MichaelBarrier

The Mysterious Dumbo Roll-A-Book

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:52:48 GMT

I was putting together what I thought would be a short item on the mysterious Roll-A-Book version of Dumbo—the original version of the story that became the famous Disney film—when it mushroomed into a full-blown Essay page. You can read it by clicking on this link.

Richard Todd and Walt Disney, July 1952

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:52:48 GMT

Last month I noted the death of Richard Todd, the fine British actor who was Walt Disney's first adult live-action star and his good friend. Todd's second movie for Walt (after The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men) was The Sword and the Rose, which was filmed in England in 1952 and released in the U.S. in July 1953. I recently acquired this publicity photo for Sword and the Rose that shows Walt with Todd, and with Glynis Johns, Todd's co-star, around the start of the shooting of that film at the Pinewood Studios. The occasion, according to the "snipe" attached to the photo, was the filming of costume tests.

Audio to Think About Dumbo By

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:52:48 GMT

In his comment on my January 14 item about the crow sequence in Dumbo, Tom Carr mentioned early recordings by Moran and Mack, the duo billed as The Two Black Crows. Tom suggested that the film's crow dialogue had much in common with the routines of Moran and Mack, white performers who, like Amos 'n' Andy's Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll, portrayed black characters in comedy routines.

Animated Update

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:52:48 GMT

As I noted here last November 5, my book The Animated Man: A Life of Walt Disney has been published in Italy, as Vita di Walt Disney: Uomo, Sognatore e Genio (Life of Walt Disney: Man, Dreamer and Genius). It seems to be attracting considerable interest there, and even some controversy. La Repubblica, the country's second largest newspaper, devoted a full page to the book on December 28. That's a compact version of the page above, sent to me by my Italian publisher; click on this link to go to a larger version.

Cliff Edwards, Ward Kimball, Jack Kinney, and the Crows

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:52:48 GMT

Jim Korkis wrote in response to my January 10 item mentioning the voices of the crows in Dumbo, and specifically criticizing Cliff Edwards's performance as the leader of the five crows. That's Edwards wearing a derby in the publicity photo just above, with Jack Kinney, who worked on story for the crow sequence and then directed it. Here's what Jim Korkis said:

Harvey Kurtzman's Humbug

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:52:48 GMT

That short-lived (eleven issues) satire magazine has been revived in a meticulously assembled two-volume set from Fantagraphics, more than a half century after Humbug's demise. I've written a review that you can read by clicking on this link.

John Donaldson's Book

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:52:48 GMT

If the name "John Donaldson" rings a bell, that's because he has on a number of occasions provided answers to perplexing questions I've raised here about Walt Disney and the people who worked for him. John writes now to say that he will soon be putting his expertise between the covers of a new book:

Frogs and Faith, Cont'd

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:52:48 GMT

Disney's The Princess and the Frog has been limping toward $100 million in boxoffice receipts, overwhelmed not just by Avatar but also by the part-CGI Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel. That's a shame; Princess is by no means a good movie, but as you know if you've read my review, I think there are enough good things in it to make it well worth your time if you have any feelings at all for that wonderful medium, hand-drawn animation.

And Then There's Race...

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:52:48 GMT

There was a lot of pushing and shoving while The Princess and the Frog was in production, as various people tried to influence the film's portrayal of its black characters, but since it was released there has been less complaining and congratulating than might have been expected. Probably the film simply hasn't been a big enough success to make grasping its coattails seem worth the bother. It was, however, the subject of a New Year's Day interview on National Public Radio with Scott Foundas, film critic for L.A. Weekly, the gist of which was that Disney was so deeply stained by its sins in regard to race that making one semi-enlightened film couldn't come close to making up for the past. You can read a summary of the interview (and listen to it) at this link, where there's also a link to the Village Voice article by Foundas that led to the interview.

Frogs and Faith

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:52:48 GMT

I wrote a couple of days ago in my review of The Princess and the Frog about the caution and compromise that wrecked that otherwise promising film. Rod Dreher of the Dallas Morning News has identified one aspect of the film that I didn't discuss but that he sees as suffering from the same sort of clumsiness and confusion that I found so deadly: