Fun & Fancy Free

The 9th animated Disney classic is something I have mixed feelings about, in similarity to what happens with "The Three Caballeros".

It's a curious cartoon with some to offer, yet not one of Disney's finest creations.

For one thing, I like its introduction. I was surprised when I heard a familiar singing voice. I thought «This voice sounds like Jiminy Cricket». And in the next moment, Jiminy Cricket appears, voiced by the same Cliff Edwards. Another interesting fact is that Jiminy Cricket is the narrator of the story in some parts. He introduces us the first of the two stories, "Bongo": it is the story of a little circus bear that runs away from the circus and discovers what it's like to be free.

I liked the story of Bongo and the character itself. He's a cute and adorable little bear. This is, without a doubt, the best segment of this motion picture. It is, however, narrated by Dinah Shore.

As for the second and final segment, "Mickey and the Beanstalk", it is narrated by Edgar Bergen, but before that there are a few live-action scenes where Edgar Bergen is working as a ventriloquist and tells the tale to child actress Luana Patten. After the end of the story, there are a few more live-action scenes like this and Jiminy Cricket appears in both.

As for the segment itself, needless to say it is based on "Jack and the Beanstalk". It's not a bad segment, but honestly I found it nothing special. It features, however, well known cartoons like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy. It also features Willie, the famous temperamental giant from some Disney tales. Mickey Mouse is voiced by Walt Disney himself, while Donald Duck is voiced by the inimitable Clarence Nash.

Directed by Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske, Bill Roberts & William Morgan. Starring Edgar Bergen, voices of Dinah Shore, Cliff Edwards, Walt Disney, Clarence Nash, Billy Gilbert, Pinto Colvig, Anita Gordon.

One of the Disney package films assembled between "Bambi" (1942) and "Cinderella" (1950) (when the company was low on funds due to the war effort), largely forgotten today. Features two individual stories linked together by filler material featuring Jiminy Cricket (still voiced wonderfully by Edwards, but not nearly as enchanting here as he was in "Pinnochio"), as well as Edgar Bergen in live-action cutaways that will test the patience of anyone who isn't utterly enamored with ventriloquism. The first segment is innocuous and inconsequential and a bit of a bore, featuring a circus bear named Bongo who escapes into the wild, meets a cute girl bear, and learns that nothing says, "I love you," quite as well as giving your sweetie a rough slap to the kisser (you read that right). The second is a loose retelling of "Jack and the Beanstalk" with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy; it's a treat to see the three of them together, but too much time is spent with Willie the giant, a big galoot who is neither amusing nor menacing. Not much to recommend here to anyone who isn't a "treasures from the Disney vault" buff, but the traditional, painstaking hand-drawn animation is always nice to look at, even if it's not quite up to the level of the bigger-budget productions of the early '40s.

48/100

This is a good combination of two animated stories/shorts: Bongo and Micky and the Beanstalk. while watching a mixture of stories and a mixture of animation and live action was a little awkward, Jiminy Cricket held it together. This film's latest release on video gives everyone the opportunity to see this tiny treasure for the first time. While, it doesn't rank up with the Best of Disney's animation, it is still worth seeing, if nothing else for Walt Disney's last film as the voice of Mickey.

"Bambi" (1942) was the last REAL animated feature the Disney studio released in the 1940s. Until 1950, there would only be shorts - which in general weren't as good either as the innovative ones made in the 1930s, or Jack Hannah's comic masterpieces of the 1950s - and compilation features: "The Reluctant Dragon" (1941), "Saludos Amigos" (1943), "The Three Caballeros" (1945), "Make Mine Music" (1946), "Fun and Fancy Free" (1947), "Melody Time" (1948), "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" (1949). You're unlikely to have seen ANY of these. All of them were stripped apart into their component pieces long ago, largely because, with the exception of "The Three Caballeros", there's no reason to keep any of them in one piece. ("Fantasia" is another exception, so much so that I've left it off the list altogether - it's a completely different kind of endeavour.)

I say this even though "The Three Caballeros" is the only one I'VE seen. I have seen most of the material that went into these movies, though, and trust me: it's uneven, and there's no coherent way of gluing most of it together. -"Fun and Fancy Free", in any event, consists of just two extended shorts: "Bongo" and "Mickey and the Beanstalk". I'm writing mainly to defend the latter. People are much too hard on it. There's a marked similarity between it and the winning short cartoon "The Brave Little Tailor" (1938), another fairytale with Disney characters taking the lead roles, and while "Beanstalk" lacks the earlier short's freshness, it has the advantage of having Donald and Goofy in it, two terribly under-rated cartoon stars who, although capable of sustaining shorts on their own, play off well against one another. (That's why it's impossible to make a Mickey/Donald/Goofy cartoon that's a TOTAL failure.) "Mickey and the Beanstalk" is one of the few post-war cartoons to recapture the spirit of Disney's depression-era stuff.

"Bongo" is of almost no interest - a vapid, directionless account of a circus bear who must adapt to life in the wild, complete with songs. People interested in the history of animation should see every Disney production they can get their eyes on; there's no other reason to see this one. The sheer POINTLESSNESS of pairing "Bongo" with "Mickey and the Beanstalk" makes this Disney's most bizarre compilation feature of the decade. -I wish I'd seen the linking segments. They can't possibly JUSTIFY the film's arbitrary nature, but it might be entertaining to see them try.

The duo of Disney and RKO continue the magic onto 1947 with this flick, "Fun and Fancy Free." In it are a couple of wonderful and terrific stories: "Bongo," and "Mickey and the Beanstalk." Again, this movie has everything that you would expect in a Disney classic. Also, look out for more great Disney friends, like Jiminy Cricket!!!!!

One interesting fact: did you know that Walt Disney, the man who created Mickey, was the voice of Mickey Mouse? In "Mickey and the Beanstalk," Walt Disney himself voiced as Mickey Mouse, and that would end up being his last cartoon to do so.

So, this shows that movies like this just aren't made anymore. (sniff) But still, watch this movie with your children, enjoy it, and have a whole lot of fun with "Fun and Fancy Free!!!!!" 10 out of 10 stars.