Title: The Orphan Duck
Studio: Terry
Date: 10/06/39
Credits: (uh, the inappropriate end titles say "Producer Bill Weiss", but hat's likely the producer of the TV package)
Series: -
Running time (of viewed version): 6:45
Synopsis: Duckling alone in the world finds his place with the chickens
Comments: Not often have I seen a title less like what I would expect the original to be like... Pipe music. Duckling imprints on the pigs running by. Vain card playing hens, tough cigar chomping rooster. He complains about small eggs; they didn't have the warning about tobacco and low birth wights at the time. Yet another Ugly Duckling style argument about feathered infidelity (tho it was clearer in Ugly Duckling). Unlike the douchey swan, the duckling proves his worth and integrates into his adopted family (well, the second one; it wasn't going to work with the pigs). He did seem to come from a cart with chickens and ducks sleeping peacefully together. The shot of the rapids is nice. The rooster cares more about being sucked up to than the safety of one of his (admittedly many) offspring.
The entire END titles say "Latterday TFC" from the Bill Weiss to that Color by Deluxe [when it was still just Tech.][which was likely not even established till later in 40s by FOx] credits. And that open title you posted likewise says DINKY in when this is his first film, so he was obviously onscreen introduced or not even listed at all! [I mean, how many "Bugs" and "Daffy" "Introducing" title cards have YOU run across?
ReplyDeleteI'd suspect Famous would eventually have that type of card for its characters' introductions, as they were nuts for that kind of thing:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cartoonresearch.com/paramount.html
And, actually, Terry did as well:
http://www.cartoonresearch.com/terrytoons.html
The Orphan Duck print we see here is just obviously later material (and more obvious than the earlier Barney Bear example this year).