User blog:ARTaylor/70 Years of Fun and Fancy Free

Today marks the seventieth anniversary of the premiere of Fun and Fancy Free. Released on this date in 1947, the film was the fourth package film from Walt Disney Animation Studios and the ninth animated feature from the company. It was created in part to save money during World War II, when resources and personnel were scarce for studios, and ultimately helped pay for later releases such as Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan. The film was a moderate success with critics.

The film is a collection of two short stories. The first, Bongo, is hosted by Jiminy Cricket of Pinocchio and follows a circus bear cub seeking freedom. The other, Mickey and the Beanstalk, is an adaptation of Jack and the Beanstalk and features Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy who encounter a giant in the sky after acquiring magic beans. This happened to be the last time that Walt Disney himself voiced Mickey as he would later become too busy and passed the role off onto a sound effects artist.