Yes, I am continuing my recap of watching every Disney film, posting in blocks of fives until I catch up with myself. For those who didn’t read Part 1, when my partner and I moved in together in November 2020, we decided to use Disney+ and go through every Disney film ever made. As they removed their Through the Decades collection, we started using the list here on D23. Although I have seen many – probably most – of the animated features, there are quite a few of the live action ones I’ve never actually watched, and we’re finding it quite fun to go through these.
1942: Bambi
This, however, is not one of those I’d never seen. Bambi is the tale of a fawn who grows up to be the Great Prince of the Forest. Before this, however, he learns some harsh life lessons, sees his friends fall in love, and finds love himself. As well as reconnecting with a very absent father. This film is, of course, infamous for a very particular scene, and yes, I still cry at that. I’ve also seen the sequel which, spoiler warning, replays that scene as a dream and has Bambi waking up crying. Absolutely freaking brutal on Disney’s part. Still, it’s a great film, and if you’ve got young ones, don’t forget to introduce them to it so they, too, can realise death comes for us all.
1943: Saludos Amigos
This has more in common with The Reluctant Dragon than any of the others. There’s a sincere attempt to be educational here, and introduce the audience to “Latin America”. Unfortunately, it’s a very cliché version of the area, though it does have some interesting elements. I can’t speak for it’s reception by the people of these areas, but it doesn’t hold up entirely well. Still, it has some fun little bits to it, and again you can see them having fun with the combination of live action and animation.
1943: Victory Through Air Power
We had to head over to YouTube for this one. It has some interesting history in it, and shows the history of aviation, but it’s pure World War II propaganda. I can understand why it’s not on Disney+, and actually would recommend just skipping this one. It’s not that great.
1945: The Three Caballeros
Focusing on Donald Duck, this feels almost like a continuation in some ways of Saludos Amigos, and has the same faults. Still, some fun stories here, and we have more of that wonderful live action/animation combination. Like a lot of the previous more ‘educational’ stuff, there’s interesting things here, and it continues a trend of almost clumsy attempts at being inclusive, without being mindful, if that makes sense? Noteworthy for the characters introduced here.
1946: Make Mine Music
Unfortunately we had to skip this one, as it’s not available to watch anywhere. I’m hoping that changes eventually and Disney+ gets it onto the platform, as I really do want to check it out, especially alongside the other ones we’ve been watching!
Since writing Part One, we have moved a year ahead! We’re now in 1955 – we’ve been able to watch more recently, and it’s really nice to sit down and put on a classic. As always, if you’ve seen this films or are embarking on something similar, I’d love to hear from you!
Unwrapping Words 