FUN AND FANCY FREE

1947

Made up of two short films, Fun and Fancy free is Disney's second package film released after WWII. Production on both shorts had begun before the war, and from 1941 through 1946 they went through many changes, finally being paired up to be released as a single feature. Both shorts are presented by Jiminy Cricket (voiced by Cliff Edwards), who opens the movie with a song that was originally written for Pinocchio.




The first short is the story of Bongo, a circus bear that escapes and falls in love. The original story was written by Sinclair Lewis in 1930 for Cosmopolitan Magazine.  Bongo was originally intended to bea feature film on its own, and was even considered to work as a follow-up tu Dumbo.

The short was narrated by Dinah Shore, who's voice was also featured in a short film in Make Mine Music.

The second short featured in Fun and Fancy free was a reinterpretation of the classic tale Jack and the giant beanstalk, a story that was used as inspiration in several Disney animations. In 1922 Walt Disney created two short films based on Jack and the beanstalk as a part of the Laugh-O-Gram Studios (founded by Walt Disney the same year). The studio went on to create several short films with themes that would later become Disney feature films, such as Alice's Wonderland and Cinderella. 

In 1933 the studio created a short film called Giantland, casting Mickey Mouse in Jack's role voiced by Walt Disney himself. 

Later, in 1938 the same theme would appear on a short film called The brave little tailor, also stared by Mickey Mouse. 

So finally in 1947, the last film on which Walt Disney would voice the character of Mickey Mouse was released, mixing a live action cast that included puppets held by ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. The success of these package films enabled the studio to go on and create feature length movies again.