The Discontented Canary

The Discontented Canary is a 1934 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Happy Harmonies short directed by Rudolf Ising.^[1]

The Discontented Canary
Directed by	Rudolf Ising
Produced by	Hugh Harman Rudolf Ising
Music by	Scott Bradley
Color process	Technicolor (2-hue)
Production company	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Distributed by	Loew's, Inc
Release date	September 1, 1934 (1934-09-01)
Running time	8:38
Language	English

Plot

The cartoon begins with a canary in his cage and a parrot singing. The canary wants to get out of his cage, but he is locked inside. Then, their owner arrives, but she accidentally leaves the cage open. Then, the canary flies out and goes outside. He descends into a garden, and a cat slyly sneaks up on him. The weather then gets windy as a thunderstorm arrives in. Then, the cat chases the canary around the garden. Suddenly, a lightning bolt strikes the cat's tail and he runs away screaming in agony. Realizing the outside world isn't as safe as his cage, the canary flies back home and sings as the cartoon ends.

Notes

• It is the oldest MGM cartoon to be owned by Warner Bros. via Turner Entertainment Co.
• First Happy Harmonies short film, although at the opening it is credited as "A METRO COLOR CARTOON".

Availability

• Various public domain VHS/DVD. These copies are missing the entire scene with the canary interacting with other wildlife. The censored print jumps from the cat lurking towards the bird to the start of the thunderstorm.^[2]
• DVD - Myrna Loy and William Powell Collection - Disc 2 (Evelyn Prentice) DVD (1995 Turner "dubbed" version, DVNR; this version is uncut with the canary interacting with the other wildlife intact)^[3][4][5]