“Fun and Fancy Free” was the 9th full length movie ever produced by Walt Disney Studios, and it is the last film in which Walt Disney himself provided the voice for Mickey Mouse.
Rather than being one continuous story from beginning to end, “Fun and Fancy Free” is broken up into chunks throughout. We begin the movie with Jiminy Cricket (voiced by Cliff Edwards) receiving an invitation to come to the home of Edgar Bergen, famous ventriloquist. A few other friends have been invited as well, and he chooses to entertain his guests by telling them a few stories, with some help and some interference from his dummy, Charlie.
The first tale told by Edgar is that of Bongo, the little bear. Once a circus animal, he learns to live in the wild, where the strange custom amongst the bears is to slap each other as a sign of falling in love. Bongo really isn’t sure what he thinks of this, but by the end of the short, he’s slapping along happily along with the rest of them.
The other featured story in this film is that of Mickey and the Beanstalk. More than just the straight telling of the old fairy tale, this new adaptation includes a more detailed description of the plight of the villagers, as well as music, one-line jokes and other humor, including sight gags. For instance, while the beanstalk is growing, Mickey and his roommates Donald (Clarence Nash) and Goofy (Pinto Colvig) find themselves sleeping on leaves which curve in such a way as to keep them all snug and comfy, even while ripping them out of their beds and hoisting them up to the sky. Once at the giant’s castle, the story pretty much follows the traditional tale.
While this movie isn’t my favorite by Disney, there is much to recommend it and I think your children will enjoy watching the ventriloquist and the skillful way he uses the dummy.
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