The Hardship of Miles Standish (1940)

The Hardship of Miles Standish Review

The Hardship of Miles Standish is a 1940 animated short film from the Merry Melodies series. It is a very weak entry.

This short is a retelling of the narrative poem the Courtship of Miles Standish. But that poem is very old, from 1858, and is not really popular, at least to my knowledge. That’s why it was entirely lost on me both in terms of story and in terms of characters. Elmer Fudd is memorable as John Alden and Priscilla is also fine, but the two aren’t great by any stretch of the imagination.

The film is pretty well animated with a solid recreation of its time period with good imagery, details and clothes. The score is also okay. But the short is very boring as it runs for eight minutes and nothing interesting ever happens in it. The first half is dull and slow whereas the second half is faster but with its gags not working at all.

The Hardship of Miles Standish is well animated, but boring, dated and very limited in its appeal.

My Rating – 3.2