March to Disney | The Movie Rat

March to Disney: Mom’s Got a Date with a Vampire (2000)

Posted on March 24, 2014 by bernardovillela

This was a title that I wanted to discuss during 61 Days of Halloween, however, one of the good things about having multiple annual topics is that you will frequently find overlaps. Such is the case with Mom’s Got a Date with a Vampire. Yes, it’s another DCOM (Disney Channel Original Movie), and another from the earlier days of Disney Channel’s sojourn into made-for-TV films.

The title is indicative of a few things: 1) what it’s about 2) That it’s at least partly (actually mostly comedic). The release date also give you a hint that said date is not seen as a good thing, seeing as how this is pre-Twilight.

As is the case with any of these titles that work a lot of the debt is owed to the cast, and this one runs pretty deep with Charlotte Rhea, Charles Shaughnessy, Robert Carradine, Matt O’Leary, Jake Epstein and Myles Jeffrey. More on that to follow.

The films begins with a movie-within-a-movie which sets the stage first for some of the comedic aspects, for the gothic (read: traditional) treatment of vampires, sets up characters and is used as a point of reference for rules when the kids find they are faced with a real vampire.

It is a an extremely structurally sound film as nothing is superfluous and things that seem like they are just fenestration do play a role later on and play into the plot everything from the desire to see a band called the Headless Horseman at the Harvest Festival, the promise of a date, the mention of mom (Rhea) having been in a band before, and more.

Typically in reviewing I avoid over-focus on the acting – not because it’s not important but mostly because it’s just one aspect of the film that needs to be discussed. In this film it’s what I frequently remember but it’s the solid foundation, the details in terms of the use of vampires that stand out.

There are a lot of hidden jokes for fans of the genre and a great implementation of archetypes commonly found in horror films. The discovery of the threat and the willingness to believe it’s true is very tied in to character arcs in the film.

Those arcs are accentuated by how good the performances are, and similarly virtually all the characters have pronounced, well-wrought and significant ones which is in fact a rare accomplishment. Matt O’Leary, had quite a few good turns as a young actor. The fact that this rivals his performance in Frailty is a testament to his skilled reads and reactions to situations, and the material. Playing his sidekick in a small, but not insignificant role, is Jake Epstein, who was perhaps best known as one of the forebears on the new-age Degrassi he is so good in this – such a different character than I saw him in afterward.

A perfect example of the cast’s work is a scene wherein Adam (O’Leary) is grounded (again set up by a seemingly innocuous improvised essay he created by reading a tabloid). It’s the kind of scene you see various times, but everyone O’Leary, Rhea and Laura Vadervoort; is so on that it works a lot better than it should.

That leads to the kids’ plotting which sets up everything that happens after that. If you’re after silly escapism, you’ll like this; if after a wink and knowing nod to the vampire subgenre, you should like this. If you like DCOM seasonal fare, you should love this. And that’s why I wanted to write about it of the Halloween-themed ones it’s by far the best and rarely airs. I had to re-screen it off a VHS recording I made in 2001. It’s a Disney title that really doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

Making Frozen Say What You Want It To Say

Posted on March 23, 2014 by bernardovillela

It’s not exactly a new phenomena that I’ve seen creeping up on the internet lately. Disney films, whether Walt was at the helm or not, have always been rife, fertile grounds for actual and fraudulent film theorists alike to put forth their theories.

When discussing actual theories I mean real, careful consideration of the narrative an visual cues of an entire work and not just analysis of a single frame in The Lion King where the word “sex” can be seen formed amidst dandelion spores.

The democratization of anything is always a double-edged sword. On the one hand the internet has helped bring forth voices in the world of film criticism that may not have had a platform 20+ years ago, on the other hand it gives a virtually free platform to someone with an ax to grind the ability, and the audience to transpose social norms and/or political debates on to a vague set of tropes set forth a film.

Recently, and for some reason this has only crept up now that Frozen crossed the $1B world-wide threshold, there have been a rash of people discussing the homosexual agenda it puts forth.

If this feels like Déjà Vu, then you’re right, it wasn’t all that long ago (when Brave was out) in fact since outlandish claims of “homosexual indoctrination” and/or lesbian characters have been made.

Specifically, these claims are citing the thrust of Frozen wherein Elsa feels she has “something to hide” and that if anyone found out about her “power” it would be bad and people would get hurt, and so on and so forth. If you saw the film you can connect further dots without having to subject yourselves to these entire posts.

There are a few things these posts ignore, even giving them the benefit of taking their claims at face value. The first being that quite often fairy tales though they may have specific imagery that can be read in a subtextual way by adults they usually have a very simple object lesson that is usually so reductive it can apply to a universal audience. Ultimately, Frozen ends up being about being yourself and not hiding who you are whoever that may be. That can apply to any number of things.

Drawing back to the Brave conversation it’s focusing a bit too much on the marriage plot. It’s a situation wherein you just can’t win with some people. When other Disney classics were made societal norms dictated there was nothing wrong with Snow White or Cinderella being rescued by a Prince Charming. That has changed. It doesn’t devalue the prior tale it just makes a new iteration of that trope undesirable. However, then you have Brave that emphasizes a strong, independent woman bucking the marriage tradition and reconciling with her mother; and Frozen is a sister tale wherein no man can really save the day and then there are shouts of lesbianism.

The issue with the argument, setting political slant aside, is that there are things being ignored that factor in. Elsa has a supernatural power, therefore, she is closer to being a super-being afraid of how she can handle her power and that she may be villainous. Another superhero moment comes to mind an a point of comparison here:

In X-Men: The Last Stand the character of Angel is introduced. As the name implies he has wings growing out of his back. In his origin scene, we see a younger version of his character played by Cayden Boyd. he is trying to cut out his nascent wings to hide his affliction. His father walks in on him. Young Angel is bawling his eyes out, ashamed of what he has become.

One could take that scene in isolation and the emotions that Young Angel felt and correlate them to the homosexual experience. However, within the arc of the character as a whole the analogy doesn’t hold water.

This same faulty logic could lead one to deduce that Olaf is a drug addict because even though it may kill him, he wants “heat.” Or you could substitute with any other vice, and at the end he’s given an antidote of how he can be kept alive and still do what he wants. It’s far easier to argue, and more consistently represented in the film, that Olaf is merely seeking to be himself as well.

Mind you that he is also a creation of their childhood brought to life by Elsa’s power thus symbolic of their bond and what they lost and not really conducive to the drug analogy.

Getting back to Elsa these arguments also hang their hats on the vagueness of certain specific lines in “Let it Go.” Again this is hinging on the fact that her power is her hidden sexuality; and virtually ignores the ebbs and flows of Anna and Elsa’s relationship, and the fact that they have to be there for one another at the end, and the fact that Elsa’s power can quite literally stop someone’s heart from beating and give them hypothermia, I’m no physician but my core temperature never dropped based on someone’s sexual orientation.

I grant that last rebuff was extraordinarily facetious, but it almost has to be. The foundations of these arguments are cinematically shaky at best and come from a place where the answer is assumed and seeks facts to bear them out and doesn’t seek out alternatives – like the plot at face value or how it could easily apply to other things.

In Dumbo there is a statement being made about the stigmatization of, and harm caused by, involuntary admission to a mental institution. Where do I come up with that? It happens in the film. Missus Jumbo defends Dumbo. Is deemed a “Mad Elephant” and locked in a cell. Is it the entire point of the film? No.

Even if the Frozen theory hold water its presented in a way that makes it seem like “This movie is going to make kids gay.” “I mean it’ll be a Broadway show too so they’ll be super-gay after that happens.” I hate to break it to those folks but it doesn’t work that way. Similarly, even if it did have a normalizing agenda, that doesn’t always work either. Want an extreme example? Hitler’s favorite movie was reportedly Snow White; it was also one of Eisenstein’s. Hitler’s affection for that film didn’t make him dance about houses singing to birds and squirrels and little girls the world over singing “Let it Go” aren’t going to be gay if they aren’t already. You make Frozen, or any movie say what you want it to say in your head, that doesn’t make it true.

Short Film Saturday – Oswald and Ortensia Holiday Greeting Card

Posted on March 22, 2014 by bernardovillela

Whether one is fully aware of it or not, foreign Disney branches and the foreign Disney parks do contribute to the canon. Here is a short Holiday (Christmas) themed greeting featuring Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit (Walt’s first creation), and his girl Ortensia.

It’s interesting for both those aspects: a foreign contribution, and an animated incarnation of an early character outside the video game world.

Big Stars on the Small Screen: Leslie Nielsen as The Swamp Fox

Posted on March 21, 2014 by bernardovillela

Introduction

Leslie Nielsen as The Swamp Fox

A few other things that come to mind when I think of Disney are apparent in the series “The Swamp Fox.” They are the association with music (while both the theme songs are good, Elfego Baca’s doesn’t have the earworm quality of this one. The next is the preponderance of colonial narratives. In looking back you see that Disney dealt a lot both in those times and American folklore and that’s not as common now.

Next, this series does highlight the early dramatic work of Leslie Nielsen. Now in the latter part of his career Nielsen became far better known as a comedic actor. However, in this part of his career he was mainly a dramatic actor with a lot of TV work. Some of his more notable titles were Forbidden Planet and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

However, as I stated about that later work it was this dramatic foundation and aptitude that set the stage for him to help to redefine parodic comedy:

Many cite The Naked Gun series as one of the best examples of this subgenre, and much credit in that case is due to Leslie Nielsen. For as preposterous as what he was saying or doing was he was committed to it, there was a dramatic intent bordering on deadpan that tethered the silliness of the situation to reality.

While this is, similar to the prior series, mainly action plots Nielsen had the dramatic gravitas to pull off the commander role. It was necessary that a kindliness, sternness and capability of valiant behavior shine through whatever actor was pegged for the role and Nielsen encapsulated all of these well. When you’re covering a figure of revolutionary times and establishing how that legend was born casting is that much more important such that the magnetism and whatever other qualities you’re trying to convey about them shine through.

Having seen much of Nielsen’s earlier work lately I don’t want to over-stress how he became most famous. However, this comment is a testament to his fine work here. There are people who bring such joy to film, so naturally funny that you smile when you see them show up (John Candy was one) this role is the opposite example it’s not funny in hindsight. The tone of the piece is well-conveyed and is as serious as it needs to be.

It may be deceptive to watch Nielsen as a dramatic actor because there is such a stolidity to his representation that it can be misread as lacking in range or depth. However, I don’t feel that’s the case, while there’s a dutiful nature to him and many of his speeches deal with his being the moral compass of his band of men it doesn’t carry weight if you don’t see the facets of his character.

Furthermore, what I was able to see in this section is but a prelude. As opposed to the three episodes of Elfego Baca which were somewhat transformative, here the series (as shown on DVD) stops at the point where a major change in the character and his approach to taking on the red coats is about to take place. Therefore, there’s far more of an arc to the series than these episodes show.

There are two Disney and film-related notes I found in watching these titles. Firstly, the more important thing to keep in mind when dealing with historical figures on screen is representation over misrepresentation. Which means that having historical figures conveyed is far more important than nitpicking issues of inaccuracy or dramatic license. Elfego Baca made me want to look him up. Entertainment can be an aid to but not a substitute for education in subject matter such as history. Donald in Mathmagicland is great fun, but it doesn’t mean you can skip algebra. It all seems obvious but these are things that are seemingly forgotten when people complain about historical inaccuracy in film. If people, with all the information easily available to them, take a fictional representation’s word for it and that’s it it’s not the movie’s fault.

In Disney-specific terms Walt Disney Presents was an early case of a work in a visual medium (TV) being influenced by a theme park. Therefore, the adages about nothing being new and history repeating itself are proven true again. This is not that far from Pirates of the Caribbean and the like.

As imported series and streaming services are further shaking up the notions of what constitutes a season of television and other rules. Future templates can be found in the past. More so than in the past perhaps because of current visual conventions the movie stars of tomorrow are the TV stars of today, and vice versa. I don’t know how many people predicted bigger things for Loggia and Nielsen, but having seen these small samples I’m not surprised by their success or longevity at all.

Big Stars on the Small Screen Blogathon: Robert Loggia as Elfego Baca

Posted on March 20, 2014 by bernardovillela

Introduction

This is a post for the Big Stars on the Small Screen blogathon. The titles and actors I chose to cover are Robert Loggia as Elfego Baca, and Leslie Nielsen as The Swamp Fox (Tomorrow). Both of these television narratives aired in rotating fashion on an ABC program called Walt Disney Presents from 1958 and 1960, at the tail end of what some refer to as the (first) Golden Age of Television.

The structure of Walt Disney presents was such that the stories told were inspired by any of the four sections of Disneyland at the time: Frontierland, Fantasyland, Adventureland and Tomorrowland.

Both of the series I will discuss dealt with tales inspired by Frontierland, the same section of the park that brought Davey Crockett and Daniel Boone (’60) to the small screen. The modus operandi of said show was stories inspired by figures in American history.

Now many projects from the Walt era are vaulted by Disney and not frequently available, especially these serialized show-within-shows. However, there was a time (and I think that it should return) when Disney Treasures released a series of tin-cased box sets in limited supply that would be of interest to collectors and Disney fans. This was one of the selections, one that I was able to obtain via the Disney Movie Club.

The unfortunate part of the packaging is that you are not provided here with the whole run of the show on these discs. Since they’re DVD releases and an hour-long show there are but three-episodes per show. In one case the selection closes a chapter, in another it feels more like a prelude.

Having said all that, both these shows feature early-career performances of two actors who have had varied and successful careers: Robert Loggia played Elfego Baca and Leslie Nielsen played Robert Marion, a.k.a. The Swamp Fox.

Robert Loggia as Elfego Baca

The insights gleaned to this show, and the story behind it are better in general and not just because there is a supplemental interview with Loggia that gives further background to the series and his involvement.

Firstly, in narrative terms, these short tastes of series give an interesting insight into lesser-known figures in the US’s past. In Baca’s case it’s even more interesting because he was a US-born and -bred bilingual Mexican-American. He lived in the frontier lands and built a legend of having “nine lives” and a unique sense of justice. He eventually, mostly through self-teaching, became an attorney. We first meet him as a self-appointed deputy standing up to a group of bandits. Then he comes into the fold as a full-fledged deputy.

In cultural terms, the mere depiction of an ethnic character in later 1958 and early 1959 is quite a big deal, much less making him the hero. Surely, he was a historical figure but there was nothing forcing Disney’s hand to tell his tale. While the interview between Leonard Maltin does reveal that casting was down between Loggia and Ricardo Montalban, and what tipped the scales his way is not discussed -especially considering Montalban seemed to have an in. However, with Loggia being cast Baca’s heritage could’ve further been buried but it was the actor’s option, per his telling, to accentuate the ethnicity more than even the script would with an accent. He also passably slips into Spanish here and there which makes it a unique take. Cross-ethnic casting is a double-edged sword, and was more common in this day-and-age, but it’s not something that can be held against Loggia if you disagree with it on principal– he had a job to do and did it very well.

Loggia ’s break here is one he describes as very fortunate. He was an athlete in college and had served in Korea. He was working on Broadway in fairly short order and then was picked by Disney to play this role. The cowboy elements, a hefty portion of the role, were things he learned to be able to play it, which is impressive as there is quite a bit of riding and action in a western-set tale.

He also worked with legendary stunt people and did quite a few of those stunts himself and made his portrayal seem even more authentic than it would have otherwise. Of course, as referenced above, with access to only 30% of the series it’s impossible to get a sense of the totality of the series. The IMDb does indicate the further addition of Latin actors later on.

However, not only is Loggia, who in the minds of many is the willing participant in a Family Guy cutaway, or the boss in Big; great in a very different kind of role here. There are some important things of note in this show additionally such as Native Americans appearing with Baca in a scene as an ally, Baca’s betrothal and marriage to a Caucasian woman. Loggia in discussing Disney’s influence on the production stating that he “knew everything,” which reaffirms my assertion that he was one of those producers who had their fingerprints on their films. Loggia’s memories were always fond it seems. Of course, he was on a parade float in Disneyland in ’59 so I assume it would be. And like many Disney alums he returned many years later this time voicing a character in Oliver and Company.

Furthermore, it set the stage for Loggia in his career he played many varied ethnicities. It became one if his calling cards. Of course, being a character actor to some extent and having a bit of chameleon about him it made him one of those actors you knew, but maybe not necessarily from what film. However, many actors will take that, when you can be any number of people to moviegoers that’s a pretty great thing. To me, he may always be Skeletor first and foremost.

CHeck back tomorrow for the post on Leslie Nielsen!

A Disney Musical Suggestion

Posted on March 19, 2014 by bernardovillela

There are likely a branches of the Disney media empire I’m not too big a fan of, perhaps the one that is the most confounding to me is the line of altered-for-younger-audiences musicals like Aladdin Jr., The Little Mermaid, Jr. and the like. Part of what I really don’t get is that content-wise there’s usually not much removed and simplified for younger audiences. If anything it seems to be just about managing expectations.

Now I fully recognize that the acquisition of rights, and staging could be more affordable. The musical tracks provided may well be simplified to be easier for young vocalists to learn. Having said all that the addition of the word “Junior” seems to add the connotations that a) it’s not the real thing and b) you ought to lower your expectations.

Now, I will hand it to them for allowing schools flexibility with things like the One-Act edition of High School Musical and things of that nature, which can allow those crunched for time and funds to more easily stage something accessible. While that is a much different creature than a slightly-truncated stage version of an animated classic, it’s still a less-than-ideal translation of all the intended elements of a story.

And, one might argue, rightly so, that High School Musical‘s heyday of cultural relevance has come and gone. Which brings me to my actual suggestion of a stage adaptation of something so far out of consciousness it my seem new, that and it wouldn’t be an edited version at all.

Even Stevens was one the first break-out hits Disney Channel had. It was one of the first that got me watching even though I was not the demographic any longer. Independent of the recent antics of Shia Labeouf, the show remains, as it ever has been quite funny, and in perhaps its most memorable episode it featured a musical episode that was Ren’s (Christy Carlson Romano) fever dream called “Influenza: The Musical.”

Being a half-hour (read: 23 minutes) sitcom it’s a perfect one act length that you needn’t cut. The setting is school, it relates to kids and has memorable songs.

While its still up, you can view it here, and that brings me to the last point: in an age becoming ever more digital Disney’s vaulting, and at times squatting on its own titles; burrowing them away,
not seeking to invest any more in them just makes no sense. Either downloads or disc-on-demand services would make sense for so many Disney titles; and making this a stage musical would be quite the easy feat.

Short Film Saturday – The Third Wheel

Posted on March 15, 2014 by bernardovillela

If there was something I wanted to shout from the rooftops after having seeing Get a Horse! was “Thank God for Disney (as a company) not completely forgetting Mickey Mouse’s roots but also fighting to keep him relevant and update his image.” Of course, I knew that there were new age shorts that started debuting on the Disney Channel last fall. However, I had not yet seen any of them.

I have to say I am pleased at least upon first impression. Yes, it does take time getting accustomed to a more Ren & Stimpy kind of aesthetic for the visuals, but the humor though goofier (for all not jut Goofy) still keeps in line with the characters. Here Goofy misunderstands and gets in Mickey’s way on his date, Mickey doesn’t want to be overly-assertive until he has to. There was a harder edge to Mickey in the beginning than became the norm/stereotype and this is a good balance. It will take more examples for me to be convinced the new direction will consistently work, but with Disney as a company conglomorating more cultural icons and characters it’s good to see them not ignoring their own.

March to Disney: Images of Misery in Robin Hood

Posted on March 11, 2014 by bernardovillela

The cliche is that Disney is all happy puppies, sing-a-longs and Hollywood endings. Yes, Disney did defend his work by saying “Everyone is a little bit corny.” However, his films did get away with more than we often give them credit for because of the way they end. There are many orphans in the Disney canon, be they so at the start of the film like Cinderella; or be the orphaned through the course of the film like in Bambi, The Lion King or Frozen. As I talked about in Peter Pan there were some frightening moments there regardless of the fact that the imagery was sanitized from initial conception.

That brings me to Robin Hood. As with many a Disney tale the bones of story are well known by all: Robin Hood robs the rich to feed the poor. Clearly to illustrate this you’ll have to see said poor. Not only that but if you look at the standard structure of a classic story things will have to get worse before they get better. They may not be images as marking as those of Dumbo’s mother being beaten and chained but they are strong and pervasive in this film.

This is the most literal example of a minstrel acting as a narrator and it is the perfect storytelling device for a tale such as this. Not only is it so because this story is set in England and it is a British tradition, but because they were crucial in spreading lore through oral histories it’s a natural conduit for this story.

Most of the reason that Robin is impelled to go on his crusade is that the people of Nottingham, under the Sheriff, who is doing Prince John’s bidding (while King Richard is off on a crusade). A majority of that bidding is about imposing and collecting usurious taxes on the people who can scarcely afford to eat.

These rates get worse as the story progresses and you see imprisoned children clergy. People are shackled about their neck and feet in debtor’s prison. Furthermore, there are serious threats of hanging an narrow escapes.

The misery of the plight these people must escape is further underscored that during these scenes, mostly during the montage underscored by the song “Not in Nottingham”, by the fact that it rains; it rains a great deal. Even the in the rain those in forced labor on the rock pile must still work. The only respite from the doldrums this film descends into is that we can sense what the ending will be, and the narrator, who we know will leave to tell the story in the past tense, is also jailed.

Not to mention that the climactic sequence wherein Prince John is robbed while sleeping and Robin Hood narrowly escapes is one of the most treacherous and most risky in all Disney films. It also, due to all that passed before it, is one of the more triumphant and makes the ending all the more exultant.

So you’re dragged through the mud and bask in the glow of a sunset at the ending as Robin and Marian ride off. Could Disney have gotten away with such images if not using anthropomorphized animals? Probably not, but to kids there’s scarcely a difference and it makes it a more memorable visceral experience.

March to Disney: The Sword in the Stone

Posted on March 10, 2014 by bernardovillela

Introduction

Last year to coincide with a trip to Walt Disney World in March, I decided to have a month-long focus on Disney fare. Their vaults are vast and varied enough such that this is a theme that could recur annually. Below you will find links to the inaugural posts written for the theme.

The Sword in the Stone (1963)

As I had mentioned when I wrote about The Jungle Book there are a few similarities between these two tales. There is the structural similarity of episodic plots weaved together by overarching ideas, but there is another similarity as well. While in The Jungle Book Mowgli wanders through different animal villages seeing where he wishes to live next, emulating their attributes; here Arthur, commonly referred to as Wart, is literally transfigured into animals by Merlin.

The Sword in the Stone continues Disney’s tradition of opening with a shot of a storybook. Here there is also a disembodied voice as narrator predating the mistrel tale model that would be used in Robin Hood later on.

This story is a different spin on a legend a more whimsical one, while The Jungle Book offers a more true-to-life rendition of fantastic narrative. This dichotomy is the appeal of both stories.

Now anyone who knows the story of The Sword in the Stone knows what this film will ultimately be about and what the endgame is. Thus, it’s interesting that here, after many years, you see a Disney film playing with its approach by playing up Merlin as a sort of absent-minded magician who travels the world and is a clairvoyant it plays loose with time, and even at certain points breaks the fourth wall.

If you were unaware that Wolfgang Reitherman directed this film, and The Jungle Book, among others, it wouldn’t surprise you much to learn as a certain aesthetic started to come to the fore as a Disney signature in this era. Aside from the visuals there are familiar voices, many most recognizable in their Winnie the Pooh personae.

So while Wart spends his time in this film as a bird, a fish, a squirrel and is pursued throughout by a lurking wolf (contrast him to Shere Khan) there is the ultimate plot of Merlin seeking to educate the young man and that that is the ultimate currency. Arthur resists being brought up in a strict class society, but clearly Merlin and fate have different ideas in mind for him fighting both ignorance and class.

Yet through all this there is also the element of bildungsroman as the education received is not only factual but sentimental as well. Merlin’s sage advice that “Knowledge and wisdom is the real power” is illustrated by his climactic battle with Madam Mim, where in a battle of spells Merlin prevails by outwitting his foe.

Arthur’s education in Merlin’s tutelage also proves to be anything but pure didacticism as truly when he pulls the sword he is ready to assume the responsibility. He is through all we have seen worthy to be the chosen one.

Similar to The Jungle Book as well there is searing beauty to Wart’s moment of realization. For we see him achieve his destiny without realizing what it means, and then have to sit biting our nails as he is forced to prove himself anew, and almost doesn’t even get that chance.

As Arthur is clearly the protagonist this is his moment. He and Merlin have their ups and downs and butt heads about the course of his education and the film wisely has them reconcile as the crown weighs heavily on his head. Naturally, Camelot and all that came with it serve as the happily ever after and the end it befitting the dual tonalities played through the film, and it stands, in my mind as one of the most vastly underrated Disney animated features to date.

March to Disney: The Jungle Book – Beyond the Bare Necessities

Posted on March 9, 2014 by bernardovillela

Introduction

Last year to coincide with a trip to Walt Disney World in March, I decided to have a month-long focus on Disney fare. Their vaults are vast and varied enough such that this is a theme that could recur annually. Below you will find links to the inaugural posts written for the theme.

The Jungle Book: Beyond the Bare Necessities

I won’t speak for others in this regard, but I know to me, even though I’ve seen this movie a number of times; I typically struggle to put my finger on other scenes in The Jungle Book beside “The Bare Necessities” without racking my brain. I found that this happened with some of the late-’60s and ’70s titles and this is not because I don’t find them up to snuff with other Disney animated fare. I think what it is, as I noted after having also re-watching The Sword in the Stone (which I will cover here shortly), is that there’s a more sketch-like approach to the storytelling.

Previously on film the Korda brothers with Sabu in the lead brought this tale to life. However, with Disney’s penchant for anthropomorphism it was clear this was a candidate for a new treatment for a new generation. This title is yet another, of many, that is cited as being Disney’s last. I’ve heard this so many times I don’t even know which one is true anymore.

The voice cast features many legends from the Disney stable who made their presence known in other Disney films, many in the Winnie the Pooh shorts/feature: Phil Harris, Sebastian Cabot, Bruce Reitherman and Sterling Holloway.

In some ways the standout nature of the music in this film is an example of the double-edged sword that is the incredible talent of the Sherman Brothers. I always hum the songs and then have to remind myself of the voice talent that was assembled for this film.

The talent in general all around is there for at this point Disney animated features were a well-oiled machine with Wolfgang Reitherman at the helm directing.

What struck me upon this viewing of the film was that there is a certain subtlety to the approach of this story. There is an ongoing antagonist, Shere Khan, in this tale, he’s not omnipresent, but much like the Gmork in The Neverending Story many years later; he’s always lurking about. He’s less present here than in the live action. However, the thrust of this tale being can Mowgli continue to survive in the jungle as we slowly try to convince him to go to the man village, it is still important as Mowgli must learn man-like ways to adapt and survive. As sparse as Khan’s appearances are, he still nearly takes out a deer and immediately draws a dangerous parallel to Bambi heightening his fear factor.

Another subtle touch is the way in which the passage of time is indicated from when Mowgli is a baby to the present day: “10 times the rains had come and gone,” indicative of years seeing as how the rains refer to monsoon season. Lastly, there’s an underlying indicator (at least to a younger viewer) of the coming-of-age struggle in this tale when Baloo responds to Bagheera’s assertion that he to to the man village: “The man village. That’s awful, they’ll make a man out of him.”

The tale is narrated by Bagheera, a panther, the one who puts Mowgli with wolves in the first place. In terms of segments there’s Bagheera’s finding him, his being raised by wolves, and then his time with Baloo being the third segment.

There are also in these segmented tales difficulty in recalling that there is an ulterior motive in long song sequences. For example, King Louis is after something in “I Wan’na Be Like You’ it just takes a bulk of that song for it to come to the fore.

Brisker storytelling is found when the elephants are introduced by their marching song. Another Pooh alumni is found here as Clint Howard voices the young elephant and he was the first voice of Roo.

An interesting aspect of this film, and one that likely captures the imagination of the young to this very day, is here you have a boy who gets to roam the jungle and live with and be like animals; he tries to become them. It’s a whimsical tale that falls short of the horror of children becoming animals in Pinocchio.

One of the better elements of the film is that Baloo’s sense of responsibility in getting Mowgli to the safety of his own kind comes just as Mowgli learns he wants to be with Baloo. It’s a perfect midpoint. Mowgli has his own understanding of his belonging, Baloo’s eyes have opened and he has another entirely.

Another thing that really does work, and lends itself to a feeling of “looseness” about the structure of this film is that characters are often introduced as silly or caricatures, but end up serving a vital purpose. Mowgli is missing which brings the elephants back to search for him. The vultures who seem like nothing more than the Disney writers and animators riffing on The Beatles, and maybe a reactionary attempt to create non-controversial comic relief birds (see Dumbo) also factor into the finale.

Furthermore, I was reminded that a musical moment in this film provides one of its better jolts as Khan jumps in at the end of a song and gets the ball rolling on the climactic events of the story.

Perhaps this one of the things my subconscious decides to block out, but there is one of the more effective near deaths in the Disney canon. That and the dialogue-free execution of Mowgli’s decision is some of the finest animation and direction that they did. Everything is apparent, but nothing is painfully obvious. It’s sensitively and beautifully rendered and it’s something I recalled as soon as the film started. As many times as I’ve seen it it still gives me chills. It’s wonderful.

So, yes, the structure is a bit episodic and the songs are infectiously memorable. However, that ought not obscure some of the truly gorgeous and wonderful things that occur in this movie.