Fun & Fancy Free (1947)

Directors:

Jack Kinney
Hamilton Luske

Writers:

Homer Brightman (story) &
Harry Reeves (story) ...

Release Date:

27 September 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Music

Tagline:

It's Got That DISNEY MAGIC! (original print media ad - many caps)

Plot:

Jiminy Cricket hosts two Disney animated shorts: "Bongo," about a circus bear escaping to the wild, and "Mickey and the Beanstalk," a take on the famous fairy tale.

Plot Keywords:

Bear | Circus | Jiminy Cricket | Mickey Mouse | Mace

Cast

Edgar Bergen	...	Himself
Dinah Shore	...	(voice)
Charlie McCarthy	...	Himself
Mortimer Snerd	...	Himself
Luana Patten	...	Herself
Walt Disney	...	Mickey Mouse (voice) (as Mickey Mouse)
Anita Gordon	...	Singing Harp (voice)
Cliff Edwards	...	Jiminy Cricket (voice)
Billy Gilbert	...	Willie the Giant (voice)
Clarence Nash	...	Donald Duck (voice)
The King's Men	...	Themselves (as The Kings Men)
The Dinning Sisters	...	Themselves
The Starlighters	...	Themselves

Runtime:

73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:G (re-rating) (1970) | New Zealand:G | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Denmark:A (2003) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #12068, General Audience)

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

The "Mickey and the Beanstalk" project began in 1940, and originally, Sterling Holloway was planned to be the narrator.

Quotes:

Edgar Bergen: Once upon a time, long long ago...
Charlie McCarthy: Funny, nothing ever happens nowadays.

Movie Connections:

Featured in DTV: Rock, Rhythm & Blues (1984) (V)

Soundtrack:

Lazy Countryside

"Well she used to be a good milker, but now.. she's an udder failure"

Fun and Fancy Free is for me one of Disney's lesser efforts, but is still very charming, simple and enjoyable. I did think the live action sequences were dated though, and the film is quite short. Out of all the characters, the only character I didn't care for that much was the puppet. Apart from the hilarious "well she used to be a good milker, but now... she is an udder failure" he didn't really make an impact on me. Maybe it was because the ventriloquism was rather substandard.

However, I really enjoyed this on the whole. The introduction with Jiminy Cricket- voiced by the one and only Cliff Edwards- in the library was very effective, as was a vast majority of the script. The animation is stunning, and by far the best aspect of the movie, and I hope I am not the only person who found the songs beautiful and memorable, my favourite being "My what a happy day".

There are two mini-classics here, Bongo and Mickey and the Beanstalk. Both are wonderful gems, but I will admit I do prefer the latter. Bongo tells the rather simple story of the adorable Bongo and his endeavour into a world he has never known before, after being the star attraction of a circus. It is very sweet and well meaning, and the narration isn't so bad either. Mickey and the Beanstalk is a favourite of mine. Wonderful voice acting, terrific animation especially for the beanstalk and nice music made this memorable for me.

Other things that impressed were one Jiminy Cricket of course, well how can he not impress, he is a classic character in the history of animation? Two, I thought Edgar Bergen was very entertaining in this film asides from the ventriloquism, and also child actress Luana Patten was impressive.

All in all, one of Disney's lesser efforts, but has undeniable charm due to the animated segments and Cricket himself. 7/10 Bethany Cox