skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Title: Cinderella
Release Date: March 4th, 1950
Voice Cast: Ilene Woods, Verna Felton, Eleanor Audley, Jimmy MacDonald
Plot: A beautiful young woman who has become a waiting victim of her stepmother and two stepsisters finds freedom when she gets the chance to attend a ball as a candidate for the princess bride.
Review: Ah, it's nice to be out of the package films. True, I did like three of them, but it's just a warming feeling to be back to complete stories. I feel like I can review these films better for two similar reasons: 1. These films are made up of single stories and single elements, leaving little room for conflict when it comes to scoring; 2. I can be more objective in the review, with less compare and contrast to other Disney films. That being said, from this post forward, you will hear no more about those package films. Hooray!
There couldn't have been a better step into the light than Cinderella. Let me start by saying that the voice acting is splended. Woods' singing is mesmerizing, and her talking is shockingly natural. The mice are difficult to understand at some points, but that unique squeakiness is what makes them so hilarious to watch, specifically Jaq and Gus (<3).>character is uninteresting, right down to the royal messenger. Speaking of characters (what a lousy transition on my part), you may think that the stepmother is the most wicked being in this film, but that doesn't make her the most loathsome. No no, that award goes to the stepsisters, Anastasia and Drizella. They're ugly with nasty voices, blatant stupidity, and appalling arrogance. It's the complete deluxe package to invoke hatred, and that's what makes great characters. :)
Needless to say, Cinderella comes with a stellar soundtrack. "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" is what I regard as one of the three iconic Disney songs. (Other two? "Someday My Prince Will Come" and "When You Wish Upon A Star".) There's also "The Work Song", which, as it is sung by mice, sounds like a reprise to the Munchkinland Sequence from The Wizard of Oz. It's amazing how enormous the resemblence is in the singing. Finally, there's "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo", made catchy by nonsense words, and the incredibly romantic duet, "So This Is Love."
To put it in a short sentence: Cinderella is, from beginning to end, flawless.
A Dream Is A Wish
Title: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Release Date: October 5th, 1949
Voice Cast: Bing Crosby, Eric Blore, Basil Rathbone
Plot: The sixth and final package film released by Disney in the 1940s features two adaptations of classic stories: the first about a toad who comes into a bit of trouble when he can't fight his urge to drive a car, the second about a New York schoolmaster who befalls the wrath of a local legend known as the "Headless Horseman."
Review: We've reached the end of the package films, ladies and gentleman. *light applause* I am pleased to tell you that this era ends favorably. The first half, Mr. Toad, has unstoppable, surprisingly mature humor displayed in a way a child could understand. (A ruthless mockery of a court system is featured). There aren't too many dull moments; every single one advances the plot or details a character. Time is not to waste, and the narrator has to keep up. It's a job well done, because I never lost interest.
As for Ichabod Crane: well, I thought I knew this story. I expected entirely grim scenery with spooky music to accompany. What I was shown was a lanky, awkward, and unsually shallow man featured in a Popeye-Olive Oyl-Bruno-esque story. Ichabod an oddity as a main character-- it's difficult to resist disliking him as a person for a majority of the tale. I think, to be liked, a main character needs to be defeated slightly in any odd aspect. This didn't happen until the end. Therefore, Ichabod came across to me as probably the most arrogant and distasteful protagonist I've ever seen in a Disney film. Nevertheless, it actually does become frightening and suspenseful with a chase scene to give a child nightmares. And funnily enough, the whole thing feels over too soon.
Under the Sea (Darling, It's Better...)
Just wanted to let any of my readers (if you guys exist) that I'll be off to Canada for a week starting tomorrow morning. I have a review for The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad outlined, but unfortunately I won't have time to post it before I leave. I'll see you in a week!
Title: Melody Time
Release Date: May 27th, 1948
Voice Cast: Roy Rogers, Dennis Day, Frances Langford, The Andrews Sisters
Plot: The fifth of six package films Disney released in the 1940s, Melody Time contains several animated segments set to popular music and folk music alike.
Review: Oy vey. Let's get the good part out of the way first. ...well, the first segment itself actually wasn't too great at all. Interestingly enough, though the first had a story, I was a thousand times more amused by the second segment, a short frenzy of animation set to a ragtime variation of Flight of the Bumblebee. Then follows an adaptation of Johnny Appleseed, which could have easily been expanded into a full movie (and just as easily won me over). It's riddled with Christian propaganda, though, so if that's not your thing, stay away.
If the Christian propaganda isn't enough to force you away, continue reading. Melody Time then falls to the level of Saludos Amigos. (If you haven't read that review yet, do so; you'll know what I'm talking about.) In fact, there's an encore to Saludos in a segment. It actually put me to sleep. I woke up a few minutes later, very confused, as I thought somebody had put on Saludos while I was dozing.
What comes next is a boring song, followed by live action nonsense, followed by an only average story about the legendary cowboy Pecos bill. It teaches you how fun guns are, especially when you shoot them at Native Americans!
So who is this film for? Not for me. Could it be for you? Well, that would brighten my day, because for now, I have absolutely no idea why Disney dropped the ball on this one when it was doing so well with Make Mine Music and Fun and Fancy Free. Oh, well. There's only one package film left: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Check back either tomorrow or Friday for that.
Bare Necessities
Title: Fun and Fancy Free
Release Date: September 27th, 1947
Voice Cast: Edgar Bergen, Cliff Edwards, Walt Disney, Clarence Nash, Pinto Colvig, Dinah Shore
Plot: The fourth of six Disney package films released in the 1940s is divided into two parts: the first about a circus bear who escapes to the woods and falls in love; the second, a retelling of "Jack and the Beanstalk" featuring Mickey, Goofy, and Donald.
Review: So, technically speaking, Fun and Fancy Free is two films. In fact, that was Disney's original plan with these, but the runtime for each was not long enough. Thus, Fun and Fancy Free was born, nearly ten years after Disney's first film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Jiminy Cricket actually does the intro (as well as the intersequence later on). His presence, along with what looks like Cleo and Figaro, is somewhat settling. The beginning is very reminiscent of Pinocchio in style, too, though it's nothing special.
First up is a self-proclaimed different "Three Bears" story, concerning a circus bear named Bongo who is desperate for freedom. He escapes, runs off to the forest, and after a rocky start learning how to be a forest bear, he meets a female and falls in love. (If you want a mental image of this premise so far, just take Dumbo and Bambi and mash them together-- which isn't necessarily a bad thing.) This half is narrated by Dinah Shore, whose voice is warmingly soothing both in speech and song. Of course, one of Disney's greatest talents is creating love stories. In this case, Shore's voice could not be more appropriate.
Afterwards, there's an initially odd intersequence... with puppets. Yeah. Puppets. I felt like I tripped into Mister Rogers' Neighborhood for a moment. But then, the puppeteer and his puppets begin to tell a story. And I have to say, these puppets are wildly funny narrators. However, their comedy seems drier than most Disney movies, which I suppose a small child wouldn't latch onto. But I, being a teenager, found them hilarious.
This story that they tell is Disney's adaptation of "Jack and the Beanstalk", starring Disney's most universal characters: Mickey Mouse, Goofy, and Donald Duck. Of course, this reveals another one of the studio's greatest talents: retelling classic stories with a creative spin. Nowhere in this ~30 minutes can you take your eyes away from these three, as well as the menacing dunce of giant.
To make it short, Fun and Fancy Free strikes the same note as Make Mine Music. Oh, and it includes convincing and enthralling live action segments, FINALLY. On with the ratings, already!
Under the Sea (Darling, It's Better...)
Title: Make Mine Music
Release Date: August 15th, 1946
Voice Cast: Nelson Eddy, Sterling Holloway, Jerry Colonna, The Andrew Sisters
Plot: The third of six Disney package films released in the 1940s, Make Mine Music is composed (pun intended) of ten theatrical animated shorts all set to a variety of music.
Review: I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical going into this film; aw, hell, I thought I would absolutely hate it. I sensed that after Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros, Disney would continue with the same dreadful pattern for all of its package films. And I'll tell you now, I was wrong.
Just like The Three Caballeros, Make Mine Music has a promising opening. It drops the narrators, and it replaces them with singers. The first short is a bouncy bluegrass tale of a Hatfield-McCoy-like feud, wildly entertaining. The second takes an artsy form; soft singing over nothing more than a colorful setting.
This is the pattern that pretty much reigns over the entirety of the film. It oscillates between two types of shorts. The first type involves upbeat, frantic, and merry stories set to music just as hippety to fit. These shorts included a musical "Casey At The Bat" and "Peter and the Wolf", as well as an original story about an opera-singing whale. The second type involves (usually) slow, romantic, colorful montages with beautiful love songs to accompany job. And while I would take the first category over the second any day, Disney did a fantastic job representing both.
There's really not much else to say about this one. I feel most people probably haven't seen it; but, I'm tellin' ya that you'll be surprised at how Make Mine Music flew under the "classic status" radar.
Under the Sea (Darling, It's Better...)
Title: The Three Caballeros
Release Date: February 3rd, 1945
Voice Cast: Clarence Nash, Jose Oliveira, Joaquin Garay
Plot: The 2nd of Disney's six 1940s package films is basically a sequel to Saludos Amigos, diving more into South American culture in seven segments.
Review: The "sequel" starts out well, surprisingly. Though it has the same style (narrator overdose, South American themes, etc.), the first segment is much more of a story, and a lot less like a lesson. Either that, or it hides the lesson well. The narrators themselves are less monotone, allowing yourself to actually be intrigued this time around. The first segment is about a penguin who wants to leave the south pole, and it is more pleasing than all four Saludos Amigos shorts combined. I actually smiled, and it kept my interest.
The next segment, about a flying donkey, returns to "lesson" format, but still not as much so as Saludos. And though it is not as thrilling as the first segment, it is still in line of Disney classic standards, the way I see it.
Unfortunately, it only gets worse from here. In the next two segments, pure montages of Brazil and Mexico, Disney makes one of the same mistakes it made with Saludos. Music and color become the basis of the entire film, with no plot or even scenario to accompany. Sounds like Fantasia? I wish. I almost nodded off during this portion of the film.
By the end, it has gone back to the failed documentary format. More live action comes into play, which, at the time, Disney had not mastered. Though I can't say I'm surprised, I was disappointed by this film. I dare say I was even more so disappointed by this than Saludos, due to the promising beginning. But, that beginning does have to boost it up a rating.
Bare Necessities
Title: Cinderella
A Dream Is A Wish
