Fun & Fancy Free (1947)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Directors:

Jack Kinney
Hamilton Luske

Writers:

Homer Brightman (story) &
Harry Reeves (story) ...

Release Date:

27 September 1947 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Family | Music

Tagline:

It's Got That DISNEY MAGIC! (original print media ad - many caps)

Plot:

Jiminy Cricket hosts two Disney animated shorts: "Bongo," about a circus bear escaping to the wild, and "Mickey and the Beanstalk," a take on the famous fairy tale.

Plot Keywords:

Jiminy Cricket | Mickey Mouse | Title Appears In Song | Anthology | Disney Animated Feature

Cast

Edgar Bergen	...	Himself
Dinah Shore	...	(voice)
Charlie McCarthy	...	Himself
Mortimer Snerd	...	Himself
Luana Patten	...	Herself
Walt Disney	...	Mickey Mouse (voice) (as Mickey Mouse)
Anita Gordon	...	Singing Harp (voice)
Cliff Edwards	...	Jiminy Cricket (voice)
Billy Gilbert	...	Willie the Giant (voice)
Clarence Nash	...	Donald Duck (voice)
The King's Men	...	Themselves (as The Kings Men)
The Dinning Sisters	...	Themselves
The Starlighters	...	Themselves

Runtime:

73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:G (re-rating) (1970) | New Zealand:G | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Denmark:A (2003) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #12068, General Audience)

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

The latter segment, "Mickey and the Beanstalk" was released on television with Disney TV star Ludwig Von Drake narrating, and dubbing over many of Charlie McCarthy's jokes.

Quotes:

Luana Patten: Ooh, dragonflies!
Charlie McCarthy: Yeah. A-flyin' front and draggin' behind.

Movie Connections:

Featured in DTV Valentine (1986) (TV)

Soundtrack:

I'm A Happy-Go-Lucky Fellow

Not Disney's best, but has its interest points

The 9th animated Disney classic is something I have mixed feelings about, in similarity to what happens with "The Three Caballeros".

It's a curious cartoon with some to offer, yet not one of Disney's finest creations.

For one thing, I like its introduction. I was surprised when I heard a familiar singing voice. I thought «This voice sounds like Jiminy Cricket». And in the next moment, Jiminy Cricket appears, voiced by the same Cliff Edwards. Another interesting fact is that Jiminy Cricket is the narrator of the story in some parts. He introduces us the first of the two stories, "Bongo": it is the story of a little circus bear that runs away from the circus and discovers what it's like to be free.

I liked the story of Bongo and the character itself. He's a cute and adorable little bear. This is, without a doubt, the best segment of this motion picture. It is, however, narrated by Dinah Shore.

As for the second and final segment, "Mickey and the Beanstalk", it is narrated by Edgar Bergen, but before that there are a few live-action scenes where Edgar Bergen is working as a ventriloquist and tells the tale to child actress Luana Patten. After the end of the story, there are a few more live-action scenes like this and Jiminy Cricket appears in both.

As for the segment itself, needless to say it is based on "Jack and the Beanstalk". It's not a bad segment, but honestly I found it nothing special. It features, however, well known cartoons like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy. It also features Willie, the famous temperamental giant from some Disney tales. Mickey Mouse is voiced by Walt Disney himself, while Donald Duck is voiced by the inimitable Clarence Nash.