Tom Thumb (1936)
“The smallest hero with the tallest tale.”
Streamed free from the Internet Archive · no signup, no cost — this film is in the public domain.
Synopsis
A stork delivers a boy no bigger than a thumb, who keeps getting underfoot until he's accidentally swallowed by a goat. He journeys through the animal's insides, tumbles into his father's tackle box, battles a fishing worm, and is briefly gulped down by a fish before making his escape. The goat-stomach sequence is a standout, with abstract Art Deco gradient backgrounds that show off Iwerks' experimental eye.
Cast
About the Director
Ub Iwerks — Ub Iwerks — co-creator of Mickey Mouse, Disney's first star animator, and a relentless technical innovator who built his own multiplane camera from a junked Chevrolet — produced the ComiColor series at his independent studio. 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, and the studio closed in 1936.
Behind the Scenes
Released theatrically March 27, 1936 as the twenty-second ComiColor Cartoon, one of the last in the series before Iwerks' studio folded. Later cut down into a silent black-and-white Castle Films home-movie reel.
Did You Know?
- Based on the Tom Thumb tale from English folklore.
- The trip through the goat's stomach uses abstract Art Deco gradient backgrounds compared to the work of avant-garde animator Oskar Fischinger.
- Among the final ComiColor Cartoons before Iwerks closed his studio and returned to Disney in 1940.
- Scored by Carl Stalling with a swingy "dance-band" feel typical of the late series.
Reception & Legacy
Often cited as one of the better late-series ComiColors, singled out for the inventive, near-experimental visuals of its interior-journey sequence.
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