Disney's Fun and Fancy Free (1947)

Fun and Fancy Free includes the well-known Mickey and the Beanstalk short.

The arrival of Disney Plus yesterday offers a prime opportunity to explore lesser-known releases from Disney history. A perfect example is the 1940s package films, which helped to keep Disney financially solvent during a challenging time. On the other hand, these movies had limited budgets and fell short of prior releases. When a movie doesn’t look like Bambi, packing multiple stories into one feature isn’t going to make you forget it. The way to resolve this issue is to bring in familiar characters like Mickey and Donald or deliver something engaging like the story of the Headless Horseman. Sometimes even that approach isn’t enough, however. This is the case with Fun and Fancy Free, which arrived in 1947.

This package film includes two half-hour segments that range between okay and surprisingly forgettable. Jiminy Cricket helps to connect the stories by setting the “fun and fancy free” tone, yet neither short really fits that description. The seven-minute introduction takes a long way to get going, and even the familiar presence of the Pinocchio character only does so much in creating the right atmosphere. The standout of Fun and Fancy Free is “Mickey and the Beanstalk”, and Disney has kept it in the public consciousness through subsequent releases and use of the characters.

Bongo is not one of the better-known short films in Disney history.

The Forgotten Bongo

That isn’t true with “Bongo”, adapted from the “Little Bear Bongo” short story by Sinclair Lewis. Our host puts the LP on the record player, which introduces narrator Dinah Shore. She uses her trademark delivery to describe the story of a circus bear in the wild. His fellow performers treat him horribly, so Bongo seeks out new territory. The animals in nature aren’t much better, though he grows on them. What changes Bongo’s fate is meeting the pretty Lulubelle and falling in love. This creates some problems with the local bully Lumpjaw, who also wants her. It’s a generic scenario.

There are a few well-done scenes within the lackluster story. Shore croons a dreamy tune while Bongo falls to sleep, and the sounds of the woods take over. This relaxed moment sets the right mood, though it only lasts briefly once the lightning and other obstacles pursue him. Bongo has no luck! The biggest challenge is the animation, which is well below most Disney features. It is easier to bypass diminished quality if the story is entertaining, but that doesn’t happen with this slow-moving opener.

Early Disney often depicts love through hazy, drug-induced trips. When Bongo falls for Lulubelle, his vision includes balloons, pink clouds, cupid bears, and other peculiar images. Another challenge is the gender dynamics, which involve two guys battling like cavemen over a woman’s love. She prefers Bongo but allows their conflict to continue. Even when the contest involves log rolling and a dangerous waterfall, it is hard to get too excited. The bears also profess their love through a slap. This is one of the odder Disney films that I’ve seen, but the craziness can.t make up for a messy story.

Fun and Fancy Free includes the weirdest birthday party you've ever seen.

Not Your Average Birthday Party

It’s a relief to move on to “Mickey and the Beanstalk”, though we must first experience one of the strangest birthday parties of all time. Jiminy Cricket arrives at a girl’s party where the only guests are Edgar Bergen and his puppets Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. Does the girl have any other friends for this fancy party? The performance of the young actress is rough, and getting through this fairly long opening is a challenge. Finally, Bergen decides to tell a story and takes us into Disney’s variation on “Jack and the Beanstalk.”

Mickey, Donald, and Goofy appear with their normal personas to draw us into this tale. The story is very familiar, so I won’t spend much time on the particulars. Mickey sells their cow to help a starving trio, but all he gets in return are three magic beans. Thankfully, this prize grows into a beanstalk that leads to a castle. The bad news is that the structure houses an angry giant.

The opening is well-done, and Donald even grabs the axe to kill the cow in a hungry mania. It really helps to know the personas, which brings a smile from the start. It doesn’t represent the best appearance from any of them, however. Thankfully, time flies by during the action-packed climax. There is also a ridiculous finale with the giant arriving at the birthday party and frightening Bergen. That inspired moment almost made up for “Bongo” .