Walt Disney - The Truth About Mother Goose (2/2) - 1957

[shenloken2]

Excellent example of how to animate a piece of history using wit and charm.

The London Bridge story simply couldn't feature the bridge itself to make it interesting. They added a human element to it from the artist.

The artist in this short represents the bridge and the transition of time. Seeing how he reacts reflects the very nature of the brudge: suh as painting the flames and him growing old as the bridge got old.

[Dhampir1987]

oh look, the two knights from sword in the stone.

[Icereina]

Disney must make more of THESE!!!!!

[dacianavamp]

Wow. All the talent that went into this project. The music, singing, writing, artwork, animation... and look at the details that go into little things, like the horses' bridles or how people move their fingers. We need to go back to making cartoons like this.

[unicorn187]

What a hit job!

[Bashirgirl1]

That painter should had left the bridge a long time ago!

[WillScarlet16]

I'm glad they didn't do a segment on "Ring Around the Rosy."

[JayBarrington]

@WillScarlet16  wats tht about?

[WillScarlet16]

@JayBarrington The Plague.

[JayBarrington]

@5:53 was a bit disturbing

[JayBarrington]

lol@ 3:14

[JA268]

Download a H.Q. version of the cartoon that is in-sync X(

[shewolfsiren]

They alsoleft out one other nursery rhyme which is crutial to history: "Ring Around The Rosie". That particular rhyme came as a result of the Black Death which was responsible for the deaths of half of Europe and Asia back in the 1300s. And since there were alot less people back then, it's pretty much safe to say half the world died when the plague struck.

[shewolfsiren]

@shewolfsiren The rhyme mentions three preventives people tried to kepp themselves safe from the Black Death: living beside rose bushes, as roses were said to have protective vapors, carrying poppies during travel, for the same reason, and heavy smoke-producing fires ("ashes, ashes"). But none of them worked, as the last verse clearly states the result: "we all fall down" (and die).

[sand4839]

They forget to mention that there were 7 diffrent London Bridges that were rebuilt over time. Barbarions & Vikings were well known for riding up to it and pulling it down with there longboats if the city didn't pay tribute.

[diddymuck]

three jesters = xerographic animation...one character reproduced several times (ala 101 Dalmatians).

[ObeyTheKiwi]

so weird, building houses on a bridge O_o

[ColorMeDevon]

The joust scene in this cartoon was used as the joust scene at the end of the Sword in the Stone which came out in 1963. Even the coloring is exactly the same!

[BigSal51]

@ColorMeDevon Disney did a lot of recycling with their animation around the late 50's, 60's and 70's, mostly after Wolfgang Reitherman started directing most of their films and shorts with the introduction of xerography, where they could basically copy and paste old animation slides on new ones (hence the sketchy outlines). While I can't say it ruins the films, its a little disconcerting that so many moments from previous disney features were recylced during this period.

[HomesickNG]

I wish Disney still showed these. So much more interesting and entertaining than what they're doing now.

[89amry]

viola !!!!!!!!!!

[satekmary506094]

The Best Disney Short !

[stylestar07]

Thanks for posting this.. it is one of my child hood favorites.. the Mary, Quite Contrary was my most favorite part.. now I need to search for the head less horseman cartoon

[kevin080592]

wow, my childhood number one favorite!!!

[smurfbrat]

Aww, that's it? So many more to cover! This was truly Disney genius. (and yeah, you really gotta feel bad for the poor artist lol)

[sislau]

OH, how I wish wish wish wish Disney would have made more of these ... Classic Disney is the BEST!

[bigpopparamma]

I remember as a kid that they took the song "London Bridge Is Falling Down" in reminiscent to Mary Queen of Scots:

"Take the key and lock her, lock her up, lock her up-

Take the key and lock her-

My fair lady"

"Take the axe and off her head, off her head, off her head-

Take the axe and off her head-

My fair lady"

"Take the axe and off her head, off her head off her head

[TheDDduelist]

3:52 - 3:56 Surprise butt sex?

[TheDDduelist]

this is a good way for kids to learn their history. they need to make more of these, seriously, just because of the violence. Kids will learn it someday why not tell them facts.

[unknownbytorpedo]

Anyone want to buy a Disney cel from this cartoon? I have a cel from 4:15 of Mary from part one of this cartoon for sale. Contact me.

[JadenVonBat]

That artist has ALL the luck, first a ship goes into the window of the poor guy's house, then he unknowningly tourches his own painting!

[douchebagchigger]

Very informative,and I've always thought the part where he paints the fire onto the canvas is brilliant.

[TheWinxflower]

wow! i haven't known the whole song of londing bridge, just the bast where they're singing "london bridge is falling down" i sang it day after day, and my parents and my siblins got soo anoyyed! that was funny.

[acholl980]

The jousting footage was used again in The Sword in the Stone.

[sineast]

Can anybody please write down the lyrics of the singing starting at 7:01 and ending at 7:10.

English is not my native language and I just don't get what these guys are singing and have been trying to find that out for 20 years.

[Lurocki]

@sineast

"Shake and Quake ol' London Bridge. Have a ball 'til the arches fall. Jump and Jibe ol' London Bridge. My fair lady~!"

Basically they're telling the bridge to dance and party until it falls.

[sineast]

@Lurocki

Thank you. Just seeing this reply made my day. I have memorized this so long ago and now I know what they meant.

[Psybur]

When I was little, whenever I saw the scene with the boat bow going through the window, I would lose my mind cracking up.

[hyejunghyejung]

wow you can tell the artists were the same ones who did the art for sleeping beauty(1959)! Lovely!

[comedytonighttt]

Quite a few people don't realize that the bridge they THINK is London Bridge...is really Tower Bridge. If you look in the backround at 6:41, you will see Tower Bridge quite clearly. ^_^

[DisneyPrincessNeeNee]

I liked it!!

[HarleyQuinzelle]

this is not a children cartoon lol

[hersheyandshadow]

This cartoon and other oldies are better to watch on YouTube, than watching Aladdin, or Hercules, or other newer films!

[MondoBeno]

When this cartoon was made, there was more quality. They weren't in a rush to crank out cheap animated shows.

Years later, you had the "action" animation like He-Man, Transformers, Thundercats, Go-Bots, and GI Joe, which profited from the toy sales.

[samuraiofsamuraiedo]

-sigh- so true. These days it's all about razzle dazzle. Ah for the simplicity of the good old days, how I miss thee.

[demona6662]

i loved it. wish they would've done more then just three.

[ZeroIsMany]

They wasted a whole of 7 minutes on london bridge.

[RayneHollow532]

WASTED!?!?

[ZeroIsMany]

They could've covered it in like 2 or 3 min and done like 2 more....

[CubicalGirl]

I like how the part with the tournament looks exactly like it came out of the Sleeping Beauty movie

[Abracamoron]

Those were interesting

That Mary, Quite Contrary one was much different after where they get the meaning

also, the scene of the Jousting on London Bridge was reused in The Sword in the Stone, I recognized

[mrsmilo]

I love how Disney reused the entire jousting scene for The Sword in the Stone.

[maggagiclub]

what's the name of the soundtrack in the 0:22?

[ababsurdo1567]

LOL! The lost paintings of Hans Holbein.

[wildheart19]

where would you go to look up more on the history behind the nursry rhymes?

[9462N0]

The Knight Combat from the Sword and the Stone must've came from this Knight combat

[LUNCHBOX762X39]

WOW!! GOOD CALL!!

[F1315NJ]

actually some of the animated shots of the horses and horseriders are taken from the Headless Horseman chase sequence from the Legend of Sleepy Hollow

[Mojosbigstick]

Interesting. Maybe not the whole truth, but interesting none the less.

[SpelCastrMax]

I always loved this except for one thing London Bridge didn't vanish - a man bought it and moved it brick by brink to Arizona. It's still there at Lake Havasu with the bricks numbered so it could be reassembled.

[akouns]

I think you're referring to the middle london bridge which was built sometime in the 1800's i think. It was sold to an American sometime in the 1960's

[rebrella]

They didn't have the part about "Take the child and lock her up" I guess that was TOO dark ;)

[trakas35]

and wat would that be about? sounds interesting.

[rebrella]

There was an old tradition of sealing an orphan into the walls of a castle or bridge they were building. Kind of macabre,

[mirrorkat23]

what's macabre?

[mrsmilo]

Really? That's creepy...

[clamjamfry]

I wish they sold this on DvD. My students are so ignorant about nursery rhymes. They can't even recite Little Miss Muffet.

[MustangRockstar]

Check out the Walt Disney Treasures line. They produced a DVD back in 2004 called Disney Rarities. It has this short and some other classics cartoons.

[cuetogomez]

they dont make cartoons like they used to

[crocetti1984]

Is that Don Porter's voice?

[cheerbear237]

HAVE SEARCHED FOR THIS FOR OVER 20 YEARS! Thank you so much for uploading. You don't know how many times I searched the internet for this cartoon. This is the cartoon that got me interested in history! You made my decade!

[anyabelle]

hahaha, 10 years for me. but yes, same sentiments!

[SamECircle]

@cheerbear237 Cool. I only looked for this for 5 or 6 months...

I thought THAT was a long time!

[am9224]

The joust was reused in Disney's 18th film The Sword in the Stone.

[F1315NJ]

actually some of the horse-riding close-ups[2:51, 3:03, and 3:05] are references to the Headless Horseman's animations from the LoSH segment in The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr Toad

[F1315NJ]

it also has the music used in the joust in SitS

[F1315NJ]

it also has the music used in the joust in SitS