http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/The_Old_Mill_6687.jpg

'''''The Old Mill''''' is a [[TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1937]] SillySymphonies short and is considered one of the most important shorts in the ClassicDisneyShorts lineup. While the short has no plot or concrete characters, what carries it is its astounding animation quality – being made not long before the release of Snow White, it was meant to not only prepare the animators to the gruelling task of completing the aforementioned film, but also to test Disney's then new Multiplane Camera. [[AnimationBump The results are nothing short of jaw-dropping – naturalistic, fluid animation; rich, lush, three-strip technicolor]]; [[SceneryPorn and some very, very impressive staging, mood, and use of scenery]]. Also a source of NightmareFuel near the end.

This short holds the place of #14 on The50GreatestCartoons list.
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* AnimationBump: Oh yeah.
* ByWallThatIsHoley
* CueTheSun
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Yep, it's a mill. And it's ''really'' old.
* MalevolentArchitecture: The storm turns the mill into one, as two birds have nested inside a pit where a cog fits. Thankfully, said cog had weathered away prior to the short's timeframe.
* NeverRecycleABuilding: The windmill's been there long enough to attract several varieties of birds, mice and a colony of bats, but the presence of bell-wearing cattle suggests that there's humans ''somewhere'' close by.
* NoAntagonist: Unless you count Mother Nature.
* NoFourthWall: Several of the creatures seem to be aware of the camera, turning to look at it while it pans by. The owl, in particular, seems to look right at the audience a good deal.
* SceneryPorn: pretty much seven minutes of it
* SerendipitousSymphony: During the storm.
* SickeninglySweethearts: The two doves who just ''cannot'' back off from one another, no matter how bad the weather gets. And they're right there with each other come daybreak.
* StockFootage: The cattail animation was later recycled for the climax of ''Disney/TheAdventuresOfIchabodAndMrToad''. It also appeared in ''[[Disney/TheManyAdventuresOfWinnieThePooh Winnie the Pooh and The Blustery Day]]'' and ''Disney/TheLittleMermaid''.
* WhenItRainsItPours. And thunders.
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