Project Disney: Wind In The Willows

I've not hidden the fact that the package movies have been quite tough to get through but they are finally over. It ended with The Adventures of Ichebod and Mr Toad. Similar to Fun and Fancy Free, this one only comprised the two stories. The first of which was the Disney take on the English classic, The Wind In The Willows with the second being their take on Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Both were thoroughly enjoyable with the extended running time allowing the stories and characters to develop. An interesting observation on this one was the Weasels who moved into Toad Hall. They were the basis for the Toon Patrol in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Project Disney: Johnny Appleseed

Next up was no. 10 - Melody Time. I was expecting this one to be a long 73 minutes and not long into it I was set to be proven correct. However, as I have come to expect with the package movies, there are some gems hidden inside. The highlight of this one was the 'Little Toot' segment which follows a young tugboat who aspires to be like his father. Another highlight was the reunion of The Three Caballeros in a Samba inspired segment.

With 20% of the Disney Classics canon done, I am going to try and start to be a bit more regular with this. I aim to finish off the package movies with 'The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr Toad' tomorrow morning and then resume onto the features hopefully maintaining a rate of at least one every other night.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Project Disney: Bongo And The Beanstalk

Well, this one was a pleasant surprise. Fun and Fancy Free is the first of the package movies I have fully enjoyed. It only brings together two stories, allowing a proper narrative to exist and be developed in each one.

• Bongo - as the narration begins, we are told this is the story of three bears, but not the one we all know. Bongo is a circus bear who escapes to sample freedom. On the outside he falls for a female bear but realises that he must prove himself in the wild. This brings about an encounter with the current alpha male of the pack who he must overcome.


• Mickey & The Beanstalk - as the title suggests, this is a retelling of the classic beanstalk tale incorporating Mickey in the lead role accompanied by Donald and Goofy.The absolute highlight of this was Donald during the opening exchanges where his hunger was driving him demented.

Only two to go until we are back with the feature lengths.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Project Disney: Operatic Whale

I can't wait to get back to the single narratives as the wall that is the 40's package movies is really putting me off. I managed to get through another one, Make Mine Music. The first half of this was a struggle but it picked up with the Peter and the Wolf segment and then ended on a high with The Whale Who Wanted To Sing At The Met. Of the three that are remaining, I am holding out some hope. Only one is made up of multiple segments to music with the other two having two single stories each.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Project Disney: Aye Carumba

I have definitely hit a lull with this. I knew this would be an early stumbling block and it has proven to be the case. The Three Caballeros was the second of the 40's package movies and it was hugely uninspiring. It was good to see Donald Duck getting full billing but it dragged on a bit. I'm not a great fan of short movies bundled together and these are testing me. Only a few to go till we are back with feature stories.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Tent Failure

Anyone who knows me will know that I have got a bit outdoorsy over recent times in an effort to stay fit. I think the pictures on the blog support that. One thing that has been playing on my mind is camping. It is something I have been curious about but never done. I have been invited along to a couple of trips to give it a go. I never had the right kit and usually had other stuff on so had to decline each time. That has all changed though. While on our daily lunchtime trek down Sauchiehall Street, me and Mac stumbled into Millets and walked out, each being a tent richer. I was thinking of the possibility of getting a tent maybe come festival season when there is a plentiful supply of them kicking about, but being one for a bargain, that day came early. I was now the pround owner of a Eurohike Backpacker tent for the bargain sum of £20 (saving £40 on the retail).

I have never tried to put a tent up and I wouldn't know where to start. With this in mind, I have left it sitting, waiting for a relatively nice day to set it up. Last weekend was chucking it down but today was the day. The ground looked alright and it was nice out. With my plot of land sorted (my garden), it was time to construct my summer house.



Remember when I said it was a nice day? I lied, it was very windy and even more so when you don't know what your doing and bits are flying to other gardens.



It was quite good though after the first pole was through as it let me gauge an idea to the size of it.



After getting the basic shape (pre guy ropes), I decided to call it a day and wait for it to die down. I know what you are gonna say, it'll be wet and windy when you use it. I know that, but I want to have the experience of building it first time round so I have a clue how to do it when the conditions are a bit adverse.



As usual, you can check out more photos with some comedy captions at the Picasa Web Album.

2011-02-20 - Tent Failure

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Project Disney: Hello Friends

The next period in Project Disney sees a slight detour off the path of what we all perceive to be Classic Disney. In the 40s, Disney released their so-called 'package films' due to a shortage of staff resulting from the war effort and the immediate aftermath. The most important one of these is probably the first one. Saludos Amigos was the result of an ambassadorial mission to South America funded by the US State department. Disney animation was well received in Latin America so the government felt they should be used to try and counteract the Nazi ties that existed on the continent. The notes and inspirations became Saludos Amigos and it's 1944 follow up - The Three Caballeros. The story of the trip is documented in the documentary Walt And El Grupo which I aim to cover in a bonus post when all 6 package films are complete.

With the backstory dealt with, I can move onto the actual movie. I have not checked, but at 40 minutes, this might be the shortest of the Disney Classics. Being a package movie, it is made up of four short animations inspired by Latin America with live action footage in between each one showing the animators on their trip. The movie is narrated in Portuguese with subtitles provided.

1. Lake Titicaca - In this short, Donald Duck plays an American tourist basically getting to grips with the local culture.


2. Pedro - In true Disney fashion, they used an inanimate object as the focal character. Pedro is a small plane who takes overthe mail delivery duties from his father. The short follows his trip through the Andes in a storm.


3. El Gaucho Goofy - Goofy portrays an American cowboy who is transported to the pampas to experiance what it is like to be his Argentinian equivalent.


4. Aquarela do Brasil - This is the one the previous three were building to. It embodies all the elements you assosciate with South America. Key to this are bright colours, the sounds and samba dancing. It follows Donald Duck being shown the latin dance from José Carioca, the "dapper Brazilian parrot" created specifically for South American audiences.

I'll be honest, I didn't like this one. Short no 4 was refreshing but I felt the preceding three were a bit labourious regardless of their runtime. I would maybe give it another viewing in the future but for now, it wasn't for me.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•