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Old 9 Aug 18, 11:00 AM  
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Originally Posted by DisneyDaffodil View Post
This was the type of thing my son studied in detail for his dissertation(so it wasn't all fun 😀 ). He covered Walt's political views and his influence and affect of his views as war propaganda etc (although I am sure I am explaining it badly 😀 )

He also studied Three Cabelleros, which is far more entertaining.
Yeah this was certainly a bit of a slog to get through. Interesting from a historical perspective but not so much if you're a fan of...fun.

I agree Three Caballeros is way better - and that's up next!
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Old 9 Aug 18, 11:12 AM  
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Day 9: Three Caballeros (1944)

Day 9: Three Caballeros (1944)




Well this is certainly an improvement on the last movie we watched, but unfortunately it's still not the best.

A welcome return for Jose Carioca! He's a lot more fun than Donald. I'm actually not sure why they're friends because Donald is kind of a numpty and doesn't deserve to have such cool friends. I'm also not sure that the Three Caballeros, in general, have earned a sequel at this point!

Donald Duck is extremely unlikeable in this movie. He spends most of it with eyes literally on stalks chasing woman around. In fact the Male Gaze in general is fixed beadily on Central and South America throughout this whole movie. A lot of introducing people to the culture of the area seems to consist of showing woman in exotic outfits or swimming costumes.

Some of the music is quite nice but gets a bit lost in all the 'comedy'.

The animated sections are pretty forgettable and you struggle to find a unifying theme - the one about the flying gauchito is probably the best.

The most successful new element of The Three Caballeros (because it is essentially Saludos Amigos 2: The Sequel Nobody Asked For) is the Aracuan Bird, who is actually genuinely funny. Or maybe I just feel this because he makes fun of Donald?


The Aracuan Bird is this guy, for those of you who don't know. he isn't one of the Three Caballeros and basically pops up every so often to make a nuisance of himself. It's pretty funny.

This is definitely my least fave of the package films unfortunately (we are actually a few films ahead so I can legitimately say this!)
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Old 10 Aug 18, 12:19 PM  
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Day 10: Make Mine Music (1946)

Day 10: Make Mine Music (1946)



This movie had a really lovely start with the Blue Bayou sequence! It is very relaxing and the animation is beautiful. The rest of the film is bit uneven and some of the stories are very strange. One of the weirdest of the package films in general, though with some really nice sequences included.

The Peter and the Wolf sequence is quite good and is probably helped by the fact that the music is so iconic. It was also nice to see the origins of that particular diorama in the Les Pays Des Contes Fees ride at DLP.

The final section, about Willie the Whale who dreams of singing at the Met but is ultimately harpooned () is some of the most unusual storytelling I've ever experienced, but is probably the most successful part of the film. I found myself genuinely engaged in Willie's story and rooting for him, and there's no denying that the guy who does all the voices and the singing is amazingly talented.

Overall a decent example of this type of movie, but I'm really craving some actual full length movie magic at this stage!
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Old 13 Aug 18, 09:10 AM  
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Day 11: Song of the South (1946)

Day 11: Song of the South (1946)



So I finally got round to watching Song of the South (it was fairly easy to find online - apart from the whole having to sell a kidney on the dark web web thing ) and I am still working out how I feel about it. I’d be very interested to hear other people’s thoughts, but here are mine, for what they’re worth.

In terms of story and being engaged with the characters I certainly enjoyed this movie a lot more than some of the package films. Some of the animated sequences are pretty good and the way that animation and film are combined is truly brilliant. There's a really wonderful moment where Uncle Remus lights Brer Frog's pipe for him that made me smile. There's also no denying that Uncle Remus is a delightful character (the actor playing him is great and has a beautiful voice for both singing and speaking) and leaves you with the warmest and fuzziest of warm and fuzzies.

That having been said, the mere fact that you get this warm and fuzzy feeling from the character may be part of the problem. The problems with this movie are not with the attitudes of the characters themselves (there’s very little overt racism in it), but with the attitude of the movie itself. There are lots of African American characters in the movie, some of them as well-drawn as the white characters, but they seem to be there for one reason only: to give white people the warm and fuzzies. Let's all watch a movie where the post-civil war South is presented as idyllic and good. Everybody has good intentions and is the best of friends. The slaves have been freed and are now just friends of the family (who they order around and treat as second-call citizens, but let's gloss over that bit) there to enrich the white people's lives with their simple wisdom. It's how white people at the time - including the guy who wrote the original Uncle Remus stories and probably Walt Disney too - wished slavery could be remembered.

It's problematic. The fact that the movie assumes we'll be OK with the idea of a former slave having nothing better to do than try to make the lonely grandson of his former mistress feel better is very much the problem. Johnny (the little boy in the story - Bobby Driscoll pre-Peter Pan) has problems, sure. He's lonely and he misses his dad, and his mum makes him wear girly outfits, but...that's it. Eventually, he gets gored by a bull (which seems to give him...a fever? For some reason? ) which I will admit is a legitimate problem, but it literally happens in the last 5 minutes. Perhaps if the kid’s problems had been a bit less trivial the movie might have seemed more balanced (probably not though), but as it is you just find yourself wincing as this boy's issues become the centre of the plot, and Uncle Remus a plot point to bring them to a conclusion.

As far as the tar baby bit goes, I'm not sure what to make of it. I genuinely don't think it comes from a racist place. The phrase 'tar baby' seems to have gathered racist connotations since the release of the movie and probably rightly so. In the movie and original stories, however, the phrase tar baby simply refers to a sticky situation that the more you try to get out of it, the more you stuck you get.

Overall I don't want to suggest that my opinion of this movie is the correct one - there is a lot to unpack here and I don't know much about most of it. I think this movie should be released on dvd again (and for the first time in the States) with proper commentary from people who will properly be able to examine the history and context. I think it's time that Disney faced up to this, because it is offensive and demeaning, but not perhaps in the way people think. It should be talked about. That's my opinion (just an opinion) anyway!

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Old 14 Aug 18, 03:03 PM  
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Day 12: Fun and Fancy Free (1947)

Day 12: Fun and Fancy Free (1947)



This one is very strange. I seem to be saying that a lot!

It includes two short stories Little Bear Bongo and Mickey and the Beanstalk. Mickey and the Beanstalk is probably stronger overall, although Little Bear Bongo felt more promising at the start. Bongo actually achieved what Dumbo didn’t manage which was to escape the circus! He finds freedom in the forest to be more difficult than he'd imagined but eventually finds love with a girlfriend called Lulubelle. At the climax of the movie they introduce the problematic concept that bears slap each other to show that they are in love , leading to lots of bear-on-bear domestic violence. What larks! They don't make em like they used to, folks.

The second story is better but the framing device is creepy. It's a ventriloquist guy (who was famous at the time) telling the story of Mickey and the beanstalk to a little girl at a party (it's just him and the little girl at this party ), while his two puppets make interjections. Very strange! The giant in the story turning out to be 'real' and lifting the roof of the ventriloquist's house at the end, was a really great twist however.

Mickey is a sweetie in the second story, but Donald goes crazy from hunger at the start of the story and attempts to chop up Friend Cow and then chomp down on his tail while still alive! Sorry, Donald fans, but this guy does not improve on better acquaintance. I really like the singing harp though. Her song is very early Disney Princess.

These two longer stories are definitely more memorable than the package films have been up till now, so I'd recommend giving this movie a watch if you haven't already. Also really nice to see Mickey and pals in a proper adventure - he's such a great character!

P.S. If you're wondering what Jiminy Cricket is doing on the DVD cover, he features in this movie too. He is the framing device for the whole thing, finding the LP that plays the Bongo story in one house and then moving across to the puppet party for the Mickey story. This is as random as it sounds and doesn't serve the main stories at all. That having been said Jiminy has a lovely song that opens the movie (and gives it its title) and of course is delightful, so no complaints here!
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Old 15 Aug 18, 12:08 PM  
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Day 13: Melody Time (1948)

Day 13: Melody Time (1948)



We're nearly through the package films - let's grit our teeth and get this one out of the way.

In general, Melody Time may be the least interesting of all the package films - We both really struggled to remember any sequences in particular once it was over. And I might have been scrolling through my phone a bit .

There were a couple of nice bits, however. I did really like the very stylised animation in one of the sequences (I think it’s the first one), which is about a couple skating in winter. Apparently, Mary Blair worked on this sequence, which you can see from the color palette and style of the figures. One of my favourite aspects was the fact that the climax of the ‘story’ happened at an inevitable waterfall - how did the water freeze enough to skate on if it was that close to a waterfall? And why do these things always end up at waterfalls?

The second story about Johnny Appleseed contains allusions to heaven and god, and religious symbolism, which I don’t think we have really come across in any other Disney movies. As a Brit I didn’t really know much about this historical character and I can’t say I feel much more informed having watched this movie. This seems to me to be the type of subject matter which Disney might have tried to tackle with a feature-length film in the 90s, when they didn't play things as safe as they do now, if it didn't already exist.

Incidentally, the Three Caballeros also return in this movie for those who are fans.
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Old 16 Aug 18, 12:04 PM  
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Day 14: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

Day 14: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)



I thought this was going to be another new one, as, though I've heard about it, I was pretty sure I'd never seen it. I must have watched the Mr Toad section (or at least part of it) before however, as I swear I remember the bit with the weasels in Toad Hall. I've certainly never seen the Ichabod section before though. I've heard of the story it's based on but never read it, or seen Sleepy Hollow the movie. The Wind in the Willows, of course, is all over the place if you grow up in the UK and I've read the book several times and seen some of the other adaptations.

In any case, we really thought these two stories were an improvement on the films preceding them. Woohoo! The war's well and truly over folks, let's get back to producing quality animated stories!

All the characters are very well devised. Toad is incorrigible but also quite likeable and they manage to capture the feeling of the original story (although that focuses a bit more on mole at times). They also introduced a non-book character, the horse, who seems to fit in really well and is a great addition.

I’m looking forward to going into Toad Hall at Disneyland Paris when we go there, which I believe serves fish and chips? I don't think we've ever eaten there, though we may have been inside. Not quite sure why fish and chips? Maybe because it's typically English? Maybe one day we will get out to see the Toad ride in California, which as I understand it has a dark narrative, with references to hell.

Ichabod was a less likeable chap. Even the movie didn't seem to be sure whether we were supposed to root for him or just think the big-nosed skeeze deserved what he got. The part where he was being chased by the headless horseman was really great though - both darkly funny and visually striking. As was the song that preceded it - I don't know why you never hear this one, it's hilarious!
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Old 17 Aug 18, 12:47 PM  
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Day 15: Cinderella (1950)

Day 15: Cinderella (1950)



Time for some serious classics - first up, Cinderella!

Cinderella is the ultimate Disney film with the ultimate Disney princess, and I can 100% see why it was so popular when it came out, but it will never be my favourite.

As with Snow White, poor Cinderella has to surrender what should be her story to a lot of side characters - in this case, the mice. Although the comic business with Lucifer and the mice is amusing (Lucifer is a fabulous character - he should be an official Disney villain), it does take up time that might be better spent developing the central characters.

The prince, in particular, is possibly the least developed character in the history of Disney. He has about two lines, both of which are 'Don't go!' Not quite enough to build a marriage on, but there we go. Disney seems to have felt we needed to know more about his dad's motivation for him to get married than his, and in trying to make the king a quirky, humorous character they go too far down the route of kooky and into deranged territory. Out of the frying pan into the fire I think, Cinders.

The film looks sumptuous and colourful, though perhaps not as pretty as Snow White. I like the soft colour palette and it is really visually interesting, even though so much of it takes place in the Tremaine Chateau.

And I'm just going to leave this here because it's awesome:

Edited at 12:06 PM.
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Old 20 Aug 18, 12:11 PM  
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Day 16: Alice in Wonderland (1951)

Day 16: Alice in Wonderland (1951)



What we both liked:

It looks wonderful! The colors, the slightly off-kilter backgrounds and the weird camera angles create a beautiful and very unsettling world. The characters are odd-looking and larger than life, which is a fantastic design choice. It's not the soft, perfect-looking world of Bambi or Snow White - this is a slightly dangerous place where you can never predict what's going to happen next. In fact, it's almost too good in this respect as it's so unpredictable and unsettling that it becomes hard to like.

The other big selling point of this movie is Alice herself. The girl who voices her is just so perfect. She sounds like perfect little English lady, but is also feisty, curious, airheaded, emotional and hopeful. I think the character is extremely well-written but mad props to Kathryn Beaumont for her performance. The moment where she sits and sings that she gives herself very good advice, but very seldom follows it (don’t we all!), is one of the moments in the film where the filmmakers actually get their audience to feel something. She delivers this big emotional moment for her character so well.

Many of the other performances in the movie are excellent too, being funny or scary or weird; in fact, they're usually all three, for which Disney gets big adaptation points as I'm sure this is what Lewis Carroll was going for. However, they never quite manage to be sympathetic, which brings me to...

...What we didn't like:

The flip side of this is that I couldn't really feel for any of the characters (and this is probably intentional). I haven't read the original books since I was a kid so I don't know whether this is something that's carried over from them or not, though I suspect it must be.

The story is also very episodic and the different incidents seem to have very little to do with one another. In fact, given what they were working with (two surreal episodic books), the writers have actually done quite a good job of working an emotional arc in there for the main character. Also, while this adaptation may not have a coherent storyline, I have to remind myself that in the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland, the story was a much more ordinary 'hero's quest' type of story, with a beginning, a middle and a big climactic ending, and I don't feel it worked at all. So I'm conflicted!

All in all I'd say there's a lot to like in this film. It will never be one of our favourites because it does not seem to have as strong an emotional arc. However, it is fabulous to look at and really great at retaining the tone of the original stories.
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Old 21 Aug 18, 01:34 PM  
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Day 17: Peter Pan (1953)

Day 17: Peter Pan (1953)



We both very much enjoyed watching Peter Pan. Again the visuals are wonderful, especially the shots of them flying over London, Neverland from the air and the beautiful floating pirate ship at the end! I always wonder why Peter Pan's Flight is so mobbed in the parks (although I love it myself) and these visuals are the reason why! Additionally, the songs are really memorable.

After some discussion, we both agreed Hook is definitely the best villain up to this point in the watching marathon (although Lady Tremaine, the Evil Queen and Lucifer are all iconic). He actually has a motivation and manages to be funny and scary at the same time.

The other characters are good too. I love the way Michael keeps repeating what John has said using other words. I had not noticed that before.

Disneylife has some great documentaries about the film (as it does for most of the classics - highly recommended) and one of them tried to suggest Tink was a feminist icon, which given her motivations for doing most things in the film (jealousy of other female characters), I take a bit of an issue with. She's a great character, but I'm not buying that interpretation Disney!

It's part of our review process to look at these movies through a 21st century and female lens because that's who we are. We're in no way offended - these are just cartoons - and Disney's failings of various kinds over the years haven't made us love them any less, but we want to look at the whole picture.

Tink is a great example of this. I don't think anyone at the time she was designed would have suggested that she was a feminist character. She's sexy, feisty and naughty. Not to mention an attempted murderer. She then became Walt's symbol for his TV specials, a symbol of magic and the Disney brand and eventually ended up looking like butter-wouldn't-melt on every bit of merchandise they could slap her face on, aimed at everybody from babies to adults.

And then some time in the early 2000s someone felt she needed a bit of a rebrand, so they decided she was a feminist! This for me makes the character, and how perceptions of her have changed over the years, even more interesting.

There's always a lot going on in the world when Disney films are being created and looking at that context and the effects that it had, both good and bad, is important, and fun too!

There are other aspects of Peter Pan which are very dated and again it brings up the question of how Disney deals with problematic elements of its historical filmmaking. Why are films such as Song of the South banned entirely, but the very dodgy treatment of Native American peoples in this film is unaddressed?

As you can tell, our enjoyment of the film was tempered by its more problematic elements - but it's still a really great film!

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