Fun and Fancy Free is not so much a movie as it is a sort of exhibition, the sort made by Disney’s B-Team. It’s a feature-length cartoon divided into two distinct parts: one where a circus bear escapes captivity to pursue his roots in the natural wilderness and another where Mickey Mouse & friends go on an adventure based on the Jack and the Beanstalk fairy tale. There is also an intermission where the studio again tries to intersperse a live action element where the creep factor is turned up to 11.
There isn’t a whole lot of praise that can be dumped on this film. It feels a lot more efficient than previous Disney endeavors of the time–the animation is hokey and the two stories are fairly simplistic. I think Disney has wholeheartedly embraced the cartoons-are-for-kids motif at this point: the first teaches us how cuddly bears fall in love in addition to dealing with jealous alpha males, while the second is a David & Goliath type of story (as was Beanstalk) that shows us we can overcome just about anything larger than ourselves with wit, gumption, and bravado.
However there is a positive thing I can say about this movie: that “Disney Magic” is out in full force. I’m talking about that angelic and whimsical chorus of ladies singing whimsically through a tin can as our heroes deal with their problems. The whole first half is nothing but a musical in this vein and it is very pleasant. It actually reminds me of my childhood due to having seen many of these older Disney films when I was just a little guy. Whimsical notes are carried by whimsical visuals, and it is almost hypnotic in its execution.
I think your kids will like this movie, but in today’s world they might also get bored. These types of cartoons just aren’t as engaging as they were in the past. The bigger problem I see with this one is the live action segment–there’s this sequence where this guy is entertaining his daughter or something at a birthday party. It’s just him, her, and three ventriloquist dummies that all talk out of turn. The creep factor rises when it’s revealed that these dummies don’t require the ventriloquist to be attached in order to talk and behave. The little girl enjoys this, but I really think that whole set is haunted.
ThomFiles 