''Elmer Elephant'' is a ''

Silly Symphonies ''Silly Symphony'' (also known as ''Silly Symphonies'') is an American animation, animated series of 75 musical short films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939. As the series name implies, the ''Si ...

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

produced by

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

, directed by

Wilfred Jackson Wilfred Emmons Jackson (January 24, 1906 – August 7, 1988) was an American animator, arranger, musical arranger and film director, director best known for his work with The Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney Productions. Jackson joined Walt Dis ...

and released on March 28, 1936.

Plot

Elmer Elephant arrives in the yard below Tillie Tiger's treehouse, where several other animal children are celebrating Tillie's birthday. He has a crush on Tillie, and attempts to give her a bouquet of flowers, but Joey the Hippo blows out the candles a bit too hard as Elmer arrives, spattering cake icing all over Elmer's face. Tillie fusses over Elmer, cleans him up and accepts his flowers. She then goes into her treehouse to get something, telling Elmer to have fun at the party up until she returns. After Tillie leaves, a jealous tiger boy leads the other children in teasing Elmer about his trunk, calling it a "funny nose like a rubber hose". Driven away from the party, Elmer goes to a local pond to sulk. Upset at his reflection, he tries to fold up his nose, but it pops back out again, which in turn causes his nose in the reflection to become longer. He kicks his trunk in frustration, causing it to hit his face and he begins to cry. An elderly giraffe tells him how he was once teased himself over his neck, but learned to ignore it. He shows Elmer some pelicans that look like

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side New York accent, accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced son ...

, pointing out that Elmer is not the only one with a funny nose, which cheers Elmer up. A fire suddenly breaks out at Tillie's treehouse, trapping her. The monkey fire brigade and the other animal children attempt to put it out, but their efforts are thwarted by the living fire. Elmer, with assistance from the Giraffe and the pelicans, hurries back and uses his trunk like a fire hose, extinguishing the blaze. He catches Tillie with his trunk as she falls from the disintegrating house, earning the other children's respect and Tillie's love. Tillie and Elmer share a kiss, hiding behind Elmer's ear for privacy.

Later appearances

Elmer is seen as a precursor to ''

Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American Animated film, animated Musical film, musical Fantasy film, fantasy Comedy drama, comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film i ...

'', the common trait of both characters being that they have insecurities about a specific body part they get ridiculed for (in this case, Elmer's trunk) and eventually gaining respect through the use of the body part in question (in this case, Elmer using his trunk to put out the fire and saving Tilly). Elmer would later go on to star in a serial in the ''Silly Symphony'' comic strip. "The Life and Adventures of Elmer Elephant", appearing from October 27, 1935, to January 12, 1936, retold the story of the ''Elmer'' short. Three years later, Elmer was featured in the strip again, in a continuity called "Timid Elmer". This story was based on a planned second ''Elmer'' short, which was abandoned before completion. In this story, published from December 4, 1938, to February 12, 1939, Elmer's girlfriend Tillie Tiger is tired of his cowardice, and takes up with a bully, Gooch Gorilla. After talking to a wise giraffe, Elmer gains the confidence to fight the bullies and win back Tillie's respect. Like the

Three Little Pigs "The Three Little Pigs" is a fable about three pigs who build their houses of different materials. A Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two pigs' houses which are made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig's ho ...

before him, he would also become a popular character in merchandising, but he never made another theatrical appearance again, with the exceptions of the crowd shots in the later ''Silly Symphonies'' short '' Toby Tortoise Returns'' and a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

in ''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American fantasy comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman. It is loosely based on the 1981 novel ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' by Gary K. Wol ...

''. Elmer and Tillie also made brief cameos in the ''

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white ...

'' episode "Carried Away" as tourists in

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

. From 1983 to 1997, this short was also the featured subject of DTV's music video of English rock group

Yes Yes or YES may refer to: * An affirmative particle in the English language; see yes and no Education * YES Prep Public Schools, Houston, Texas, US * Young Eisner Scholars, in Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, and Appalachia, US * Young Ep ...

' "

Owner of a Lonely Heart "Owner of a Lonely Heart" is a song by British progressive rock band Yes. It is the first track and single from their eleventh studio album, '' 90125'' (1983), and was released on 24 October 1983. Written primarily by guitarist and singer Tre ...

", and featured in one episode of '' Sing Me a Story with Belle''.

Home media

The short was released on December 4, 2001, on '' Walt Disney Treasures: Silly Symphonies - The Historic Musical Animated Classics''. It was also released as a bonus feature, alongside fellow ''Silly Symphony'' short '' The Flying Mouse'', on DVD and Blu-Ray releases of ''

''.

References

External links

*
''Elmer Elephant'' on the Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts

in the Disney HooZoo {{Wilfred Jackson 1930s Disney animated short films Films directed by Wilfred Jackson Films produced by Walt Disney Animated films about elephants Silly Symphonies Films scored by Leigh Harline Films about bullying Animated films about tigers 1930s American films Animated films about giraffes Animated films about birthdays 1936 animated short films