Merbabies is a 1938 Silly Symphonies cartoon directed by Rudolf Ising and Vernon Stallings.

Plot

Similar to Water Babies, "merbabies" materialize out of the crashing surf and proceed to the sea floor where they conduct a circus along with a variety of sea creatures.

Notes

• This short and "Winnie the Pooh and a Day for Eeyore" are the only two Disney cartoons to be outsourced to another studio (this one because Disney borrowed animators from MGM to finish Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs). In the case of "Merbabies", it would be made by Rudolf Ising and Hugh Harman over at MGM, who worked with Walt in the early years.
  • Although Disney recruited animators from Harman-Ising Productions to help production of this short, "Pipe Dreams" and "The Little Bantamweight", Disney didn't accept the latter two. Because of this, MGM bought the copyrights for the latter two shorts and released them as part of their Happy Harmonies series.
• The whale in this short served as an inspiration for Monstro in Pinocchio, which was in production at the time.
  • Co-incidentally, a similar Monstro-like whale previously appeared in the Mickey Mouse short "The Whalers", which was released four months prior.

Releases

Television

• Disneyland, episode #3.23: "More About the Silly Symphonies"
• Donald's Quack Attack, episode #20

Home video

DVD

• Walt Disney Treasures: More Silly Symphonies
• The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea
• The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea: Special Edition
• The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning / The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea 2-Movie Collection
• Walt Disney's Fables: Volume 2

VHS

• Walt Disney Cartoon Classics: Limited Gold Edition II: The Disney Dream Factory: 1933-1938
• Disney Sing Along Songs: Under the Sea (clips used throughout the song "At the Codfish Ball")
• Disney Storybook Favourites: The Ugly Duckling and Five Other Stories
• Walt Disney's Fables: Volume 2

Laserdisc

• Walt Disney Cartoon Classics: Limited Gold Edition II: The Disney Dream Factory: 1933-1938
• More Silly Symphonies

Blu-ray

• The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning / The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea 2-Movie Collection

Streaming

• Disney+: September 5, 2023

Gallery

External links

• Merbabies at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Merbabies at the Internet Animation Database

v - e - d

1929 The Skeleton Dance • El Terrible Toreador • Springtime • Hell's Bells • The Merry Dwarfs 1930 Summer • Autumn • Cannibal Capers • Frolicking Fish • Arctic Antics • Midnight in a Toy Shop • Night • Monkey Melodies • Winter • Playful Pan 1931 Birds of a Feather • Mother Goose Melodies • The China Plate • The Busy Beavers • The Cat's Out • Egyptian Melodies • The Clock Store • The Spider and the Fly • The Fox Hunt (1931 short) • The Ugly Duckling (1931) 1932 The Bird Store • The Bears and Bees • Just Dogs • Flowers and Trees • King Neptune • Bugs in Love • Babes in the Woods • Santa's Workshop 1933 Birds in the Spring • Father Noah's Ark • Three Little Pigs • Old King Cole • Lullaby Land • The Pied Piper • The Night Before Christmas 1934 The China Shop • The Grasshopper and the Ants • Funny Little Bunnies • The Big Bad Wolf • The Wise Little Hen • The Flying Mouse • Peculiar Penguins • The Goddess of Spring 1935 The Tortoise and the Hare • The Golden Touch • The Robber Kitten • Water Babies • The Cookie Carnival • Who Killed Cock Robin? • Music Land • Three Orphan Kittens • Cock o' the Walk • Broken Toys 1936 Elmer Elephant • Three Little Wolves • Toby Tortoise Returns • Three Blind Mouseketeers • The Country Cousin • Mother Pluto • More Kittens 1937 Woodland Café • Little Hiawatha • The Old Mill 1938 The Moth and the Flame • Wynken, Blynken and Nod • Farmyard Symphony • Merbabies • Mother Goose Goes Hollywood 1939 The Practical Pig • The Ugly Duckling