Written by Jennifer
May 14, 2009
Though this is certainly one of the more peculiar volumes in the Animation Collection, it's entertaining enough.
Volume 4 of Disney's Animation Collection contains six animated adaptations of well known myths and fables. "The Tortoise and the Hare" kick things off with their rollicking foot race, and that smarty-boots hare is so convinced that he'll win that he wastes all his time flirting with pink-eyed schoolgirl bunnies. Tortoise sweats and huffs his way to the finish line, proving that slow and steady wins the race. Later the two go at it again in "Toby Tortoise Returns", although this time they take to the boxing ring as those pink-eyed bunnies watch from the sidelines. The cartoon quickly descends into silliness, but little children will undoubtedly find these two arch-rivals and their hi jinx very funny.
In "Babes in the Woods", two little children stumble upon an enchanted forest, complete with dancing gnomes (so cute!) and a candy house. Oh, how I long to stumble upon a candy house all covered in swirly red and white peppermints and brightly colored gum drops. And if I did, I would never ever slash open the front of a decorative pie just to gobble up the filling inside. That little cartoon girl is greedy! Even so, she and her little boyfriend find a magic potion inside that turns rats back into children. Together they lift the witch's evil curse and exact their revenge. It's all so weirdly appealing that you almost wish you could pay that witch's cottage a visit yourself.
"The Goddess of Spring" reimagines the myth of Persephone and her imprisonment in Hades (with some rather jarring musical numbers from the devil himself), and "The Saga of Windwagon Smith" tells a rather convoluted tale of a man who built something of a cross between a sailboat and a covered wagon. The latter isn't exactly a classic, but the influence of Homer Jonas (who went on to a long career at Hanna Barbera) is clear.
Finally we have the familiar tale of Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, a charming tale about clear-cutting and deforestation. I had never seen Mr. Bunyan in such a destructive light before, but suddenly the thought of him stripping all that land to make room for settlers seems awfully unsettling (no pun intended). Perhaps this is one tall tale better appreciated by generations who had yet to see global warming and mass overpopulation.
Though this is certainly one of the more peculiar volumes in the Animation Collection, it's entertaining enough. If nothing else, it's a curious piece of Disney history. In fact, it's quite an interesting slice of Americana. A collectible "Tortoise and the Hare" lithograph is include in the package.
