On this day in 1939, the beautiful Silly Symphony The Ugly Duckling swam into theaters, and although released early in Disney’s history, this was not Disney’s first version of the classic Hans Christian Andersen story. In the 1981 television special, Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, Frank Thomas explained, “In 1931 we made the first version of The Ugly Duckling and there the acting still was very simple and straightforward. But crude as it was, the audience still felt sorry for the little guy. Seven years later we made another version of The Ugly Duckling, and by this time the animators had learned how to make a drawing act.” In fact, they learned so well that the new version ended up gliding home with the Academy Award® for Best Cartoon.
