A testament to the early breakthroughs in animation technology at Walt Disney Studios, The Old Mill marked the first animated film to use the multiplane camera. The technology created a remarkable depth to the film that added a new perspective and artistic approach to animation. This 68th Silly Symphony garnered Walt Disney two Academy Awards® — one for Best Cartoon and another, a plaque, for Scientific and Technical Class II for the design and the application of the specialized camera. The story of The Old Mill depicts nighttime in an old mill, where frightened birds, mice and owls try to stay safe and dry until the storm subsides. But the creative idea for The Old Mill first surfaced in the 1930 Silly Symphony cartoon Night. This short, a musical nighttime romp with owls, fireflies and frogs in a pond near an old mill, is much more blissful than its successor, which was a dramatic take on the concept. Later on, animation cycles from The Old Mill were used to create The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad in 1949, amidst economic problems at Walt Disney Studios. Now, portions of The Old Mill are used in World of Color at Disney California Adventure, yet another groundbreaking piece of entertainment created by Disney.
