The Old Mill Pond Review

The Old Mill Pond is a 1936 animated short film from the Happy Harmonies series. It is a plotless, but catchy film.

So this film basically has no story to it whatsoever and that bothered me as I wanted at least some plot points or humor but the gags are also non-existent as is the characterization. It features a bunch of frogs in a swamp who are jazz musicians and they dance and sing together.

The music is actually pretty good, a lot of fun and most of it was quite catchy. Jazz is not my cup of tea, but this jazz is definitely entertaining and I mostly really liked it. The same goes for the animation which is very strong with solid imagery and good character designs for the frogs themselves. I just wish that the amphibians had some personality. It’s a solid film, but definitely not deserving of its Oscar nomination.

The Old Mill Pond has solid animation and songs, but no plot, characterization or humor. It is energetic, but not particularly memorable.