Westember II - Introduction

After much preparation, Westember II has finally arrived! My plan is to focus on the work of 5 western stars, along with the Three Mesquiteers series, covering three films for each along with a short biography. I will also briefly cover 8 other stars with a combined biography and review of one of their movies.

Today's video looks at the beginnings of the series western with the films of William Anderson (better known as Broncho Billy) and William S. Hart, who's film, Hell's Hinges, I reviewed last year.

Tune in tomorrow when I will explore the career of Tom Mix!

Saturday Evening Cartoons: The Little Mermaid (1989)

     The Little Mermaid was released on November 17th, 1989. Written and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker it is the 28th Disney animated feature. An adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale it tells the story of a mermaid princess named Ariel (Jodi Benson) who falls in love with a human prince.

     From the start of the picture it is established that Ariel is dissatisfied with her life in Atlantica and she dreams of a life in the human world. Encountering Prince Eric (voiced by Christopher Daniel Barnes) on a voyage to celebrate his birthday results, predictably, in love at first site but Ariel's obsession with the surface world makes this more believable then it might be otherwise. Eric, in return, falls in love when Ariel when she saves him from perishing in a shipwreck. Ariel's father King Triton (Kenneth Mars) is furious to learn that she has fallen for a human and forbids her to pursue the matter further. This compels the lovesick princess to turn to the sea witch, Ursula (Pat Carroll), and, in her desperation, she agrees to give up her voice in exchange for being changed into a human, an agreement which will result in her enslavement to the sea-witch if she is unable to win Eric's love. 

      Because of this, much of the second act is focused on her budding relationship with the Prince which, truth be told, is a delightful change of pace from the earlier Disney films with their often perfunctory treatment of the central romance. Eric is unaware that Ariel is the mermaid who saved his life and Ariel, left without her voice, is unable to communicate this to him. Nonetheless she perseveres and almost succeeds in obtaining true love's kiss, but Ursula sends her minions Flotsam and Jetsam to thwart her. She then takes on a human form herself and uses her magic, and Ariel's stolen voice, to place an enchantment on Eric and make him agree to marry her. 

      The third act is a little rushed as Ariel exposes Ursula's scheme too late, resulting in her enslavement and Triton agrees to take his daughter's place, leading the sea witch to declare herself the new ruler and grow to a monstrous size. Eric is able to defeat her by impaling her with the bowsprit of a wrecked ship. The real issue here is that Ariel never seems to learn a lesson from her rash choices early on, rather Triton, as the stereotypical overbearing patriarchal figure, apologizes for not supporting her choices. This would be ok if Ariel recognized her own faults, but no such admission is forthcoming. 

      The film certainly has less focus on the comedic shenanigans then earlier Disney fairy tales, which is fine. The comedy supplied by Ariel's aquatic friends is more then adequate. Samuel E. Wright is great as King Triton's uptight advisor Sebastian the crab and his consternation over Ariel's indiscretion's supplies a lot of laughs. Buddy Hackett's dimwitted sea-gull Scuttle provides a contrast to Sebastian both in his clumsy, clueless behavior and his support of Ariel's curiosity about the human world. The film also takes a little time for some hilarious slapstick complements of René Auberjonois's Chef Louis and his crazed pursuit of Sebastien, who he finds hiding out in his kitchen. 

     The Little Mermaid is the film that kicked off the Disney Renaissance, the roughly ten year period where the studio returned to producing animated features that were both a critical and commercial success. The studio had put the story in development as far back as the 1930's as part of a proposed package film that would feature various vignettes of Hans Christian Andersen fairy tales. These plans had been all but forgotten when Ron Clements presented a two-page treatment of The Little Mermaid to Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg in 1986. 

     The studio had been struggling financially since Walt Disney's death in 1966, hitting rock bottom with the release of The Black Cauldron in 1986, a film that cost the studio $44 million (the most expensive film they had produced up to that point) and grossing a mere $21 million. Walt's nephew Roy Disney had been able to oust Ron Miller (Disney's son-in-law) as the company executive, and brought in Michael Eisner as Disney's new CEO and Katzenberg as the head of the film division. This put an end to the corporate squabbles that had plagued the studio for the better part of a decade and allowed them to maintain a much more steady group of filmmakers and animators to oversee their animation department. Wanting to increase the studio's animated output from one film every four years to one film every two years, Katzenberg gave Clements to go-ahead, and the film was set to be developed alongside Oliver & Company. 

     The animation was a real return to form for the studio. They once again used live actors and actresses for reference, a practice they had abandoned in the years since Walt had died. The movement is animated in a really natural way and the underwater scenes are particularly impressive in this respect, with Ariel's flowing hair and the graceful swimming of the various undersea creatures. This film used more special effects animation then any of the studio's films since Fantasia in 1940. One of the animators estimated that over a million bubbles were drawn for the underwater sequences in this film. The play of light and shadow in these scenes and the sense of depth perception is really breathtaking and the animators utilized a wide variety of techniques including as airbrushing, back-lighting, and computer animation to achieve this.

      In many way The Little Mermaid is a transitional film as it was the last Disney feature to utilize traditional, hand-painted cel animation. A new method called called CAPS/ink & paint (Computer Animation Production System), developed by Pixar, would instead be used in Disney's films after this. The Little Mermaid itself used this method for one shot near the end of the picture Ariel and Eric's wedding ship sailing away. It also set the precedent for the Renaissance era of structuring the films like a Broadway musical. Songwriter Howard Ashman who became involved with the film in 1987, worked with Katzenberg, Clements, and Jon Musker to revise the story along these lines, structuring the story around the film's musical numbers. 

      Composer Alan Menken, who had worked with Ashman on Off-Broadway musical, Little Shop of Horrors, was hired alongside him to write the movie's music. The two would go on to write the songs for Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, and their work here anticipates those later masterworks. "Part of Your World" establishes Ariel's driving motivation for the rest of the film and Jodi Benson's vocal have an expressiveness and sense of longing one would tend to expect from a Broadway show rather then a animated film (perhaps this is less true now but, if so, Menken and Ashman are largely to thank for it). "Under the Sea" is certainly the most memorable song from the film, or from any Disney film for that matter, and Ashman's idea to make Sebastian a Jamaican crab instead of the English-butler archetype the writers had in mind really paid off with the Reggea/calypso style of the song helping to set the film's tone. Samuel E. Wright's expressive, driving vocals are just pitch perfect and the layered orchestration and exotic timbre give the song the unique tone I alluded to previously. "Poor Unfortunate Souls" helps to establish Ursula's villainy and is maybe the first great Disney villain song. Pat Carroll renders it wonderfully and her asides to Flotsam and Jetsam are particularly clever. "Kiss the Girl" hearkens back to the calypso style of "Under the Sea" but with a softer tone and smooth, flowing tempo, compared to the rambunctious feel of the earlier song. This befits the more romantic nature of this number in which Ariel's companions assist her in winning her prince.

     The Little Mermaid may not be as tightly plotted or as dazzlingly animated as the films which followed it but it remains a minor classic in the Disney canon thanks to it's superb soundtrack and it's seamless blend of zany comedy and heartfelt drama.

Western Wednesdays: The Eagle's Brood (1935)

     The Eagle's Brood is the second Hopalong Cassidy film. It was released on October 25th, 1935. Directed by Howard Bretherton and written by Doris Schroeder and Harrison Jacobs it is an adaptation of Clarence E. Mulford's novel Hopalong Cassidy and the Eagle's Brood. In it Hoppy and Johnny Nelson help a Mexican bandit to rescue his kidnapped grandson Pablo (George Mari).

     This film starts out a little slow, with the first act focusing on the murder of El Toro's wife and family and the rescue of his youngest son by Dolores (played by Nana Martinez, better known as Joan Woodbury). Hoppy doesn't even appear until more then 10 minutes in, but it picks up pretty quickly after this. El Toro (played by silent star William Farnum) saves Cassidy, whose a sheriff when this film starts, and on the outlaw's trail, from being drowned in quicksand so Hoppy feels honor bound to help him find his son. In a scene perfectly illustrating the integrity of the character as portrayed by Boyd he turns in his star declaring, "When you pinned that on me I took an oath. Today I broke it." (There's another scene later on where Hoppy goes to a bar and orders a drink: sarsaparilla!)

      Johnny Nelson, of course, insists on aiding Hoppy in his task and the two set out to retrieve young Pablo. The usual intrigue ensues culminating in a thrilling climax, with a wounded Nelson holding off the baddies after finding Pablo hiding in the mountains and Hoppy riding to his rescue. Gabby Hayes' character is killed once again and so is the ingenue this time around, continuing the tendency toward dark, violent content the series showed in its early days. Because of this there is little room for romance in this installment. Johnny does not even meet Dolores before she is killed, though he does, nonetheless, display some righteous fury over her murder. 

     Returning director Howard Bretherton does a fine job once again and cinematographer Archie Stout stunningly captures the Sierra Mountains, where much of the film was shot. The real draw here is the script by Doris Schroeder and Harrison Jacobs which gives all the character more depth then is usual for a film of this kind. The once high and mighty El Toro sets out, on his own, to rescue his orphaned grandson, but is selfless enough to save Hoppy at the risk of his capture. Because of this Hoppy himself is forced to give up his badge, a difficult decision for the stalwart hero, and is dismayed when Johnny follows his example without a second thought. Dolores, who is in bed with the main villain (Addison Richards' Big Henry), takes a tremendous risk in hiding Pablo from him, and gets a bullet for her efforts. Gabby Hayes' oblivious bartender is also allowed a dignified death, defying his boss to put in with Cassidy and Nelson, after they protect him from John Merton's hot-tempered henchman, Ed. Even Dorothy Revier's saloon girl, Dolly, is given a sense of vulnerability and pathos one wouldn't generally expect from such a stock supporting character.

     It may lack the polish of later installments and it does suffer from pacing problems but, thanks to a an unusually sensitive script and some exciting action in an awesome location, The Eagle's Brood is still a solid entry in the series. 

 Score: 8/10

Musical Mondays: Cinderella (1950)

     The 12th Disney animated feature, Cinderella was released on March 4th, 1950. Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wilfred Jackson it is an adaptation of Charles Perrault's 1697 version of the famous folktale in which Cinderella, the neglected daughter of a wealthy widower, is given a chance to escape her dreary life when the king invites all the young maidens in the land to a royal ball in order to find a suitable bride for the young prince.

     After the Second World War Disney began producing animated features once again, after having put many projects on hold during the war. The period immediately proceeding the war had been a rough one for the studio with many of it's films including Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), and Bambi (1942) bombing at the box office (largely as a result of their exorbitant costs). The first few films they released in this period were package films (an idea Walt had lit on during the war) which were cheaper to produce. The (relative) success of these movies helped to finance a new string of feature length animated films and the studio began to develop Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and Cinderella, simultaneously. As Walt felt that Cinderella showed the most promise, it was given priority. 

 

     Just as Snow White often focuses on the Dwarfs and the good fairies from Sleeping Beauty are, for all intents and purposes, the film's protagonists, this film is focused, more often then not, on Cinderella's animal friends, the mice ,and their struggles to help her while also avoiding Lady Tremaine's cat, Lucifer. But this film does distinguish itself in that, compared to say, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the characters in Cinderella are drawn less broadly. The titular heroine, for instance, is more assertive and has more agency then either Snow White or, later, Aurora do. The wicked stepmother is also a more subtle villain then Maleficent, who is practically the embodiment of evil, or the thoroughly wicked Queen from Snow White. On the other hand, Prince Charming may be the most passive of all Disney princes, falling in love with Cinderella because of his father's machinations and then doing nothing, it would seem, to find her after she leaves the dance so abruptly. 

 

     With so much screen time devoted to Cinderella's animal friends there is plenty of room for the slapstick comedy the studio is so skilled at. Watching the mice's efforts to get a bite of bird feed, help Cinderella with her dress, or rescue her from the attic, all while avoiding Lucifer is all funny stuff. The real comedic highlight, however, comes from human characters: the antics between the King and the Grand Duke are side-splittingly funny and begin a tradition of manic, hyper masculine characters that can later be seen in the likes of Captain Hook in Peter Pan and Sir Ector in The Sword in the Stone. 

 

     The animation is somewhat streamlined and far less ambitious then the studio's earlier, golden age works. Certainly, the backgrounds are not as detailed or ornate as the painterly ones seen in Snow White and sometimes, as in the scene where Cinderella meets her fairy godmother, they have a indistinct, impressionistic look. In an effort to keep production costs down, the studio had began to use live action reference footage to check the plot, timing, and movement of the characters before animating it. The animators, prevented from doing anything that wasn't possible in live-action, found this incredibly limiting. Frank Thomas, one of Walt's "Nine Old Men" said that, "Anytime you'd think of another way of staging the scene, they'd say: 'We can't get the camera up there'! Well, you could get the animation camera up there!"

 

     The film does have some excellent music. Disney turned to Tin Pan Alley songwriters Mack David, Al Hoffman, and Jerry Livingston to write the songs, the first professional composers to be hired from outside of the studio. They're all winners. "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes", with a tune taken from an Etude by Franz Liszt is a lovely little piece, beautifully rendered by Ilene Woods. It's lyrics, which reference dreams both in the sense of an aspiration and the more conventional sense of nightly fantasies, is very typical of other classic Disney tunes like "When You Wish upon a Star". "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" evokes of the trio's hit song "Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba" which got them hired when Walt Disney heard it on the radio. It's a lively song, as would be expected from its Tin Pan Alley roots, and perfect for the scene where the Fairy Godmother transforms Cinderella's mundane surroundings into a royal coach, complete with a footman, coachman and four horses. "So This Is Love" is certainly the weakest of the bunch, relying a little to much on generic humming in the place of lyrics but it still contains some clever wordplay and expresses the airy emotions that Cinderella and the Prince are swept up in. The orchestral score was provided by Oliver Wallace and for the first time it was done after the animation was ready for inking. This was yet another change that made the production move closer to that of a live-action film. Up to this point, Disney features had carefully synchronized the animation with the score. 

     It's certainly a well cast film. Ilene Woods helps make Cinderella the most well realized Disney princess until Belle in Beauty and the Beast. Eleanor Audley is perfectly cast as the cold, calculating Lady Tremaine. Verna Felton establishes the great tradition of the quirky Disney fairy/wizard and adds a real spunk to the Fairy Godmother. Luis van Rooten, doubling as the King and the Grand Duke, inserts a much needed jocularity to the proceedings as the former which is contrasted with a bit of pompous tomfoolery as the latter. Jimmy MacDonald brings a lot of heart to the mice, Jaq and Gus, while Lucille Bliss and Rhoda Williams are pitch perfect (no pun intended) as Cinderella's clueless, self-absorbed step-sisters. Finally, William Phipps does a good a job as can be expected in his thankless role as prince Charming.

     In many ways, Cinderella represents a departure from the bold artistic vision that had characterized the first batch of Disney animated films. Despite this it remains a solid film thanks to a better-then-average story, some wonderful music, and a healthy does of slapstick comedy. It is not among the better films in the Disney animated canon but it's still well worth a watch. 

Score: 8/10

Announcing Westember II!

     After much deliberation I have decided to do a follow up to my Westember series from last year. We'll see if it turns into a yearly tradition ala Lent Reviews and Shocktober. This year I am focusing on the series western, low budget films put out by various studios in the 30's, 40's and early 50's in which stars were contracted to headline, typically, four to eight pictures each year. Many of the most beloved western movie stars (Gene Autry, William Boyd, and Roy Rogers just to name a few) made a name for themselves in these movies.

     I hope you will all tune in on August 31st for the first episode of Westember II: Stars of the B-Western!