Fun and Fancy Free
| Fun and Fancy Free | |
|---|---|
| Directed by |
|
| Story by |
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| Produced by | Walt Disney |
| Starring | |
| Narrated by |
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| Edited by | Jack Bachom |
| Music by | |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 73 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2.4 million (US rentals)[1] |
Fun and Fancy Free is a 1947 American animated musical fantasy comedy package movie. It was produced by Walt Disney. It was released on September 27, 1947 by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the 9th Disney animated movie and the fourth of the package movies the studio produced in the 1940s in order to save money during World War II. The Disney package movies of the late 1940s helped finance Cinderella, and subsequent others, such as Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan.
Stories
[change | change source]The movie features two stories.
Bongo
[change | change source]The first story, Bongo, is hosted by Jiminy Cricket and narrated by Dinah Shore. Based on the tale "Little Bear Bongo" by Sinclair Lewis, Bongo tells the story of a circus bear cub named Bongo who longs for freedom from captivity. Bongo escapes the circus and eventually forms a romantic relationship with a female bear cub named Lulubelle in the wild, realizing that he must prove himself in order to earn Lulubelle as his mate.
Mickey and the Beanstalk
[change | change source]The second story, Mickey and the Beanstalk, is hosted by Edgar Bergen and Sterling Holloway and is a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk featuring Mickey, Donald, and Goofy as three pheasants who discover the temperamental Willie the Giant's castle in the sky through the use of some magic beans. They must battle the greedy but lovable giant in order to restore peace to their valley. Mickey and the Beanstalk was the last time Walt Disney voiced Mickey Mouse, because he was too busy on other projects to continue voicing the famous character. Disney replaced himself with sound effects artist Jimmy MacDonald.
Voice cast
[change | change source]- Edgar Bergen – himself, Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd
- Luana Patten – herself
- Dinah Shore – singer, narrator of Bongo
- Sterling Holloway - narrator of Mickey and the Beanstalk
- Cliff Edwards – Jiminy Cricket
- Walt Disney – Mickey Mouse
- Clarence Nash – Donald Duck
- Pinto Colvig – Goofy
- Billy Gilbert – Willie the Giant
- Anita Gordon – singing harp
- Thurl Ravenscroft - Bull
- The King's Men – Happy Valley crows
Rereleased
[change | change source]- October 18, 1957
- September 14, 1960
- December 15, 1967
- June 21, 1974
- May 23, 1980
- April 12, 1985
- May 15, 1992
- June 30, 1995
Reception
[change | change source]Fun and Fancy Free received mostly positive reception. Rotten Tomatoes said that the movie has a 71% approval rating based on 7 reviews, with an average score of 6/10. The site's consensus reads, "Though it doesn't quite live up to its title, Fun and Fancy Free has its moments, and it's a rare opportunity to see Mickey, Donald, and Goofy together."[2]
Home media
[change | change source]Fun and Fancy Free was first released on VHS in 1982. It was re-released on VHS and LaserDisc in 1997 as part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection. It made its DVD debut in 2000 as part of the Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection. The movie was released in a 2-Movie collection Blu-ray with The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad on August 12, 2014.[source?]
Directing animators
[change | change source]- Ward Kimball (Jiminy Cricket, Donald Duck, Lumpjaw)
- Les Clark (Singing Harp, Lulubelle)
- John Lounsbery (Willie the Giant)
- Fred Moore (Mickey Mouse)
- Wolfgang Reitherman (Goofy)
- Art Babbitt (Bongo)
References
[change | change source]- ↑ "Top Grossers of 1947", Variety, January 7, 1948 p 63
- ↑ "Fun & Fancy Free (1947)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 31, 2016.