Art Gallery

An art museum, on a dark and stormy night. The statue of Nero comes to life and tries to burn the nearby painting of Rome but his matches go out. He tries to get a set of "hear no evil" monkeys to take the matches from a still life, but they refuse and he teases them. The other artworks come to their defense. Nero plays hurt, and gets the monkeys to help; after they stumble around in the still life for a while, they get drunk on lighter fluid and start breathing flames, which they combine with the fluid to act as a flamethrower. Soon, the museum is ablaze and all the paintings are either sounding the alarm or coming to fight the fire.

Directed by Hugh Harman, Art Gallery leans on a strong ensemble — Mel Blanc, Kent Rogers, Cora Hunter Parks — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about animation titles of 1939.