John Henry

"John Henry" is one of a string of animated shorts that Walt Disney's studios have made over the years. This is a fairly late comer among this comic book style of short films. Several of these are about legendary characters in America's past. John Henry is an American folk hero of African descent, who had been a slave. As "The Ballad of John Henry" says, he was a steel-driving man.

Just as Paul Bunyan was the giant among lumber jacks, John Henry was a giant among steel drivers who built the American railroads. This 10-minutte short is on a DVD of Disney's American Legends. There's a large statue of John Henry in John Henry Historical Park near Talcott, West Virginia. It's located near the entrance to the abandoned railroad Big Bend tunnel.

The traditional story of John Henry is brought to life in this very unusual Disney short. I like some of the unusual qualities...one in particular I didn't. The quilt-like look and colors were great--and really eye-catching. I also liked the nice spiritual style of the music which dominates the film. What I wasn't so fond of was the unfinished look that the animators deliberately used--with pencil marks appearing and disappearing throughout the film--like they forgot to erase them. Stylish? Perhaps...but I thought it made an otherwise good film look unfinished. As for the story, it's pretty much the familiar folk tale--about an ex-slave named John Henry who does battle against a steam-powered machine and wins...at a big cost. Worth seeing but it just missed the mark.

I read about this film being made and that it would be released to theaters to play in front of Disney films released during the year. Well I never did see it and had forgotten about it when I saw that it would be included on a special DVD with several of the other Disney Tall Tale classics, Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed and Casey Jones.

John Henry is an excellent short and it deserves a much higher rating. As mentioned the animation is made to look unfinished and rough. This only adds to the charm of the film. The music is also outstanding and the story is touching. I hope more people will check out John Henry as well as the other shorts on the DVD.

Disney cartoon about American folk hero John Henry, a former slave who worked on a railroad driving spikes into the rails. When a steam drill threatens to replace the workers, John Henry challenges that he can do a better job than the machine. An enjoyable cartoon that was originally released on a direct-to-video anthology of Disney shorts about American legends. Most of them were older cartoons like Paul Bunyan and The Brave Engineer. It's since been released again as part of a collection of modern Disney shorts. The voice work and music are good. The animation is decent, but not a style I particularly like. The skies are full of lines, for example, and I just found that unattractive. Anyway, it's a nice cartoon that's not quite as polished as the classics it was originally released with but it's far from an embarrassment.

Disney films and shorts were a huge part of my childhood, and many are still hold dear to my heart. As someone who was introduced to it very recently, 'John Henry' will never go down as one of their greatest achievements but it is a long way from being one of their very few duds.

There is not really that much at all wrong with 'John Henry'. To be honest though some of the animation was also not to my taste, was not a fan either of the (clearly intended) unfinished look to some of the drawing especially the constant coming and going pencil lines. The animation is certainly not without its meticulous detail and vibrant colours though, and while it hearkens back to the style of something like 'Paul Bunyon' it is a little more appealing, while lacking finesse the character designs are noticeably less blocky.

However, the music, adopting a soulful spiritual tone, is outstanding, sung with real passion and exuberance. If there is anything about 'John Henry' that can be greatly admired especially, it is how it clearly knew what it was trying to do and who to aim it at, and succeed totally at these aims. It was very brave to have a darker tone to the story, with the tackling of heavier themes, in a period where Disney noticeably took less risks than in their "Renaissance" period from 'The Little Mermaid' to 'Tarzan', and it is dealt with touchingly and never feels tonally muddled or distastefully dark nor does it feel preachy.

'John Henry' is very nicely written, with heart and sensitivity, and the characters while not complex are likable and relatable to the audience. The voice acting is strong.

In summary, interesting and touching if unusual. Some of the animation was not to my taste but everything else works. 8/10 Bethany Cox