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DAY 93

Today is Washington Irving's birthday, so we're gonna cover Disney's version of his most famous written work. Released in 1949, we have the Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad. This is the first package film of the 40s we're covering in this project, which is ironically, the last package film of the 40s. When I cover the other package films, I'll be covering these separately: the individual shorts and the linking footage (if any at all).
First off, both shorts have a similar history with me. I remember seeing trailers for both of them as part of the "Favorite Stories" home video collection. I remember seeing them both and didn't really remember that much. Maybe it was just my young age. However, I distinctly remember seeing songs from both shorts shown on Disney Sing-Along videos. "Merrily on Our Way" from You Can Fly! and the Headless Horseman's song from Happy Hauntings. Then I finally saw both shorts again as a teenager, but still just as shorts; not the full film. I saw that later on YouTube. The linking footage is pretty standard; it takes place in a library where 2 separate narrators (one British, one American) tell what they think if the best piece of literature from their respected countries. They don't get into an argument over which of the 2 stories is better overall. it just starts with one narrator when switches to the next, like the first one's shift was over. It is odd, but then again, so are the general premises of the shorts theirselves. So let's start looking at them, shall we? Both are very similar to each other, yet are so different.
The first short is the Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame. It manages to stay pretty faithful to the original book, but only the minimalist changes. Each of the characters are charming in their own right. Moley and Ratty are supportive friends, MacBadger is nice hot-headed guardian, Cyril is a nice smart-alec, the humans can be really unsettling (not just because it's modern day/not old-timey fantasy and talking animals are the norm) and Toad's "live life to the fullest" attitude can be admirable (don't we all want to be like that). It's very dialogue heavy, mixed with the characters' lines and the narrator. Besides, there's a lot of jokes and clever uses of its lines and doesn't make it boring. A lot of the energy is also great, from Toad's insane attitude to the paper chase at the end. The narrator is Basil Rathbone, it marks the first appearance of the Weasels and like most pieces of British work, it has a nice soothing homely feel to it all. (PS, if anyone could tell me if the Monty Python adaptation is considered Disney-owned or not, that'd be great. I've been on the fence if I should include that or not)
After that, the movie ends with the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving. It also follows closely to the story, but the only changes are the character's backstories. Here's where we'll look at the differences. In WTTW, Basil might've been narrating, but the other characters were given a full separate voice cast. The voices in SH are few to none at all, with most of it being in mime. In fact, most voices were supplied by the narrator, Bing Crosby. This is more calmer and musical than WITW. There's not that much action (save for the climax, which I'll save for last), it's more of a slice of life about Ichabod's life. A lot of character is still able to come through from everyone, though. Where WITW has just one song, SH has a couple more. But hey! We get to hear Bing's velvety "ba-ba-ba-ba-booo" crooning voice. Of course, the best part is the climax. The dark forest, the sinister atmosphere and creme of the crop himself, the Headless Horseman. With his sinister cackle and determination to kill, he's one of Disney's best Walt-era villains, especially with him being A REAL GHOST and not a joke! By the way, these differences don't lower my thoughts to this short compared to the last one. They're just fun to bring up and compare. These differences are still handled well. The mime doesn't get old, it is a more calmer story, Bing's more of a singer so that's why there's more songs, it's still good.
Both these shorts paired up with other work off very well; from the similar animation styles, good characters and fitting narrators. Are they the most faithful adaptations of their stories? I don't know, I haven't seen many other versions. But they're still good.

DAY 95

Comment & enjoy!

Description
DAY 93

Today is Washington Irving's birthday, so we're gonna cover Disney's version of his most famous written work. Released in 1949, we have the Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad. This is the first package film of the 40s we're covering in this project, which is ironically, the last package film of the 40s. When I cover the other package films, I'll be covering these separately: the individual shorts and the linking footage (if any at all).
First off, both shorts have a similar history with me. I remember seeing trailers for both of them as part of the "Favorite Stories" home video collection. I remember seeing them both and didn't really remember that much. Maybe it was just my young age. However, I distinctly remember seeing songs from both shorts shown on Disney Sing-Along videos. "Merrily on Our Way" from You Can Fly! and the Headless Horseman's song from Happy Hauntings. Then I finally saw both shorts again as a teenager, but still just as shorts; not the full film. I saw that later on YouTube. The linking footage is pretty standard; it takes place in a library where 2 separate narrators (one British, one American) tell what they think if the best piece of literature from their respected countries. They don't get into an argument over which of the 2 stories is better overall. it just starts with one narrator when switches to the next, like the first one's shift was over. It is odd, but then again, so are the general premises of the shorts theirselves. So let's start looking at them, shall we? Both are very similar to each other, yet are so different.
The first short is the Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame. It manages to stay pretty faithful to the original book, but only the minimalist changes. Each of the characters are charming in their own right. Moley and Ratty are supportive friends, MacBadger is nice hot-headed guardian, Cyril is a nice smart-alec, the humans can be really unsettling (not just because it's modern day/not old-timey fantasy and talking animals are the norm) and Toad's "live life to the fullest" attitude can be admirable (don't we all want to be like that). It's very dialogue heavy, mixed with the characters' lines and the narrator. Besides, there's a lot of jokes and clever uses of its lines and doesn't make it boring. A lot of the energy is also great, from Toad's insane attitude to the paper chase at the end. The narrator is Basil Rathbone, it marks the first appearance of the Weasels and like most pieces of British work, it has a nice soothing homely feel to it all. (PS, if anyone could tell me if the Monty Python adaptation is considered Disney-owned or not, that'd be great. I've been on the fence if I should include that or not)
After that, the movie ends with the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving. It also follows closely to the story, but the only changes are the character's backstories. Here's where we'll look at the differences. In WTTW, Basil might've been narrating, but the other characters were given a full separate voice cast. The voices in SH are few to none at all, with most of it being in mime. In fact, most voices were supplied by the narrator, Bing Crosby. This is more calmer and musical than WITW. There's not that much action (save for the climax, which I'll save for last), it's more of a slice of life about Ichabod's life. A lot of character is still able to come through from everyone, though. Where WITW has just one song, SH has a couple more. But hey! We get to hear Bing's velvety "ba-ba-ba-ba-booo" crooning voice. Of course, the best part is the climax. The dark forest, the sinister atmosphere and creme of the crop himself, the Headless Horseman. With his sinister cackle and determination to kill, he's one of Disney's best Walt-era villains, especially with him being A REAL GHOST and not a joke! By the way, these differences don't lower my thoughts to this short compared to the last one. They're just fun to bring up and compare. These differences are still handled well. The mime doesn't get old, it is a more calmer story, Bing's more of a singer so that's why there's more songs, it's still good.
Both these shorts paired up with other work off very well; from the similar animation styles, good characters and fitting narrators. Are they the most faithful adaptations of their stories? I don't know, I haven't seen many other versions. But they're still good.

DAY 95

Comment & enjoy!