55 reviews
Fun and Fancy Free is for me one of Disney's lesser efforts, but is still very charming, simple and enjoyable. I did think the live action sequences were dated though, and the film is quite short. Out of all the characters, the only character I didn't care for that much was the puppet. Apart from the hilarious "well she used to be a good milker, but now... she is an udder failure" he didn't really make an impact on me. Maybe it was because the ventriloquism was rather substandard.
However, I really enjoyed this on the whole. The introduction with Jiminy Cricket- voiced by the one and only Cliff Edwards- in the library was very effective, as was a vast majority of the script. The animation is stunning, and by far the best aspect of the movie, and I hope I am not the only person who found the songs beautiful and memorable, my favourite being "My what a happy day".
There are two mini-classics here, Bongo and Mickey and the Beanstalk. Both are wonderful gems, but I will admit I do prefer the latter. Bongo tells the rather simple story of the adorable Bongo and his endeavour into a world he has never known before, after being the star attraction of a circus. It is very sweet and well meaning, and the narration isn't so bad either. Mickey and the Beanstalk is a favourite of mine. Wonderful voice acting, terrific animation especially for the beanstalk and nice music made this memorable for me.
Other things that impressed were one Jiminy Cricket of course, well how can he not impress, he is a classic character in the history of animation? Two, I thought Edgar Bergen was very entertaining in this film asides from the ventriloquism, and also child actress Luana Patten was impressive.
All in all, one of Disney's lesser efforts, but has undeniable charm due to the animated segments and Cricket himself. 7/10 Bethany Cox
However, I really enjoyed this on the whole. The introduction with Jiminy Cricket- voiced by the one and only Cliff Edwards- in the library was very effective, as was a vast majority of the script. The animation is stunning, and by far the best aspect of the movie, and I hope I am not the only person who found the songs beautiful and memorable, my favourite being "My what a happy day".
There are two mini-classics here, Bongo and Mickey and the Beanstalk. Both are wonderful gems, but I will admit I do prefer the latter. Bongo tells the rather simple story of the adorable Bongo and his endeavour into a world he has never known before, after being the star attraction of a circus. It is very sweet and well meaning, and the narration isn't so bad either. Mickey and the Beanstalk is a favourite of mine. Wonderful voice acting, terrific animation especially for the beanstalk and nice music made this memorable for me.
Other things that impressed were one Jiminy Cricket of course, well how can he not impress, he is a classic character in the history of animation? Two, I thought Edgar Bergen was very entertaining in this film asides from the ventriloquism, and also child actress Luana Patten was impressive.
All in all, one of Disney's lesser efforts, but has undeniable charm due to the animated segments and Cricket himself. 7/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Sep 30, 2009
- Permalink
This is a good combination of two animated stories/shorts: Bongo and Micky and the Beanstalk. while watching a mixture of stories and a mixture of animation and live action was a little awkward, Jiminy Cricket held it together. This film's latest release on video gives everyone the opportunity to see this tiny treasure for the first time. While, it doesn't rank up with the Best of Disney's animation, it is still worth seeing, if nothing else for Walt Disney's last film as the voice of Mickey.
- ryangilmer007
- Jan 24, 1999
- Permalink
After WWII, the Walt Disney company released a couple feature films that were actually nothing more than a few long cartoons strung together to feature length. The result were movies like this one as well as "Make Mine Music" and "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" which are essentially movies that seem a bit disjoint, as the theme that links the shorts is tenuous at best. Here, "Fun and Fancy Free" is a vague term and really has nothing to do with the cartoons. In addition, the quality of the two cartoons is quite different.
The first cartoon, "Bongo", frankly is awfully lame. Despite having some nice splashy colors, the story is weak and should have supported an 8-10 minute film--not a short running over a half hour. Plus, so much of the film seemed like filler--with LOTS and LOTS of singing from Dinah Shore and others. It's the story of a miserable circus bear who longs to be free. But, when a chance opportunity occurs and he escapes, life in the wild isn't as easy as he expected. Apart from a few cute characters (including a girl bear--you can tell because she has a flower growing out of her head), there isn't much to recommend it. I assume kids of the day really were bored by the cartoon and its watchability is not great. I'd score this one a 4---mostly because the animation is pretty good.
The final cartoon is the one kids will love, as it features Mickey, Donald and Goofy. Oddly, however, unlike the first cartoon, this one features a lot of live-action--with Edgar Bergen and his puppets entertaining a cute little girl with a Disney-fied version of "Jack and the Beanstalk". In this version, the three heroes take on the mean giant--wonderfully brought to life by the voice of Billy Gilbert. While it's clearly a variation of an earlier Disney film ("The Brave Little Tailor"), it still is very watchable and cute. Not a brilliant film, nevertheless it actually makes "Fun and Fancy Free" worth seeing. Plus, fans of Edgar Bergen will enjoy seeing him and his characters. I particularly enjoyed Charlie's 'Udder failure' comment. I'd give this one an 8.
Overall, it's a highly uneven and odd hodgepodge that, frankly, is not especially great viewing. However, the accompanying documentary about this, "The Story Behind Walt Disney's Fun & Fancy Free" is a lot more interesting than the film itself--so if you get the DVD, be sure to watch this in the special features.
The first cartoon, "Bongo", frankly is awfully lame. Despite having some nice splashy colors, the story is weak and should have supported an 8-10 minute film--not a short running over a half hour. Plus, so much of the film seemed like filler--with LOTS and LOTS of singing from Dinah Shore and others. It's the story of a miserable circus bear who longs to be free. But, when a chance opportunity occurs and he escapes, life in the wild isn't as easy as he expected. Apart from a few cute characters (including a girl bear--you can tell because she has a flower growing out of her head), there isn't much to recommend it. I assume kids of the day really were bored by the cartoon and its watchability is not great. I'd score this one a 4---mostly because the animation is pretty good.
The final cartoon is the one kids will love, as it features Mickey, Donald and Goofy. Oddly, however, unlike the first cartoon, this one features a lot of live-action--with Edgar Bergen and his puppets entertaining a cute little girl with a Disney-fied version of "Jack and the Beanstalk". In this version, the three heroes take on the mean giant--wonderfully brought to life by the voice of Billy Gilbert. While it's clearly a variation of an earlier Disney film ("The Brave Little Tailor"), it still is very watchable and cute. Not a brilliant film, nevertheless it actually makes "Fun and Fancy Free" worth seeing. Plus, fans of Edgar Bergen will enjoy seeing him and his characters. I particularly enjoyed Charlie's 'Udder failure' comment. I'd give this one an 8.
Overall, it's a highly uneven and odd hodgepodge that, frankly, is not especially great viewing. However, the accompanying documentary about this, "The Story Behind Walt Disney's Fun & Fancy Free" is a lot more interesting than the film itself--so if you get the DVD, be sure to watch this in the special features.
- planktonrules
- Jan 7, 2011
- Permalink
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.
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.
This "Fun and Fancy Free" DVD (cheerfully brought to you by Disney Studios) contains two, enjoyable, 35-minute animated films from 1947.
Hosted by everyone's favourite insect - Jiminy Cricket - These 2 tales of fun-fun-fun and fancy-free adventure also feature several musical numbers as an added bonus.
Story #1 is all about Bongo, the circus bear, who desperately wants to get himself back to the forest, like, pronto.
Story #2 has Mickey Mouse (taking the place of Jack), along with Donald Duck and Goofy, climbing the beanstalk all the way up to the nasty giant's fantastic castle in the sky - "Fee-Fye-Foe-Fum!"
*Note* - Mickey Mouse was voiced by Walt Disney, himself.
Hosted by everyone's favourite insect - Jiminy Cricket - These 2 tales of fun-fun-fun and fancy-free adventure also feature several musical numbers as an added bonus.
Story #1 is all about Bongo, the circus bear, who desperately wants to get himself back to the forest, like, pronto.
Story #2 has Mickey Mouse (taking the place of Jack), along with Donald Duck and Goofy, climbing the beanstalk all the way up to the nasty giant's fantastic castle in the sky - "Fee-Fye-Foe-Fum!"
*Note* - Mickey Mouse was voiced by Walt Disney, himself.
- strong-122-478885
- Dec 10, 2016
- Permalink
Fun Disney picture with two stories. The first is Bongo, a cute story about a little bear falling in love and having to fight a bigger bear for his lady. Flimsy story but it moves along quickly enough. It's over a half-hour long but I didn't even really think about how long it was until after it was over so I certainly can't complain about the pacing. This story was narrated by Dinah Shore, who also sings. Lovely voice. Modern viewers, particularly those with a dark sense of humor, might see a domestic violence message in this one. Bongo was something of a 'gangsta.'
The second story is the Mickey Mouse version of Jack and the Beanstalk. I know I saw this one many times as a kid but, for the life of me, I don't remember seeing Bongo before today. So perhaps this was released on a VHS collection or something back in the day, separate from this film. This one is narrated by ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, who also appears in a live action segment doing his puppet routine in what appears to be a private birthday party for a little girl who I hoped was his daughter but turns out it was Disney child star Luana Patten. A little creepy but different times.
Jiminy Cricket also appears in the beginning and in a linking segment from the first story to the second. As always with classic Disney, the animation is excellent, with beautiful drawings and rich colors. Love the music, as well. This is far from my favorite Disney movie, even limited to the compilation ones. But I do enjoy it a lot and I can't imagine most Disney fans not liking it.
The second story is the Mickey Mouse version of Jack and the Beanstalk. I know I saw this one many times as a kid but, for the life of me, I don't remember seeing Bongo before today. So perhaps this was released on a VHS collection or something back in the day, separate from this film. This one is narrated by ventriloquist Edgar Bergen, who also appears in a live action segment doing his puppet routine in what appears to be a private birthday party for a little girl who I hoped was his daughter but turns out it was Disney child star Luana Patten. A little creepy but different times.
Jiminy Cricket also appears in the beginning and in a linking segment from the first story to the second. As always with classic Disney, the animation is excellent, with beautiful drawings and rich colors. Love the music, as well. This is far from my favorite Disney movie, even limited to the compilation ones. But I do enjoy it a lot and I can't imagine most Disney fans not liking it.
The duo of Disney and RKO continue the magic onto 1947 with this flick, "Fun and Fancy Free." In it are a couple of wonderful and terrific stories: "Bongo," and "Mickey and the Beanstalk." Again, this movie has everything that you would expect in a Disney classic. Also, look out for more great Disney friends, like Jiminy Cricket!!!!!
One interesting fact: did you know that Walt Disney, the man who created Mickey, was the voice of Mickey Mouse? In "Mickey and the Beanstalk," Walt Disney himself voiced as Mickey Mouse, and that would end up being his last cartoon to do so.
So, this shows that movies like this just aren't made anymore. (sniff) But still, watch this movie with your children, enjoy it, and have a whole lot of fun with "Fun and Fancy Free!!!!!" 10 out of 10 stars.
One interesting fact: did you know that Walt Disney, the man who created Mickey, was the voice of Mickey Mouse? In "Mickey and the Beanstalk," Walt Disney himself voiced as Mickey Mouse, and that would end up being his last cartoon to do so.
So, this shows that movies like this just aren't made anymore. (sniff) But still, watch this movie with your children, enjoy it, and have a whole lot of fun with "Fun and Fancy Free!!!!!" 10 out of 10 stars.
Fun&Fancy Free features the combining of two mixed live action and animated tales. The story of Bongo features Dinah Shore as it tells the bear love triangle
story of Bongo the circus bear who did not mix much with his fellow bears of the
wild. But he hears the call of nature and there's female bear Lily and a rough
tough bear named Lumpjaw who is interested too.
All I'll say is that Bongo's education has been sadly neglected. But it all works out to the songs that Dinah Shore sings to help the story along.
The second half has Edgar Bergen and his wooden friends telling Luana Patten the story of Mickey and the Beanstalk with Mickey Mouse taking over the role of Jack. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy do the beanstalk climb with the familiar encounter with the giant voiced Billy Gilbert.
Fun&Fancy Free is a charming Disney creation absolutely timeless.
All I'll say is that Bongo's education has been sadly neglected. But it all works out to the songs that Dinah Shore sings to help the story along.
The second half has Edgar Bergen and his wooden friends telling Luana Patten the story of Mickey and the Beanstalk with Mickey Mouse taking over the role of Jack. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy do the beanstalk climb with the familiar encounter with the giant voiced Billy Gilbert.
Fun&Fancy Free is a charming Disney creation absolutely timeless.
- bkoganbing
- Sep 2, 2019
- Permalink
Directed by Jack Kinney, Hamilton Luske, Bill Roberts & William Morgan. Starring Edgar Bergen, voices of Dinah Shore, Cliff Edwards, Walt Disney, Clarence Nash, Billy Gilbert, Pinto Colvig, Anita Gordon.
One of the Disney package films assembled between "Bambi" (1942) and "Cinderella" (1950) (when the company was low on funds due to the war effort), largely forgotten today. Features two individual stories linked together by filler material featuring Jiminy Cricket (still voiced wonderfully by Edwards, but not nearly as enchanting here as he was in "Pinnochio"), as well as Edgar Bergen in live-action cutaways that will test the patience of anyone who isn't utterly enamored with ventriloquism. The first segment is innocuous and inconsequential and a bit of a bore, featuring a circus bear named Bongo who escapes into the wild, meets a cute girl bear, and learns that nothing says, "I love you," quite as well as giving your sweetie a rough slap to the kisser (you read that right). The second is a loose retelling of "Jack and the Beanstalk" with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy; it's a treat to see the three of them together, but too much time is spent with Willie the giant, a big galoot who is neither amusing nor menacing. Not much to recommend here to anyone who isn't a "treasures from the Disney vault" buff, but the traditional, painstaking hand-drawn animation is always nice to look at, even if it's not quite up to the level of the bigger-budget productions of the early '40s.
48/100
One of the Disney package films assembled between "Bambi" (1942) and "Cinderella" (1950) (when the company was low on funds due to the war effort), largely forgotten today. Features two individual stories linked together by filler material featuring Jiminy Cricket (still voiced wonderfully by Edwards, but not nearly as enchanting here as he was in "Pinnochio"), as well as Edgar Bergen in live-action cutaways that will test the patience of anyone who isn't utterly enamored with ventriloquism. The first segment is innocuous and inconsequential and a bit of a bore, featuring a circus bear named Bongo who escapes into the wild, meets a cute girl bear, and learns that nothing says, "I love you," quite as well as giving your sweetie a rough slap to the kisser (you read that right). The second is a loose retelling of "Jack and the Beanstalk" with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy; it's a treat to see the three of them together, but too much time is spent with Willie the giant, a big galoot who is neither amusing nor menacing. Not much to recommend here to anyone who isn't a "treasures from the Disney vault" buff, but the traditional, painstaking hand-drawn animation is always nice to look at, even if it's not quite up to the level of the bigger-budget productions of the early '40s.
48/100
- fntstcplnt
- Sep 4, 2019
- Permalink
- chrisbishop5000
- Sep 6, 2008
- Permalink
Yet another Disney film that tried to hold them aloft after the war years. A short film collection, like all the rest, though this time we only get a two segments and a framing story featuring Jiminy Cricket.
Of these two segment, Bongo, the first one, is pure boredom. It's nothing but this circus bear escaping his confinement and gallivanting around in the forest. And you already know how it goes. At first he's thrilled, then the actual, you know, nature rears its ugly head, he meets other animals, gets into trouble, rinse and repeat ad nauseam. Granted, the animation is pretty good, some of physical stunts are pretty humorous and the music could be worse, but it's simply so uninteresting. Nothing of value happens, the main character barely has a personality and... boring!
Mickey and the Beanstalk, on the other hand, is a born classic. This is an incredible segment, featuring Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck as medieval farmers living in an enchanted valley, ruled by a magic harp (it's not as weird as you think), who unfortunately has now gone missing and thus everyone hungers. And you know the story. Mickey goes to sell their cow, buys some "magic" beans, and the rest is story telling history. It's action-packed, the three make for a hilarious comedic trio, the animation is impressive, the story thrilling and it's just a great deal of fun.
I also have to mention that the framing story is beyond creepy, especially the ending. Jiminy Cricket is fine, he's one of Disney's finest as always, but they decided to hire a famous ventriloquist Edgar Bergen to play himself in the framing story, and his puppets are simply put pure horror. Who decided this was appropriate for little kids?
So yeah, Mickey and the Beanstalk is a really good segment, but it has since been re-released on its own so many times that there's really no reason to see its actual origins film. Watch this if you want to say you've seen them all.
Of these two segment, Bongo, the first one, is pure boredom. It's nothing but this circus bear escaping his confinement and gallivanting around in the forest. And you already know how it goes. At first he's thrilled, then the actual, you know, nature rears its ugly head, he meets other animals, gets into trouble, rinse and repeat ad nauseam. Granted, the animation is pretty good, some of physical stunts are pretty humorous and the music could be worse, but it's simply so uninteresting. Nothing of value happens, the main character barely has a personality and... boring!
Mickey and the Beanstalk, on the other hand, is a born classic. This is an incredible segment, featuring Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck as medieval farmers living in an enchanted valley, ruled by a magic harp (it's not as weird as you think), who unfortunately has now gone missing and thus everyone hungers. And you know the story. Mickey goes to sell their cow, buys some "magic" beans, and the rest is story telling history. It's action-packed, the three make for a hilarious comedic trio, the animation is impressive, the story thrilling and it's just a great deal of fun.
I also have to mention that the framing story is beyond creepy, especially the ending. Jiminy Cricket is fine, he's one of Disney's finest as always, but they decided to hire a famous ventriloquist Edgar Bergen to play himself in the framing story, and his puppets are simply put pure horror. Who decided this was appropriate for little kids?
So yeah, Mickey and the Beanstalk is a really good segment, but it has since been re-released on its own so many times that there's really no reason to see its actual origins film. Watch this if you want to say you've seen them all.
- Vartiainen
- Jun 23, 2015
- Permalink
"Bambi" (1942) was the last REAL animated feature the Disney studio released in the 1940s. Until 1950, there would only be shorts - which in general weren't as good either as the innovative ones made in the 1930s, or Jack Hannah's comic masterpieces of the 1950s - and compilation features: "The Reluctant Dragon" (1941), "Saludos Amigos" (1943), "The Three Caballeros" (1945), "Make Mine Music" (1946), "Fun and Fancy Free" (1947), "Melody Time" (1948), "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad" (1949). You're unlikely to have seen ANY of these. All of them were stripped apart into their component pieces long ago, largely because, with the exception of "The Three Caballeros", there's no reason to keep any of them in one piece. ("Fantasia" is another exception, so much so that I've left it off the list altogether - it's a completely different kind of endeavour.)
I say this even though "The Three Caballeros" is the only one I'VE seen. I have seen most of the material that went into these movies, though, and trust me: it's uneven, and there's no coherent way of gluing most of it together. -"Fun and Fancy Free", in any event, consists of just two extended shorts: "Bongo" and "Mickey and the Beanstalk". I'm writing mainly to defend the latter. People are much too hard on it. There's a marked similarity between it and the winning short cartoon "The Brave Little Tailor" (1938), another fairytale with Disney characters taking the lead roles, and while "Beanstalk" lacks the earlier short's freshness, it has the advantage of having Donald and Goofy in it, two terribly under-rated cartoon stars who, although capable of sustaining shorts on their own, play off well against one another. (That's why it's impossible to make a Mickey/Donald/Goofy cartoon that's a TOTAL failure.) "Mickey and the Beanstalk" is one of the few post-war cartoons to recapture the spirit of Disney's depression-era stuff.
"Bongo" is of almost no interest - a vapid, directionless account of a circus bear who must adapt to life in the wild, complete with songs. People interested in the history of animation should see every Disney production they can get their eyes on; there's no other reason to see this one. The sheer POINTLESSNESS of pairing "Bongo" with "Mickey and the Beanstalk" makes this Disney's most bizarre compilation feature of the decade. -I wish I'd seen the linking segments. They can't possibly JUSTIFY the film's arbitrary nature, but it might be entertaining to see them try.
I say this even though "The Three Caballeros" is the only one I'VE seen. I have seen most of the material that went into these movies, though, and trust me: it's uneven, and there's no coherent way of gluing most of it together. -"Fun and Fancy Free", in any event, consists of just two extended shorts: "Bongo" and "Mickey and the Beanstalk". I'm writing mainly to defend the latter. People are much too hard on it. There's a marked similarity between it and the winning short cartoon "The Brave Little Tailor" (1938), another fairytale with Disney characters taking the lead roles, and while "Beanstalk" lacks the earlier short's freshness, it has the advantage of having Donald and Goofy in it, two terribly under-rated cartoon stars who, although capable of sustaining shorts on their own, play off well against one another. (That's why it's impossible to make a Mickey/Donald/Goofy cartoon that's a TOTAL failure.) "Mickey and the Beanstalk" is one of the few post-war cartoons to recapture the spirit of Disney's depression-era stuff.
"Bongo" is of almost no interest - a vapid, directionless account of a circus bear who must adapt to life in the wild, complete with songs. People interested in the history of animation should see every Disney production they can get their eyes on; there's no other reason to see this one. The sheer POINTLESSNESS of pairing "Bongo" with "Mickey and the Beanstalk" makes this Disney's most bizarre compilation feature of the decade. -I wish I'd seen the linking segments. They can't possibly JUSTIFY the film's arbitrary nature, but it might be entertaining to see them try.
Jiminy Cricket hosts this Disney animated movie with two short stories. "Bongo" is an unhappy circus bear. The lock on his train car comes undone and he manages to escape into a forest where he encounters other bears. Edgar Bergen does his ventriloquism with Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. The second story is "Mickey and the Beanstalk" which is a new take on the classic fairy tale.
Little Bear Bongo didn't get much traction. I don't see him as that charismatic. He's a bit of a sad sack. Quite frankly, I've never heard of him before this movie. The songs aren't that catchy. Bongo defeating the mean bear is expected although I expect the battle to be more imaginative. It's not much. I have similar feelings about Charlie McCarthy. He may be a childhood classic for a generation but that generation isn't my generation. On the other hand, Mickey Beanstalk is a classic. It is iconic. It's not as bright or sharp as I remember and it's also chopped up by going back to Edgar Bergen. I would be giving a ten to Mickey but the rest pulls it down.
Little Bear Bongo didn't get much traction. I don't see him as that charismatic. He's a bit of a sad sack. Quite frankly, I've never heard of him before this movie. The songs aren't that catchy. Bongo defeating the mean bear is expected although I expect the battle to be more imaginative. It's not much. I have similar feelings about Charlie McCarthy. He may be a childhood classic for a generation but that generation isn't my generation. On the other hand, Mickey Beanstalk is a classic. It is iconic. It's not as bright or sharp as I remember and it's also chopped up by going back to Edgar Bergen. I would be giving a ten to Mickey but the rest pulls it down.
- SnoopyStyle
- Sep 2, 2019
- Permalink
Two fairy tales.
I guess Jiminy Cricket is incapable of entering a home that doesn't have a goldfish, a cat and a doll that isn't quite human? The animation makes great use of color and shading. The animals move very naturally and look very close to their real life counterparts, except for when they are intentionally exaggerated or humanized.
This sometimes spends a lot of time on atmosphere and less on plot than I would like, although without a doubt, the falling in love montage, with near constant heart motif, is charming and adorable. The second story is told by a ventriloquist bickering with his two dummies, which makes it cuter and funnier. Women are not given much to do but be fought over.
I recommend this to fans of Disney. 7/10.
I guess Jiminy Cricket is incapable of entering a home that doesn't have a goldfish, a cat and a doll that isn't quite human? The animation makes great use of color and shading. The animals move very naturally and look very close to their real life counterparts, except for when they are intentionally exaggerated or humanized.
This sometimes spends a lot of time on atmosphere and less on plot than I would like, although without a doubt, the falling in love montage, with near constant heart motif, is charming and adorable. The second story is told by a ventriloquist bickering with his two dummies, which makes it cuter and funnier. Women are not given much to do but be fought over.
I recommend this to fans of Disney. 7/10.
- TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews
- Sep 22, 2023
- Permalink
This package film from the Disney studio is simple but just irresistible as it features two colorful and cute cartoons interwoven with Edger Bergen and his famous dummies Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd.
The first segment is "Bongo" based on a short story by Sinclair Lewis. With the exception of narrator Dinah Shore, the whole thing is dialog free and although it moves along at a leisurely pace, it is good enough for the kids but adults will most certainly squirm.
The next segment is "Mickey and the Beanstalk" which has Bergan doing the narration of the classic fairy tale starring Mickey, Donald and Goofy as they face Willie the Giant (voiced amusingly by Billy Gilbert). Although the cartoon is cute and amusing, Bergen and his dummies along with the adorable Luana Patten provide the bulk of the laughs. I can't help but compare the approach in this segment to "Mystery Science Theater 3000" because of the good-natured riffing done by Charlie and Mortimer. It makes you wish that Walt Disney had used this formula for other films like "Alice in Wonderland" or "Cinderella." It goes without saying that Charlie's riffing on Bergen's storytelling is a particular highlight.
I say see this film. It'll warm your heart and keep you amused. Plus, it doesn't have the blatant pop culture jokes you get in contemporary animated films.
The first segment is "Bongo" based on a short story by Sinclair Lewis. With the exception of narrator Dinah Shore, the whole thing is dialog free and although it moves along at a leisurely pace, it is good enough for the kids but adults will most certainly squirm.
The next segment is "Mickey and the Beanstalk" which has Bergan doing the narration of the classic fairy tale starring Mickey, Donald and Goofy as they face Willie the Giant (voiced amusingly by Billy Gilbert). Although the cartoon is cute and amusing, Bergen and his dummies along with the adorable Luana Patten provide the bulk of the laughs. I can't help but compare the approach in this segment to "Mystery Science Theater 3000" because of the good-natured riffing done by Charlie and Mortimer. It makes you wish that Walt Disney had used this formula for other films like "Alice in Wonderland" or "Cinderella." It goes without saying that Charlie's riffing on Bergen's storytelling is a particular highlight.
I say see this film. It'll warm your heart and keep you amused. Plus, it doesn't have the blatant pop culture jokes you get in contemporary animated films.
Even though the short films comprising Fun & Fancy Free have nothing to do with each other and with the title, they are still both good. Bongo is really cute while Mickey and the Beanstalk has all the classic Disney characters. I think either of them could have been a full feature length film.
- briancham1994
- Jun 1, 2020
- Permalink
Two shorts strung together with material involving Jiminy Cricket and Edgar Bergen and his dummies. The two stories are--"Bongo" about a circus bear escaping and his "comic" misadventures in the wilderness and "Mickey and the Beanstalk" with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy recreating "Jack and the Beanstalk". The animation is great (that's why this gets three stars) but the stories are trite, padded and downright boring! They're also full of songs so unmemorable, bland and sweet that you'll be thinking cutting off your ears! To make matters unendurable Edgar Bergen has got to be the world's worst ventriloquist! His lips are plainly moving when his dummies "talk". A sleep-inducing mess. VERY patient young kids might go for it.
There's plenty of fun to be had: both shorts are charming and cartoonishly funny, and the live-action segments are wonderfully weird and old-fashioned with an extremely odd collection of party-goers hanging out together. It's also certainly fancy-free: there is absolutely no reason for these two films to be put together, or for Jiminy Cricket to be our guide. It's nonsense...childishly entertaining nonsense.
- matthewssilverhammer
- Jun 22, 2020
- Permalink
While Fun & Fancy Free wasn't terrible, I think it is the weakest of the package movies from the war time era of Disney.
It's a collection of two segments joined together by Jiminy Cricket taking us to two different locations which are a bedroom and a livingroom. The first one being the place where the story of Bongo the circus bear begins. A simple story about Bongo longing to be in the wild after serving his entire life in a circus. He doesn't know the wild so he goes through some trials to learn how to be in the wild while he finds love. I may be among the few people who put this much though into a cartoon, but the way the bears show affection was a little disturbing to me. Judge it for yourself, though.
The latter is in a livingroom where Jiminy watches this birthday party or something where the vetriloquist tells Mickey and the Beanstalk which is pretty much Jack and the Beanstalk without much change put into it. The animated part was good, but the one puppet, Charlie, gets annoying very quickly when constantly interrupts the narration to make stupid comments. Again, the animated parts are really nice in both segments, but the live action parts are kind of dated. The end is pretty funny, though, and was the part that made me laugh the most.
Fun & Fabcy Free is among the weaker Disney efforts, but can be a delight for the little ones. Not a recommendation from me, but isn't one to be left out.
It's a collection of two segments joined together by Jiminy Cricket taking us to two different locations which are a bedroom and a livingroom. The first one being the place where the story of Bongo the circus bear begins. A simple story about Bongo longing to be in the wild after serving his entire life in a circus. He doesn't know the wild so he goes through some trials to learn how to be in the wild while he finds love. I may be among the few people who put this much though into a cartoon, but the way the bears show affection was a little disturbing to me. Judge it for yourself, though.
The latter is in a livingroom where Jiminy watches this birthday party or something where the vetriloquist tells Mickey and the Beanstalk which is pretty much Jack and the Beanstalk without much change put into it. The animated part was good, but the one puppet, Charlie, gets annoying very quickly when constantly interrupts the narration to make stupid comments. Again, the animated parts are really nice in both segments, but the live action parts are kind of dated. The end is pretty funny, though, and was the part that made me laugh the most.
Fun & Fabcy Free is among the weaker Disney efforts, but can be a delight for the little ones. Not a recommendation from me, but isn't one to be left out.