Humpty Dumpty (1935)
“This time, he won't crack under pressure.”
Streamed free from the Internet Archive · no signup, no cost — this film is in the public domain.
Synopsis
Daredevil Humpty Dumpty Jr. romances the lovely Easter Egg, but the villainous Bad Egg kidnaps her, setting off a chase through an all-egg world. After both leads fall into boiling water and emerge "hard-boiled" — with tougher new personalities — Junior turns the tables on the Bad Egg. It's a clever nursery-rhyme riff packed with egg puns and Cinecolor gags.
Cast
About the Director
Ub Iwerks — Ub Iwerks, the man who drew Mickey Mouse into existence and served as Disney's first star animator, produced the ComiColor series at his own studio (1930–1936). Music by Carl Stalling.
Why It’s Free: The Public-Domain Story
Public domain in the United States: Celebrity Productions (Pat Powers) never renewed the copyright after the original term lapsed.
Behind the Scenes
Released in 1935 as the twentieth ComiColor Cartoon, distributed by Celebrity Productions and later sold for home use by Castle Films and Blackhawk Films.
Did You Know?
- The "hard-boiled" transformation is a deliberate visual pun on the slang for a tough character.
- The Bad Egg's "foul breath" gag is staged with skunks bursting from his shell.
- A 1936 follow-up, "Greedy Humpty Dumpty," continued the character.
- Built on a nursery rhyme, the short stages an entire world where every character, hero and villain alike, is an egg.
Reception & Legacy
Considered one of the more inventive and better-regarded entries in the series, praised for spinning a feature-length adventure structure out of a four-line nursery rhyme.
Summertime
Mary's Little Lamb
The Valiant Tailor
Tom Thumb