Studio: Fleischer Studios
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Produced by: Max Fleischer
Short Synopsis
In 1699 Lemuel Gulliver is shipwrecked and washes up on the beach of Lilliput. Gabby, the town crier, discovers the "giant" and runs to raise the alarm. At that moment King Little of Lilliput and King Bombo of Blefuscu are signing a marriage contract between Princess Glory and Prince David, but they quarrel over which country's anthem, "Faithful" or "Forever", should be sung at the wedding, and Bombo declares war. The Lilliputians tie up the sleeping Gulliver and haul him into town. When he wakes and breaks free, the Blefuscu fleet attacks, and Gulliver's laughter sends it into retreat, so the Lilliputians treat him as their champion. Bombo sends three spies, Sneak, Snoop and Snitch, to kill the giant. Prince David, who has sneaked into Lilliput, overhears their plot and is captured, then falls from a cliff. Gulliver ties the enemy fleet together and drags it away, tells both kingdoms to make peace, and the Prince recovers and sings the two anthems combined as "Faithful Forever". At the end the Lilliputians build Gulliver a new ship and he sails away.
Why It Matters
- Gulliver himself is rotoscoped from live-action footage of the actor Sam Parker, so he moves with a realism that contrasts strangely with the cartoonish Lilliputians around him, a striking, sometimes uncanny effect. Gabby the town crier, with his frantic energy, became the film's breakout comic character.
- It was the second animated feature from an American studio, commissioned by Paramount after the success of Snow White. It was nominated for Academy Awards for its score and for the song "Faithful Forever", losing both to The Wizard of Oz. It did well at the box office, but did not recover its budget, which put Fleischer Studios on the road to its takeover by Paramount in 1942.
Notes and Trivia
- Fleischer Studios moved from New York to a new studio in Miami to make it.
- Gabby got his own short series after the film.
- See also: Mr. Bug Goes to Town (1941).