So I decided that each war time movie did not deserve it’s own post, so instead, I’m writing about all of them at once. Be prepared, it’s a pretty boring post.
Make Mine Music
OH DEAR LORD. We actually missed this one but since we own it, we just watched it on our own time. And thank heavens too. I nearly fell asleep. And if you know me, that NEVER happens. I have fallen asleep in maybe 1 movie since I was 10. I just always have to finish them. But anyways, I digress. The movie.
The first segment was called Blue Bayou and I thought I was going to blow my brains out. It was so slow and so boring. I couldn’t believe that Disney opted to open one of his movies that way. So odd.
All the Cats Join In was next and while I liked the style (drawn by an animated pencil) and the music (Benny Goodman), there were a few problems. One, all the people dancing to the music in the jukebox were white and two, all the people dancing are skinny, as can be seen when the pencil draws a young lady and the pencil gives her a larger behind. The boy who asked her to dance removes his hand and makes a face. She, in turn, scowls at the pencil, who corrects its mistake. The boy then is glad to have the svelte, happy girl by his side and they dance.
Next is a piece called Without You. Honestly, I can’t even remember this one.
Casey at the Bat is about a baseball player who is extremely cocky. When he finally gets up to bat, he ignores the first pitch because it wasn’t good enough. In the end, he ends up striking out, which I couldn’t be more happy about. He was such a schmuck that it was nice to see him get a little humility. Apparently, this is based upon a poem.
Next, we have Two Silhouettes which was amazing. Disney took two live-action ballet dancers and filmed their silhouettes and then animated around them. I am not a huge fan of ballet, but this was definitely worth seeing
Peter and the Wolf was beyond cute. I had never seen nor heard the story before, so it was nice to see something cute and fun.
Next was After You’ve Gone and I can’t for the life of me remember it.
Johnnie Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnett was so cute it made me want to wretch. It’s about two hats that fall in love at a department store.
The Whale Who Wanted To Sing At the Met was a cute story about a sperm whale that wants to sing at the met. An opera singer finder hears about someone who can sing at sea and figures a whale must have swallowed an opera singer. He goes out to “rescue” the poor soul and ends up, after we get to see all sorts of fun visions of Willie (the whale) singing all sorts of Opera, killing the whale. However, the narrator tells us that the whale is happy and singing in heaven.
Fun and Fancy Free
This one we actually got to see in the theatre and I’m glad, cuz it was super cute. There is always some fun trivia and prize and this week, I actually won. Something fun, something fancy and they were both free. Hehe. But anyways, the movie. Each segment is introduced by Jiminy Cricket, and it was nice to see him again.
Bongo, the Bear, by Sinclair Lewis
This is about a circus bear who longs to be in the wild. It’s your basic, bear is inept,-falls in love, -makes a mistake because he doesn’t know the ways of the wild,-ends up winning in the end kinda story. Except for one thing – one of the songs. It’s lyrics go something like this: there are lots of animals and they love different ways, but a bear always says it with a slap. The point is made that this is how a BEAR shows love, but Sweetie made the comment on the way home that if a man slaps/hits a woman after seeing this movie, can he say that he was just playing like a bear? The whole concept really disturbed me. But it was cute nonetheless.
Mickey and the Beanstalk
Typical story. Doesn’t even need explanation. Except for who tells the story. A man with two dummies (and yes, the ones you stick your arm up) and a little girl. Who is the man you ask? Edgar Bergen, Candace Bergen’s father. (That’s how I won my prize!)
In any case, at the very end, Edgar tells us that it was just a story and we shouldn’t be frightened. At that moment, Willie the Giant takes the roof off of the house looking for something.
Melody Time
Once Upon A Winter Time was the first part and it was super cute. I love the part where the picture of the two lovers closes so they can kiss in private. Yes, of course the story has the young woman who needs to be saved, but still. I like the fact that the animals save her and the man had nothing to do with it. :)
Bumble Boogie was very interesting. Much in the style of Fantasia, a little bee flies about while trying to escape the music. And I don't just mean the music, it's as if the flowers the bee is trying to sample have turned into the parts of the piano. Super cute.
Johnny Appleseed was the basic story we all know except I had no idea Johnny was so religious. Sweetie pointed out to me that it was the beginning of the Great Revival and he needed a lot of faith to go across the country on his own. I really liked how in the end, apples brough the Native Americans (who are dressed as the 1940s would have assumed the dressed [i.e. you cannot judge the 1940s by 2000s standards]) and the white folk together.
Little Toot was the story of a tugboat who grew up. Not much else to say.
Trees was really really boring.
Blame it on the Samba starred our old friends Jose Carioca and Donald Duck. Not as fun as either Saludos Amigos or 3 Caballeros, but still entertaining. I really enjoyed that the musician in the piece was a woman.
Pecos Bill was rather interesting. I really enjoyed that Sluefoot Sue was so strong and feminine, all at the same time. She happened upon love, which is what tends to be, which was nice to see. In an age where we don't see a lot of strong female characters (the old west), it was really nice to have one that was wonderful. I hated that Pecos lost her because of a jealous horse, but I suppose that's the way the legend goes.
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Mr. Toad
This was definitely an odd one. I had never seen or read the Wind in the Willows and I’m mighty grateful to whomever it was that never required my class to read it. I was bored to tears! Not much to comment on the story of Mr. Toad, mostly because I have nothing to compare it to, story-wise. And mostly, I don’t want to bore anyone (whoever might actually be reading this) because it was so droll.
Ichabod Crane
The only exposure to the Headless Horseman that I’ve ever seen is the Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci one. And that was YEARS ago, so I can’t even recall it.
In any case, a new guy comes to town. He’s gangly, he’s odd looking, but yet all the women are in love. He does everything incredibly well and loves to eat. He teaches singing to three girls, one of whom I greatly identified with and who will show up later. She was cute, short and chubby, but seemed to have a great attitude.
Of course, all the men in the town fall in love with Katrina Von Tassel, the striking beauty with the amazing figure. Ichabod and Brom Bones, the town bully, also falls very hard for her, and they both follow her everywhere. However, we only see Ichabod’s view of things and when he starts to dream not only of marrying her, but of inheriting her father’s money (he’s the richest in the land and she is his only daughter), that’s when things got a little uncomfortable for me. I HATE it when people marry for money above all else, and while yes, he did seem to be in love with her beauty, that’s not any better of a reason.
In any case, Baltus Von Tassel, Katrina’s father, decides to throw a party for Halloween. Brom is there as is the young lady I previously mentioned. They are both sitting on a bench watching everyone else dance. He turns and looks at her and she perks up, giving him a big smile. He makes a face of disgust and she slumps down in sadness. He then realizes he can use her to dance with to try to steal Katrina away from Ichabod. So he does just that. However, she is smitten and refuses to let him let her go. At one point, he throws her in a closet and shuts the door, closing it with a chair against. The entire audience laughed and I burst into tears. She ends up emerging victorious and Brom is made a fool of.
After all this, Brom tells the tale of the headless horseman and then the headless horseman appears to Ichabod on his way home. Ichabod is never heard from again and Brom marries Katrina, who doesn’t seem the least bit sad that he is gone. Unfortunately, this leads me to believe that they were together all along and were just in a fight, or something to that effect. But no matter.
Next week is Cinderella, and you know that mean I’ll have TONS to say.
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