Classic Shorts Showcase: The Grasshopper and The Ants

Hello & welcome back to Classic Shorts Showcase. Today, I'll be taking a look a the excellent short, The Grasshopper and  The Ants.



The Plot


The plot is quite simple in that it shows that while it is okay to have fun, we also need to work and the world doesn't owe us anything. Rather we have work to get what we want.  This is exemplified with The Grasshopper, when we first see him, he's lazy and all he wants to do is have fun and he tires to get the worker ants that he comes across to stop their work and play with him but the Queen Ant tells him that he won't be like this when winter comes and he replies that winter is far away.  However while the Ants had gathered food, The Grasshopper was out there in the cold searching for food.

The Grasshopper is cold and hungry and losing weight.    He heads to the Ants to let him in and they do and he tells the Queen that he had learned his lesson that the world doesn't know him anything. Instead he owes it to the world and more importantly himself to work for a good life.

All in all, I loved the moral of this short. It was just so sweet.   Now this is going to sound odd for a short but my only complaint is that I wish it were longer because I liked the characters in this short so much that I wanted to spend time with them.







Characters


The Grasshopper voiced by Pinto Colvig

I really like The Grasshopper. Sure, he  is a little lazy in the beginning but it comes across in a way that it's just his nature.  He really doesn't know any other lifestyle but the winter taught him that he couldn't have fun all the time for if he wanted to survive, he'd have to work.    Now something I find interesting is that Pinto Colvig voices this character (BTW the was also the first voice of Goofy and you'll hear it with The Grasshopper) and this is a character that doesn't want to work and he also voiced Practical Pig in all of the original Three Little Pigs shorts and the big difference is that Practical knew the importance of work ethics.   I just find it intriguing how well he was able to  play two characters that are on the completely different spectrum of life.  I honestly feel that The Grasshopper is one of the most likable characters from any of the Silly Symphonies.  While you may find it annoying that he doesn't want to work, even before he learns his lesson, he is just so likable and you get the feeling that he means no harm. He's just someone looking for a good time.




Queen Ant - Voice Unlisted

The Queen was a great opposite to The Grasshopper. She knew what it took to survive but I think the big difference here is that the Queen had a colony to care for while The Grasshopper had an attitude of" I'm the only one so I'll have some fun".  While The Queen didn't agree with this, and she tired to warning the Grasshopper, it was never in a way that was talking to down to him but rather instead it came across as "hey, you might want to rethink what your doing, I'm only trying to help you."




Ants

Now the colony of Ants really didn't do much in the short but that's okay because they were still likable characters.   And really, too much of them would've taken away from the short in my opinion.



Music



The World Owes Me A Living







Now this isn't the version of the song from this short but is the song and I really like it.  Not only is it rather catchy but it fits in perfectly with the theme of this short that the world doesn't owe us anything.   We have to work to get what we want in life. In many ways,   this can be linked to JFK's famous quote of

 ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.

Yeah, we may not want support and think we are entitled to something but this isn't always true. We have to prove it and show hardwork to get where we want to be.




My Final Thoughts


I highly suggest this short. It is one of the best shorts I've ever seen.  This is another short that deserves to go into the folder of beautifully simple.   All of the characters are likable, it has a strong message that is so clear. Go watch this short.