The China Shop
The China Shop
NR | 13 January 1934 (USA)
The China Shop Trailers

The elderly owner of a china shop leaves for the night, and the various figurines and decorated mugs come to life. A demonic figure captures an upper-class lady and does battle with her lord, damaging much of the shop. But the demon proves to have a glass jaw and, literally, a yellow streak, and the happy couple is soon reunited. No dialogue, but some signs are in English, particularly the final punch-line.

Reviews
Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic
Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
OllieSuave-007 This is like a pre-Toy Story adventure, where various figurines and mugs come to life in a China stop after the owner leaves. Some excitement and intriguing moments when a demonic figure captures an upper-class lady and then does battle with her lord. A clever and imaginative story here, with all the shattering and clanging of dishes.
Robert Reynolds This is an early color short in the Silly Symphonies series produced by the Disney studio. There will be spoilers ahead:Much of this will be familiar, at least in terms of plot-boy and girl are courting, a rival interferes and our hero ultimately triumphs through the adversity to once again win the girl.In this one, all but two of the characters are things made of china. Three monkeys, beer steins, cups and saucers and the like. There's the old man who owns the china shop and an animated wall clock. Everything else is china, including three figurines. The first two are a couple, who dance in one of the better sequences of the short. The third figurine is the bad gut, a green satyr who covets the female china figurine and grabs her.A fight, of course, is inevitable, though our hero must fight more or less alone, with the satyr throwing whatever it can grab while the more active figures scatter. Finally, our hero beats the satyr with some rather timely (sorry) help from the clock and the couple is reunited. When the proprietor returns in the morning, he takes the carnage in stride and gives the short a funny, happy ending.This short is available on the Disney Treasures More Silly Symphonies DVD set and both the set and this short are worth your time. Recommended.
TheLittleSongbird This is just living proof that you can never grow too old to appreciate Disney for the pure art it is. The China Shop is enormously entertaining, and has everything you can ever ask for in a silly symphony. Brilliant Technicolour animation, a truly excellent music score and a very fun storyline. All the characters are great, the elderly owner, the two dancing antiques, the monkeys and the green (centaur-shaped) antagonistic satyr. Give yourself a treat from watching the China Shop, it is an unforgettable Disney gem, that not only brings back fond memories, but is so beautiful in story and presentation, you have to like it. 10/10 Bethany Cox
ackstasis Many of the early Silly Symphonies were concerned with scenes of nature, but 'The China Shop (1934)' constitutes an interesting change. Directed by Wilfred Jackson, the film unfolds entirely in a china shop, whose ceramic inhabitants come to life the moment the elderly owner leaves for home. The idea of inanimate objects become animate when we're not looking has always been a popular one for audiences: literary characters emerged from their books in MGM's 'The Bookworm (1939),' and the tradition stretches all the way to Pixar's success with 'Toy Story (1995).' It's human nature to want to anthropomorphise machines and toys, to ascribe to them motivations and emotions, and here Disney takes advantage of this fantasy, paradoxically unfolding an epic romantic battle in the confines of a quiet china store. The end result is a pleasant and enjoyable musical cartoon, animated in brilliant Technicolor, with a plot fuelled by romantic tension, and a battle between hero and villain.As soon as the china shop's old proprietor sluggishly closes up for the night, the wide-eyed wall-clock gives the signal that the coast is clear. Every ceramic figure suddenly comes to life, and the dreary old store is quickly abuzz with festive cheer, and a handsome male dances romantically with his beautiful lady-friend. However, evil is afoot. A devilish, goat-legged satyr comes to life and crashes the party, locking up the beautiful woman in a glass cage to claim ownership over her. The male, of course, does not take kindly to his love being snatched away, and, though he gets battered and bruised along the way, challenges the satyr to an epic battle of strength and will. I don't need to tell you how the cartoon ends, but suffice to say that the china shop winds up a little worse for wear. Fortunately, in the film's humorous conclusion, the old shop-owner thinks up the surest solution to a busted-up china collection, proving that every disaster is simply a blessing in disguise.
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