tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364805792882783170.post7540619774575220916..comments2023-11-03T09:20:52.837-04:00Comments on Disney Film Project: The Spider and The FlyRyanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126059549015204825noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364805792882783170.post-28140116491235770702009-08-21T17:28:21.512-04:002009-08-21T17:28:21.512-04:00I think it's a shame that very little of the s...I think it's a shame that very little of the spirit of Mary Howitt's original poem, "The Spider and the Fly" made it into this cartoon. The poem (easily found on many websites) is a cautionary tale of a spider trying to tempt a fly into his web, eventually succeeding through flattery. There is great potential for a much creepier cartoon and villain than what is found here.<br /><br />It is cool how the spider evilly attracts the female fly by playing the web like a harp, but she just falls into it so easily with much less cunning and conning from the villain. Instead it's another Rally-to-the- Rescue short, like you say (much like the climax to "Birds of a Feather"). The mob vastly outnumbers the spider and will stop at nothing to rescue the fly. In fact, once the spider was caught on the flypaper, I was half expecting the flies to set it alight with the flaming cobweb and watch him burn.<br /><br />It's a fun little short nonetheless. I'm sure the scenes of the spider menacingly walking across the web inspired one of the bosses in the old Mega Drive game "World of Illusion: Starring Mickey and Donald" – the movement and character is extremely similar. I also get a laugh out of how detailed the knackered old horse is drawn. It looks really disgusting and grotesque. Maybe the artists wanted a horse that really looked like the kind that would attract plenty of flies. They certainly succeeded!Machttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17701967442508380462noreply@blogger.com