This article is for quizzes on Wednesday May 18th...
The Wise Little Hen is a
Walt Disney's
Silly Symphonies cartoon, based on the fairy tale
The Little Red Hen. This cartoon marked the debut of
Donald Duck, dancing to the
Sailor's Hornpipe. Donald and his friend
Peter Pig try to avoid work by faking stomach aches until Mrs. Hen teaches them the value of labor. This cartoon was released on June 9, 1934. It was animated by
Art Babbitt,
Dick Huemer,
Dick Lundy, and
Ward Kimball and directed by
Wilfred Jackson. It was also adapted as a Sunday comic strip by
Ted Osborne and
Al Taliaferro.
The Wise Little Hen of the title is looking for someone to help her plant her corn. Peter Pig and Donald Duck both feign belly aches to get out of the chore. So, with help from her chicks, she plants it herself. Harvest time comes; again, Peter and Donald claim belly aches, but the hen sees through this. She cooks up a variety of corn dishes, and heads over to Peter and Donald to help her eat them, but before she can open her mouth, they already fake their belly aches. Once she asks, they are miraculously "cured" but all she gives them is castor oil, to teach them a lesson. As the hen eats the corn herself, Peter and Donald, with nothing but an appetite, repent with all their might by kicking each other.
