FLOWERS & TREES (1932)

 RELEASE DATE: Saturday 30th July 1932

SYNOPSIS: Flowers And Trees is most notable as being the very first commercially produced Three-Strip Technicolor film. While there had been some color film before this (using Technicolor's Two-Strip methods, only filming on a red and a green negative) this was the first time audiences had seen a truly multi-colour movie, and it paved the way for the future of cinema. Apparently Walt Disney had the movie in production as a black-and-white piece, but when he saw the possibilities of Technicolor he had his artists scrap everything and start again, this time painting in colour! The film tells the story of (surprise surprise) flowers and trees, in particular a couple of trees who form a love-interest story, and a wicked tree who poses a threat.

HAKU: Isn't it amazing how far they came in just four years, from Plane Crazy to this! This is a great showcase of the new colour processes. The Technicolor worked well. I enjoyed this more than The Skeleton Dance, mainly because it's got a story to go along with the visuals. It's interesting to see all of the basic plot tropes here: the hero fighting for the girl and ending happily ever after, while the baddy gets his just desserts. Though if this was Frozen, I think the girl would have punched out the lecherous old tree!

IRVYNE: Yep! It only took what? 80 years to get to that stage?
It's interesting at the start it says "Mickey Mouse Presents." By this stage Mickey had become quite the star. It's my understanding that the Silly Symphonies were never quite as popular as the Mickey cartoons, which was why Walt pushed for them to be in colour, so they'd have their own "gimmick." Maybe seeing Flowers And Trees in cinemas in 1932 was like seeing Avatar in 3D in 2009!
I love all the little visual gags throughout this movie, like the caterpillar pushing itself and the birds punching holes in the clouds to make it rain. I think one of Walt Disney's things throughout his career, was that he always encouraged his artists to come up with new gags. I think it was with Snow White he said that whoever came up with a gag that ended up in the film got fifty bucks.
Another little gag was the evil tree using a lizard as its tongue. That just made me think of Alien!

Overall though, Flowers And Trees won't really remembered for its narrative or gags, but its colour!

HAKU: The colour holds up really well. I think Disney might have been on to a winner there.