just watch it!

Good concept, poorly executed.

A Surprisingly Unforgettable Movie!

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

In yet another very distinctively themed animated short from the many and varied yet overall excellent Disney "Silly Symphonies" series, we get to see all kinds of timepieces dance and be merry in-time to charming music, which like any good Symphony, the short is entirely built around. And the musical theme that is featured here if you didn't know, was done by one Charles Orth and is appropriately titled: "In a Clock Store." Go figure! The look of the shop and some of the clocks reminded me a lot of the fantastic opening sequence of "Pinocchio" with all of Gepetto's magical clockwork wonders, the only part of "Basil the Great Mouse Detective" that I can comfortably say I love with the toystore sequence, and the uppity anthropomorphic clock character Cogsworth of "Beauty and the Beast" fame so many years later! It was a very cute and interesting idea for a short, but they didn't really do all that much with it, I thought. And the animation was okay, although in this case I thought the lack of colour hurt the short and held back the quality a lot. It just seemed kind of standard and plain to me. I would say that the main highlight for me was definitely the impressive realistic graceful motions of the two amazingly lifelike ballroom dancers - at the time the most detailed and human-looking figures yet to be seen in a Disney animation. There is the most brilliantly effortless sense of flow to their movements... It's a flawless little wedding of animated imagery and sound. Oh my, look at the time...gotta go!

I have always had a soft spot for the Silly Symphonies, I have on the whole found them beautifully animated and orchestrated with good characters. The Clock Store is one of my favourites of not just the early Silly Symphonies but also overall. Story-wise it is thin, but it also has several interesting things to it and doesn't feel like an excuse to lump song and dance scenes together, not like other entries made around the same time. The animation is wonderful, the backgrounds have a certain smoothness to them, there are some very atmospheric effects and shadings and you can see a little of the Multiplane camera technique as well, but it was the character designs that really impressed, especially some of the most sophisticated and realistic human character designs I have seen for any cartoon. The music has always had lots of energy in this series of cartoons and even enhances the action. That is exactly what the music for The Clock Store does, such as in the lush ballroom sequence. The story even with the thin narrative structure is made entertaining by several scenes that really entertain and spark interest. The opening has a charming story-book feel to it, the ballroom sequence has lush music and truly great human animation and the scene with the Dutch boy and girl shows not just a sense of playfulness but also with the rounded facial features and clear expressions they do look real. The old man lighting the lamps was a lovely touch also. The characters are a delight, not just the old man, the people in the ballroom sequence and the little Dutch couple, but especially the clocks with a synchronised ringing of bells, Victorian clock figurines dancing and Grandfather/mother clocks dancing. Overall, can't recommend The Clock Store highly enough other than that I think it is one of the best examples of Disney Silly Symphonies. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This is one of a butt-load of black & white shorts from the DVD set entitled "More Silly Symphonies"--from the Disney Treasures Collection. Like the other Symphonies, it consists of lots of action all set to music--and none of the usual Disney characters (such as Mickey). In this case, it is set in a clock shop. The clocks ring along with the music and even dance! Watches also manage to dance! I particularly liked the super-cute pocket watches (including the one with the WED engraving on it--for Walter Elias Disney) as well as the character clocks--you just need to see them for yourself to see what I mean.Quality-wise, this is one of the better shorts in the series, as the animation is top-notch for a black & white (yes, I know, the later color ones were even nicer). The music is very enjoyable as well and the film should appeal mostly to older audiences and those who can appreciate the style of the Symphonies. I doubt that most kids would appreciate seeing more than a few of these well-made film, however, as their style is a bit old fashioned and the narrative is a bit thin--but for 1931 it's pretty amazing.

A Walt Disney SILLY SYMPHONY Cartoon Short.With the coming on night, the denizens of THE CLOCK STORE all awake to dance & sway & pirouette to their rhythmical music.There is virtually no plot in this little black & white film, until the boxing alarm clocks start their fisticuffs at the climax. The cartoon boasts a lovely opening scene, however, with the old lamplighter moving along the block, dispelling shadows. This one sequence hints at the quality Disney would display in later years.The SILLY SYMPHONIES, which Walt Disney produced for a ten year period beginning in 1929, are among the most fascinating of all animated series. Unlike the Mickey Mouse cartoons in which action was paramount, with the Symphonies the action was made to fit the music. There was little plot in the early Symphonies, which featured lively inanimate objects and anthropomorphic plants & animals, all moving frantically to the soundtrack. Gradually, however, the Symphonies became the school where Walt's animators learned to work with color and began to experiment with plot, characterization & photographic special effects. The pages of Fable & Fairy Tale, Myth & Mother Goose were all mined to provide story lines and even Hollywood's musicals & celebrities were effectively spoofed. It was from this rich soil that Disney's feature-length animation was to spring. In 1939, with SNOW WHITE successfully behind him and PINOCCHIO & FANTASIA on the near horizon, Walt phased out the SILLY SYMPHONIES; they had run their course & served their purpose.