The China Plate Review

The China Plate is a 1931 Disney Silly Symphony film. It’s an elegant, charming offering.

It is set in China and it basically follows a young couple falling in love. The first act is dull and basically consists of dance sequences. But afterwards, the film really becomes better and better and even ending as one of the better films from this period. I liked the dragon part, the father is also memorable and the final sequence where the camera moves to reveal that the story came from the titular plate is beautiful and inventive.

The score is solid and the character design is actually better than most of its contemporaries, though the movements still needed some work as they are far from polished. The animation is splendid and I loved some of the wonderful imagery here. They for once did not stereotype Asia and the film is thus much more enjoyable.

The China Plate has a weaker first part, but afterwards the story gets better. The animation is very good and the film is charming and ends wonderfully.