ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the pierre Mac Orlan's Grandville essay, published in the handsomely produced journal Arts et Metiers Graphiques, and its Disney case study—the "Silly Symphony" The Grasshopper and the Ants as its focal points, the chapter makes the case for the importance of Mac Orlan's theory of a social fantastic to debates concerning the fantasy/animation intersection. The chapter discusses the most pertinent nuances and complexities of this difficult yet compelling theory of a certain modern experience, mood or sentiment that Mac Orlan considered to be channeled by a range of artists and emerging from and shaped by various media. It introduces the rich critical and historical string to the bow of animation studies; one closely bound to the issue of the fantastic. Then chapter shows how animation acts as a productive means to sharpen our understanding of Mac Orlan's theory.
