One of the previous film reviews I wrote was over a short Disney animated film known as The Little Match Girl. I praised the film for its detailed animation, excellent handling of the story, and beautifully composed music. Now I’m going to tackle another short film from the Disney animated short film library, Lorenzo. Lorenzo is another one of these short films that like The Little Match Girl is really under appreciated.

Like The Little Match Girl, Lorenzo was originally a segment meant to be featured in Fantasia 2006, the cancelled third sequel to the Fantasia films. Lorenzo had been through a lot of development issues. It originally started as an idea from Disney writer and artist Joe Grant, who came up with the idea after he saw his cat dive into the middle of a fight between his two poodles. Grant started developing Lorenzo around 1949. He and Mike Gabriel both worked in collaboration on the film. However, after several years of funding and staff cutbacks, the project was eventually shelved. By November 2003, the film was eventually completed. This also included two other animated segments, Destino, and One by One, both segments intended for Fantasia. But that’s a topic for another time. What is Lorenzo about?

In terms of story, there’s not much to Lorenzo. If I tell you too much I’ll basically be giving away the whole short. It starts out with the main character Lorenzo, a lazy cat who while lounging around on his cushion can’t help but notice that a black stray cat doesn’t have his own tail. As Lorenzo laughs in delight, the Black Cat casts a hex on Lorenzo’s tail that brings it to life. The tail has its own personality and is very energetic. However, Lorenzo is a bit more than perturbed that his tail is alive.

That’s all I can really say about this short without giving away the ending. Lorenzo is unique in that not only does it have a simple story, but the animation is also one of a kind. It’s similar to The Little Match Girl, in that both are silent short animated films. When you watch this film it has an interesting animation style that reminds me of a paint brush stroke feel. In fact, many of the film’s backgrounds were all hand painted by Mike Gabriel who used Tempera paint on blank construction paper. Walt Disney Animation comes up with some pretty creative ways in order to capture the look and style they’re going for in their films, whether it is short or full-length. The music also captures the Paris Tango feel mixed with classical instruments. The first song listed for this short is called “Bordoneo y 900” performed by Juan Jose Mosalini and his Big Tango Orchestra.

A question that’s been on my mind is whether or not this short is just as good or not better than The Little Match Girl. However, these short films are well-made in both their animation and their music. They’re both different and unique when compared. The Little Match Girl is somber and has a very grey look to it. It’s filled with rich, beautiful, detailed animation, and it features a wonderful classical rendition of the String Quartet No. 2 D Major originally composed by Alexander Borodin. Lorenzo is fast-paced and energetic with a French like feel to its animation and a dancing feel to its music. Not only are both great short films, but they’re great works of art. If you haven’t seen this short you can find on The Walt Disney Short Films Collection on DVD and Blu-ray. It’s also available on Netflix as well, but I recommend watching it soon. It may be only five minutes but this is one tango I’m definitely not skipping