Munir's Disney Retrospective -- Animated Classic #9: Fun and Fancy Free (1947)

By Munir Abedrabbo.

Last Week's: Munir's Disney Retrospective -- Animated Classic #8: Make Mine Music (1946)

Here, finally, we have the first fully satisfying anthology film, and one that deserves a better reputation and more exposure than it gets nowadays. Part of its success is that it only has two very strong segments instead of many weak ones, and also because it features many beloved Disney characters (Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Jiminy Cricket!) in various roles. Both segments ‘Bongo’ about a bear in love and ‘Mickey and the Beanstalk’, a variation of the famous Jack and the Beanstalk story, feature plenty of laughs and good character development. Also helping matters is Jiminy Cricket’s intervention as the host, as well as famous ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, as himself, and his marionettes providing some comic relief and serving as narrator for the Mickey short. All these ingredients blend perfectly to produce a movie that, while still composed of short films, manages to deliver high quality feature entertainment and one of the best segments featuring Mickey & Co. in the studio’s history. Rating: 4/5.

Next Week: Animated Classic #10 Review: Melody Time (1948)