Animation Celebration Saturday - Fun and Fancy Free

Disney, 1947
Starring Edgar Bergen and Luana Patten; Voices of Dinah Shore and Cliff Edwards
Directed by Jack Kinney, Bill Roberts, Hamilton Luske (animation), and William Morgan (live-action)
Music by various

The fourth Disney package film has more in common with The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad than Melody Time or Fantasia. Fun and Fancy Free also features two half-hour segments that were too long to be released as shorts, but not substantial enough for a feature film. How do these two very different short tales fare today? Let's start at your average house in the suburbs with Jiminy Cricket (Edwards) and a record player and find out...

The Story: Actually, there's two stories here. Jiminy starts "Bongo" on a children's record to cheer up a doll and a teddy bear. Dinah Shore narrates the tale of an abused circus bear who finally breaks free of his cage on the train and into the mountain wilderness. He falls hard for pretty girl bear Lulubelle, but she already has a suitor in the giant Lumpjaw. Bongo has to call on all the skills he learned in the circus to avoid Lumpjaw's massive paws and win Lulubelle.

"Mickey and the Beanstalk" takes us across the street to the home of radio ventriloquist Edgar Bergen (himself) and his dummies Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd, along with human girl Luana Patten. Edgar narrates the story of a trio of brave farmers (Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy) who climb a beanstalk in order to rescue a golden harp (Anita Gordon) from the rather strange Willy the Giant (Billy Gilbert).

The Animation: The lush watercolor backgrounds in both cartoons are especially notable here, with some gorgeous details in the woods in "Bongo" and Willie's castle and grounds in "Mickey and the Beanstalk." The characters are less elaborate, and pretty cutesy in the case of "Bongo." Willie's done a bit better; the sequence where he shows how he can transform into anything was pretty nifty.

The Song and Dance: Of the two shorts here, "Mickey and the Beanstalk" is by far my favorite. Donald in particular is hilarious, especially in the beginning when he throws a fit over their meager rations. Goofy gets a few good gags on the dinner table at the castle, and Mickey is appropriately heroic as the Jack character. Willie was so funny and memorable, he's been used in later cartoons and TV shows based around the Disney characters as the largest of the semi-regulars. No wonder Mortimer cried when he died. Bergen and especially Charlie McCarthy also get a few good zingers in between musical numbers.

Favorite Number: Jiminy Cricket kicks us off after the title song with his philosophy "I'm a Happy Go Lucky Fellow" as he dodges fish and cats in Luana's house. Dinah Shore and the male chorus reveal to Bongo how bears like to "Say It With a Slap" and show their affection with a little roughhousing. "Mickey and the Beanstalk" starts with the perky "My, What a Happy Day" performed by Gordon and the chorus as they describe the beauty of Happy Valley before Willie steals her away. Willie sings about his amazing transformation abilities in "Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum."

Trivia: You never see in the short how Mickey gets the magic beans. At least two versions of that scene were developed, but cut for time. One had him get them from con-artists Honest John and Foulfellow of Pinocchio. Another had Queen Minnie give them to him. Bongo also had a chimpanzee friend from the circus and befriended a pair of bear cubs who were ultimately dropped.

"Bongo" was intended to be a sequel to Dumbo early-on, but the Dumbo characters were edited out early in its development.

This is the last time Walt Disney himself provided the voice of Mickey Mouse.

As mentioned, these shorts were originally intended to be feature films, but World War II and a strike at the Disney Studio prevented them from being developed further. "Mickey and the Beanstalk" was originally going to be paired with "The Wind and the Willows," but they cut "Willows" and replaced it with "Bongo."

Most people are likely more familiar with the TV version of "Mickey and the Beanstalk" that's narrated by Professor Ludwig Von Drake and a beetle who took the place of Charlie McCarthy.

What I Don't Like: First of all, like Ichabod and Mr. Toad, it's more than obvious that these were slapped together with a few extra filler scenes to connect them. They have even less in common than "Sleepy Hollow" and "Wind In the Willows," which are at least adaptations of classic literature. As funny as Bergen, Luana, and the dummies are, Bergen's not nearly as well-known now as he was when he, Mortimer, and Charlie were among the most popular stars on radio and early television. Some kids may need explanation as to why a man and a couple of mannequins are narrating a Mickey Mouse cartoon.

I'm not nearly as fond of "Bongo" as I am of "Mickey and the Beanstalk." The animation is lovely and Shore sounds wonderful, but the songs aren't as memorable and the story is one big cliche. The bears may not mind "saying it with a slap," but a few humans may be uncomfortable with the notion in a time when relationship abuse is more widely discussed.

The Big Finale: See it for "Mickey and the Beanstalk." If you can find that one solo, either on video or DVD, do so. Otherwise, this is really only necessary for major fans of Disney or the Disney characters.

Home Media: The DVD for the entire film is out of print; your best bet is streaming or picking up the separate release of "Mickey and the Beanstalk" with several other shorts.

DVD
DVD - Walt Disney Animation Collection Vol. 1: Mickey and the Beanstalk
Amazon Prime