The Milky Way (1940)

The Milky Way Review

The Milky Way is a 1940 animated short from MGM that received an Oscar. It is a very sweet, if far from substantial cartoon.

Now, first let me get this out of the way. Both argue that this movie shouldn’t have gotten the Oscar with the competition including ‘Puss Gets the Boot’ and ‘A Wild Hare’. And yes, that argument is valid. But Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry weren’t known back then and were just starting their series and this short in particular is far from a bad choice as it is actually pretty good. Not great, but good. Yes, the plot is non-existent, but of these types of films of the day, this is actually one of the best ones as it is so well executed.

I loved the three kitten characters and the milk was so well incorporated here. Yes, all of this can become even too cute, but it is still mostly adorable in the right way and so endearing. it has a great framing device and it manages to beat the similarly structured 1938’s ‘Wynken, Blynken and Nod‘ in quality. The score is so good, but the animation is easily the standout aspect as it is just magnificent to behold. Its look is so polished, the scenery is just mesmerizing and you just get lost in this beautiful world.

In the end, The Milky way lacks in terms of the storytelling, but it is so cute, so exceptionally animated and so endearing that you can’t help but love it.