Fun and Fancy Free

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Albus P Apr 3, 2019 So I read the story of Bongo many years ago from the Walt Disney's Story Land book and I gotta say that I'm just as unimpressed now as my 7 year old self was then. It's long and boring and doesn't have much to say in the way of fables. However, Fun and Fancy Free is not all about Bongo and that's to it's benefit. The Mickey and the Beanstalk segment is entertaining enough and of course a young Edgar Bergen is such a treat to watch (I've never seen him so young!). It feels like this is the first Disney sequel, because Jiminy Cricket presides, Figaro, and Cleo are all still around and that's not all. The Bongo sequences seem to have the background woodland creatures of Bambi and Bongo himself appears to be from Dumbo's circus though that might be unintentional. It's funny though that they mention Cinderella in passing in this movie since they were about to start in on that project during the making of this film. I'm not sure I would own it; it's not awful, it's not great, might pass for good if you are in the mood for it or it might not. See more

Leia Feb 10, 2019 I'm very happy to hear Dinah Shore in a Disney project once again. She was just in Making Mine Music, and while she sang in that film, she narrates in Fun and Fancy Free. While she does a good job narrating the first animated sequence, Bongo, I'm a bit underwhelmed that she doesn't sing much. I feel that maybe there could have been another narrator for the project and for Dinah to sing the moments that need to be sung. It's a major nitpick, however, as the Bongo sequence itself is very well done. Like most Disney shorts, Bongo is charming and has a simple story to it. It reminded me of Dumbo, in fact, the main character himself reminds of Dumbo where both don't actually talk and express themselves through pantomime. I especially like how they drew the many bears in different ways. The way that mean black bear is drawn is one I would never want to encounter in real life. While Bongo certainly outwit him, I wouldn't be able to do the same for they did a very good job making his design look menacing. I also like that song that is sung about how bears express their love through slapping themselves in the face. A bit corny, but I buy that. Though, I don't know, whil it is a cartoon, wouldn't that do a lot of damage to the bears? Nevertheless, even though it's a bit long, I really liked it. The sequence of Mickey and the Beanstalk is another creative and fun cartoon short. A couple of moments stand out about it, the scene where Donald Duck is snaps is something that truly scared me as a kid, and the fact that they managed to do that is quite impressive as he is drawn a bit disturbingly. The new character they introduce, Willie the Giant, is a well-designed yet funny-looking character that, though giving him that stereotypical doofus voice, is very entertaining. The power he has isn't exactly used to its potential. It would have been funny to see the giant as a fly, and it would have been really funny as you would see this bumbling yet menacing giant turned into something so small and harmless. The classic climax was a bit underwhelming as it's simply the Beanstalk formula where the main characters run down the beanstalk as they try to escape the giant. There could have been more substance there. While it was nice to see Edgar Bergen, Charlie, and Mortimer again, was there a point to it? It would have been nice to see them in their own separate Disney short, but it just doesn't match here. In fact, I felt a bit more disturbed here than when Donald freaked out. Yet, unlike that Donald scene, it wasn't entertaingly disturbing. While Jiminy Cricket is well animated and it's also nice to see him again, just like the others I mentioned before, he doesn't seem to really have a point in the film. I think the film would have been much stronger if it mostly centered on the two major animation sequences. Because they're very good, I think the film holds up for a recommendation. As a side note, let me just say how talented Jimmy Macdonald is. This is Disney's sound effects man that not only did that, but replaced Walt for Mickey's voice, and it's barely noticeable, which is a good thing in an animated project. 3/4 See more

Finn R May 23, 2018 Due episodi animati molto diversi tra di loro, uniti da inquietantissimi personaggi reali. Il secondo episodio in particolare raggiunge alla perfezione il feeling inimitabile del classico Disney, mentre il primo risulta piuttosto convenzionale e infantile. La presenza di Topolino, Paperino e Pippo tutti insieme è sempre una garanzia e conferma la loro perfetta sintonia, rendendolo uno dei loro migliori cortometraggi. See more

Harry R Nov 3, 2011 Fun and Fancy Free is offset by those terrible live-action puppetry scenes which are annoying and they ruined the film for me. The editing and structure are also pretty bad. But it has a couple of nice, fun songs and it's quite well animated. Bongo is a solid, endearing segment whereas of course Mickey and the Beanstalk is the highlight as it is wonderful seeing Mickey, Goofy and Donald together in one film. It's a problematic, but ultimately pretty solid package film. See more

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Fun and Fancy Free

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