Le pélican et la bécasse

A Walt Disney Cartoon.

THE PELICAN AND THE SNIPE atop a lighthouse off the coast of Uruguay almost have their friendship destroyed due to an unfortunate misunderstanding caused by the Pelican's dangerous somnambulism.

This humorous little film strikes a serious note about the pressures put upon true friendship. Note the wartime atmosphere - U. S. troops did lots of training in Latin America before being sent overseas. As narrator, Sterling Holloway gives another first rate performance.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a blizzard of doomsayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work will always pay off.

The Pelican and the Snipe has a lot of things going for it, it's not perfect and not a favourite but it is very good nonetheless. Personally I was mixed on the narration, it is very well written, is entertaining and humorous and Sterling Holloway voices brilliantly, but sometimes the short did feel over narrated, we didn't need to know everything that was going on because we could see it for ourselves. For example telling us that Monte is a somnambulist when we can clearly see it. The Pelican and the Snipe is very well-animated though, with vibrant as well as atmospheric colours and fluid background art, and the music is lushly orchestrated without being syrupy and there is plenty of character and energy without being at odds with the serious overall tone of the short. The story, apart from a couple of heavy-handed moments, has its charm and the friendship between Monte the pelican and Vidi the Snipe is unlikely but quite touchingly depicted, and in a way that is very much relevant now. It has a point and message to make and makes it without talking down to the audience too much. And Monte and Vidi are both believable characters that anybody can identify with, their friendship is believably done as well. Overall, sometimes over narrated and a touch heavy-handed at times but well-animated, relatable, solidly written, surprisingly relevant and well-scored. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Originally, this was envisioned as a segment in "Saludos Amigos". For some reason, it wasn't included--most likely because unlike the feature film, "The Pelican and the Snipe" isn't awful (I have long thought "Saludos Amigos" to be among the worst productions of Disney Studios during this era). Now I am NOT saying "The Pelican and the Snipe" is a particularly outstanding short--but it is a decent one.

The film begins at a lighthouse off the coast of Montevideo, Uruguay. Most likely this location was chosen due to the concept of "Saludos Amigos"--a celebration of our South American neighbors. It concerns two birds who are friends--Monte the pelican and Vidi the snipe. Every night, Vidi wears himself out caring for his friend, as Monte flies in his sleep--and would kill himself if it weren't for Vidi's actions. However, Monte doesn't know about his friend's sacrifices and when a misunderstanding occurs, Monte foolishly tells his friend to get lost! Can the two somehow patch things up and become friends once again? And, more importantly, will the audience care? I know I struggled with this, though the narration by Sterling Holloway (the voice of Winnie the Pooh) did help make this passable entertainment.

Monte the pelican and Vidi the snipe are chums who live in a lighthouse during the Second World War. Their friendship endures despite Monte flying in his sleep, thinking he is a dive bomber, and Vidi trying to keep him from coming to harm.

A simplistic tale of friendship, then, but one which has a certain charm and is helped along by Sterling Holloway's narration (he also provided the voice of Mr Stork in 'Dumbo' and narrated 'Lambert the Sheepish Lion' and the 'Peter and the Wolf' segment of 'Make Mine Music').

'The Pelican and the Snipe' has dated in its depiction of bombs and night raids, but the central story of a friend in need will always be current. The animation too flows beautifully and gives us two likable characters.