Paul Bunyan

This is my second review of an Oscar-nominated cartoon for 1958 having just done the same for Art Bartsch's Sidney's Family Tree. This one is another version of the Tall Tale of Paul Bunyan, the giant man who chopped lots of trees and helped log them with the help of his blue ox Babe. The story begins when he's a baby found on a beach with the town adopting him with everyone helping in sewing clothes for him as well as schooling him and him having fun at the swiming pool. As he grows, he gets an ax for a Christmas present and then moves out west after chopping trees at his hometown. In moving out, Paul meets Babe and...well, let's just say things get exaggerated concerning how certain natural wonders are formed. The animation is pure '50s with the typical limited backgrounds of the period but they're pleasing enough. Directed by Les Clark. Oh, and nice hearing the voice of Thurl Ravenscroft-best known as Tony the Tiger of the Kellog's Frosted Flakes cereal commercials-as the title character. Only one more nominee to go...

This Disney short was created during the studio's creative free-fall in the 1950s. While the 1930s and 40s found the studio on top, by the mid-1950s, their shorts were dull, poorly animated and often overtly educational (yuck!). I am sure kids and adults alike longed for the old Mickey and Donald cartoons! Typical of the 50s, the animation style is VERY minimalistic--with exceptionally simple backgrounds and far fewer detail to the characters. This style was popularized by UPA Studio and Disney realized that making these cheap cartoons was profitable--though lacking artistry and sophistication--a trend that was to continue for the next several decades.

Despite crappy animation, the story itself isn't bad. It lacks a sense of humor (that's bad) but the song is very catchy and the story quite clever. It's certainly not among the best stuff Disney ever produced, though it's a good bit better than a typical film of the era.

By the way, listen for the voices of Thurl Ravenscroft (Tony the Tiger and many other cartoon characters) and Parley Baer (a TV regular and voice of Ernie from the Keebler commercials).

A legend well used by an energetic and high sweet short animation. The giant, his people, his ox and the modernization of USA . Cut trees - too many for my taste and for the contemporary ecological habits - , good music and few good spoons of humor. And the comfortable end. An old fashion Disney animation preserving its freshness and all the special flavors in the forms of nostalgia.

Paul Bunyan was one of those animations that I saw a lot as a child, and was fascinated and highly amused by it. As a 20-year old adult, I still do have a soft spot for it, but I think I liked it more as a child. Mainly because when I was younger I paid little attention to the animation quality, but when you're older it's not really something that you can ignore really. And I hate to say it, but I do agree that the animation is not that great, despite Paul Bunyan being unique for being the last Disney short film to be inked by hand apparently. The character designs came across as rather blocky, except for Paul himself, and the backgrounds are very limited and flat. There is one touch that I did like and that was the Nothern Lights at the end, very nicely done. Aside from the animation, which I do think is too big a foible to excuse, I loved the music. The title song is very catchy with great lyrics, and the rest of the songs are humorous and the scoring whimsical. The singing of it is great as well, I still marvel at how the vocal ensembles manage to blend with each other so well and Paul Bunyan is no exception, while Thurl Ravenscroft has that same resonant basso-profundo voice. The story and writing have some funny moments, are faithful to the original tale and are very clever. The characters are memorable, especially Paul who is also very endearing and easy to like, and the voice work is great. Overall, I didn't care for the animation, but I thought the rest of Paul Bunyan was highly enjoyable. 8/10 Bethany Cox

"Paul Bunyan" is one of a string of animated shorts that Walt Disney made in the 1950s. These comic book style films were about legendary characters in America's past. This is a good rendition of the tale of a man who cleared the forests of a growing continent in its early years. Paul and his Canadian blue ox, Babe, were the logging champions of all time.

Kids young and old should enjoy this fairy tale, in Disney style, even in the 21st century. Of course, today the public concern has changed from one of taming the land to one of preserving and conserving the world's forests.