[mousepod]

I had a ball.

Six of the eight Silly Symphonies presented are already available on the Treasures DVD (and the other two will be on the collection released this month), but it was nice seeing them on the big screen.

I agree with Alex that the panel wasn't particularly illuminating, but I really didn't expect to learn anything new, anyway. The fact that a discussion about the early years of Disney was being held in front of an attentive audience at the Castro Theatre was delightful, particularly in a city that seems generally apathetic to things like this.

It was nice to exchange a few words with the panel members during the book signing, and it was especially pleasant to see my first Snowflake of the season.

The highlight of the afternoon for me, though, was the audience. There were many children in the crowd, and the reaction to the the various gags was heartwarming. I'm so used to watching vintage cartoons alone in my living room, that I've forgotten that these pre-television shorts were meant to be viewed in a theater full of people. Hearing children laugh at Flowers and Trees forced me to watch it as a cartoon, and not as "the very first color cartoon from the Disney Studios", if you know what I mean.