365 Days. 365 Films.

This is another early Disney film that I assumed would be similar to Melody Time although it does have a wider appeal. Fun and Fancy Free is an array of short sketches, some animated and some live action, all narrated by Jiminy Cricket. The stories include the three bears, although not the story you may expect, which is narrated through song by Dinah Shore, one of my favourite old time singers, and there is a live action short featuring some puppets and a bad ventriloquist who moves his mouth far too much.

In terms of entertainment value, I did not manage to get anything out of it, although I imagine that children, especially at the time, would have. Children of today, however, depending on their age, would probably not enjoy it in comparison to other forms of entertainment they have these days. It isn’t timeless like Dumbo or Sleeping Beauty and I’m not even sure I would bother showing it to my children if I had any.
All in all it makes for a disappointing film considering it was done by Disney, (who ordinarily would capture everyone’s attention and imagination) and also considering the fact that it probably wouldn’t even entertain the younger children. Still, the animation is brilliant and it’s another interesting look into Disney’s history.