Before Walt Disney made his first animated feature, he created a bunch of animated shorts with music called "Silly Symphonies." As with his feature-length films, some of these shorts are fairy tales or folktales in their own right; The Wise Little Hen is one of them.
The Wise Little Hen follows a mother hen who works in the fields to feed her chicks. Along the way, she requests help from two friends: Peter Pig and Donald Duck (he makes his debut here). Both refuse with the same excuse: "I've got a bellyache" (but do they really? Or is it just an excuse?) The Hen delivered medicine to both of them in a surprising way.
It is ironic Donald Duck went on to become a Disney icon while Peter Pig did not (neither did the Hen or any of her chicks). Maybe it's because a duck is more appealing than a pig. Regardless, The Wise Little Hen is hardly talked about in conversations about Disney stories.
One problem with The Wise Little Hen involves this question: was the Hen really wise? She properly fed her chicks, but she did not know how to serve Peter Pig and Donald Duck.
Otherwise, the short is well done. The colors are pleasant to look at and the music is enjoyable. And, of course, The Wise Little Hen makes use of animation in ways that modern Disney films rarely do (suspending disbelief when watching a hen, pig, and duck with human qualities).
For Disney fans who do not have enough time to watch a full movie, shorts such as The Wise Little Hen are worth checking out.
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