The Tortoise and the Hare
The Tortoise and the Hare
NR | 05 January 1935 (USA)
The Tortoise and the Hare Trailers

The Tortoise and the Hare is an animated short film released on January 5, 1935 by United Artists, produced by Walt Disney and directed by Wilfred Jackson. Based on an Aesop's fable of the same name, The Tortoise and the Hare won the 1934 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons. This cartoon is also believed to be one of the influences for Bugs Bunny.

Reviews
Matcollis

This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

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Beystiman

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

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Claire Dunne

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

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Roy Hart

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

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Hot 888 Mama

. . . during this phoned-in lackluster version of THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE. During the early going of this Battle of the Sexless, the terrapin sees himself passed by a herd of slowly slithering snails. However, when the race is on the line, he guzzles a can of Human Growth Hormone while popping a bottle of Steroid Pills. To encourage this sort of prohibited Substance Abuse, Disney then shows the hopped-up turtle putting additional inches on his legs faster than Barry Bonds went through bigger and bigger baseball helmets. Speaking of cheating, Disney also adds about five minutes of "padding" to the middle of this ho-hum affair showing the hare's main way to impress the ladies: by playing with himself! Rather than being judge, jury, and executioner, this show-off rodent offers himself as pitcher, catcher, and Aaron Judge on the ball diamond. If you think that this is fair, just ask yourself one question: How can he lose? Finally, the misguided Thumper makes hay in the tennis racket, risking nothing as he's again BOTH the Ying and the Yang. It's as if Siamese Twins are playing Twister!

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Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)

This is an 80-year-old cartoon (so the turtle may very well still be alive today!) from Walt Disney that won him his 3rd Academy Award. Sports have not really been frequent in these early cartoon movies, but this one here is proof that Disney can also deliver in that area. And there is not only the race in here, but also all the different ways in which the rabbit impresses the female rabbits. Too bad that he is not as smart as he is fast. Or as smart as he is boastful, which would make him probably the smartest animal on the planet then. Anyway, this is a very enjoyable short film. Of course, it is never really in doubt that the tortoise is going to win, but that's not a problem at all. I was delighted to see that hard-fighting, kind and forgiving turtle win in the end. Or was I delighted to see the arrogant hare lose? Maybe a bit of both. In any case, this was a great watch. The raccoon firing at the turtle to get going was as funny as everybody moving away from the skunks in the audience. I absolutely enjoyed these 8 minutes. Highly recommended and there is a sequel for this one which is pretty decent as well. Good job from Holden, Norton and Wilfred Jackson of course, a really great mind in the world of early animation and cartoons.

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Shawn Watson

There's not much to say about this cartoon. I guess it's the original underdog tale. It doesn't expand upon the fable and presents the story in its most basic form.A tortoise and a hare have a race, viewed by a large audience. The dull-witted tortoise seems no match for the cocky, over-confident hare. But when the race actually begins the hare is too busy with distractions while the tortoise focuses on winning.It may be a cautionary tale on never straying or deviating from following your dreams. Never accept what is and always chase what can be.Apparently the design of the hare was an inspiration on the design of Bugs Bunny, I character I like much better.

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tavm

Just watched this Oscar-winning animated short on YouTube. Based on the classic Aesop Fable, the obnoxious hare challenges the shy tortoise to a relay race. If you're familiar with the tale, you know how it goes but this being animated, you get the hare causing some wind to blow as well as him stopping to chat up some feminine admirer fans while the tortoise keeps going. There are some amusing gags but nothing hilarious. Still, this was a pretty exciting cartoon from Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies and it spawned a sequel-Toby Tortoise Returns-that I did think was hilarious. Oh, and it's easy to see why Frank Tashlin thought the hare-eventually called Max in the sequel-was the inspiration for Warner Bros.' Bugs Bunny. So for all that, I highly recommend The Tortoise and the Hare. P.S. I first saw some of these scenes when The Disney Channel presented on their "DTV" program their version of The Doobie Brothers' "It Keeps You Running" with this as well as other Disney cartoon scenes for the music video.

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