Starring Bobby Driscoll, Beluah Bondi, Burl Ives, and Luana Patten
Directed by Harold D. Schuster and Hamilton Luske
Music and Lyrics by various
First of all, Musical Dreams Movie Reviews will be going on hiatus next week for vacation. Reviews will resume October 8th with another lesser-known family film, The Magic of Lassie.
With that out of the way, let's get to our last review before vacation. So Dear to My Heart was dear to Walt Disney in many ways. Its Midwestern setting reflected his own early 1900's childhood in Missouri and brought back happy memories on his family's farm with his brother. He wanted it to be fully live-action, but RKO, his distributor at the time, insisted Disney was too associated with animation. The short cartoon sequences here wound up being the compromise. It was a hit at the time, but how does it look today, when less rosy Disney films - in live-action and animation and both - have come and gone? Let's begin as so many fully animated Disney films do, with a beautiful old book opening. This one is found in a musty, dusty attic, and it's not a storybook, but a scrapbook that once belonged to young Jeremiah Kincaid (Driscoll) filled with all his dreams and hopes as a young lad growing up in early 1900's Indiana.
The Story: One of those hopes is to someday own a champion race horse like Dan Patch. His practical Granny (Bondi) would rather he focus on his chores in the here and now. Jerry thinks he's found a way to make his dream come true when he adopts a black lamb that was rejected by its mother. He even names him Danny. He wants Danny to win a blue ribbon at the county fair, but his grandmother and Uncle Hiram (Ives) don't have the money for a train. He and his friend Tildy (Patten) do manage to find honey to sell for the tickets, but then Tlldy gets lost and Danny runs away.
Granny scolds Jerry for putting the awards he could win with Danny over the welfare of his friend and his pet. She finally realizes how much he loves Danny when he does find him and claims he'd be ready to give up his dreams to find his pet. Even after they make it to the fair, Danny's still making trouble...but it's the judge at the fair (Harry Carey) who realizes just how special the little lamb is, whether he's black, white, or any color in between.
The Animation: Looks pretty much like the package films released in the late 40's. It's colorful, the owl moves well, and the animation does at least somewhat resemble the cut-out "scraps" in Jerry's book. It's not the most lavish animation they ever did, not even to the degree of their previous live action/animated hybrid Song of the South, but it works with the film.
The Song and Dance: I don't know why Disney doesn't pay more attention to this one. This is such a charming movie! As adorable as the kids are, Bondi and Ives are the real stand-outs as the crusty old woman who wishes her grandson would focus on practical matters and her laid-back brother. They have so much fun with "Lavender Blue" and dancing with the kids afterwards, no wonder "Blue" was nominated for an Oscar.
The Numbers: We begin with our first animated sequence, which illustrates the seasons John Beal croons about in the title song via the scraps in Jerry's book. Uncle Hiram briefly sings "Ol' Dan Patch" as he drives the kids home in his wagon after seeing the famous race horse. Our first of three animated sequences with the Old Wise Owl who illustrates sayings is the catchy "It's Whatcha Do With What You Got." The Owl assures the animated Danny by reminding him David once toppled giants despite being smaller.
Hiram attempts to put his sister in a better frame of mind about the fair with the lovely ballad "Lavender Blue." Granny joins him for "Where Have You Been, Billy Boy?" (in a far more attractive voice than you might think), and they grab the kids for a hilarious square dance around the cabin. When Granny still won't let him go to the fair, he once again imagines Wise Old Owl singing stories. This time, he talks about men with "Stick-it-Tivity" like Christopher Columbus and Robert Bruce. Wise Old Owl also joins the animated bird chorus to herald their arrival at the "County Fair." The film ends with a reprise of "It's Whatcha Do With Whatcha Got."
Trivia: Last film of Harry Carey. The movie was filmed in 1946, but he was long gone by the time it finally made it into theaters early in 1949.
First feature-length film to run on The Disney Channel, which is how I heard of this in the first place. I remember it ran a lot on The Disney Channel in the 80's and early 90's.
What I Don't Like: This is a very sentimental and nostalgic story. If you don't feel the same way Walt did about sentiment or the rosy past, you probably won't be into this. I don't know how much young kids would be into it today, despite the cute lamb. The animated sequences are cute for what they are, but too brief. Song of the South did far more with its animated characters. The movie also pushes its religious convictions and Danny being an outsider because of his black wool a bit hard, and both might be a tiny bit uncomfortable for some audiences nowadays.
The Big Finale: A sweet underrated gem from Disney that really should be better-known nowadays. If you think your kids can handle the slow pace and the storm sequence, give this one a try.
Home Media: Alas, to date, the only way you can get this one in North America is on streaming (and surprisingly, not on Disney Plus). The discs were released exclusively through the Disney Movie Club and can be hard to find today.
