Lumsdal Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Aedonerre I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

Jayden-Lee Thomson One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Anssi Vartiainen 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.

Atreyu_II 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.

chrisbishop5000 If you ask me, I think Walt Disney put into this movie more of his cheerful, laid-back nature than any other and I haven't even seen a possible making-of featurette to prove because, currently, I only have this on video which is at least 7 years old now. I think it's fair to say that "Fun and Fancy Free" is exactly what it says on the tin. It opens with a lively chorus singing the title song and I love how when the animations begins to start up the song follows onto Jiminy Cricket (voiced by Cliff Edwards, died 1971, (I think) at 76) singing his own verses, a laid-back, cheerful happy fellow riding on a large leaf in what soon appears to be a vase. In order to cheer up a sad doll missing her mama and a moody teddy Jiminy puts on a vinyl record telling a story... BONGO: The expressive, vivacious and energetic enthusiasm of narrator Dinah Shore is just unbelievable! Bongo, a former circus bear who had been mistreated by the ring-master, longs to be free and eventually gets his dream! He is befriended by all the forest animals and also falls in love - but will things go smoothly? Give you a clue; "Every deer and every dove has a way of making love but a bear likes to say it with a SLAP"MICKEY AND THE BEANSTALK: Jiminy finds an invitation to a party across the way and here's who was there; Luana Patten (died 1996, just 57) the hilariously cheeky Charlie McCarthy, the dazed and absent-minded Mortimer Snerd and the man who threw the party Edgar Bergen (died 1978, 75). Edgar Bergen tries to tell a story (in spite of his frustration at Charlie's frequent interruptions and criticisms) of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy living in poverty leaving Mickey and Goofy miserable and Donald having some violent fits of psychotic rage. Bergen defends him to the end. What about the others? Mickey and Goofy went through it too and they didn't try to murder the family cow! The only way to bring happiness to their home is to fetch an enchanted harp from the castle of a selfish giant but it's an not easy mission because if you can fool Willie the giant you can fool anyone! Can they do it? Mortimer becomes upset at when finally became of the giant and as Edgar tries to comfort him the roof is suddenly torn off by... the giant. Not to eat them but to just pop in. This cartoon musical extravaganza truly did make history in animation; that eye-popping blend of art and live action has been done practically throughout the entire movie. And there's neither bad language nor sex scenes nor violence - just full of Fun and Fancy Free!

Ryan J. Gilmer 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.