Fun and Fancy Free (1947) - 100 Years of Disney Animation
Up next is Fun and Fancy Free from 1947. This is another really nostalgic movie for me; like Snow White, I used to watch it on VHS all the time as a kid. So, as you can imagine, I’m a bit biased towards it.
That being said, though, this movie isn’t without its flaws; like Make Mine Music, it features a lot of references and celebrities from the 1940’s, which once again, makes it harder for modern audiences to connect with it. That being said, though, the two segments it features, Bongo and Mickey and the Beanstalk, are still enjoyable on their own. In fact, both of these segments were originally planned as feature films before World War II hit. Bongo is a pretty enjoyable segment with a cute love story and some nice animation, but for me, the real highlight is Mickey and the Beanstalk, which is probably the main reason I watched this all the time growing up. This is so far the only time Mickey, Donald, and Goofy have been in a movie from Walt Disney Animation Studios together, and it’s a lot of fun watching them. In fact, this was actually one of the last times Walt Disney voiced Mickey, since he had to give up the role after his smoking damaged his voice; sadly, you can kind of hear him struggling with the Mickey voice here. But like I said, the short is still a lot of fun.
The segments that tie the shorts together are also pretty enjoyable, featuring Jiminy Cricket from Pinocchio. Mickey and the Beanstalk is also narrated by Edgar Bergen, along with child star Luanna Patton and Bergen’s puppets Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. Again, modern audiences would probably be unfamiliar with these stars (I know I didn’t know who they were as a kid), but their commentary is still pretty enjoyable. So, while Fun and Fancy Free is a bit dated compared to other Disney movies, it’s still a pretty fun experience that has a lot of nostalgic value for me.
Next Review: Melody Time (1948)