The Truth About Mother Goose Explained

The Truth About Mother Goose is an animated short film released on August 28, 1957, by Walt Disney Productions.^[1] 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.^[2]

External links

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

Notes and References

1. Book: Lenburg . Jeff . The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons . 1999 . Checkmark Books . 0-8160-3831-7 . 153.
2. Web site: Disney Rarities – Celebrated Shorts: 1920s – 1960s DVD Review . DVD Dizzy . 14 February 2021.