"To wit the wag of a dog's tail"

Lady and the Tramp (1955)

And now, on to one of my all time favorites from the vault. I remember watching this movie over and over again and never tiring of it. Revisiting it, solidified that admiration.
Believe it or not, the inception of this movie began way back when Snow White was finishing production. The idea of writing a story about the life of a family dog from it's own point of view attracted Walt, leading to it becoming his 15th animated film. Proving to be a popular hit with audiences, it was marked the most successful animated movie since Snow White.
This movie, also marks a few beginnings for the studio. It introduced Cinemascope to the animator's repertoire. A filming technique that allowed for larger and wider animated scenes, making the world they create have more of a feeling of space and reality. It also marked the first, and as far as I know only Disney animated movie without a clear villain. That's right, just because Aunt Sara doesn't like dogs, doesn't mean she's evil. And the rat was simply acting out of instinct.
Anyway, this movie hold's a special place in my heart, so seeing it as an adult, and falling in love with it all over again made me very happy.
First off, this movie is gorgeous!!! Cinemascope truly showcased how talented the Disney artists were with their beautiful recreation of small town America at the turn of the 20th century. The studio loosely based the fictional town after Walt's own hometown of Marceline, Missouri, with it's lovely Victorian style houses and manicured streets. The romance of Americana is potent in this movie.
And, speaking of romance...
What a love story this movie hides behind it's animated facade!
The relationship between Lady and Tramp, and how it evolves over the course of the story, has enough depth for any adult to respond to. And might I just say, Bella Notte is still one of my favorite love songs from any of the Disney films. Hard to believe Disney almost cut it from the film.
As far as characters go, humanizing dogs with personalities, wants, and fears, still to this day isn't something we tire of as movie going audiences. As a matter of fact, I believe a certain Secret Life of Pets is currently in theaters as I write this. Seeing them respond to the strange world of their owners, and dwell over the perplexity of what the ramifications of a baby really is, truly is charming and entertaining. Despite Disney's continued demonification of cats ('We are Siamese"), the songs who were written with help from widely known songstress of the time, Peggy Lee, are very memorable. Despite how few of them the movie overall holds.
Overall, Lady and the Tramp is a wonderful story about love and devotion to our families. And how sometimes our worst fears, weather it's babies, or leashes and dog licenses, are sometimes blown out of proportion. We see both the main characters evolve over the course of the movie as they explore these things they know nothing about, and find they aren't nearly as scary as what they originally perceived. Tramp's idea of living on a leash is changed due to his love for Lady. As her naivety and street smarts are changed due to Tramp. It furthers my theory that people come into our lives at given moments when they have something we can learn from them. Our differences from each other allow us to grow and shape ourselves into who we need to be, and sometimes leads us to happiness and fulfillment. Which, in this case, is even true for dogs.
So there you have it, Lady and the Tramp still holds up well to today's standards. And I highly recommend a revisit to this old tale of two star-crossed canines! Next up is Sleeping Beauty, see you all in 1959!!

"All of this has happened before, and it will all happen again"

Peter Pan (1953)

With the box office disappointment of Alice in Wonderland, Disney never lost momentum and kept going strong right into the animated adaptation of J. M. Barrie's story of Peter Pan. Continuing the theme of escaping the mundane responsibilities everyday life brings us that Wonderland already explored. Only this time, a box office hit was what they had.
Many people strongly love this story. The idea of a place you can escape to where children never grow up, with pirates, mermaids, indians, and fairies that made you fly. It's a story that's hard not to love. Most people born within the western world these last one hundred years have dreamed of being whisked off to Neverland. Myself included.
Returning to this movie, for me, had me excited since out of many of the classic films, this one had been one I hadn't seen in MANY years. And most of the finer details had escaped my memory, so I knew going in, that a fresh perspective was what I was definitely going to get.
So.....
Let me begin by saying one major thing I had forgotten about this movie....
Peter Pan is an a-hole.
When your a child, and you are mesmerized by the magic of the story, and the grand adventure of it all, the finer details go over your head. But seeing this through the eyes of adulthood, the appeal of Neverland escapes me. Which, in some sort of irony, fits with the theme of the story. Peter Pan truly is the essence of youth. The one child who figured out how to escape the confines of mortality and achieve eternal youth. And his avoidance of maturity is quite apparent. He's boastful, ambivalent, immature, and completely oblivious of his treatment to the people around him.
In fact, Disney smoothed a lot of Peter's truly darker characteristics out of his telling of the story. In the original story, he killed the Lost Boys who showed signs of aging, or just to remind them of who was in charge. Making many people believe that the pirates were made up of lost boys who managed to escape him....
Yeah, kinda paints a new perspective of the flying sociopath, huh?
Anyway, the Darling children all get wrapped up on the wonderment of Neverland with the exception of Wendy. Who, out of all three, is on the cusp of growing up. So it makes sense for her to see through the veil, and find that staying a child forever isn't all that it cracks up to be. Once again, bringing the common ground of this movie and Wonderland together even more.
Aside from how unappealing a person the titular hero turns out to be, this movie shocked me with it's violence, drug use, and racism. Not only does the movie feature ALL of the children sharing a peace pipe with the natives, right before the break out into the ever popular musical number "What Makes the Red Man, Red?", but also features Captain Hook blatantly shooting one of his men dead. I had to pick my jaw off the ground quite a few times. Never before has a Disney film truly showed it age than this movie. So don't expect a theatrical re-release anytime soon, folks!
All political incorrectness aside, the movie holds up well, with a strong voice cast such as Hans Conried (a man with one of the best British speaking voices ever to grace this earth), Kathryn Beaumont (whom we already know as Alice from the previous movie), and many others. Also, the animation truly stands out strong, due to Disney's use of live action filming for animators to reference. Lots of strong points overwhelm the cons of this movie for sure.
But reflecting back on this movie, reminds me of why we love to revisit it. Especially as an adult. As we age, our sense of 'play' and 'adventure' lessens, as we are overburdened with the everyday responsibilities of adulthood. Wendy's parents see her maturity at the beginning of the movie, and suggest the idea of moving out of the playroom, and straight into adulthood. Every child's nightmare. But, by visiting the extremity of Neverland, we are all reminded of why growth and maturity are just as vital to life as youth. And the ticking crocodile of death is something we all have to face, eventually. And just as the movie says in the beginning, this right of passage has happened before, and it will happen perpetually over and over again.
Neverland is where we all learn to grow up.

"Why is a Raven like a Writing Desk?"

Alice in Wonderland (1951)

So, I have a question.... and I'm gonna get a little philosophical here, so bare with me.
What is it about the human race as a species that makes us so attracted to escaping the normal everyday lives we build for ourselves? Why do we always find the grass greener on the other side? Is there something established deep within our DNA that makes us long for adventure, and yearn for what we don't have? I begin to ask myself these questions not just in relation to this movie, but almost all of the Disney movies resonate this theme in some way, shape, or form.
Anyway, adventure and escape has begun to draw itself to the forefront as the undercurrent which connects these movies with each other, and perhaps in some way, explains why Disney is so popular. The company specializes in scratching that itch we all have, to escape the norm, fall down the rabbit hole, see and experience outside of what is possible in our own lives, and perhaps keep us persevering to chase down our own happily ever after....
Anyway, sorry to ramble, but it was a bit of an epiphany for myself after this movie, but back on topic with the review!!!

So, this movie, and story in general, is such a phenomenon in so many ways. It exists so firmly in pop culture and popularity with so many people, and the odd thing about it is, it truly is a story about nothing. The original book, which the movie is based off of has almost no plot to carry it. Its mostly a series of strange and unusual scenarios, with a young girl as the only grounded character drifting her way through them all. How does this earn itself at the heights of popular storytelling?
Disney, after the massive success of Cinderella, poured the cash-flow immediately into more projects with bigger and grander ideas, the first of which was the adaptation of the Lewis Carroll classic.
Unfortunately, the film under performed in the box office, which would become an ongoing theme with every film incarnation of the Alice stories. And, like Fantasia before it, found new life in the 1960's with it's surreal and head tripping themes. And now hold a cult following, with many ranking it among the best animated films.
Again, I must ask what it is about this nonsense story that holds itself with such high regard?? It has some amusement in the odd characters that populate Wonderland with their strange backwards behaviors. But other than that, the plot is simple; A young girl is bored with her everyday life, wishes for a world where everything is nonsense, gets to see it, and finds out what an awful choice that is.
As a kid, I fell into the herd, finding this movie endlessly entertaining with it's fantastic art style (due to the contribution if long time Disney artist, Mary Blair). Now, as an adult, revisiting Wonderland has me questioning what about it is so appealing. Every character Alice encounters is rude, short tempered, childish, stubborn, contrary, and even mildly malicious. Again, what about this literary place is so appealing?
I fall back once again to my earlier epiphanies. Wonderland exists to give us what we all want, in addition to reminding us of what we already have. And that perhaps is what we're supposed to walk away with from it. Turning our lives upside down to pursue ambivalence and bewilderment has its ups and downs, and most of the time, it gets old. The simplicity of everyday life may get dreary, but we must never take it for granted, otherwise you may fall too far, and truly lose your head. But every once in a while, we need adventure, to cleanse our spirit, awaken our values, and to breathe new life into the norm, and make us cherish it for what it is!
So while head cases, and shrinks can try and pick apart the symbolism that may exist between the lines of this story, I see it as an adventure for those who long for a piece of chaos to satisfy their craving, without the repercussions.
All in all, a Disney classic that will continue to reincarnate itself in every generation to come.

"If the shoe fits...."

Cinderella (1950)


With World War II finally ended, The Walt Disney Studios returned to work, with full funding and work force at their fingertips. And they set out to undertake Disney's final attempt to revive the studio from too many box office disappointments. Cinderella, would be his last chance to save the studio from financial ruin.
Luckily, a hit was exactly what they had. The profit from box office sales, music publishing, record sales, and merchandise set the cash flowing to allow Disney to slate numerous animated and live action films, in addition to tv productions, and a certain theme park we've all come to love.
Cinderella, arguably, allowed The Disney Company to be what it is today.
As I sat down to watch what many consider to be the penultimate Disney film, I reflected on my history of it. No necessarily one of my favorite from the vaults, I still overall liked it as a kid. Perhaps the heavy theme of fulfilling young girls dreams didn't sync with a young plucky kid such as myself. Anyway, after watching as an adult, the film has evolved into a mixed bag for me...
Once again, the Disney studios produced a one dimensional female protagonists for young children to idolize. She's beautiful, kind, gentle (arguably too gentle), and has a singing voice that could have easily lead her to a life far away from the oppression of her stepmother and stepsisters. But most of all, she simply wishes and dreams of a better life for herself as she works the the menial tasks her wardens come up with for her, with a ho hum and a sigh that maybe someday her dreams will come true. And nothing ever changes.
Most of the plot is carried by her small animal friends (another Disney trademark), who seem to be the only ones with a take charge attitude towards a better life for our heroine. They make her dress, drive her to the ball, help her escape captivity during the last segment of the movie.... Most of Cindy's happiness is owed to the mice and birds.
Don't get me wrong, the movie is full of charm, and catchy songs, and a heavy theme of happily ever after. However logic and reason can't help but worm their way into my critique. I mean, the whole story takes place over a twenty four hour period. Cindy wakes up, starts her chores, the ball is announced the day of, she goes, loses her slipper, the king immediately sends the grand duke out into the kingdom to find her, she puts the slipper on again the morning after, BAM, married before brunch.
Pretty nuts.
Let alone the fact that Cinderella picks up the ball where Snow White left it, a couple hours dancing with a prince is hardly grounds for declaring a lifetime of matrimony.....
Again, sorry, but logic and reason argue a strong case.
All of that aside,the movie holds up to the standards Disney has pretty much set for all it's animated movies. And most people I know love this movie, so what's one man's opinion?
On another note, I feel it must be mentioned, the traumatic scene of Cinderella getting her clothes ripped off of her by her stepsisters. I think that was not only mine, but many kids introduction into bullying. Of course, looking back now, the context of the scene makes a little more sense..... That wasn't your sash, Cindy. You need to ask first!
Despite the abuse, Cinderella's consistent optimism and her ability to find as much joy and hope in the world as she can given her dismal circumstances is pretty admirable. And something I find myself taking note of to apply to situations I find myself in my own life. Her character drove her friends to help make her dreams come true, which goes as far as to preach the idea that good things happen to good people, as naive of an idea as it is.
I only hope Cindy repayed the favor and set her rodent friends up in the castle with their own sweet digs.

Package Films: Part IV

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

The final entry into the Package Film section of the Disney canon, and this one has one of my favorites. I will be splitting this review into two parts, due to the fact that both stories are pretty different, and well worth each having their own review. And we'll start with J. Thadeus Toad first!

The Wind in the Willows

Disney continued his foray into adapting existing literature into animated film with this short, that I must say is very far from the original text..... Also a trademark of Walt's.
 For those of you who are unfamiliar with the original children's novel this is based off of, The Wind in the Willows is about a group of anthropomorphised animals living in a pastoral version of England at the beginning of the 20th century. What made the book so good, was it showed these animals with very human traits and faults, but allowed the reader to fall in love with them despite their short comings.
Now, fast forward to the Disney version, which brought most of those faults (specifically those of Toad with his 'manias' towards fast vehicles and general shenanigans), and turned them into a hyperactive, surprisingly violent animated story with VERY British humor and terminology. What was once a charming idyllic story, became a darkly humorous tale about a rich amphibian with a habit of grand theft auto and vandalism that got himself into too much trouble with the law, and retakes his mansion from thieves, with a whole bunch of guns, knives, and rough housing thrown in between it all.
Overall, I was shocked at just how violent this was. Again, going with the continuous discovery of how much goes over our heads as children, I could not believe I was ever allowed to watch this. Toad's behavior alone would be seen as highly inappropriate by today's standards. Stealing cars, giving into reckless indulgences, and general selfishness aren't really great for the moral compasses most children's movies steer themselves with in today's cinema... And honestly, this isn't the best animated version of this book made (as much as it pains me, as a Disney fan to say it). Regardless, it was a fun, nostalgic trip back into childhood to see this again. And it always reminds me of the ride at Disneyland, which, now that I think about it, also has some pretty adult themes to it too.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

And now onto one of my all time favorite animated films. This short is nostalgia incarnate for me. I will always remember watching this as a child, scared to pieces, but also riveted. Disney took a piece of American folklore, and translated it perfectly to the screen. The art style, the pacing, the collaboration with Bing Crosby's vocals, and the willingness to not sugarcoat the scares makes this one of Disney's best, in my humble opinion.
It also, holds a continuing debate among fans on who the main protagonist is. The story focuses mostly on Ichabod Crane, and his brief stint in Sleepy Hollow, trying to woo Katrina away from Brom. On the other hand, most fans point out, Ichabod's character is painted very unflattering, as it's made quite clear he is driven by greed in his lustings for her, and the tale is more about Brom, the town hero. Seeing through Ichabod's charm, he fights hard for Katrina, and ultimately scares the fraud out of town. Regardless, the story is compelling.
Growing up, in a very rural area all but enhanced this movie for me as a young child, living close to deep wooded areas, always created a strong enthusiasm for me with fairy tales and ghost stories. I would always watch this one around Halloween, and would always think of it as I ventured out to go trick-or-treating among the rural farmland of my childhood.
Disney was given a lot of backlash for this movie when it was first released. Even to this day, parents regularly complain at how terrifying the film is, and not too appropriate for children. He definitely succeeded in creating one of the most frightening villains in his canon with The Headless Horseman, ranking right up there with the Demon from Fantasia's Night on Bald Mountain, and The Horned King from The Black Cauldron. But, again I must repeat what I said earlier in my reviews regarding scares in animated movies, and the balance it creates.
I hearken back to an article I once read regarding a children's movie released some time ago that was deemed almost too scary for children, but when children who had seen the movie were asked about it's scary parts, most of them were un-wavered by it, seeing the necessity of having peril to tell a good story of good triumphing over evil. It seemed their parents were more scared than they were.
Summing things up with this part, it's always fun to revisit this film, it's one of my all time favorites, and I never seem to tire from it. Still slightly terrifying, but necessary to tell the story.

Overall, finding the common connection between these two films seems to be that they both tell tales of severely flawed characters who's action lead them to great problems. The first having somewhat closure near the end with a happy ending but showing he never learned from his mistakes. The second film showing a character driven by greed, and ultimately falling victim to his own superstitions either through an elaborate rouse, or actual demonic intervention. Pretty adult stuff I must say, and even I walk away wondering how appropriate it is for youth. Nevertheless, i enjoyed myself, as a true fan would!

"Package Films: Part II & III"

Fun & Fancy Free (1947) & Melody Time (1948)

Due to the length of both of these films, I decided to combine their review into one, as there really isn't enough substance in both to deliver a deep enough review of each individually.
Fun & Fancy Free and Melody Time mark the second and third "Package Films" Walt released due to the constraints caused by the war efforts at the time. Continuing the theme of shorts making up a full length film. And just as the first (Make Mine Music), I began to recognize each short as something I remember watching at some point on television, so it was interesting to see how they coincided with each other as features,
Fun & Fancy Free might be the shortest of them all (at least in how it felt afterwards), with only two shorts making up the entirety of the film. And it did have somewhat of a narrative, as it showed Jiminy Cricket once again stealing away to someone's home in the night and propping up his feet as if he owned the place. He begins to sing about how the world seems so caught up in worrying and strife (which honestly at the time, they had every right to), and how going through life with the heir of being 'fun and fancy free' will lead to much more fulfillment. And then goes on to introduce the first story of Bongo the Bear, narrated and sung by Dinah Shore. Which was followed by the story of Mickey and the Beanstalk, told by famous ventriloquist, Edgar Bergen, and his two dummies, Charlie and Mortimer.
By the end of the movie, I was confused by how both of these tales had anything to do with the theme of Fun and Fancy Free. The first told of a circus bear, who escaped to the wilderness to find love, and learned the hard way that bears express their love to their mates by slapping them. The second was the traditional story of Jack and the Beanstalk, with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy taking on the role of Jack.
Overall, the movie's theme, seemed to be a poor attempt at tying two stories together as one, which, in all honesty, was what the studio was trying to do. But easily forgivable. Dinah Shore's vocals and songs were wonderful to hear. And Edgar Bergen's storytelling, peppered with musings from his own characters was a glimpse into what was entertainment at the time. For a Disney buff like me, it was great.
Melody Time, felt more like Make Mine Music, in the sense that it left behind the attempt at a narrative, and simply let music be the glue that held the stories together, and these were some of my favorites as a child.
Pecos Bill, Johnny Appleseed, and Little Toot the Tugboat, were the main features of this film. The first two being some of my first introductions as a child to american folklore. And the second being another story sung by the Andrews Sisters.
 Pecos Bill featured Roy Rogers, decked out in full cowboy swag, in a live action segment telling the story of the cowboy to two young kids around a campfire. This one was nostalgia incarnate for me, as not only did it make me miss my days at summer camp listening to songs and tales around the campfire, but it was also one of my favorite Disney cartoons as a child. And the music was awesome, setting the tone perfectly for the story.
Johnny Appleseed was another favorite of mine, being one of my favorite american pioneers I learned about in school. And despite it's slightly religious undertones, held up very well, along with most of the other shorts in how they would fair by today's standards. I highly recommend looking up these shorts online, next time you may be perusing YouTube for entertainment, as they are both very well done!
Overall, all of these were wonderful to return to after so many years. Not only did it remind me of how far Disney has come, but how far I've come by what shaped me and attracted me in my younger years, And to this day, I am constantly inspired by what I get out of watching these movies. The war times were tough for the Disney Studio, but he found a way to make the best of it with these films.
There's one more Package Film to review, and then we move on to Cinderella!
Stay tuned!!

"Package Films: Part I"

Make Mine Music (1946)

And now we delve VERY deep into the Disney Vault, with the first of the studio's "Package Films."
See, during World War II, Walt's studio lost a lot of manpower and resources, which left them with a lot of unfinished ideas and projects that were either too long for a short, or too short for a feature length film. So, being as resourceful as they could, they decided to cram a bunch of them together in a series of films. This one, being the first of four.
Make Mine Music picks up the proverbial ball, where Fantasia left it. It's a series of shorts all set to different kinds of music popular at the time of production, everything from jazz, ballads, symphonic orchestrations, and even opera. Some are standouts, such as Willy, the Singing Whale who wanted to perform Opera at The Met. Johnny Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet, which was a love story about two hats (I know, only Disney could pull that off) featuring long-time collaborators with Disney, the Andrew Sisters. As well as, Peter and the Wolf, which quickly became the scariest cartoon I ever saw as a child. I don't know which animator was responsible for the design of the wolf in that short, but it was the most terrifying thing I had ever saw when I was young. I guess it was just furthering the legacy of fairy tales, making children scared to death of wolves.
Most people will recognize these shorts each individually, as they are rarely seen all together as one piece. And really, they have VERY little to do with each other besides the context of a musical theme. Having said that, most of these pieces are worth seeing, as they continue to showcase Disney's talent for marrying music and art.
"All the Cats Join In" remains to be one of the most inspiring animated pieces I can ever recall, as it sets an amazing jazz standard to the scenes of bobby-soxers going out on a night to dance at the malt shop. A glimpse of what all the cool kids were doing at the time.
"Blue Bayou" was a piece originally set to "Clair De Lune" that was supposed to be part of Fantasia, but was reworked with an original piece of music, and went on to inspire the name of the sit-down dinner restaurant in Disneyland that resides within Pirates of the Caribbean.
There were many "Oh, I remember this one!" moments as I watched this feature, and it continues to impress me how creative Walt was.
I was rather disappointed to learn a piece was cut from the home version. "The Martins and The Coys" was not included, which, after researching and finding the short on YouTube, I can see why. As guns blazed ALL over the screen in animated, murderous glee! Probably not something that would translate well into the homes of young viewers in this day and age....
There are others featured in this film, unfortunately not nearly as noteworthy as the ones above, but nonetheless they all meld well into the theme of this movie.
Overall, the film was enjoyable, in a very non-traditional sense, as it probably will continue with the next three film in line. But hey, a commitment is a commitment! And I'm truly not complaining. Disney broke the mold with his animated features, even at the time when the world's attention were elsewhere. So, again I will say, if you're looking to jump into the more un-familiar pieces of the Disney Vault. Consider this my recommendation.