The Old Mill Pond

The Old Mill Pond is a 1936 American animated short film in the Happy Harmonies series, directed by Hugh Harman for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio.^[1]

The Old Mill Pond
Directed by	Hugh Harman (uncredited)
Produced by	Hugh Harman Rudolf Ising
Music by	Scott Bradley (uncredited) Baron Keyes (uncredited)
Color process	Technicolor
Production company	Harman-Ising Productions
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	March 7, 1936 (1936-03-07)
Running time	8:11
Language	English

The short was nominated at the 1936 Academy Awards for Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film but lost to Disney's Silly Symphony short, The Country Cousin.^[2][3]

Summary

Fish and frogs gather at a pond. The performers are caricatures of Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Louis Armstrong, Stepin Fetchit, Ethel Waters and The Mills Brothers.^[4]

Sequel

The Old Mill Pond was followed by sequel, Swing Wedding in 1937.

Reception

The Film Daily (May 13, 1936): "This musical comedy cartoon is a knockout. Following the opening, which is the song "Down by the Old Mill Stream", the impersonations are Cab Calloway and his band doing "Minnie the Moocher" routine, "Fats" Waller doing his piano number, Bill Robinson his taps, the Mills Bros. their "Hold That Tiger", Stepin Fechit is presented, and a dancing chorus does "Jungle Rhythm". The Technicolor is beautiful, especially in the water numbers. This short is just one load of entertainment all the way through".^[5]

The Film Daily (June 1, 1936): "In Technicolor, a swell interpretation by the frogs in the millpond of the famous colored artists of tap dance and orchestra. The leading lights among the colored entertainers are presented in fine imitations, the technique is very clever, and the entire production a real novelty in cartoon with beautiful color and catchy music".^[5]