Summertime (1935)
“Even winter has to know when to quit.”
Streamed free from the Internet Archive · no signup, no cost — this film is in the public domain.
Synopsis
In one of Iwerks' rare original (non-adapted) stories, the forest bursts into summer: flowers dance a ballet, turtles play tic-tac-toe, and the god Pan summons centaurs for a game of polo. But Old Man Winter refuses to leave and tries to refreeze the woods, forcing Pan and the creatures — including fireflies armed with flamethrowers — to fight the cold off. A mood-and-music showcase squarely in the Silly Symphony tradition, but rendered in Iwerks' own stylized Cinecolor.
Cast
About the Director
Ub Iwerks — Ub Iwerks, co-creator of Mickey Mouse and Disney's first star animator, ran his own studio from 1930–1936 and produced the ComiColor series there. Music by Carl W. Stalling, soon to become the legendary Looney Tunes composer.
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 theatrically June 15, 1935 as the fifteenth ComiColor Cartoon. Originally titled "In the Good Ol' Summertime," later shortened. Distributed for home use by Castle Films and Blackhawk Films.
Did You Know?
- A direct companion to Iwerks' earlier "Jack Frost" (1934); Old Man Winter is the recurring antagonist.
- One of the polo-playing centaurs is a caricature of humorist Will Rogers, famous for playing polo with Hollywood friends.
- A sequence of tree silhouettes morphing into dancing figures was later sampled in a 2011 music video.
- Scored by Carl Stalling, who pioneered tight music-to-action synchronization that he later perfected at Warner Bros.
Reception & Legacy
One of the better-liked ComiColors, admired as a charming, imaginative seasonal piece, with a striking abstract silhouette-dance sequence that has kept it in circulation.
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