The Goddess of Spring

The Goddess of Spring is a 1934 Silly Symphony telling the story of Persephone and Pluto.
==Synopsis==
The cartoon begins with Persephone, the Greek Goddess of Spring, seated on a throne, while animals and flowers dance happily around her, and birds place a floral coronet on her head. At this point, Pluto, the God of the Underworld (not to be confused with Pluto, Mickey Mouse's dog, or Hades, God of the Underworld in Hercules), ascends from beneath the earth on a rotating platform and, as his demons chase away Persephone's friends, declares that he will make her his wife. He takes her to the Underworld, where the demons celebrate; some dance around fires while another plays a hellish organ.
Though she is given gold and jewels, Persephone is (understandably) depressed, causing the world above to become an icy wasteland. This upsets Pluto for being unable to make her happy and he asks her what he can do. She pleads to return to the earth, and is allowed to do so, provided she returns for six months. This differentiates the seasons, spring and summer taking place while Persephone is on the surface.
==Cast==
* Kenny Baker as Narrator
* Tudor Williams as Pluto
* Jessica Dragonette as Persephone
* Diana Gaylen as Persephone (singing voice)
==Notes==
* The cartoon was the first attempt by Disney animators to animate 'realistic' human figures, in preparation for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The characters were designed by Albert Hurter, who suggested certain poses and gestures that the animators were not yet skilled enough to emulate. After realizing that a greater knowledge of anatomy was required in order to produce believable human animation, Disney hired Don Graham, who held anatomy classes in order to prepare the animators for their first feature.
* The short is based on the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone, which "explains" why there's a winter season instead of an eternal spring.
==Releases==
=== Television ===
*The Mickey Mouse Club, February 20–21, 1957
*Walt Disney's Mickey and Donald, episode #44
=== Home video ===
VHS
*Walt Disney Cartoon Classics: Fanciful Fables
Laserdisc
* Walt Disney Cartoon Classics: Fanciful Fables
DVD
* Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Platinum Edition 
* Walt Disney Treasures: More Silly Symphonies
Blu-ray
* Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition
=== Streaming ===
* Disney+, November 12, 2019
==Gallery==
Tumblr m2fcwonuJ71r3jmn6o1 1280.png
1934-deesse-2.jpg
Tumblr m2fd6yUBSm1r3jmn6o1 1280.png
The goddess of spring 3large.jpg
Tumblr n2nzr7aQFv1qhcrb0o1 1280.jpg
The goddess of spring 2large.jpg
1934-deesse-3.jpg
The Goddess of Spr.png
The goddess of spring 4large.jpg
GODDESS_OF_SPRING.png
The goddess of spring 5large.jpg
The goddess of spring 6large.jpg
1934-deesse-4.jpg
Tumblr ljv93dVP3k1qhcrb0o1 1280.jpg
1934-deesse-5.jpg
The goddess of spring 7large.jpg
Godess-of-spring1.jpg
Pluto hurter.jpg|Albert Hurter's designs for Pluto
PersephoneGOS.jpg|Pencil test of Persephone with a panning background.
PersephoneGOSConcept.jpg|Concepts of Persephone.
PlutoGOSConcept.jpg|Concepts of Pluto.
ElvesAndImpsGOS.jpg|The elves and imps with Persephone and Pluto.
Devil animated drawing.jpg
Devil drawing.png
Devil-600.jpg
==See also==
* The Goddess of Spring (song)
ar:سيدة الربيع
es:The Goddess of Spring
Goddess of Spring, The
Category:Animated shorts
Category:1934 shorts