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The Truth About Mother Goose is an animated short film released on August 28, 1957, by Walt Disney Productions. The short was directed by Wolfgang Reitherman in his directorial debut, and Bill Justice, and written by Bill Peet.

Plot

In this short, a trio of jazz-singing jesters sing three Mother Goose nursery rhymes, while an off screen narrator explains their origins in three animated vignettes. The rhymes include:

• "Little Jack Horner": Thomas Horner (steward to Richard Whiting, the last abbot of Glastonbury), allegedly stealing a title deed in transit to Henry VIII of England.
• "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary": The life of Mary Stuart. The segment claims that the "silver bells" are said to "refer to the elaborate decoration on her dresses", the "cockle shells" to her love of exotic food such as cockles, with the "pretty maids all in a row" referring to her ladies-in-waiting.
• "London Bridge Is Falling Down": The gradual deterioration and dilapidation of the medieval Old London Bridge.

Academy Awards

The short was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1957, but lost to the Merrie Melodies cartoon Birds Anonymous.

Home media

The short was released on December 6, 2005, on Walt Disney Treasures: Disney Rarities – Celebrated Shorts: 1920s–1960s.

References

1. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 153. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7.
2. "Disney Rarities – Celebrated Shorts: 1920s – 1960s DVD Review". DVD Dizzy. Retrieved 14 February 2021.

External links

• The Truth About Mother Goose at IMDb
• The Truth About Mother Goose Disney shorts (Internet Archive)

This article about a Disney animated film of the 1950s is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

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• 1950s educational films
• 1957 films
• 1950s Disney animated short films
• Disney educational films
• Films directed by Bill Justice
• Films produced by Walt Disney
• Animated films set in Scotland
• Films set in Tudor England
• Short films directed by Wolfgang Reitherman
• Animated films based on nursery rhymes
• Films scored by George Bruns
• Films with screenplays by Bill Peet
• Animated films set in England
• Animated films set in London
• Works based on nursery rhymes
• 1957 directorial debut films
• 1950s English-language films
• 1950s American films
• Animated films set in the 16th century
• English-language short films
• 1957 animated short films
• Disney animated film stubs
• 1950s animated film stubs
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