278,  Conclusion, Page 284,  Performance, Page 41,  Performance, Page 60