Disney Movie Challenge: The Aristocats (1970)

 Disney Movie Challenge

The Aristocats (1970)

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 58 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Frozen II in 2020. 

I once read that Disney disliked cats and that is why most of the cats in his early films were villains (Lucifer in Cinderella, the Siamese cats in Lady and the Tramp, and the Cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland).  So, after he died the first film they made was a movie all about cats. I can’t find any information if that is true and since he did personally approve the film and it was in the works since 1962 I assume it is false but I still think it’s a fun conspiracy theory.   After Walt died some say Disney entered the “Disney Dark Ages”. These so-called dark ages would go til The Little Mermaid came out in 1989 and the “Disney Renaissance” started. But the first film of the dark ages was The Aristocats. Just knowing this really puts the film at a disadvantage since you are going in with a negative impression before you ever see it.  

The film takes place in 1910 in Paris France.  A wealthy older woman, Madame Bonfamille lives alone with her four cats and her butler Edgar.  The cats include the mother Duchess and her three kittens Berlioz, Marie, and Toulouse.  When Edgar overhears Madame Bonfamille making her will and that all the money would go to her cats first then to him he decides he needs to take the cats out of the picture.  He drugs them with sleeping pills and drives them out into the country to leave them for dead.  But they escape and meet up with Thomas O'Malley, an alley cat who says he knows how to get back to London.  Along the way they have an adventure that includes meeting two English geese and a jazz band where they sing “Everybody Wants to be a Cat”. Duchess and Thomas end up falling in love but Duchess is loyal to Madame Bonfamille and says she must return to her home.  When the cats do return home Edgar finds them and tries to have them shipped to Timbuktu.  But the mouse Roquefort manages to warn O’Malley and he gets other alley cats to come help him rescue Duchess and her kittens.  In the end Edgar gets shipped to Timbuktu and O’Malley gets adopted by Madame Bonfamille and they all live happily ever after. 

This is one of those movies where there isn’t much to say about it.  It’s a fine movie but not very memorable and kind of boring.  Similar to The Sword and the Stone the film is mostly forgettable.  The big exception is the song “Everybody Wants to Be a Cat”.  The song feels random and doesn’t fit the tone of the rest of the film.  It’s also shot completely differently and definitely feels like something out of the psychedelic 70’s.  The plot seems to be cobbled together as part adventure rescue story of 101 Dalmatians and part love story of animals from the wrong side of the tracks of Lady and the Tramp.  But it wasn’t as fun as the former nor as romantic as the later. 

While the story doesn’t quite work the voice talent is pretty good for the most part.  Phil Harris as O’Malley works well unfortunately I had recently watched The Jungle Book so as soon as he started talking all I could think of was Baloo, which is a much more memorable character.  Another The Jungle Book alum is Sterling Holloway who was the voice of Kaa.  He is the voice of Roquefort the mouse in this one, and would go on to be famous as the voice Winnie the Pooh later in the 70's.  The biggest star at the time was Eva Gabor who brought a regal and calming voice to Duchess.  She always seemed in control and never got flustered.  Eva was perfect for the voice.  At the time she was popular for being on the show Green Acres., and would go on to be a voice in The Rescuers. You also have Scatman Crothers appropriately enough as the voice of Scat Cat, the leader of the Alley Cat band that sings “Everybody Wants to be Cat”.  Originally Louis Armstrong was supposed to voice Scat Cat but he had to drop out due to illness.  

There is a subplot about these two dogs (Napoleon and Lafayette) who live in the country and harass Edgar.  These are the funniest parts of the movie and kind of steal the show.  It’s very cartoony with Edgar and the dogs getting picked up by a windmill and running upside down under a bridge. So while it is funny it  feels very different from the main part of the story.   

OVERALL: A fine movie but not memorable.  It’s perfect for smaller children since it doesn’t have many scary parts and has a few cartoony parts with the dogs (although there is an odd scene with a drunk Goose that kids probably won’t get).   The movie lacks the  fun of  101 Dalmatians and romance of Lady and the Tramp.    

RANDOM FACTS

It was the last film approved by Walt Disney directly and therefore the last to end with A Walt Disney Production”

The song “Everybody Wants to be a Cat” has to be edited due to some lyrics by the Chinese Cat Shun Gon being insensitive.  

The Sherman Brothers convinced Maurice Chevalier to come out of retirement to record the title song. 

It was the last animated film the Sherman Brothers would work on until 2000’s The Tigger Movie.  After Walt’s death they had a lot of problems at the studio and had a number of their songs cut from this movie.  The songs that did make it in are not very good.  

The film was originally planned as a two part live action segment for Disney’s TV show The Magical World of Disney in the early 60’s.  Disney himself suggested it should be animated and production on the animated film officially began after The Jungle Book was finished.  

A sequel had been planned to be made by DisneyToons (the same part of Disney that did the sequels to Cinderella and Bambi).  It was supposed to feature a grown up Marie on a cruise boat trying to capture a jewel thief.  The film was ultimately scrapped.  

Disney Movie Challenge: The Jungle Book (1967)

 

DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE

The Jungle BOok

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 58 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Frozen II in 2020. 

First I want to say this review has taken me a while to write as there has been a lot going on and it is also the longest time from watching a film to writing a review luckily the movie is pretty memorable so it wasn't that hard to write.

After a number of Eurocentric films Disney took a trip to the Indian Jungle’s (although it is based on a book by an Englishman) to tell the story of Mowgli, a boy abandoned in the jungle and raised by wolves.  After being mostly hands off with 101 Dalmatians and The Sword in the Stone Disney was fully invested in this film.  Insisting on so many script changes that the original writer Bill Peet eventually left the Disney Company all together.  Peet was also the one who suggested The Jungle Book be the next Disney Film.  Peet’s original story was more faithful to the books but Disney wanted it to be more family friendly and straightforward as the books were darker and more episodic.   

The movie follows Mogwli who is found abandoned in the woods by Baghreera, a Panther.   Baghreera decides to save the boy and brings him to a pack of wolves who raise him as one of their own.  But as the Mogwli grows his existence threatens the wolves when Shere Khan the Tiger returns to the jungle.  Khan hates humans and would not hesitate to kill everyone to get to the boy.  It is decided that the best thing to do is have Baghreera bring the boy back to the man village (and that's just in the first 10 minutes). Mogwli doesn’t want to leave the jungle and give Bughera trouble the whole time.  Along the way they meet a series of characters, some good like Baloo the bear who wants to adopt Mowgli, and some bad like King Louie the orangutan who just wants Mowgli to teach him how to make fire.  Eventually there is a confrontation with Shere Khan and Mowgli must decide what he wants.  

The Jungle Book is one of those classics that I have never seen and wasn’t sure if it would live up to the classic status it has, but it actually does.  The biggest thing the film has going for it is the voice cast.  Everyone in the cast is excellent and really brought the characters to life.  The second thing the film has going for it is the music.  While the Sherman Brothers songs were lackluster in The Sword in the Stone in The Jungle Book they were all fun and catchy.  Oddly enough one of the best known songs from The Jungle Book “The Bare Necessities” was written by Terry Gilkyson. One of the things that makes the music work is the songs tell a story and move the plot along.  We learn everything about King Louis’s plot from the song “I Wanna Be Like You”.  

The most surprising thing I enjoyed about the film was the friendship that develops between Baloo and Baghreera.  They hate each other in the beginning but slowly become friends as they both try to take care and protect Mowgli.  It’s truly an odd couple scenario.  Baghreera is the neat and straightforward one and Baloo is the laid back aloof character.  Their banter throughout the film gives the film fun and heart (On a side note, this is what is missing from the 2016 live action version of the film).  At the end of the film I expected them to turn to each other and say “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”.  

 

Overall: A fun filled film. Great music and great cast.  It's a step up in animation from The Sword in the Stone and shows the true genius of Disney because wanting to make a “family friendly straightforward film” really worked. The movie also movies quickly. We learn all the exposition in the first 10 minutes and then get on with the adventure.  The relationship between Baghreera and Baloo give the film it's heart. The ending felt a little abrupt but still works.  

Random Facts:

Walt Disney died during productions of this film and is considered the last film in the “Silver Age” of Disney animations.  The next film The Aristocats  is considered the first film in the “Dark Age” of Disney Animation.  

Disney Movie Challenge: The Three Caballeros (1944)

DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE

The Three Caballeros

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 58 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Frozen II in 2020.  I will be watching each film in chronological order. 

With WWII still going on and manpower and money still in short supply Disney released “The Three Caballeros'' in 1944.  Coming two years after  “Saludos Amigos” this is another package film that aims to showcase South America.  

The film it’s based around Donald Duck’s birthday (which is Friday the 13th). He receives a big package and each present in that package takes him on a new journey.  The first present is a home movie set up and contains a few stand alone shorts. One is about a penguin that doesn’t like the cold and one about a flying donkey.  Then Donald opens a gift from Brazil and he reunites with his old friend Jose Carioca from “Saludos Amigos”.  Jose once again takes Donald on a journey through Brazil.  Finally Donald opens up a third present which is a pinata and he is introduced to a Mexican Rooster Panchito Pistoles. Panchito takes him on a tour of Mexico and teaches him some Mexican traditions and also introduces him to some female Mexican dancers.  

Similar to “Saludos Amigos” this film was made with the help of the U.S. Government which was paying studios to make propaganda films.  Once again this was made to help relations with South America.  While this film is better than “Saludos Amigos” it’s hard not to see it as just a continuation.  The short about the flying donkey was even originally conceived for “Saludos Amigos”. 

Like “Saludos Amigos” the best part of the film is the one that takes place in Brazil. The song “Baia” is a fun song and was written by Ary Barroso who also did the song "Aquarela do Brasil" from “Saludos Amigos”. The short about the flying donkey was funny and I did enjoy that.  I will be honest I had trouble paying attention to the film as the rest of the time the shorts didn’t have much of a story to them and I didn’t find it really interesting.  The one thing I did notice is that Donald Duck is a real horny bird in this film.  Everytime they are around dancing girls he gets all googly eyed and turns into a horn dog (guess him and Daisy were on a break).  There is a part of the film called “Donald's Surreal Reverie'' and it’s definitely surreal.  I went to the kitchen to get a drink and came back and there was some trippy stuff going on. I think I might have missed the part where Donald does some Peyote.  

Overall: I think this will be a common theme for the next few movies but each package film is going to have hits and misses.  This one is more enjoyable than “Saludos Amigos” but it just didn’t keep my interest.  It was nice to have characters like Panchito Pistoles and Jose Carioca to give Donald some fun interactions but wish there would have been more story about the three of them.   After watching this film Disney+ recommended the Three Caballeros TV series.  I didn’t even know that existed.  If anyone has watched it let me know what you think. These three characters could be a lot of fun in a series together. 

Random Facts:

Second of 6 package films to be released in the 40’s.

Last Disney animated film to be released during WWII

First feature film to mix animation with live actors.  While it might not be up to today’s standards it still looks pretty good.  

Disney Movie Challenge: Saludos Amigos (1942)

DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE

Saludos Amigos

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 58 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Frozen II in 2020.  I will be watching each film in chronological order. 

A few things happened around the same time that created this film.  First there was the animators strike in 1941 during production of "Dumbo" and "Bambi".  With Walt Disney on site it only created more tensions.  One of the solutions was for Disney to get out of the country and he headed down to South America. While Walt was out of the country the strike was settled and the strikers won everything they wanted.  The other major world event that happened was the United States entering WWII.  The war had many effects on Disney Studios. From less income to fewer animators available  to make sophisticated animations they had been making.  Then the U.S. Government stepped in.  Disney was enlisted by the U.S. Government to make propaganda films and one of the reasons for Disney’s trip to South America was to help ease tensions between the United States and South America.  Since Mickey Mouse was popular down there they thought Disney would be perfect for a “Good Will Tour”.  Disney went down there with a group of animators and they took inspiration from what they saw and put together 4 shorts to make "Saludos Amigos".  The government also gave loan guarantees to Disney for the film. 

Each short is supposed to reflect a specific country in South America. Originally they were going to be released individually but Disney felt that they would largely go unseen except by people of those countries so he packaged them up with some documentary footage of the animators on their trip shown between each short.  The first of the  four shorts is “Lake Titicaca'' with Donald Duck making his feature film debut. It has a series of familiar Donald Duck mishaps with a Llama. The next short is called “Pedro”. It is about a small airplane who is tasked with retrieving mail from Argentina and bringing it back to Chile.   It’s a perilous journey over some scary mountains but he proves he can do it. The third short is Goofy’s feature film debut in “El Goucho Goofy”.  Here he plays an American Cowboy who learns the way of The Goucho (a South American Cowboy) in Argentina.  The fourth short is “Aquarela do Brasil” and we get the introduction of the character Jose Carioca.  Jose brings Donald Duck on a musical tour of Brazil. 

The stand out short in the package  is “Aquarela do Brasil”.  The short has some of the best animation and best music in the film.  It feels more similar to the animation in "Bambi" and "Pinocchio".  It’s a colorful and fun short highlighting dances and music of Rio.  “Pedro” is an interesting short.  As far as story goes it is probably the best one in this bunch. A young plane has to make a dangerous journey by himself. Things are going well but then he gets stuck in a storm.  It has elements of suspense and triumph and could see kids really liking this one.  It also definitely feels like the Disney film “Planes” took some inspiration for the designs of their plane from this short.  “Lake Titicaca'' and “El Goucho Goofy” feel like shorts you would have come to expect from a Donald and Goofy shorts at the time. Neither feel that inspired or interesting.

Alfred Charles Richard Jr., a film historian,  said that the movie "did more to cement a community of interest between peoples of the Americas in a few months than the State Department had in fifty years". Most credit the documentary style parts of the film for giving Americans a new perspective of South America. Most Americans of that time thought of South America as primitive and was surprised to see that they had modern cities.   

Overall: As with most packaged or anthology films it’s a mixed bag.  Besides “Aquarela do Brasil” none of the other shorts felt worthy of being in a feature film.  There also seemed to be too much live action footage between the shorts.  Not sure why this film is considered an animated feature since it’s less than 60 minutes and a big chunk of it is documentary style footage.  Coming a few months after Bambi the decline in animation quality is quite remarkable.  

Random Facts:

The first Disney film to premiere in South America before the United States.  The movie premiered in Rio de Janeiro in August of 1942 before premiering in the U.S. in February of 1943.  

First of 6 packaged films to be released in the 40’s.  

The first appearance of the character José Carioca, the Brazilian cigar-smoking parrot

 Shortest Disney Animated Film at 42 minutes barely qualifies as a feature film. 

First appearance by Donald Duck and Goofy in a feature film. 

El Goucho Goofy was edited on home video releases to remove a short scene where he smokes a cigarette. 

Disney Movie Challenge Bonus: Bambi II (2006)

What’s fun about watching a movie on Disney+ is it gives a recommendation on what to watch next. After I watched Bambi it said I should watch Bambi II and figured why not? The movie was released as a direct to video film in 2006. Despite the direct to video status it somehow was able to get Sir Patrick Stewart to do the voice of the Great Prince.


One of my complaints about Bambi is that they time jump and skip large parts of Bambi growing up. The most noticeable time jump is when Bambi’s mother dies and we just skip ahead to him as a young adult. Well if you want to know what happened during that time watch Bambi II. The movie is not much of a sequel as a fill in the blank left in the original. The movie starts right after Bambi’s mother dies and we see him with his father The Great Prince.. The movie then follows as The Great Prince struggles with being a single dad and doesn’t know how to raise a kid. Bambi II ends right before the part in the original movie where Friendly Owl explains Twitterpatted.


I kind of wish that they had included at least some of this story in the original film. It gives more depth to Bambi’s character and also gives The Great Prince an expanded role. Coming over 60 years after the original film it kind of feels out of place. The biggest thing the movie has going for it is Patrick Stewart. He brings a gravitas to the character that is very much needed. The story itself is pretty generic. A father doesn’t know how to raise a kid but realizes that he does have a lot of knowledge he can pass down.


Overall: A good story but kind of generic. It feels like the made for video movie it is. I wish this part of the story was included in the original film.

Disney Movie Challenge: Bambi (1942)

DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE

Bambi

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 58 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Frozen II in 2020. I will be watching each film in chronological order.   

Bambi was many years in production. It was intended to be Disney’s second film after Snow White. The detailed animation that Walt Disney wanted was taking so much time it kept getting pushed back. It finally went into full production in 1939 and got released as the 5th Disney Feature Animation film in 1942. The movie is based on the book Bambi: A Life in the Woods Written by Viennese author Felix Salten.

The story is pretty basic. Bambi is born and dubbed the next Prince of the Forest. All the animals come to see the new prince. As Bambi grows up he becomes friends with a bunny Thumper, a skunk named Flower, and a doe named Faline. Bambi is shy but is really close to his mother. One day hunters come into the forest and Bambi’s mother is shot and killed. Bambi leaves with his dad then comes back as a young buck. He meets up with Thumper and Flower again and learns from “friend owl” about being “Twitterpated”. He then meets up with Faline and after fighting off a rival buck they begin a quick romance. The romance is interrupted by man again when there is forest fire. Bambi is able to save Faline and at the end he has a fawn of his own and is seen standing on a high rock with his dad.

The story if pretty boring. When talking about Bambi most remember it being sad because his mom dies. While that scene is shocking and a bit sad it’s undercut because almost immediately there is a time jump to an older Bambi and we never get to really see him deal with his grief. Bambi grows up so fast it is really hard for any of his experiences to have a big emotional impact.

What was most impressive about the film was the animation. Once again Disney outdid himself with the look of the film. You can tell great care went into making this film. Every frame looks like a fantastic painting. You could pause it at any point and just admire the artwork. Disney wanted something realistic and the animators delivered. The biggest complaints the movie had at the time of its release was the realism. A lot of the critics complained that the film didn’t have enough “fantasy”. By today’s standards it’s hard to see the animation as realistic but feels more impressionistic. To me that works even better.

Looking at how the film was animated took me on a deep dive into one of the animators, Tyrus Wong. Wong was a Chinese artist who designed most of the background art for the film. He won over Disney with his initial design for Babmi, but took inspiration from Chinese art for the background for the film. Tryus was fired after Bambi was released due to his involvement in the animators strike in 1941. While he moved over to Warner Brothers he mostly did set design and eventually retired from show biz to design kites. He lived to be 106 years old and was a fascinating guy. I encourage anyone who is even a little intrigued to look him up. 

Last thing I want to mention is the music. The music really helped create a great atmosphere for the film. The songs aren't very memorable but fit the mood of the scenes.  


OVERALL: Bit of a boring story but great to look at. I am in awe of the art that went into the film even if it doesn’t hold up as a sad film that people remember.


Random Facts

First Disney film to be released after US involvement in WWII

During the production the animators visited parks and studied deer.

Only villain is man

A lot of people were upset at the time of release about the anti hunting message. 

Bambi was used by the U.S Forest Service to help spread forest fire awareness. But Disney only let them use it for 1 year. After that they had to create their own mascot and that is when Smokey the Bear was created.

Disney Movie Challenge: Dumbo (1941)

DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE 

DUMBO 

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 58 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Frozen II in 2020.

Disney lost a lot of money with Pinocchio and Fantasia and really needed a hit. After being convinced that Dumbo would be a good story he put it in production, but he wanted it done cheap and quick. One of the things he did was use new animators that were cheaper. Bambi was in production at the same time and he wanted to use the more experiences animators for that film. The animators used cheaper watercolors for the background which were far less detailed than Pinocchio. Disney also used simple recording techniques unlike the complicated and expensive system they put in place for Fantasia. The movie had a run time of only 64 minutes and is still one of the shortest Disney Animated Films. Despite the cheap and quick production the movie ended up being the huge hit Disney needed. 

Dumbo is about a baby elephant with large ears. He is constantly being made fun of and when his mother tries to protect him she is labeled as a "mad elephant" and locked in a cage. This leaves Dumbo alone and scared. A friendly mouse named Timothy comes along and befriends Dumbo and attempts to help Dumbo out. Timothy gets Dumbo to be a star of an act but when Dumbo trips on his big ears and messes up the whole act he gets sent to be part of the clown act. To cheer Dumbo up Timothy takes him to see his mom. After a heartfelt moment they return to the clown tent to drink some water. Unbeknownst to them, some champagne fell in the water and both Timothy and Dumbo got drunk. During their drunken stupor they see a pink elephant parade and when they wake up they are in a tree. This is where they meet some crows who realize that Dumbo can fly and that he only needs to believe. During his next show Dumbo amazes everyone at the circus with his flying abilities. He goes on to be the star of the show and at the end of the movie his mom is not locked up anymore and everything is great.

At 64 minutes this movie doesn’t waste any time. The story moves fast and we get everything we need to understand what is going on. The movie is a great example of less is more storytelling. The themes of Dumbo are relatable for anyone that has been bullied or made to feel different. The other elephants at the circus are always making fun of Dumbo. They are the ones that nickname him Dumbo as an insult (his real name given by his mother is Jumbo Jr.). After Dumbo gets sent to the clowns the other elephants even say “From now on, he is no longer an elephant”. It’s Timothy the mouse who is the only one that believes in Dumbo and tries everything to help him. Even the crows are moved by his story to help him out. Although making him believe in a magic feather may not have been the best strategy. All this leads to a very satisfying ending where he learns to believe in himself and becomes a star. Let’s talk about the elephant in the room (pun intended). Is the movie racist? There are many ways to interpret the film and many arguments have been made on both sides. It definitely has many outdated stereotypes when it comes to the crows, even going as far as naming one of them Jim Crow (that name has its own racist history). It’s clear that anyone watching the film back then knew that the crows were supposed to be black based on mannerisms and the way they talked. On the flip side the crows are the most sympathetic to Dumbo and maybe that was the point. As representation of the black race they can relate to feeling as outcasts and less than human. But still it is a cringe worthy scene in the film. The other part of the film that can be interpreted as racist is the "Song of the Roustabouts". There is a lyric in the song that goes “We slave until we’re almost dead We’re happy-hearted roustabouts”. The song is sung by faceless people of color in the rain. It’s very easy to interpret this song as painting slaves as happy being slaves (a similar complaint levied at Disney’s problematic “Song of the South”). I didn’t find anything on what the motivation of the song writers were, but to me it felt almost sarcastic. But again it is a problematic part of the film that did not age well. But despite these scenes the overall theme of the film is anti-racist. We see someone that is told they are less than others but discover that even they have something special they can contribute. Either way it is up to each person to interpret what they will about the film.

The last thing I want to mention is that during the making of Dumbo there was a five week animator strike that happened. This strike had a major effect on Disney and the animation business in general. The only thing I can find about how the strike specifically affected Dumbo was that some of the clowns were caricatures of some of the striking workers. The clowns also sing a song that goes

“Oh, we're gonna hit the big boss for a raise Yes, we're gonna hit the big boss for a raise Oh, we're gonna get more money 'cause we know that we're funny We're gonna hit the big boss for a raise”

This song seems to suggest that the animators still working on the film resented the strikers. On the flip side you can look at “The Song of the roustabouts” as a reference to poor working conditions and poor pay structure of the Disney machine. Again these are all up for interpretation and in my cursory research I couldn't find anything specific. If anyone has any sources that goes into this more feel free to share. OVERALL: I wrote more than I thought I would about one of the shortest films in the Disney cannon. But overall I liked this movie. The themes of bullying resonated with me. The story is efficiently told. There are problematic parts which are appropriate to talk about but I don't think tarnishes the whole film. I still think the Pink Elephant on Parade portion is an odd choice for a kids movie. Random Facts One of the few Disney movies where the main character doesn’t talk. Joke about people with big ears being famous was a poke at Clark Gable who was known for having big ears The last Disney movie to be released before U.S involvement in WWII. The most profitable movie Disney released in the 1940’s.

Disney Movie Challenge: Fantasia

DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE

Fantasia

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE:  With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 58 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Frozen II in 2020.  

After taking 3 years between their first and second animated feature, it only took Disney 9 months to release their third feature. In November of 1940 a roadshow version of Fantasia was released in New York. Again Disney was ambitious and tried something that never had been done before. He wanted to combine animation and music. It was kind of an early form of music video. The origins of the film are fascinating. It started with The Sorcerer’s Apprentice which was supposed to be a more sophisticated Silly Symphony short. Disney created something called Fantasound for the short but as the cost ratcheted up it became clear they could not recoup their money with a short. So, an idea was born to release a feature film with other sequences. When the film came out it consisted of 8 total segments, and was 125 minutes long (still the longest Disney Animated Feature). The music was conducted by world famous conductor Leopold Stokowski,

What is Fantasound? This question took me down a crazy rabbit hole of sophisticated technology. In a nut shell it was the first use of stereo sound in film. It required the creation of special equipment to record and to project with a film. It’s super technical and I don’t fully understand it so won’t go into much detail (this video does a great job at explaining it https://youtu.be/2FRyAXXOsMo). Needless to say it was completely unique and cost a lot of money. With the start of WWII and the cost of setting up Fantasound at each roadshow location it became impossible to make money with the film. Despite the film being loved by critics the movie became a big flop at the time, but over time it has built up a fan base. It’s biggest boom was in the late 60’s when it was marketed for its psychedelic elements.

The movie is a fascinating mix of music and animation. The 8 segments are completely different from each other. There is also a narrator, Deems Taylor, that explains the music and significance of each segment. In the beginning he explains

“First, there's the kind that tells a definite story. Then there's the kind that, while it has no specific plot, does paint a series of more or less definite pictures. And then there's a third kind, music that exists simply for its own sake”. 

Deems Taylor was a well known music critic at the time and brings some insight to the music. Besides the technical achievement and interesting stories behind the music there isn’t much going on. The segments themselves just didn’t grab my attention. I think if I could have experienced the film during the original roadshow release I would have enjoyed it more. While watching the film I kept thinking this would be awesome to watch in a theatre with a live orchestra.

Overall:  It’s a movie that was ahead of its time. As a story guy it just didn’t do it for me. The visuals and and music were cool but outside of The Sorcerers Apprentice there wasn't much to keep my attention. But, I do appreciate the amazing artistry that went into the film.

Random Facts

Longest animated Disney Film

First film to use Stereo sound

First film to not have any credits in initial release.

First appearance by Mickey Mouse in a Feature Film

The sorcerer was modeled after Disney. His name is Yen Sid which is Disney backwards.

Disney got a lot of complaints about the Night on Bald Mountain segment saying it was scaring their kids. When the movie was first released on home video it was released without that segment.

In 1982 the soundtrack was re-recorded digitally and when it was released was the first film ever with a digital stereo sound.

Disney wanted to release a new Fantasia every year. But that goal proved even too lofty for Disney.

Disney Movie Challenge: Pinocchio

DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE

Pinocchio

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 58 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Frozen II in 2020.

After the huge success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs proved that animated feature films can make money it took three years for Disney to make another one. But he didn’t make just one he made two. In 1940 Disney released both Pinocchio and Fantasia. First up in February of 1940 is Pinocchio.

The movie is based on a novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Italian author Carlo Collodi. Oddly this wasn’t the first attempt to turn the novel into an animated feature film. Prior to Snow White an Italian company was attempting to make their own version of Pinocchio that would have been the first animated feature film. But part way through they had to abandon the project and Snow White went on to become the first animated feature and the Pinocchio novel ended up in Disney’s sights. As with most things Disney makes, the movie is a lot different than the source material, including a larger role for Jiminy Cricket.

The film is about a wooden puppet, Pinocchio, that was created by Geppetto. One night after Geppetto makes a wish the Blue Fairy comes and brings Pinocchio to life. Pinocchio is told that if he can prove himself brave, truthful, and unselfish he will become a real boy. To help him make good decisions Jiminy Cricket is sent to be his conscience. Pinocchio's first day of being alive Geppetto sends him to school.  Before he can get there he encounters a couple of con artists, Honest John and Gideon, who convince him to skip school and become an actor. But it turned  out that he was essentially sold into slavery to a puppeteer.  Jiminy finally shows up too late and can't help. Eventually the Blue Fairy comes to help.  Before the Blue Fairy will help them she asks Pinoccho to be honest and every time he lies he nose grows.  Eventually he is honest and the Blue Fairy releases them from the prison and turns him back to normal.   On his way back home he runs into Honest John and Gideon again. This time they convince him to go to Pleasure Island for a “vacation”. This again turns out to be a poor decision and again he is essentially sold into slavery.   Pleasure Island turns out to be a place where there are no rules and boys just run wild.  But after a certain amount of time they begin to turn into a donkeys.  Pinocchio is partially turned into a donkey but escapes with the help of Jiminy Cricket before he makes a full transition.  When Pinocchio and Jiminy finally make it home they find Geppetto is missing. While out looking for Pinocchio he got swallowed by a whale. Pinocchio and Jiminy then set out to find Geppetto and rescue him. After sacrificing himself to save Geppetto from the belly of the whale the Blue Fairy finds that Pinocchio has proven himself brave, truthful, and unselfish and is finally turned into a real boy.

With Pinocchio, Disney once again pushed the boundaries of animation. A lot of effort went into the effects animation. The goal was to make the background more alive with movement. This is evident in Geppetto’s workshop where there are lots of clocks and also in the shots of the water. It took animator Sandy Strother a year to complete the water effects, afterward animator Frank Thomas said “The water looks so real a person can drown in it, and they do”.

This is another excellent looking film. All the hard work that went into the animation really paid off. While the story of Snow White felt very familiar, Pinocchio on the other hand is quite the opposite. This is not a story one would expect from the modern Disney. The movie is dark. It involves Pinocchio getting kidnapped and sold into slavery twice. It also involves kids drinking, smoking, and vandalizing. Also there are multiple times in the film someone says that the kids are jackasses. This seemed kind of shocking when watching but then they literally turned into jackasses.
Also, lets talk about Jiminy Cricket.  He is the worst conscience. He oversleeps which lets Pinocchio get in trouble the first time. He then abandons Pinocchio at least 2 other times. At the end the Blue Fairy gives Jiminy a medal which is something I can’t understand. He did an awful job.

OVERALL: It's a great looking movie. But for me it's too episodic. I use to listen to a podcast where they talked about “and then movies”. It’s basically movies where something happens then something else happens but not really a progression of the story. This is pretty much what Pinocchio felt like to me. Pinocchio doesn't seem to learn anything from one episode to the next and Jiminy Cricket is worthless. The weird thing to me is that  Pinocchio is known for having his nose grow when he lies, but it's actually just one little scene. I thought it would play a bigger role in the film. It is one of the darker Disney films but still didn't connect with me.

RANDOM FACTS:

First animated film to win a competitive Oscar. It won 2 Oscars, one for Best Song and one for Best Score. It is actually the first film to win both of those Oscars and that wouldn’t happen again till Mary Poppins (another Disney film) in 1964

Pinocchio was originally intended to be Disney’s third film after Bambi. But due to the difficulty of animating Bambi they pushed Pinocchio production up and Bambi ended up being he 5th film.

Pinocchio wasn’t a huge hit overseas when it came out mostly due to the start of World War II.  The movie ended up losing money for Disney.

Part way through the production Walt Disney didn’t like the way the animation looked or the way the story was going and halted all production till it met his high standards.

Figaro the cat made his premiere in the film, Walt Disney loved the character of Figaro so much that he made him Minnie Mouse's pet.

Disney Movie Challenge: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE:  With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 58 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Frozen II in 2020.  

It’s hard to believe that there was once a time when Disney didn’t own everything. In the early 1930’s Disney was finding success with Mickey Mouse and other short cartoons but Walt had bigger plans. He wanted to make an animated feature film. When he first announced Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1934 many referred to it as "Disney's Folly" and numerous people tried to talk him out of it. But as we all know nothing stops Walt from getting what he wants. So production began, and Snow White became the first feature length Cel Animated film. Prior to Snow White there had been other feature length animated films but those were silhouette animations. The oldest surviving animated film is The Adventures of Prince Achmed, a 1926 German film (check out the trailer here https://youtu.be/G_9L7r8NIBc) One of the things Walt Disney did best is push technology to the limits. For their animated films Disney Studio created the Multiplane Camera with Snow White being the first feature to use that method of shooting. Here is a cool video of Walt Disney himself explaining how the system works https://youtu.be/YdHTlUGN1zw .

The movie is based on Grimms’ Fairy Tale Snow White. The story is pretty straightforward. An evil queen is jealous of the beauty of Snow White and wants her killed. But The Huntsman, who the queen commanded to kill Snow White, lets her go free. Snow White runs into the forest where the forest animals help her find shelter at the seven dwarfs' house. She helps tidies up the place and makes them food so they agree to let her stay. Eventually the queen figures out that Snow White is still alive and uses an enchanted apple to kill Snow White. The only thing that can save Snow White is true love's kiss. Which of course happens and everyone lives happily ever after.

The movie set the template for future Disney Princess movies so it feels formulaic watching it now. It has everything we have come to expect in a Princess movie, evil stepmother or queen, Prince Charming, and true love’s kiss saving the day. But there is a reason that this became a formula, and that is because it works. Watching it now it still holds up pretty well. The animation looks great, the characters are memorable (the older I get the more I relate to grumpy), and the score keeps things moving. I felt the songs are one of the weakest parts of the film, although for some reason I do love Heigh-Ho. The movie also drags at parts. Especially after the Dwarfs and Snow White meet. It’s cute but kind of boring. The movie does pick back up when the queen shows up again. The crazy thing is everything moves pretty quick once the queen convinces Snow White to eat the apple.  The movie ends like 10 minutes later. It does feel kind of rushed.  We can’t talk about Snow White without talking about the ending. The prince kissing a presumably dead girl and waking her up is cheesy (and a bit creepy). But again it’s what we have come to expect from Disney films.

OVERALL: Snow White is a solid film. It drags at parts and has an ending that feels rushed but still holds up.  Even thought it was groundbreaking and set the precedent for movies to come afterward it will be 13 years till the next Disney Princess movie (Cinderella) comes out.

Random facts: 

The voice of Snow White singer Adriana Caelotti was never able to capitalize on the film. It is reported that Walt Disney said “I'm sorry, but that voice can't be used anywhere. I don't want to spoil the illusion of Snow White” and blocked her from getting other jobs in the movie industry.

The movie was the highest grossing movie of all time when it came out. Held the record for 2 year till Gone with the Wind came out in 1939.

Walt Disney won a special Oscar for "significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field". It had a big statue and seven little statues.

The plural form of Dwarf has an odd history. Dwarfs was the preferred plural form but then J.R.R Tolkien came around with The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings series and used Dwarves as the plural. And now everyone is confused what the proper spelling is.