The Shaggy Dog (1959)

The 1959 live-action comedy from Walt Disney Studios, “The Shaggy Dog,” is about a teenage boy named Wilbur “Wilby” Daniels (Tommy Kirk) who turns into a shaggy dog and in this transformation is responsible for capturing a group of atomic spies (Alexander Scourby, Jacques Aubuchon, and Strother Martin).

The movie tries to account for this transformation regarding the Latin inscription in a Borgia ring and also a professor’s (Cecil Kellaway) dissertation on the history of “shapeshifters.” Moira Walsh said in her review, “Mostly through it is a real shaggy dog story in the sense of having neither explanation nor point. It is intelligently made however and surprisingly likeable especially for youngsters. Also its lunatic premise gives rise to some pricelessly funny bits.” A couple of parts include Wilby’s distraught father’s (Fred MacMurray) explanation to the security officer (Forrest Lewis and James Westerfield) in an electronics plant that his son knew about the spies because he is sometimes a dog. Another is Wilby’s little brother, played by Kevin Corcoran, who wants to adopt Wilby when he turns into a dog.

All of this starts when Wilby sees Francesca (Roberta Shore) moving into a house across the street and he and his rival (Tim Considine) start to fight over her. Also, she happens to have a shaggy dog that disappears whenever Wilby transfigures into one.

Overall, this is a pretty funny movie. You should check it out and pay no mind to the fact that this is a black-and-white Disney movie. Still see it because it is very good and I think everyone can watch it fine and get a good laugh out of it. See it on Disney+ and enjoy.

Tomorrow I will be looking at the sequel, which I started to watch a long time ago, in “Disney Month 2023.”

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

Donald Levit started his review out by noting, “In A.A. Milne’s 1929 stage adaptation, the Englishman’s famous 1908 book remains a Christmas staple in his country, and -- with a Halloween tie-in -- the Knickerbocker’s famous 1819 short story ushered in respectability for his country’s writers. Their forced yoking in The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is, nevertheless, among the least-known and –shown of animated features from Disney’s classic period.”

Some argue that the protagonist is loveable in each in despite of excusable shortcomings and that both go on exciting rides. Levit mentioned, “But Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows and Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” are far more disparate than kin and likely were joined because, at sixty-eight minutes together, each alone was too long for a “cartoon” and too short to run as a feature.” Mentioning three directors, six (re)writers, and an animation department of two-and-a-half dozen, the 1949 film is part of the Museum of Modern Art Tim Burton (a one-time Disney animator) multimedia extravaganza, which includes all of his films and several others that influenced him: specifically, “his own Sleepy Hollow…was clearly inspired by this film’s priggish, nervous Ichabod Crane.”

Levit noted, “With no transition link between them, Disney introduces each part with a then-not uncommon library visit to pull down the corresponding volume whose title page opens the story.” Basil Rathbone narrates the English first section in low profile, with animal and human characters voiced by the not famous – more effective than current celebrity narrators – while Bing Crosby narrates and sings the second, American section.

The first half is more restricted to Milne’s Toad of Toad Hall than the complete children’s classic in that it skimps the original’s emphasis on rural Riverbank existence. Instead, it details the journey of selfless true friends Mole, Rat, and Angus McBadger (Colin Campbell, Claude Allister, and Campbell Grant) as they try to pull in their careless J. Thaddeus Toad, Esq. (Eric Blore), and preserve the grand Toad Hall where all of the neighborhood feels so proud.

Levit said, “Duns beating on the door, McBadger summons the other two in the face of insurmountable bills, while Toad goes from one “mania” to the next.” The main obsession is the yellow gypsy wagon driven by accomplice Cockney's horse Cyril Proudtrotter, voiced by J. Pat O’Malley, but one look at men in dusters behind a steering wheel quickly changes that. Toad avoids his friends and offers Mr. Winky, voiced by Oliver Wallace, his estate in exchange for a red car driven by the barman’s gang of weasel thugs. Charged for stealing the car, Toad escapes from prison at Christmas and, with Molie, Rattie, and Badger, needs to recover the Hall deed.

Levit said, “The audience of adults laughed and cheered at these adventures marvelously imagined and animated with a hint of danger, a lot of (non-wisecracking) humor, and a fleet of paper airplanes pointing ahead to the incorrigible squire’s next plaything.”

Levit continued, “Set in the fuzzy past “during the reign of the Dutch governors,” the following tale of the ungainly, self-centered new schoolteacher is, despite fun at his expense, less light-hearted, its witching hour ride as scary as anything else in the studio’s oeuvre (which includes some dire stuff).” Ichabod’s gluttony and greed are hidden from the public as he tries to win over the wealthy rosy-cheeked Katrina van Tassel, while she uses his slick prissy attention to infatuate strongman Brom Bones. Sheer luck protects “Icky” from the rival’s punches but not from the haunted Hessian Headless Horseman feared in his nervous brain.

Levit said, “No one gets hurt, and if rumor is right the pedagogue gets out of this scrape to find another rich wife. He is less cuddly than Toad, even if both adventurers are true to their instincts and somehow land on their feet.”

Stories for a less drenched and cynical age, “The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad” deserves more than it has received. As with its carefree protagonists, its day will come, or should.

I remember seeing commercials for this film when I was a kid. It was probably a re-release on home video, but I remember hearing about this. I just saw this earlier this year and I loved the two stories. You should see this one, especially the Ichabod story, which fits the Halloween time. Check it out on Disney+ and see what you have been missing out on.

Tomorrow I will start a franchise of films I started seeing one of the films, but my brother said I should see them, in “Disney Month 2023.” Sorry for posting this late. I fell asleep because I was so tired from work.

Melody Time

In 1948, animated films were new. Disney was front and center in that regard. “Melody Time” was Walt Disney’s 10^th film in the realm of combining shorts with animation.

Wesley Lovell said in his review, ““Melody Time” is comprised of seven featurettes set impressively to music with some very eclectic animation added. It is only appropriate that we take a look at the best and worst of the film’s segments looking at each individually.”

“Once Upon a Wintertime” is a fascinating short to love. Lovell credited, “It’s rather antiquated by today’s look at love, but is still quite interesting. “Wintertime” captures the mood of the film and is delicately animated with trees that don’t look like trees, but like extensions of the ground, they are round and connected.” It’s this look that sets the tone for a surprisingly original group of animated shorts.

Lovell noted, ““Bumble Boogie” takes Rimsky-Korsakov’s masterpiece “Flight of the Bumblebee” and updates it with a Boogie- beat.” Not only is the music enjoyable to listen to, but the animation is also classic. It flows in the same area as Disney’s earlier film “Fantasia.” If it were separated from the movie as a whole, it would be one impressive short, but other parts bring the film's rating down.

Lovell admitted, ““The Legend of Johnny Appleseed” is rather boring and antiquated, at times it’s interesting, but the music is just tired and lifeless. The tale is so preposterous that the end barely redeems the segment, but not enough to save it.”

“Little Toot” speeds up the film a little, but the first few minutes are boring. Not until he’s towed out to sea does the short pick up the pace. The Lennon Sisters do excellent vocal work and the “Bad Buoy” song is impressive, but the end doesn’t justify the means. I think I might have seen this a long time ago, but I don’t remember.

“Trees” is not as impressive as “Bumble Boogie,” but it is inspiring. The music is intense and the animation is moving.

Lovell said, ““Blame It on the Samba” makes it into the cradle position of not the best and not the worst, but dead center.” Donald Duck and another friend from “The Three Caballeros” are two of the protagonists in the short. Another is an Aracuan bird that is very interesting to watch. One of the main characters, as in “The Three Caballeros” is a live-action woman. She is sitting at an organ playing along with the music. The animators keep her and the animation in sync with the music, but they occasionally go into unnecessary melodramatics.

Now we come to the final short of the film. Narrated by Roy Rogers as a story of why the coyotes howl at the moon, “Pecos Bill” is very slow. The opening narration montage, having live-action actors, is bad to watch. This isn’t the least bit interesting and the rest of the short isn’t so great. What makes it good is a good amount of animation and some acceptable music. Lovell mentioned, “It isn’t a masterwork of a generation, but it is a suitable segment.”

“Melody Time” overall is a really impressive film, but some of the shorts aren’t at the same level as the usual Disney.

Despite what I have mentioned about the shorts in this film, I still say this is another collection that you should see. Check it out and see it for yourself. Your opinion may not match what is said on this blog, but you can judge for yourself. See it on Disney+ and see what your opinion will be.

Tomorrow I will be looking at another film with two stories and see what I think about it in “Disney Month 2023.”

Fun and Fancy Free

In the middle of World War II and having a lack of animated stuff, Disney was forced to adapt their animated films to include multiple shorts often with lighter narrative connections and technical achievement. Still, it was evident that the desire to push back into more connected animated works with the closest the company got during this period was 1947’s “Fun and Fancy Free.” Split between only two stories, “Bongo” and “Mickey and the Beanstalk,” the film still has its flaws but at least tries to come together and deliver something more stable than the rest of Disney’s work at the time.

Rather than first telling the shorts themselves, it is important to give attention to what surrounds them. In a valiant effort to build a better narrative structure, the film uses Jiminy Cricket, once again voiced by Cliff Edwards, to introduce the stories and be the host for the film. Carson Timar said in his review, “Where this isn't a revolutionary concept for Disney at the time, another form of introduction would be found a few years later in the release of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, this is Disney's most substantial attempt at giving the transitions and introductions between shorts some personality and narrative purpose which is a welcome addition and helps the film have a larger identity.”

Timar continued, “With that said, Cricket also leads the film into its strangest and most off-putting section of runtime.” Between the two shorts in the middle of the film, Jiminy Cricket takes viewers to Luana Patten’s birthday party where a combination of live-action actors and puppets are used. Timar noted, “Speaking to the ideals of variety shows, this is meant to employ and celebrate the talents of ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, yet the bizarre nature of this scene mixed with the dull comedy on display leads to a negative experience.” Disney was balancing their ideals with how to entertain audiences, yet this was an evident strikeout.

Now going to the shorts, both give nice results but remain completely underwhelming. The first, “Bongo,” follows the main circus bear, voiced by Jimmy MacDonald, who escapes to the wild and finds himself struggling to fit in with the ideals of wild bears. The most notable is how they show love through physical violence. The short is cute enough and has a decently strong song, but it is hands down a lighter short that fails to leave an impact.

“Mickey and the Beanstalk,” as the title suggests, is a parody of the classic Jack and the Beanstalk fairy tale with Mickey Mouse (Walt Disney), Donald Duck (Clarence Nash), and Goofy (Pinto Colvig). Similar to “Bongo,” this is a fine short display of comedy that is not painful or funny. The jokes are somewhat entertaining and it is easy to imagine younger audiences having fun with them as normal viewing, but there is nothing here that goes beyond the expectations or feels like it has the iconic Disney magic so many adore.

Even though I might have been hard on this, this is easily enough to raise the film into being one of the stronger films from this time for Disney. Timar credited, “The animation is continually passable and the film never feels unwatchable. For what the studio was working through, it feels commendable that they were able to put everything together to release any film.” Seeing how so much effort was put into “Fun and Fancy Free” to make it feel like more than just a random collection of shorts is something to be adored, even if the final film stays passable at most.

I think that this is another film that everyone can watch and like fine. Seeing how it was different compared to the previous films that I reviewed which were a collection of shorts, I think people can watch this and like it. Check it out on Disney+ and judge for yourself. I promise this is another good film.

Look out tomorrow when I review another collection in “Disney Month 2023.”

Mike Mine Music

Rachel Wagner began her review by admitting, “I’m guessing many of you have not seen one of Walt Disney’s most obscure films, Make Mine Music. While I wouldn’t go so far as to say it is a good film, it is so strange that I find it oddly entertaining.”

What makes “Make Mine Music,” released in 1946, unique is that it is a collection of unfinished projects that were quickly thrown together to make a feature film. In some cases, you can see why some were abandoned because they didn’t fit with Disney’s style. Others are just completely strange. Even in the collection of anthology films, “Make Mine Music” feels especially random.

The pride of “Make Mine Music” is that all 10 shorts have musical themes. Wagner said, “However, some shorts I don’t really get the musical theme, particularly Casey at the Bat, which isn’t about music at all.”

There are 10 shorts and they are oddly grouped and feel abandoned, but they do have their charm.

“Martins and the Coys” was removed from the “Make Mine Music” DVD because it was called too controversial and mean-spirited. However, you can still see it on YouTube if you search for it. It’s a version of the famous Hatfields’ and McCoys’ feud with the King’s Men singing the story of the two feuding families and their children Grace Martin and Henry Coy. They fall in love, but we find out that Grace is a bully and beats up poor Henry, so there isn’t a happy ending which makes it strange.

“Blue Bayou” was originally intended for “Fantasia.” This short is about a bayou habitat that was changed from Clair de Lune to the more modern Blue Bayou, sung by the Ken Darby Singers. Wagner mentioned, “You can watch it with Clair de Lune, and I think it is much better, but both are fine, and the animation is nice.”

In “All the Cats Join In,” we get Benny Goodman and his orchestra following a pencil drawing of a group of teenagers getting ready for a party and dancing. This feels like a strange short for Disney where we see some skin and a girl getting out of a shower, but it is harmless.

Singer Andy Russell joins a Dali-inspired short, “Without You,” with images of trees melting together and changing like a waterfall.

“Casey at the Bat” is an odd short to the film because it’s not about or includes music at all. It’s a poem by Ernest Thayer about the big star of the baseball team, Casey, striking out. What’s strange about this short is Casey is an arrogant jerk. Wagner said, “I guess he gets his just desserts, but it is kind of a strange lead character for Disney to use.”

In “Two Silhouettes,” they rotoscoped two ballet dancers, David Lichine and Tania Riabouchinska, and used their images like a cameo or silhouette on the screen. Wagner mentioned, “Dinah Shore sings the title song, and I guess it is interesting if you like ballet dancing.”

Narrated by Disney singer Sterling Holloway, “Peter and the Wolf” adapts Sergei Prokofiev’s classical music into a story where each character is a different instrument. We have Peter as a string quartet, Sonia the Duck as an oboe, and Ivan the Cat as a clarinet. This short has the best animation of the film.

“After You’ve Gone” is another strange short of the film. It has Benny Goodman and The Goodman Octet as eight instruments box, fight, and participate in other things.

If you love Pixar’s “Blue Umbrella” short, you might love “Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet.” Like “Blue Umbrella” gives us umbrellas in love, this one gives us hats. Wagner admitted, “I can’t really get into umbrellas or hats in love, but it is cute enough.” The Andrews Sisters singing the title song gives a vintage feel to it.

Wagner admitted about “The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met,” “This is without a doubt the weirdest short in Make Mine Music, which is probably why I like it the best.” Wille the Whale has always wanted to sing opera at the Met. The head of the Met, Tetti-Tatti finds Willie, thinking he has eaten an opera singer. We then see visions of Willie singing opera at the Met. This looks so peculiar to have a whale standing upright and singing in an opera costume. The ending for Willie and the messaging in the short are both weird. Wagner admitted, “I’m no expert on opera but the music by Nelson Eddy throughout the short is outstanding.”

Wagner continued, “So that is your 10 shorts in Make Mine Music. As you can probably tell, it is an eclectic group, and I think an entertaining watch. It takes some effort to track down the movie, but I encourage you to give Make Mine Music a watch.” This is one of the more unique Disney films and better than you might think.

I know this is not the first Disney film I have seen that is an anthology of shorts, but it still has some good shorts that I think people will love. Check it out on Disney+ and see for yourself, if you have never seen it. I never watched some of the older Disney films when I was a kid, but now with Disney+, I have been exploring the older stuff. This one is nice to see and I don’t think there is anything in here that will make people regret seeing it.

Check in tomorrow when I look at another older Disney film in “Disney Month 2023.”

The Three Caballeros

Like “Saludos Amigos,” this film was a result of the goodwill tour in South America that Walt Disney and his animators went on during World War II, which is one of the reasons (along with both having Donald and Jose Carioca) some people argue that this is a sequel to “Saludos Amigos,” along with one of the rare sequels made by Walt Disney Animation Studios themselves. Jack Hammer said in his review, “To that, I'd probably say nah...”

Regardless, it’s a lot better. Mostly because they don’t do a lot of the narrations, and the cartoons are more enjoyable in this film.

Hammer admitted, “Maybe you already figured it out, but I'm honestly not a huge fan of package films or anthology films (which is one of the reasons it took me a while to warm up to Fantasia), when I go and watch a movie, I normally perfer to see an actual feature length film with a continuous story.”

All of that aside, “The Three Caballeros,” released in 1945, is still pretty decent, and one of Disney’s better films.

It starts with a couple of individual cartoons (which Donald Duck watches through home video). One is about a penguin in the South Pole who appears to be very sensitive to cold temperatures, and wants to go somewhere that is hot and tropical, and another about a young boy and his flying donkey. Both are enjoyable, cute, and harmless (Hammer said, “I honestly felt a little bad for that penguin”).

However, once Jose Carioca and especially Panchito Pistoles enter, the film suddenly decides to do whatever it wants to do.

Sometimes it wants to show beautiful landscapes, sometimes it wants to be a bit educational, sometimes it wants to party all over Central and South America, doing many different dances that those countries are famous for, sometimes it just wants to show Donald Duck hitting on women, chasing them (Hammer said, “something we REALLY don't often see with Donald of all characters, and I assume this was before he met Daisy.”), and sometimes it just wants to go complete pink elephant mode on audiences.

Hammer noted, “Basically, It just goes crazy and all over the place once it reaches the 30 minute mark, and don't get me wrong, it does look very colorful and creative, it's energetic, it looks beautiful at times, and the animation itself is still really good for the most part.” Not to mention a lot of the scenes that combine animation with live-action (not all of them) surprisingly still hold up to this day. However, it gets a little tiring at times.

Overall, it mostly feels like visiting all over South American and Mexico while going crazy, but despite its lack of consistency, it is still entertaining.

I still think this is another film that you should see and judge for yourself. Despite there might be stuff in here that you may think is not appropriate, think of the time that this film was released. Then you can sit back and watch some good animation and shorts.

Look out tomorrow to see what I have in store next in “Disney Month 2023.”

Saludos Amigos

Welcome back everyone to “Disney Month,” where once again I will be looking at various films that I had hand-picked for this year. I had to change the list around so many times because there was stuff that I wanted to review this year that was postponed to next year. Let’s start this month off with the 1943 film, “Saludos Amigos.”

Part of the beauty of cinema is that it allows worldly looks and cultures to be seen and captured in an easily understandable format for audiences all over. Not only is this apparent to filmmakers, but it also is for the government who can use cinema as a way for different tasks and ideals. Carson Timar said in his review, “Ahead of the U.S. joining World War II, the United States Department of State looked to use Disney to counter Nazi propaganda in Latin America using cinema which led to the birth of Saludos Amigos. A sort of experimental road-trip film, Saludos Amigos follows a group of animators who travel to South America and capture their findings through small animated shorts. The result is a mixed effort that can struggle to find momentum even if the technical backbone of the film is still as strong as ever.”

I think everyone can guess that the visuals of “Saludos Amigos” continue Disney’s record of impressive animated works. Combining wonderful uses of color and creative transitions to bring these locations to life, it is easy to feel the love and passion that was inserted in these scenes by the animators. This added element of seeing the animators and their abilities to turn the real world they experience into animation gives another layer to the film’s identity and magic. “Saludos Amigos” is a love letter to animation and the intelligence behind the medium in a way that is sure to fascinate many. Seeing the way, they draw these characters and locations not only helps educate audiences on what goes into this type of art but also gives humanity to the work that isn’t often experienced.

The portrayals of South American people and culture are also a highlight of the film. A lot of “Saludos Amigos” is dedicated to educating everyone about these people in a time when there was little representation or understanding of how these people lived or the beauty of the place, they lived in. Timar noted, “While there are still the occasional use of stereotypes and problematic outlooks on other cultures, these are rather minimal considering the time the film was produced in and the overall intention does still ring as rather pure. There is a genuine love and respect given to the cultures that these animators come into contact with which helps the film feel authentic and honorable despite its smaller flaws.”

The actual animated shorts range in success. While some are genuinely interesting and entertaining, some are just not. Timar mentioned, “Multiple of the animated segments go on for way too long and the film does begin to drag at times which is somewhat shocking considering its already short 42-minute runtime. Perhaps the most iconic bit of the film comes from the debut of José Carioca (José do Patrocínio Oliveira) but the biggest highlights come in more of the experimental shorts such as the birth of the jungle with streams and trees literally bleeding onto the white canvas. The weakest shorts are often the extended segments spent with established Disney characters like Goofy (Pinto Colvig) and Donald Duck (Clarence Nash) which can feel like generic Disney comedic shorts rather than something of inspiration or purpose.” The shorter runtime is what helps the film still feel worth watching and had the film even added 20 more minutes there would have been serious consequences for the project.

While “Saludos Amigos” may not be the most iconic Disney film and is far from being the best, the film still has a unique magic and identity that makes it worthwhile to see at least once. The passion for animation has never been celebrated this highly by Disney and the cultural celebration is something that deserves recognition even if the political reason behind it demands to be remembered.

You should see this on Disney+ because I think there are some good things in here. I know there are some risky stuff in here and the film does give a forewarning about that. Just check it out and see for yourself, but if you feel like you should see this first before allowing your children to see it, I understand.

Check-in tomorrow when I look at another classic animated feature in “Disney Month 2023.”