FirstWitch
A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
Roman Sampson
One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.
Fleur
Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.
Vimacone
In 1937, the Disney Studio and the Harman-Ising studio were in a jam. Disney was barely meeting the deadline for completing Snow White; They were at the inking and painting stage, but there was not enough people to complete it on time. MGM canceled their distribution contract with Harman-Ising after their films were running over budget. Walt contacted Harman-Ising and asked them if they could loan him their inking and painting department. In return Disney had them produce a Silly Symphony that was in development since 1935, Merbabies. Harman-Ising's cartoons for MGM were so lush that they could be almost mistaken for a Disney cartoon, which is probably why Disney warranted this consideration. Although, animation buffs and historians would be the only ones to notice that house style-wise, this does not resemble a Disney cartoon, but an MGM cartoon. Even Scott Bradley, the composer for virtually every MGM cartoon through the 1950's composed the score. Like most of the cartoons Harman-Ising directed, there isn't much story as there is lush visuals. It's mostly the Merbabies putting on an underwater show. I couldn't make sense out of the ending. Disney had Harman-Ising produced two additional cartoons for him, but RKO wouldn't allow this. It would be interesting to see if this was released as a Happy Harmony or a regular MGM cartoon. This makes for an interesting mash-up of two great animation studios.
Worth checking out for the lush visuals and breathtaking musical score.
Michael_Elliott
Merbabies (1938) *** (out of 4) This animated short was actually released by Disney but it was produced by Hugh Harmon and Rudolf Ising. Both men had previously worked at Disney but when Walt needed help finishing SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS this film was bought from them and released. The plot, well, there really isn't much plot but it deals with the title characters, baby mermaids, and their underwater adventures. The "adventures" aren't much either but what makes this film work isn't the plot but instead it's the wonderful and very well-detailed animation. There are some terrific footage underwater and I must admit that the look at the merbabies were rather cute and adorable.
TheLittleSongbird
Merbabies was a truly enchanting short. The animation is stunning, with beautiful underwater backgrounds, and fluid movements, and the music was a delight to the ears and was strongly reminiscent of a Tchaikovsky ballet score. And it was a delight hearing Gossec's Gavotte.The characters, especially the adorable Merbabies, were completely likable and there are some truly entertaining bits, like the part when the seahorse tries to get through the hoop. I will admit, Merbabies is thin in terms of story, and I was saddened when the Merbabies turned to sea foam at the end.Still, it is very beautiful, and I would definitely watch it again. 9/10 Bethany Cox
travisimo
Merbabies can be found as a bonus feature on The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea DVD. This Silly Symphony short is a cute look at how half-babies, half-fish celebrate a circus under the sea. For me, it was almost too cute. I kind of want to see more depth into the story, which may be difficult to do for a 9-minute Silly Symphony cartoon, but I point to The Old Mill on how that can be done effectively. However, I will say that the ending to Merbabies was kind of neat. So overall, Merbabies is a cute little film with crisp, clean animation.Side note: I found Ron Oliver's comments to be interesting on how this cartoon served as practice for certain scenes in Pinocchio. I didn't think about that at the time I watched Merbabies, but if I watch it again, I'll have to pay closer attention!My IMDb Rating: 6/10
