"The Golden Touch" is an old Disney cartoon and at 10 minutes this one's a bit longer than they usually are. Director is Disney himself and the voice acting is provided by the prolific and successful Billy Bletcher. Here we have the story of King Midas that many know I am sure and really in an animated form, you cannot make it better than it is here. The looks are absolutely amazing for a film that is over 80 years old and there is a great deal of wit in here and a memorable lesson in terms of morale. Maybe you could say that the fun/comedy component is not existent here and you would be right, the somewhat funny onions comment at the very end cannot change that. But it's not a problem at all. The darker skeleton references make obvious anyway that this is not a Disney cartoon for the little ones, but teenagers and everybody above the agee can and should check this one out. We should be thankful for the huge treasure of quality films Disney left us and this is just one coin in the chest. Really loved the ending too because when he has almost nothing except a burger and his underwear is the first time he is really happy and not only tells us this film to not be greedy, but also to appreciate the little things in life, not just food-wise, that we often take for granted. This Silly Simphony is as close to a must-see as I was giving it an even higher rating. Maybe on rewatch. But I sure recommend it very much.
The Golden Touch
1935
Action / Animation / Comedy / Family / Musical
The Golden Touch
1935
Action / Animation / Comedy / Family / Musical
Keywords: short filmcartoonking midas
Plot summary
King Midas is visited by an elf; the elf turns his cat to gold, then claps his hands and it changes back. Midas begs for the golden touch, but the elf warns him it would be a curse to him. Midas insists. He dances about joyfully at first, but discovers the drawbacks when he sits down to dinner. Fearing death by starvation, he summons the elf and agrees to surrender everything he owns to have the curse lifted.
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Greed will kill you
classic Disney without the iconic Disney characters
King Midas cares for nothing but gold. One day, he's visited by the diminutive magical Goldie. Despite Goldie's warning, Midas demands and is granted the golden touch. At first, he is overjoyed but eventually, he discovers that it is really a curse. He turns everything including his food into gold. In the end, he pleads to Goldie to have a hamburger sandwich in exchange for his entire kingdom.
This is a Walt Disney Silly Symphony cartoon. There are none of the iconic Disney characters. It's strictly the classic tale told in a silly cartoon form. The tale still works and it works well in this short bite size. Goldie is a little creepy but Midas is a fun looking design. It's all very good.
Nice animation...though it is a bit sappy.
If you are looking for this short, try the "Disney Timeless Treasures: Volume 3". It's there along with several other seldom-seen cartoon shorts.
This Silly Symphony short is, as is ALWAYS the case with these shorts, brilliantly animated--with terrific backgrounds and ultra-vivid colors. It's the story of King Midas and his Golden Touch. But, unfortunately, the Disney folks decided to insert some sappy music--and the King singing "The Golden Touch, The Golden Touch" was pretty annoying. Once this stopped, however, the story was pretty decent and quite watchable. My only reservation about the story is the ending--as the original story told by the ancient Greeks was much darker (and therefore, cool).