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\nThe three b\/w \u2018Toddle Tales\u2019 shorts, all produced in 1934, are the first films under the new directorial leadership of Burt Gillett, fresh from Disney. Immediately the technical and artistic qualities of the films get an upgrade, and one has to wonder how long the ramp-up took after Gillette’s arrival. Along Came a Duck<\/em> appears to be the first produced in the series, with the animation layout and production qualities closer to the pre-Gillett shorts. <\/p>\n The background layout and painting is especially nice in “Bird” and Grandfather’s Clock<\/em>, along with an improved quality of animation. Inking and painting is also very nice. Clearly there is great effort to make this film and the others a quality product. In this film, Winston Sharples\u2019 score is breezy and enjoyable, with particular attention paid to synchronization throughout.<\/p>\n Back in 2014, we did a post here<\/a> about A Little Bird Told Me<\/em> (1934), and at that time I was debating doing an HD scan to upgrade the film. We did of course eventually!<\/p>\n Film collector friend Ralph Celentano was nice enough to sell his nice old original film print of the title, so the newer HD scan we\u2019ve done of the film was from his print. We cleaned this up for the \u2018Rainbow Parades, volume 1\u2019<\/em> Blu-ray<\/a>. We\u2019re working hard right now on volume 2 right now.<\/p>\n Have a good week all! <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/N3-A-Little-Bird-Told-Me-Model-1-copy.jpg\")
<\/a>In this live action-framed cartoon, Bobby\u2019s big sister (unnamed) finds her little brother has broken into the world\u2019s largest jar of jam. Bobby, who is nearly outperformed in his overacting by his sister, wonders how his big sister knew he was in the jam. She explains that \u201cA little bird told me\u201d and, with that statement, somehow an animated little bird shows up at their window, telling them an animated story explaining how reporters at the Birdland Daily Bugle reported on it. It\u2019s a cute little film, featuring animation by Jim Tyer, who receives co-director credit.<\/p>\n<\/a>I\u2019ve always wondered if there\u2019s any way to find out who the uncredited child actors are in this film, and the other Toddle Tales<\/em>. The child who plays Bobby returns in the later color Rainbow Parade short Spinning Mice<\/em> (1935), and the kitchen that appears in The Picnic Panic<\/em> seems to be the same one in “A Little Bird Told Me”. These two color films were clearly originally meant to be part of the Toddle Tales<\/em> series, and were repurposed as Rainbow Parade<\/em> releases. I wonder if these were children of people that worked at the studio, or if they were kid actors in New York stage or radio. Does anyone recognize them from anything else?<\/p>\n