Fun and Fancy Free (1947)

Memorable, crazy movie

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Fun Disney picture with two stories. The first is Bongo, a cute story about a little bear falling in love and having to fight a bigger bear for his lady. Flimsy story but it moves along quickly enough. It's over a half-hour long but I didn't even really think about how long it was until after it was over so I certainly can't complain about the pacing. This story was narrated by Dinah Shore, who also sings. Lovely voice. Modern viewers, particularly those with a dark sense of humor, might see a domestic violence message in this one. Bongo was something of a 'gangsta.' The second story is the Mickey Mouse version of Jack and the Beanstalk. I know I saw this one many times as a kid but, for the life of me, I don't remember seeing Bongo before today. So perhaps this was released on a VHS collection or something back in the day, separate from this film. This one is narrated by ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, who also appears in a live action segment doing his puppet routine in what appears to be a private birthday party for a little girl who I hoped was his daughter but turns out it was Disney child star Luana Patten. A little creepy but different times.Jiminy Cricket also appears in the beginning and in a linking segment from the first story to the second. As always with classic Disney, the animation is excellent, with beautiful drawings and rich colors. Love the music, as well. This is far from my favorite Disney movie, even limited to the compilation ones. But I do enjoy it a lot and I can't imagine most Disney fans not liking it.

Yet another Disney film that tried to hold them aloft after the war years. A short film collection, like all the rest, though this time we only get a two segments and a framing story featuring Jiminy Cricket.Of these two segment, Bongo, the first one, is pure boredom. It's nothing but this circus bear escaping his confinement and gallivanting around in the forest. And you already know how it goes. At first he's thrilled, then the actual, you know, nature rears its ugly head, he meets other animals, gets into trouble, rinse and repeat ad nauseam. Granted, the animation is pretty good, some of physical stunts are pretty humorous and the music could be worse, but it's simply so uninteresting. Nothing of value happens, the main character barely has a personality and... boring! Mickey and the Beanstalk, on the other hand, is a born classic. This is an incredible segment, featuring Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck as medieval farmers living in an enchanted valley, ruled by a magic harp (it's not as weird as you think), who unfortunately has now gone missing and thus everyone hungers. And you know the story. Mickey goes to sell their cow, buys some "magic" beans, and the rest is story telling history. It's action-packed, the three make for a hilarious comedic trio, the animation is impressive, the story thrilling and it's just a great deal of fun.I also have to mention that the framing story is beyond creepy, especially the ending. Jiminy Cricket is fine, he's one of Disney's finest as always, but they decided to hire a famous ventriloquist Edgar Bergen to play himself in the framing story, and his puppets are simply put pure horror. Who decided this was appropriate for little kids? So yeah, Mickey and the Beanstalk is a really good segment, but it has since been re-released on its own so many times that there's really no reason to see its actual origins film. Watch this if you want to say you've seen them all.

Another watchable Disney package film, consisting of only two segments this time.While the Bongo episode is quite cuddly in its own right, its thin narrative feels rather overstretched and Dinah Shore's syrupy narration and singing add too much schmaltz to the mix.So it's up to Mickey, Donald and Goofy to save the day in the beanstalk segment, which is narrated by Edgar Bergen and his ventriloquist's puppets in a wonderfully ironic tone. The episode itself is effectively paced, with funny, somber and thrilling moments in perfect balance and some catchy tunes thrown in for good measure. It's one of the three cartoon stars' best teamings. (And the final joke is nice.) 7 out of 10 harp loving giants

If you ask me, I think Walt Disney put into this movie more of his cheerful, laid-back nature than any other and I haven't even seen a possible making-of featurette to prove because, currently, I only have this on video which is at least 7 years old now. I think it's fair to say that "Fun and Fancy Free" is exactly what it says on the tin. It opens with a lively chorus singing the title song and I love how when the animations begins to start up the song follows onto Jiminy Cricket (voiced by Cliff Edwards, died 1971, (I think) at 76) singing his own verses, a laid-back, cheerful happy fellow riding on a large leaf in what soon appears to be a vase. In order to cheer up a sad doll missing her mama and a moody teddy Jiminy puts on a vinyl record telling a story... BONGO: The expressive, vivacious and energetic enthusiasm of narrator Dinah Shore is just unbelievable! Bongo, a former circus bear who had been mistreated by the ring-master, longs to be free and eventually gets his dream! He is befriended by all the forest animals and also falls in love - but will things go smoothly? Give you a clue; "Every deer and every dove has a way of making love but a bear likes to say it with a SLAP"MICKEY AND THE BEANSTALK: Jiminy finds an invitation to a party across the way and here's who was there; Luana Patten (died 1996, just 57) the hilariously cheeky Charlie McCarthy, the dazed and absent-minded Mortimer Snerd and the man who threw the party Edgar Bergen (died 1978, 75). Edgar Bergen tries to tell a story (in spite of his frustration at Charlie's frequent interruptions and criticisms) of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy living in poverty leaving Mickey and Goofy miserable and Donald having some violent fits of psychotic rage. Bergen defends him to the end. What about the others? Mickey and Goofy went through it too and they didn't try to murder the family cow! The only way to bring happiness to their home is to fetch an enchanted harp from the castle of a selfish giant but it's an not easy mission because if you can fool Willie the giant you can fool anyone! Can they do it? Mortimer becomes upset at when finally became of the giant and as Edgar tries to comfort him the roof is suddenly torn off by... the giant. Not to eat them but to just pop in. This cartoon musical extravaganza truly did make history in animation; that eye-popping blend of art and live action has been done practically throughout the entire movie. And there's neither bad language nor sex scenes nor violence - just full of Fun and Fancy Free!