Treasure Island - 1950

During World War II, many Disney films were released in the U.K. and made a good chunk of money there. However, the government wouldn't allow the money to be sent back to the U.S. and it had to be spent in the U.K. So after the war, Walt Disney had a lot of money that he couldn't use, so he decided to start making live action films there. His first choice was Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel, Treasure Island. Walt had previously wanted to adapt it as an animated feature, but quickly decided that there was no need for it to be animated and waited until he was capable of making live action features. Treasure Island was the first Disney feature film without big animated sequences.

For the role of Jim Hawkins, it made sense to cast Disney contract star Bobby Driscoll, the star of Song of the South and So Dear to My Heart. However, his work permit in England was for 3 months, so all of his scenes were shot first. British actor Robert Newton was cast as Long John Silver, a role he would reprise in a non-Disney sequel and a television series. Newton is credited with inventing the stereotyped pirate speech that is commonly used today. The rest of the film was cast with mostly unknown actors. An actual ship was used as the Hispaniola and filming aboard the ship was done at sea. This was the first color film adaption of the classic novel, but there were several black and white versions before it.

The film starts with young Jim Hawkins taking care of his mother's inn. Pirates arrive to give William Bones, who is staying at the inn, the black spot indicating that they are coming to kill him. It turns out that they are after a treasure map that Bones has and before dying, he gives it to Jim. Jim shows the map to the Squire who decides to lead an expedition to the island to find the treasure and Jim is invited along as cabin boy. Jim takes a liking to Long John Silver, the ships one-legged cook, but when one of the crewmen falls overboard, Jim overhears some of the crew, including Long John Silver, talking about how they killed him. It turns out that most of the crew are pirates and Silver is their captain. Jim tells the Squire and the Captain about the pirate's plan to takeover the ship and get the map and chaos ensues as they go ashore. Jim becomes Silver's hostage. On the island, Jim escapes and finds Ben Gunn, a crazy old pirate who was marooned. The Captain and Squire meet up with Jim at an old fort on the island where a war ensues when the Captain refuses to hand over the map. Jim sneaks back to the ship to run it ashore so the pirates can't leave without them. When he is injured, Silver saves him and takes him to the Doctor. Silver strikes a deal to get rid of the rest of the pirates by leading them to the treasure site, which has been emptied. The Squire, Captain, and Doctor attack the pirates just as Ben arrives, who took the treasure to his cave. As they prepare to leave the island, Silver is set to be taken back to England for a trial, but he springs a gun on the crew and escapes with the treasure and a little help from Jim.

Treasure Island premiered on June 22, 1950, in London. For the most part, critics were displeased with Disney's adaptaion, claiming that it made to many alterations to the story. However, it is considered one of the most faithful film adaptations to date and fans of Stevenson's work have said that the alterations were in the spirit of the original book. The film wasn't a financial failure, but it wasn't a big success either. It was later shown several times on TV. Disney re-released it theatrically in 1975, but the MPAA gave it a PG rating for violence, so the studio cut two scenes out and resubmitted it, earning a G rating. All of the VHS releases used the edited version.

Treasure Island is a thoroughly enjoyable film. It is filled with great performances by all of the actors and the cinematography is excellent. While it wasn't nominated for any awards, many of the production team went on to win Oscars for later films. The story is exciting and for the 1950's, it is filled with a lot of action. Modern audiences might be shocked to see some blood in a Disney film and a scene in which Jim shoots a pirate in the face, but those scenes only add to the excitement of the film and help to further immerse you in the severity of the situation. This was not the only Disney film adaptation of Treasure Island. Disney produced a version in 1996 starring the Muppets called Muppet Treasure Island and Walt Disney Animation Studios adapted it as an animated feature set in space in 2002 called Treasure Planet. Pirates have played a big role in Disney film history, but Treasure Island was Disney's first pirate movie.

Treasure Island is currently available on DVD in its full, unedited, original theatrical cut. It is also available on iTunes in HD.

Cinderella - 1950

The war had crippled the Walt Disney Studio, which was now $4 million in debt. While a few of the films during the war had been financial successes, the majority of them lost money. Walt Disney needed a really big hit or the studio would close. He first started trying to adapt Cinderella in 1938, but it wasn't put into production until 1948, ten years later.

Walt Disney's Cinderella begins like most Disney fairy tales with the opening of a book. When Cinderella's father dies, she is left with her stepmother and stepsisters, who force her to be their servant. Somehow, Cinderella has remained hopeful, optimistic and kind, making friends with mice and birds. Meanwhile, the king is worried that his son won't settle down and get married before he dies, so he plans a ball and every eligible lady in the kingdom is required to attend. When Cinderella finds out about the ball, her stepmother tells her she can only go if she can get all of her work done. Of course, she and the stepsisters pile so much work on her that she has no time to make a dress, so the mice help by making one for her. But when the sisters realize that the dress is made out of parts of their clothes, they tear it up and Cinderella runs into the garden crying. In her hour of despair, Cinderella's Fairy Godmother arrives and with a few magic words, gives Cinderella a beautiful gown with glass slippers, turns a pumpkin into a coach and all of her animal friends into horses to take her to the ball. However, the spell will ware off at midnight. At the ball, the Prince dances with Cinderella and they fall in love, but at the stroke of 12, she rushes out of the palace, losing a glass slipper. To find the mystery girl the Prince danced with, the Grand Duke takes the slipper to every house to find the girl it fits. When Lady Tremaine grows suspicious that Cinderella was the girl, she locks her in the tower. It is up to the mice to get the key and get past Lucifer the cat to free Cinderella. When Cinderella comes down the stars, Lady Tremaine breaks the glass slipper so she can't try it on. But Cinderella has the other glass slipper. The film ends with Cinderella and the Prince getting married and leaving in a carriage to enjoy their happily ever after.

For the music in Cinderella, Walt Disney looked to popular song writers instead of his typical staff writers. Many songs from previous Disney films turned into big hits and in turn, they had a positive effect on the success of those films. Walt needed Cinderella to be successful, so he made sure that the songs would be popular and it worked. "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" was a huge hit and has stood the test of time, becoming a secondary Disney anthem to "When You Wish Upon a Star." The score was nominated for an Academy Award, and "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" was nominated for best song. "The Work Song," performed by the mice, became a radio hit in addition to "A Dream Is a Wish" and "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo." Of the six songs from the film, four of them are commonly featured on Disney compilation albums. In anticipation of the music being popular, Walt started the Walt Disney Publishing Company and published the songs himself, rather than going through a distributor. The soundtrack was the number 1 seller for a solid year.

The voice cast is marvelous. Ilene Woods knew the songwriters and they used her in their demo recordings to present to Walt. It was not their intention to have her cast as Cinderella, but Walt was so taken with her voice that he hired her based on those demos. Verna Felton, who voiced the Fairy Godmother, had previously voiced one of the mean elephants in Dumbo. The narrator of the film is Betty Lou Gerson, who would later voice Cruela DeVil in 101 Dalmatians. Elanor Audley voiced Lady Tremaine and would later voice Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty as well as Madam Leota in the classic Disney park attraction, The Haunted Mansion.

The animation is some of the best that Disney has ever done, even to this day. The transformation scene where Cinderella's rags turn into a beautiful ball gown was Walt Disney's favorite piece of animation that his studio had ever done. Compared to the previous package films, the film feels like it could have been made ten years later in terms of how advanced the animation is. Much of the style of the film was created by Mary Blaire. Her artistic sensibilities shine in this film. A keen eye might spot a few hidden Mickey's in the film as well. One during "Sing Sweet Nightingale" and two on Cinderella's coach at the end of the film.

Cinderella premiered on February 15, 1950, in Boston. The importance of Cinderella to the Walt Disney Company can't be understated. It was a ginormous success, the first big success since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. And in addition to the box office revenue, Disney made a ton of money off of merchandise and music sales. Critics were unanimous in their praise for the film. It seemed as if everybody who saw it fell in love with it. But the really important thing was that Walt Disney finally had money again so that he could make the films he wanted to make. The film enjoyed success throughout the years with numerous theatrical re-releases.

Walt Disney's Cinderella is my third favorite Disney film. The film has a lot going for it. The animation is superb, the music is wonderful, and the characters are appealing. It is impossible to not root for Cinderella to succeed. I'm a big fan of Mary Blaire and this film is full of her style, particularly in the design of the castle and the bright color scheme.

Cinderella is currently available on Diamond Edition Blu-Ray. This edition boasts a marvelous restoration, faithfully representing Mary Blaire's bright colors for the first time since its original release, and bonus features, including a making of feature. It is also available as a single-disc DVD that loses a lot of bonus features, but if you can get an affordable copy of the out-of-print Platinum Edition, you will get more bonus features with a similar film transfer. It is also available on iTunes in HD and with bonus features. 

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad - 1949

Prior to World War II, Walt Disney had been planning to adapt many classic stories into feature animated films. Two literary classics he was considering adapting as animated features were The Wind in the Willows by Kennith Graham and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. After the war, and years of development on both projects, it was determined that the stories were better suited as 30 minute shorts rather than 70 minute features. And since it was easier to sell long shorts as package features, Walt Disney decided to combine the shorts into one film. The original title was Two Fabulous Characters, which was changed to The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.

The film opens on a private library as a copy of The Wind in the Willows flies off the shelf and opens up. Basil Rathbone narrates the story as the illustrated pages come to life. Rat and Mole are summoned to Toad Hall by Badger because Toad is always out with his horse, Cyril. While out, Toad sees a motor car and becomes obsessed. Toad is arrested for supposedly stealing a car. During the trial, it turns out that Toad traded Toad Hall to the weasels for the car, but when Mr. Winky testifies, he says that Toad stole the car and he is thrown in jail. On Christmas, Toad breaks free. With the help of Rat, Mole and Badger, they sneak into Toad Hall to get the deed back from Winky and the weasels. They get Toad Hall back, but Mr. Toad is quickly onto a new obsession, air planes.

Back in the library, The Legend of Sleepy Hallow opens and Bing Crosby narrates the story. The oblong Ichabod Crane has just moved to Sleepy Hallow to be the schoolmaster. He meets Katrina and falls head over heels for her. This causes a feud between him and Brom Bones, Sleepy Hallow's resident he-man. At Katrina's Halloween party, Brom Bones tells the legend of the headless horseman to scare Ichabod. On Ichabod's ride home that night, the headless horseman appears and chases him down. The next morning, Ichabod's hat is found next to a smashed pumpkin, but he is never seen again.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad was released on October 5, 1949 without a formal premier. Critics were generally pleased with the film, despite their distaste of the package feature concept, and the film enjoyed moderate success at the box office. It was the last package feature at the studio since Walt finally had the resources to resume animated feature production. Cinderella was already in production while Ichabod and Mr. Toad was being completed.

Of the six package features made by Disney, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is the most enjoyable. Both sequences are very well done and even the animation quality is better, although it's still not feature quality. The music is better as well. "Nowhere in Particular" from Mr. Toad's sequence is sure to get stuck in your head. And the Bing Crosby songs in Ichabod's portion are great. However, Disney has had so many great and memorable songs that the music from this film has pretty much faded into obscurity.

This film was never re-released to theaters in its entirety. Instead, the two segments were split up and released individually in the 1950's with some minor editing. They were shown on TV countless times and both were released on VHS separately, but the full film wasn't seen again until it was released on laserdisc in 1990 and on VHS in 1999. A popular Disneyland ride is based on The Wind in the Willows portion of the film called Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. The attraction used to also be at Walt Disney World, but was removed in 1998. The Magic Kingdom also features a funnel cake shop in Liberty Square called Sleepy Hallow Refreshments that is a not to The Legend of Sleepy Hallow and their Halloween parade is kicked off by the Headless Horseman.

The entire feature is currently available on DVD, but it would be nice if Disney gave it a better restoration and re-released it on disc. A new restoration has been done and that version is available on iTunes in HD. In addition, The Wind in the Willows is available separately as part of the 'Walt Disney Animation Collection' where it is paired with other Disney shorts.

So Dear to My Heart - 1948

After having great success with his first mostly live action film, Song of the South, Walt Disney decided to cast his two contracted child stars, Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten, in a completely live action film. As source material, Walt chose a charming book about a boy and a lamb called Midnight and Jeremiah by Sterling North. Walt Disney was born in 1901 and the story takes place in 1903, so it must have had great nostalgic value for him. In addition, the story called for a big steam train in the beginning and Walt was a train enthusiast, so the ability to work with trains was most likely another huge draw.

To direct the film, Walt hired Harold Schuster, who had recently directed My Friend Flicka for Fox. Walt's wife and daughters were so taken with that film and Walt wanted a professional director this time around because production on Song of the South went over time and budget. Schuster cast Beulah Bondi as Jeremiah's grandmother. Singing star Burl Ive's was cast in his first film role as Jeremiah's uncle. Filming was done almost completely in the Sequoia Valley. The exteriors of most of the sets also contained the interiors. Walt was so interested in this that he personally built the model that was used to build the Kincaid farm. It is currently on display at Walt Disney World.

When the industry trade papers announced that Walt Disney was making an all live action film, there was a general feeling of distaste towards the idea. Walt Disney was an animation studio, not a live action studio, and even though Song of the South was 2/3rds live action, audiences weren't ready for a Disney film without animation. So at the last minute, Walt decided to add a few animated sequences to appease the general public. These sequences serve little purpose to the story other than setting the tone and providing an excuse for more songs.

The story starts with a narration from grown up Jeremiah. A train rolls into town, causing big excitment from nearly all of its inhabitants. To everyone's delight, Dan Patch, a famous race horse, gets off the train to get a shoe repaired. When the family gets a black sheep, Jeremiah begs Granny to let him keep it. He names the lamb Danny, after Dan Patch, in hopes that Danny will become a prize winning sheep. As Danny grows bigger, he causes more and more trouble for Jeremiah by destroying a lot of screen doors, so Uncle Harem builds Danny a suitable fence as Danny prepares to take him to the county fair. It takes some convincing to get Granny to go, but she agrees to go if Jeremiah can raise enough money. He earns the cash by selling wild honey, but once he's got it Danny escapes and runs away. However, he is found the next day and they go to the fair. Another lamb wins the blue ribbon, but the judge then explains that Danny is in a class of his own and therefore it wasn't fair to compare him to the other lambs. They instead give Danny a special merit award. As the film ends, the train rolls back into town as the whole town gathers to see Danny, the special award winning lamb.

So Dear to My Heart premiered on November 29, 1948, in Chicago, IL. For the first time since Bambi, critics praised a Walt Disney film. They loved the sentimentality and nostalgia of it. The song "Lavender Blue" was nominated for an Academy Award that year. Sadly, Disney had a hard time selling the film to audiences and it was not a box office success. However, Walt Disney was very proud of the film. He heralded it as one of his finest live action features. When Walt Disney built Disneyland, the Imagineers used the blueprints of the train station from So Dear to My Heart to build the Frontierland station. It is an almost exact replica of the one from the film.

There's a charming innocence about films that take place at the turn of the century that really appeals to me. Many of my favorite live action Disney films take place at the turn of the century. And while So Dear to My Heart isn't an all time favorite of mine, it is a great film. It's a simple story about a simpler time filled with lovable characters. Sadly, the film was never a success and has faded into obscurity over the years. It has had countless TV airings and was released several times on VHS, once as part of the 'Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection,' so audiences have had plenty of opportunities to fall in love with it. It is a shame that the film has never enjoyed the success that it deserves.

So Dear to My Heart is currently available on DVD as a Disney Movie Club Exclusive. It is also available on iTunes where it can be purchased in HD.

Melody Time - 1948

'Melody Time' was most likely put into production before 'Make Mine Music' was released. Another package feature, 'Melody Time' was Walt Disney's second attempt at a contemporary 'Fantasia.' The first missed its mark by trying to combine slapstick musical shorts with artistic pieces, causing that film to have a very erratic flow. 'Melody Time' corrects that error by sticking to the more humorous and slapstick style of musical shorts, with only one serious and artistic piece. Once again, popular music artists from the 40's lend their talent to each of the seven shorts, giving the film some star power beyond the Disney name.

The film begins with the opening of a book of sheet music as Buddy Clark sings a song called "Melody Time." The first sequence is "Once Upon a Wintertime" sung by Frances Langford. A human couple goes ice skating as a pair of bunnies mimic their actions. When the couple gets in a fight, the girl goes stomping off and doesn't realize that she has entered thin ice. The ice breaks apart and the guy must come to her rescue. Next Freddy Martin's orchestra plays "Bumble Boogie," a jazzy version of "Flight of the Bumble Bee." As the song plays, a bee flies around trying to escape plants made of musical instruments that try to get him.

In the third segment, Dennis Day sings and speaks for Johnny Appleseed and his angel in "Johnny Appleseed." Johnny feels that his job of picking apples is useless compared to the pioneers that were settling the West. His guardian angel convinces him to head West, planting apple seeds across the country for the settlers. The short ends with a gray haired Johnny heading to heaven with his angel to plant apple trees in heaven.

The fourth segment is "Little Toot," sung by The Andrews Sisters, who did a segment in 'Make Mine Music' as well. This sequence is reminiscent of "Pedro" from 'Saludos Amigos.' Little Toot is a young harbor tugboat who disrupts the bigger tugboats and causes a big ocean liner to crash. Little Toot is put out of service and banished from the harbor. While out at sea during a storm, he sees a distress signal from a big ship. He sends out an S.O.S., but the rest of the tugboats are unable to make it. It's up to Little Toot to tow the ship to safety. He is forgiven since he has learned his lesson and gained responsibility. The fifth segment is "Trees" by Fred Waring and his Pensylvanians singing the classic poem. This is the one artistic and serious sequence of the film.

"Blame It on the Samba" by Ethel Smith and the Dining Sisters is a continuation of the South American package features, 'Saludos Amigos' and 'The Three Caballeros.' It was created for the third feature, which was never produced. It features Donald Duck and Jose Carioca unenthusiastically entering the Cafe de Samba, which is run by the hilarious Arucuan. The rhythm of the samba revives their spirit. A live action lady playing is blended in with the animation, making it feel even more like an extension of Caballeros. The sequence is just as "trippy" as that film as well.

The final segment features Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers singing the story of "Pecos Bill." The singing stars are sitting around a campfire with Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten, the stars of 'Song of the South.' Roy Rogers tells them the story of Pecos Bill and why coyotes howl at the moon as it transitions into animation. Bill was raised by coyotes and rescued a horse as a boy, who become his closest companion in all of his tall tale adventures. As an adult, he met and fell in love with Slue Foot Sue, causing a riff between him and his horse, Widowmaker. Sue wanted to be married in a big bustle and riding Widowmaker. The horse bucked her off and as she landed, her bustle sprung her higher and higher each time. Bill tried to wrangle her down, but his efforts were thwarted by Widowmaker and she bounced until she landed on the moon. Bill moved back with the coyotes and howled at the moon every night to let Sue heard him. The coyotes would join in out of sympathy and have continued to howl at the moon ever since.

'Melody Time' premiered on May 27, 1948. It did fine at the box office, but was by no means a big success. The individual segments of 'Melody Time' are well done, but the true gems are "Once Upon A Wintertime," "Johnny Appleseed," and "Pecos Bill." The animation quality is mostly comparable to the shorts, but there are a few instances of feature quality animation, particularly in "Trees." Many of the segments showcase a lot of the Mary Blaire style that I am so fond, which adds to its appeal for me. The film was never re-released in theaters, but most of the sequences were reissued individually.

'Melody Time' is currently available on DVD, but the movie has been censored. Instances of smoking have been digitally removed from "Pecos Bill" and a few scenes were fully cut from that sequence as well. Ironically, Disney didn't object to the massive amount of guns in this sequence, which was their reason for cutting "The Martins and the Coys" from 'Make Mine Music.' But the censorship won't distract you from enjoying the film and if you have never seen the short in its uncensored form, you would never know it had been altered.

Fun and Fancy Free - 1947

'Fun and Fancy Free' is very much a product of the poor shape that the Disney studio was in at the time. The war had cut into the profits of some very expensive films, causing them to not make money, and the government had used the studio for propaganda films, often paying Walt less than what the films cost to make. The studio couldn't afford to make a full feature film and instead, Walt decided to package shorts into feature length package features.

Unlike the previous package features, 'Fun and Fancy Free' is comprised of just two shorts that have longer than usual run times. Jiminy Cricket from 'Pinocchio' plays host for this film and the title song was actually a song that was cut from 'Pinocchio.' Both shorts were originally conceived as feature films. 'Bongo,' about a unicycle riding circus bear, was originally conceived as a spin-off of 'Dumbo.' 'Mickey and the Beanstalk' had been in the story stage at the studio since 1940. The film relies on two big name stars to narrate the two segments. Dinah Shore, a popular singer, narrates 'Bongo.' She also sang "Two Silhouettes" in the previous package feature, 'Make Mine Music.' Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his two dummies, Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd, narrate 'Mickey and the Beanstalk' with some live action/animation combination scenes.

The film opens with Jiminy Cricket riding a leaf like a canoe in what appears to be a lily pond as he sings "Fun and Fancy Free." We soon learn that the lily pond was actually an elaborate planter in a house. He hops to a book shelf and climbs down to find Cleo the goldfish in her bowl. No explanation is given as to why Jiminy and Cleo have left Geppetto's workshop, but oddly the cat in the house isn't Figaro. The cat chases Jiminy into a toy room, where he puts a record on called 'Bongo,' sung by Dinah Shore. The film transitions into the first story.

Bongo the bear is the star of the circus with a specialty for unicycle riding. In fact, he is more at home on his unicycle than he is on his feet, but Bongo keeps dreaming of life outside of the circus in the wild. He escapes from the circus and is quickly shown around the forest by a group of adorable animals. But Bongo's first night in the forest doesn't go well and the next morning is rough, until he meets a pretty girl bear named Lulu Bell. Lockjaw, a big brute of a bear, also has his sites on Lulu Bell and when she slaps Bong, he thinks she has turned against him. She tries to slap him again, but accidentally slaps Lockjaw. It turns out that when bears are in love, they "Say it with a slap," so Lulu Bell is now stuck with Lockjaw. Bongo tries to steal Lulu Bell back by fighting Lockjaw. Against the odds, Bongo beats Lockjaw, slaps Lulu Bell, and they live happily ever after. As the film transitions back to Jiminy, the record has started to skip, so he stops it and hops up on a table where a party invitation is addressed to Luana Patten, the female child star from 'Song of the South.' It is from Charlie McCarthy, Mortimer Snerd, and Edgar Bergen. So Jiminy hops out the window and heads to the house across the street where Edgar Bergen lives. At the party, Bergen tells the story of 'Mickey and the Beanstalk' as it transitions into the second story.

Mickey, Donald and Goofy live in Happy Valley as farmers, but all of the happiness disappears when the magic singing harp is stolen by a giant shadow. The three farmers are left in poverty and when Mickey goes out to sell their last cow, he comes home with magic beans instead of money. Donald throws the beans through a crack in the floor in a fit of anger, but during the night the beans grow into a giant beanstalk, carrying the house to the top while they sleep. Upon waking up, they find a dim giant who can transform into anything. It turns out that he is the one who stole the singing harp, so Mickey and the gang attempt to rescue her and get her back to Happy Valley. The giant catches them and chases them down the beanstalk, but they cut it down, causing him to fall to his doom. They return the harp and happiness is restored to Happy Valley. As Edgar Bergen finishes the story, Mortimer is beside himself about the giant's death. Bergen explains that the giant wasn't real, but then the giant rips the roof off and pokes his head in to ask if anybody has seen a mouse. The film ends with the giant roaming around Hollywood looking for Mickey.

'Fun and Fancy Free' succeeds in being fun, despite the awful title. The film has some instances of great animation and some excellent live action/animation combination scenes, but the bulk of the animation is of short quality, not feature quality. The real downfall of the film is 'Bongo.' It's a cute story and it has its moments, but the completely narrated format doesn't work for this long of a short. It would have been much better if the characters were allowed to speak for themselves with less narration in the same style as 'Mickey and the Beanstalk.' Mickey's portion of the film is the real highlight and it's about all you remember afterward. There is quite a bit of music in the film, but it is mostly unmemorable. Not surprisingly, none of the songs were nominated for an Academy Award. The bottom line is that if you are a fan of Mickey Mouse shorts, you are sure to enjoy 'Fun and Fancy Free' because 'Mickey and the Beanstalk' is one of the best shorts ever produced. This film is also monumental in Disney history because it was the last time that Walt Disney provided the voice for Mickey Mouse.

Both 'Bongo' and 'Mickey and the Beanstalk' were edited and replayed on TV years later. In the TV version of 'Bongo,' Jiminy Cricket provided the narrative instead of Dinah Shore. 'Mickey and the Beanstalk' received bigger changes for its TV version. All of Edgar Bergen's live action scenes and narrative were replaced by Ludwig Von Drake and his ant, with Willie the Giant breaking the roof off of his house instead.

'Fun and Fancy Free' is currently available on DVD in its entirety. In addition, the Ludwig Von Drake version of 'Mickey and the Beanstalk' is available as part of the 'Walt Disney Animation Collection' paired with an assortment of other classic Disney shorts. The film is also available on iTunes.

Song of the South - 1946

The war was over and Walt Disney finally had his studio back. However, it was still not financially possible to return to the grandeur of the earliest animated features. Live action films were cheaper, quicker to produce, and could have a higher profit margin. Having just wowed audiences with realistically blending live actors in an animated environment in The Three Caballeros, Walt Disney decided that his next picture should be a mix of live action and animation. And for his source material, he went to his favorite childhood book, Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris. Walt had acquired the rights to the Brer Rabbit stories in 1939, but had waited until he could adequately adapt them to the silver screen.

Before filming began, Walt Disney had the script sent around both inside and outside the studio. He wanted to ensure that the film was as racially and culturally sensitive as possible as to not offend any viewers. The script was sent to nearly every official at the NAACP for comment and suggestion.

Live action filming began in 1944. Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten, two of the film's child stars, were the first actors ever signed to a contract at Disney. James Baskett was cast as Uncle Remus, as well as several animated character voices. Walt was so impressed with Baskett that he later claimed him to be the finest actor he ever worked with. Walt negotiated with the Academy to get Baskett an honorary Oscar for his role. The plantation scenes were shot in Phoenix, AZ, and the interior scenes were shot at MGM.

The film is broken up into three parts. In the beginning, little Johnny's parents bring him to his grandmother's plantation. When his dad leaves him and his mother there and goes back to work, Johnny attempts to run away. He runs into Uncle Remus who pretends to help him run away, but intends to change his mind with a story about the time Brer Rabbit ran away and got in trouble with Brer Fox and Brer Bear. The story convinces Johnny to stay. In the second part, Johnny makes friends with Ginny, a girl with two mean brothers. She gives him a dog that he isn't allowed to keep, so he gives it to Uncle Remus. He tells Johnny a story of when Brer Rabbit got caught in Brer Fox's tar baby and how he outsmarted him with reverse psychology. Johnny uses the same principle to get the boys in trouble with their mom, but when the boy tell Johnny's mom she asks Uncle Remus not to tell Johnny any more stories. In the third part, Johnny is having a birthday party and he invites Ginny, but her brothers ruin her hair and her dress, causing Johnny to get in a fight with the boys. Johnny tells Ginny a Brer Rabbit story to cheer her up, but it doesn't work. When Uncle Remus overhears, he breaks his promise to Johnny's mom by telling them the story of when Brer Rabbit outsmarted Brer Fox and Brer Bear by taking them to his "laughing place." Johnny and Ginny go out in search of their laughing place and they bump into Johnny's mother. When she finds out that Uncle Remus told them a story and caused Johnny to miss his party, she tells him to stay away from Johnny. This causes Uncle Remus to decide to leave. Johnny realizes that his laughing place is with Uncle Remus and as he rushes to tell him, he finds that he has left. Johnny runs after him and accidentally enters a bull pen and is charged by the bull. Johnny's dad returns, having bumped into Uncle Remus and convinced him to come back. Johnny wakes up and has his dad and Uncle Remus back. The film ends with Johnny, Ginny, and Toby skipping around singing a reprise of "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" as characters from Uncle Remus' stories join them. Uncle Remus catches up as they all run into the sunset.

Song of the South premiered in Atlanta, GA, on November 12, 1946. The film was a success, earning $3.3 million at the box office at a time when the studio desperately needed money. Critics were split in their reviews. Half sang it's praises and heralded it as a return to the great Disney films of the pre-war era. Others couldn't get over the fact that the king of animation had produced a mostly live action film and bashed it. Critics couldn't wrap their heads around the fact that Walt Disney had entered the live action film business. The success of Song of the South convinced Walt to make another live action/animated combination film starring Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten a few years later called So Dear to My Heart.

Walt Disney had taken precautionary steps to avoid offending audiences. The 1940's American view towards African Americans was split between those that loved them and those that hated them, but the film was made to appeal to those that loved them. While there wasn't a huge outcry when the film was released, the NAACP, after praising the film for its artistic merit, claimed that it presented an "idyllic master-slave relationship." However, the film takes place after the civil war, so all of the plantation workers in the film are free, not slaves. But it is understandable why the film is seen as offensive. Nowadays no studio would dare to set a family film on a Southern plantation, but it was perfectly acceptable in the 40s.

Disney re-released Song of the South several times in theaters, the last time was in 1986. With each re-release, the film gained more and more controversy and ultimately Disney executives made a decision to stop releasing it. To this day, it has never been available on home video in the U.S. It's not so much because of the content, but because the film appeals to children and could give them the wrong idea, although my personal view is that the film portrays Uncle Remus as a hero and shows racially diverse children harmoniously playing and being friends, something that is present on any PBS childrens program but was very progressive at the time. In my opinion, the film is nowhere near as controversial as other films from the same era, including Gone With the Wind.

As a film, Song of the South plays well, but is by no means perfect. The true highlight of the film are the animated sequences and the music. "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" won an Academy Award for best song and the score was nominated as well. Other memorable songs from the film include "How Do You Do?" and "Everybody's Got a Laughing Place." The live action portions are charming, mostly due to great performances by James Baskett, Bobby Driscoll, and Luana Patten. But as a story, Song of the South is fairly weak and at times it's hard to get emotionally invested in the characters.

Although Disney has no plans to release Song of the South again, its story and characters still play an important role in the company. "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah" is still one of the best known Disney songs and is routinely used in promotional campaigns. The characters are commonly found at Disney parks for pictures and autographs and the film served as the inspiration for one of Disney's most popular theme park attractions, Splash Mountain, which can be experienced at Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Tokyo Disneyland. Disney has routinely played animated segments from the film on TV and even used it for one of their Sing-Along videos in the late 1980's, which was my first introduction to the music and characters.

Song of the South was released on PAL VHS in parts of Europe and Laser Disc in parts of Asia. From these two sources, many bootlegs have been made. In fact, there are websites solely devoted to the duplication and sale of Song of the South on DVD. And while I don't condone the purchase of bootleg movies, Disney has left consumers no choice and created a black market for this film. But be warned that Disney has never released Song of the South on DVD in any part of the world, so any version of the film on DVD is unofficial and illegal.