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.”