Line #44 WesternAnimation/TheGoldenTouch


1	[[quoteright:262:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/goldentouch5_2244.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:262:"Is the richest king in all the world to starve to death?"]]
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4	->''"Give me gold, not advice!"''
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6	"The Golden Touch" is a [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation 1935]] ''WesternAnimation/SillySymphonies'' short directed by Creator/WaltDisney, and was the last cartoon he ever directed, for reasons explained below.
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8	The plot is similar to the original King Midas story from [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greek Mythology]], albeit updating it from UsefulNotes/AncientGreece to the times of [[TheMiddleAges Medieval Europe]], obviously to keep in vogue with the fairy tale settings of the Silly Symphonies. The short begins with King Midas bragging and singing about his vast riches, which prompts a smug little elf called Goldie to appear and give him the Golden Touch, albeit with warnings that Midas ignores. Initially, Midas is thrilled at his newfound gift, but quickly discovers its side effects when he discovers that it turns whatever he eats or drinks into gold, prompting a VillainousBreakdown and him surrendering his power, kingdom, and riches for something to eat.
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10	The short is notable if just for the scorn it received from Walt himself. Apparently, Walt was unhappy with some of his directors' takes on the short and decided to try directing it himself (despite not having directed anything in years), working on the project with only two animators, Creator/FredMoore and Norm Ferguson. It became such a failure that Walt immediately [[CreatorBacklash disowned the cartoon]] and forbade anybody from ever bringing it up around the studio, and gave up on directing short cartoons in favor of becoming a full-time producer. Reasons included that the short was stiff and lethargically paced and that Midas came off as too one-dimensional and too unsympathetic for audiences to care about him.
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12	----
13	!!"The Golden Touch" provides examples of:
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15	* AdaptationalVillainy: Midas may have been a hedonist in the myth, but he was just foolish and irresponsible, not an arrogant jerk like he is here, and he didn't willingly turn animals into gold either.
16	* AdaptedOut: Bacchus and the Greek gods, who gave and removed Midas's curse in the original myth, are not present and are replaced by Goldie the elf. The rest of the original Midas myth, such as the incident where his ears are turned into those of donkeys, is also dropped.
17	* AdiposeRex: King Midas is portly, likely due to all the time he spends counting money and the extravagant feasts laid out in his banquet hall.
18	* AnachronismStew: Hamburgers were not invented until the 19th or 20th century, well after Midas's time.
19	* AndIMustScream: It's implied that the cat was fully aware when he was turned into gold.
20	* AntiVillain: King Midas. He's extremely greedy, arrogant, and rude but otherwise doesn't do anything actively evil or harmful (barring willingly turning his cat into gold), and, once the detrimental effects of the Golden Touch come to bite him in the rear, prompting him to surrender his kingdom and riches, he finally comes around humbled by the ending.
21	* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: To indicate that audiences shouldn't feel ''too'' bad for Midas is that when his cat just wants to enjoy the day and keep away from the Golden Touch, he tries to beckon it towards him. When the cat refuses to play along, Midas chases it down.
22	* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Everything you touch turning into gold seems great until you realize that includes anything you try to eat or drink.
23	* BigEater: Midas planned on eating the entire table's worth of food all by himself, which makes him realize his power is a curse, as he can't eat ever again.
24	* BittersweetEnding: Midas gives up his whole kingdom and riches to Goldie all just so that he can have a hamburger to eat. Fortunately, he gets just that -- with onions, to his delight.
25	* BlessedWithSuck: Midas, when he realizes that the Golden Touch will turn ''anything'' he tries to eat or drink into gold.
26	* {{Bowdlerize}}: Some rereleases of the Cartoon cut most of the opening sequence and start with Midas singing about having "The Golden Touch". This has the added benefit of young children not seeing the king turning his cat into gold.
27	* CanonForeigner: Goldie the Elf is a unique creation for this adaptation and replaces Bacchus and the gods in the role of giving and taking away Midas's curse.
28	* ConfirmedBachelor: By his own admission, Midas cares not for women. His being the only person remaining when Goldie takes his castle implies he was unmarried.
29	* EvilDetectingDog:
30	** Cat in this case. The king's cat knows that Goldie is no good and tries to flee from him as well as from Midas once the king gets the Golden Touch.
31	** The birds immediately flee when they see Midas approaching their birdbath. They are confused when he turns their water into a gold foam.
32	* FlippingTheTable: Midas angrily flips his golden table after he turns all his food into gold.
33	* GoldIsYellow: Zig-zagged. Many of the golden objects, whether turned gold by Midas's touch or not, have realistic tones and shading. However, some objects, such as the gold coins, appear more yellow due to their simplistic shading. This is probably due to the coins being drawn and inked, while the more "golden" objects are painted.
34	* TheGrimReaper: A ''golden'' version of him appears during Midas's breakdown.
35	* HiddenDepths: Midas may be a selfish, greedy jerk, but ''twice'' he is quick to offer up his kingdom to Goldie for something that, debatably, is comparatively small in relation; the first time being for the Golden Touch itself, and the second to be relieved of the curse and to simply have a hamburger to eat that won't change to gold. Doesn't make him much more sympathetic, but it is notable.
36	* HoldTheUnsolicitedIngredient: Played with when Midas begs for a hamburger in exchange for his kingdom and Goldie sarcastically asks "With or without onions?" Midas humbly asks for a plain sandwich, though afterward he's overjoyed to find that his hamburger includes onions.
37	* HopeSpot: There is one moment where the cat successfully outruns Midas and makes it up a tree, too high for him to climb. Then Midas touches the tree, which turns it, the fruits, and the cat into gold.
38	* IronicEcho: "Give me gold, not advice!" When Goldie reappears, he reminds Midas of his own words.
39	* JingleTheCoins: At the beginning of the short, Midas pours some coins into his shirt and shakes around, presumably to enjoy the sound of the coins jingling.
40	* KarmicTrickster: Goldie is friendly to Midas at first and gives the king a fair shake with a warning about the danger of unmitigated greed before bestowing the Golden Touch at Midas's insistence.
41	* KickTheDog: The first thing Midas decides to touch to see if he has the power Goldie gave him is to use it on his cat, the same cat Goldie used it on earlier as a demonstration. Not, say, his table or a door, but a cat that clearly did not want to be turned into gold again.
42	* LaughingMad[=/=]CryLaughing: Midas, upon discovering that the Golden Touch prevents him from eating or drinking.
43	* LighterAndSofter: Unlike other adaptations, this one does not have the tragic story element of Midas accidentally turning his daughter into gold (which, despite its popularity, is not part of the original myth) in favor of him just breaking down from not being able to eat anything (which unintentionally makes him less sympathetic). The story tone is also slightly more comedic than the original fable.
44	* MagicAIsMagicA: The Golden Touch seems kind of random, but it's just absurdly specific:
45	** The tips of Midas's index fingers and the front of his face (including the inside of his mouth) turn things into gold -- and '''only''' those body parts.
46	** An object turned into gold also affects anything softer that is touching it. For example, Midas's cat turns to gold when it's on a tree that Midas touches, but changing water in a birdbath doesn't affect the birdbath itself. Gasses are generally exempt. The sole exception is when he sticks a golden fork into a turkey, but only after the fork is turned into gold--the turkey doesn't turn into gold until he tries to bite it.
47	** Midas touches his own body and clothes without turning either into gold. The sole exception is when he deliberately transforms one of his teeth. Presumably, he is protected from unintentionally altering his self.
48	* TheManInTheMirrorTalksBack: Happens twice. The first time, Midas's reflection applauds him when he plans to turn the universe to gold. The second time, depicted in the image page, it turns into a skeleton and nods when Midas asks, "Is the richest king in all the world to starve to death?"
49	* MidasTouch: This being an adaptation of the TropeMaker, this one's a given.
50	* MinimalistCast: The short has only three characters in it: Midas, his cat, and Goldie.
51	* NakedPeopleAreFunny: Subverted when Goldie starts to take Midas's underclothes but relents when the king begs to keep them.
52	* NoLoveForTheWicked: In the opening number, King Midas mentions that he has no interest in romance, simply because he LovesOnlyGold. While he's not exactly villainous, he is shown to be a selfish {{Jerkass}} in this part, before his development later on.
53	* OurElvesAreDifferent: This one can give you the Golden Touch.
54	* RegalRuff: Amusingly, King Midas's cat wears one, implying that Midas is so rich that he's able to afford such a fancy accessory for his ''pet!''
55	* SatiatingSandwich: "My gold, my kingdom for a ''hamburger sandwich!''"
56	* ScrewThisImOutOfHere: The cat attempts to flee after Midas gains the Golden Touch and wants to test it on his pet. Sadly, the cat fails to escape.
57	* SchmuckBait: Goldie demonstrates the Golden Touch. He then tries to warn Midas that he doesn't want a price for it because the Touch itself is a curse. Midas is too greedy to think this may be a bad idea.
58	* SmugSnake: Goldie, of the non-villainous variety, as he takes clear pleasure in humiliating a greedy egotist like Midas.
59	* TakenForGranite: The Cat suffers this twice; once by Goldie and once by its owner, King Midas.
60	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodSandwich: None of the food Midas was going to have for lunch got to be eaten, thanks to his power.
61	* ThroatSlittingGesture: During Midas's breakdown, his shadow turns into TheGrimReaper, who pulls this gesture while making a "shhhhlck" sound to taunt the king that the Golden Touch will be his own undoing.
62	* ThrowTheDogABone: Goldie allows Midas to keep his underwear and also puts onions on his hamburger.
63	* TreasureRoom: An early example where the short opens on Midas merrily counting gold coins in his treasury.
64	* VillainousBreakdown: Midas when he realizes he can't eat and drink anything. And then he really loses it when he imagines himself becoming a gold skeleton after starving to death.
65	* VillainProtagonist: Midas
66	* VillainSong: The opening song, as well as the little ditty Midas sings when he discovers the power of the Golden Touch.
67	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
68	** Midas's pet cat is never seen after being turned into gold a second time by the king. Presumably, Goldie took it along with the rest of Midas's possessions, but it's not made clear where the cat went or whether it was restored to normal (though Goldie did demonstrate earlier that he can undo the effects of the Golden Touch).
69	** We also never see whether or not Midas had any staff in his castle -- and he must have had at least some, seeing how he obviously didn't cook his meal himself -- leaving it up into the air as to whether or not Goldie took them as well, or if they'd just left the castle after doing their work for the day.

Context WesternAnimation / TheGoldenTouch