The Chinese Nightingale (1935) watch online HD

A charming piece in the "Happy Harmonies" cartoon series made by Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising for MGM. Loosely adapted from Hans Andersen's fairy-tale "The Emperor's Nightingale", it tells the story of a Chinese emperor and the little nightingale who sings to him each day. The two are inseparable until the emperor receives a music box containing a beautiful wind-up mechanical nightingale and becomes obsessed with it, to the neglect of his old friend. When the emperor nearly loses his old friend, he eventually comes to realise his love for her.

This short cartoon has the lavish look MGM gave to all their products in the 1930s, with charming scenery designed in a Hollywood "chinoiserie" manner; all pagodas, terracotta vases and cherry blossoms. The racial caricaturing of the emperor and his subjects (along with the three little geishas who narrate the tale) is of its time.

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes, Hanna Barbera, Studio Ghibli and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons. With significantly broader knowledge of different directors, animation styles and studios, actually appreciate and love it even more now.

As has been said a few times already, 'The Chinese Nightingale' is fairly typical of Harmon-Ising (not enormous favourites of mine but understand their importance in animation history), leaning towards the cute kind of cartoon with a lot of sentiment in alternative to the laugh a minute and hilarious kind, the latter being the one that a lot seem to prefer (understandably, though am hardly biased against the former). This approach has varied with Ising. In some instances it has been very sweet and charming, in others it can be cloying and too cutesy. Generally 'The Chinese Nightingale' belongs in the former category, despite the danger of falling into the latter with the premise.

'The Chinese Nightingale', loosely based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy-tale as has been said already, has a lot to like although not a great cartoon, not one to completely overlook if not a cartoon to watch repeatedly.

Yes it gets a bit too saccharine in places and it is best perhaps to not talk about the story because there really isn't much of one. There could have been more energy too, it's not a dull cartoon but considering the story it could have done with more liveliness. The stereotyping too is not for all tastes.

What 'The Chinese Nightingale' does so well however eclipses these problems. The animation is rich in detail for design and backgrounds, vibrant and crisp. The composer for the prime-era 'Tom and Jerry' cartoons and regular Tex Avery composer Scott Bradley provides a lush and atmospheric music score. The voice acting is also on point.

It is hard not to fall in love with the characters, the nightingale in particular, even if they are not especially distinctive, and it has enough likeability and personality to not be dull. 'The Chinese Nightingale' is rich in natural sweet charm and some very imaginative ideas and visuals in its recreation of the authentic setting. There is nothing hilarious and the cartoon's hardly laugh a minute (not that kind of cartoon, it is a serious story after all), but a good deal of it does charm and touch. The pace avoids being too draggy, although more energy wouldn't have gone amiss.

Summarising, nice and pleasant to watch if not a must watch. 7/10 Bethany Cox