The Story of King Midas (1953) User Reviews

Early stop-motion magic

[yourhumbleservant99 · 8/10 · 11 May 2006]

Ray Harryhausen would later go on to work on special effects in some of the most famous monster movies of all time (Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans, and many more). This short retelling of the Greek myth of the greedy King Midas is different from such work, because it is entirely animated with stop-motion techniques - no real actors appear. Because of this, some of the facial expressions can be quite primitive, especially when transitions between expressions are necessary. But despite some of its flaws, this is quite an enjoyable little movie, with heart and wit. If you don't know the story of King Midas (which is quite famous) he gains the Golden Touch, which (as the name implies) turns everything he touches to gold - and he finds out that it's not all that it's cracked up to be.

I'm not sure if this short is available on the DVD "Ray Harryhausen: The Early Years". I saw it on the GoodTimes DVD, "The Greatest Sci-fi Cartoons of all Time."

It's good but beware of the happy ending!

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 11 February 2019]

This is an early Ray Harryhausen short film and the great stop-motion animator made several fairy tale stories similar to this one. And, in each of the ones I've seen, the stories have been altered to make them more acceptable for small children. In this case, it means that King Midas gets a happy ending...something not seen in ancient Greek versions of the tale.

The story is simple. King Midas is rich but is so consumed with greed that it's never enough. So, a bluish guy who looks a lot like Nosferatu arrives and offers him the power to turn anything to gold with he touch and the dopey king agrees. Unfortunately, he learns that his food and beloved daughter turn to gold when he touches them...so the bluish dude shows up and offers him a way out.

This is pleasant but had the story been more like the original darks story I think it would have been better. Still, the animation quality is lovely and the film worth your time. I found it on YouTube, by the way.

The Golden Touch

[Rectangular_businessman · 9/10 · 7 May 2013]

While Ray Harryhausen is best known for his excellent work in live-action movies like "Jason and the Argonauts" and the original "Clash of the Titans", I think that his early animated shorts deserve recognition too.

"The Story of King Midas" is a very charming and well made animation which makes a great work adapting an old fable. Like the Walt Disney Silly Symphony cartoon from 1935, "The Golden Touch" this short changes the setting of the story, making it happen in Medieval Europe, but the result is effective anyway.

Unlike in other adaptations of the story, the entity who grants King Midas wish to turn everything what he touches into gold seems to be a dark and even malevolent, but at the end, the plot is resolved in the same way than the original fable.

This is a cute animation, appropriate for viewers of all ages, which I recommend to anyone.

8.5/10