Disney's Lynch-Pin: an Academic Study of Feathers, Beaks, and Sloppy Animation
It's true. You've heard the rumours. There is a sidekick that plagues film after Disney film. The comically-wobbling BIRD!
Now that you have looked undiluted fear in the face, do not be afraid. All will be revealed.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Well, for one thing, you have those pedantic, twittering, do-gooder birds flushing dust out of Snow White's house. Oh, wait - it wasn't her house. She broke into the residence of the seven dwarfs (they're just friends... right?) with her prime monkey wrench without permission, and persisted to steal pounds and pounds of valuable dust! She didn't even have the sense to sell it off to Jafar, or whichever other bum was roosting in the bushes. She pissed it away, in all senses of the phrase! Doc must have cried his eyes out.
There are also some rather evil vultures who munch on the queen's horribly mangled corpse, before giving not-so-Happy a keen mangling (see the director's cut). Hoping to capitalise on Hollywood's horror boom (running 1931-36, Snow White was only a year too late), somebody on the Disney team must have remembered Bela Lugosi's similar vulture in White Zombie (1932), or even that dratted cockatoo in Mad Love (1935). They're really cool looking, but you can bet your clogs that they'll have terrible personalities.
Then there's that squawkin' crow that inhabits the queen's lab. Frankly, he looked too much like flatulent Jeremy in Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH for comfort. Actually, a close inspection of the film's credits reveals that the crow was played by one "J. Eremy." Well, I'm puzzled. if there are any fans of the Sunday Times crossword who'd like to solve this fledgling mystery, post a comment. Please!
Next time: we dissect that jovial wooden window dressing: Pinocchio, which holds the unique distinction of being Disney's most commonly misspelled film. If you would like to vote for a favourite Disney bird, feel free. It's not like I'm in cahoots with the WED merchandising team or... anything resembling... that sort of factual... indicia...
Gotta go!
Now that you have looked undiluted fear in the face, do not be afraid. All will be revealed.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Well, for one thing, you have those pedantic, twittering, do-gooder birds flushing dust out of Snow White's house. Oh, wait - it wasn't her house. She broke into the residence of the seven dwarfs (they're just friends... right?) with her prime monkey wrench without permission, and persisted to steal pounds and pounds of valuable dust! She didn't even have the sense to sell it off to Jafar, or whichever other bum was roosting in the bushes. She pissed it away, in all senses of the phrase! Doc must have cried his eyes out.
There are also some rather evil vultures who munch on the queen's horribly mangled corpse, before giving not-so-Happy a keen mangling (see the director's cut). Hoping to capitalise on Hollywood's horror boom (running 1931-36, Snow White was only a year too late), somebody on the Disney team must have remembered Bela Lugosi's similar vulture in White Zombie (1932), or even that dratted cockatoo in Mad Love (1935). They're really cool looking, but you can bet your clogs that they'll have terrible personalities.
Then there's that squawkin' crow that inhabits the queen's lab. Frankly, he looked too much like flatulent Jeremy in Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH for comfort. Actually, a close inspection of the film's credits reveals that the crow was played by one "J. Eremy." Well, I'm puzzled. if there are any fans of the Sunday Times crossword who'd like to solve this fledgling mystery, post a comment. Please!
Next time: we dissect that jovial wooden window dressing: Pinocchio, which holds the unique distinction of being Disney's most commonly misspelled film. If you would like to vote for a favourite Disney bird, feel free. It's not like I'm in cahoots with the WED merchandising team or... anything resembling... that sort of factual... indicia...
Gotta go!
posted by James C. Swanton at 10:22 PM
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