Ranking the Disney Animated Canon: 1940’s

Hello, Spongey here.

Today on our Disney Canon Quest we go back. All the way back to the very beginning. That’s right, we’re covering the 40’s. And also the one 30’s movie.

Is there anything I can say about this decade? It’s what started it all, and it’s mostly full of movies people love and remember. Of course it was a slightly bumpy start thanks to a certain war that started.

This lead to both package films and some of the films not doing the best. Thankfully they became beloved and now we’re here. In terms of quality, these started the pros and cons of these older films that we’ve gone over a bit.

These did tend to be a bit better mostly because they are more forgiven for certain flaws, being older. That and having better good stuff in general.

With that said, how do I rank these? Which classics do I love the most? With this short intro over with, let’s dive in.

This, is Ranking the Disney Animated Canon: 1940’s

And at the bottom we have…

The Package Films

It’s cheating to put a whole bunch of them in one spot but honestly, I mostly feel the same about each of these and I wouldn’t rank any of them above one of the narrative films.

These movies were made because of that whole World War going on at the time and they had to make these mini compilations. I get that but that does make them stick out a bit these days when do these kind of things for a reason rather than being forced to.

Still, they had to happen, I get it. You’ll learn quickly (or learned by now after the last one) my preferences tend to be more modern as I tend to look at down at the simpler films of the past, at least when it comes to Disney. It’s a preference thing, there is usually nothing too wrong with them.

Most of these are perfectly enjoyable but again the nature of them makes them weaker than the narrative films. I didn’t have nearly enough to say about each on their own so they are all going here. But let’s go through each very quickly

Saludos Amigos (1942):

This is the only one I just don’t care for. Even for a package one, this seems just kinda pointless. T’s not even an hour long, so does it even count as a movie? It was made for a certain reason so it was neat for the time but now it just feels like a South American Tour rather than a movie.

But it has some amusing moments here and there that make it…alright. But mostly it’s forgettable.

Fun and Fancy Free (1947): For some reason this has 2 stories instead of a bunch and they’re both…fine. Enjoyable to an extent but not good enough to really carry your attention all the way through. The 2nd part is better just because I remember it better.

Melody Time/Make Mine Music (1948/1946): These 2 are more or less the same but I lumped them together. These have a bunch of segments and some are actually pretty enjoyable but some go on for way too long especially the Baseball and Johnny Appleseed ones.

But there is some especially good/energetic animation in the latter one so I think it’s worth a watch if you’re interested.

The Three Caballeros (1944): The better version of Saludos Amigos but not by an awful lot. It simply feels more focused and is more fun to watch. Still has the padding and other issues but it has personality at least.

Ichabod and Mr Toad (1949): Easily the best one of these. Not so much for Mr Toad, it’s only mildly amusing but for the Ichabod part. It’s got minor padding but when it gets going, it’s a lot of fun. I like how Ichabod isn’t that much better than the bully, and the Headless Horseman is really cool, especially with how the animation is done.

Still not quite that good, but there’s enough cool moments to make this my favorite package film.

So yeah, the package films are a fun curiosity and I can see some enjoying them more but it’s not quite my thing. I really like certain segments for them but as a whole they’re just kinda okay.

Neat but I’d rather watch certain segments over and over again rather the entire features. Now onto the real movies!

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937):

Behold, the oldest movie I will ever review! This one was the hardest to rank, especially taking it’s legacy into account. First off, no this wasn’t the first real animated film ever but eh, it’s still old so close enough.

See, being of the first animated films, they weren’t worried about creating the deepest film ever. This ones’ more about showing off the animation and being a simple sweet story.

And boy is it simple. No big twist or big themes here. That’s not bad but for some it may not quite be up to snuff. It has the usual padding, a bit worse than some but is slightly more fun than in others. For example, rhe part from the Dwarves intro to them meeting Snow for real lasts a bit too long./

The simple-ness is an issue in that regard but it does make up for with the charm. The songs are decently enjoyable, the animation is still really good (minus some faces…), and the Dwarves are a pretty fun group.

I love the parent and child dynamic going on here. The evil queen is also fun, especially as the old woman.

It’s age shows ver m uch in terms of story, and truth be told i would like it less if it came out later, but for what it is, it’s charming and enjoyable,. Simple and draggy but I’ve seen worse in that regard. Does it hold up? I’d say so in some areas. Not  for everyone, but I still respect it 80 years later. It also has a lot of heart, especially at the end. It’s of the few fake out death moments that really works for me.

So yeah, it is what it is. Weaker than some older ones and better than others, but given what i is, I’m not too surprised. Even with it’s flaws, it’s still an enjoyable enough watch, I just prefer these next few more.

Dumbo (1941):

It was hard to decide if I like this or Snow White more. This has more flaws but it has more I like. In the end, I went with this because why not. Like with most of these, I mostly enjoy but it has the usual problems..

One problem is the padding which sticks out more because it’s short, meaning not a lot of time to waste to begin with. I think if you’re gonna have an hour to tell you’re story, use it more wisely.

I mean, I love the pink elephant scenes as it’s one of the most creative bits of animation ever but does the story need it? Not really.

And i do know you’re gonna have to make the point that Dumbo is an outcast but dang, these elephants are real jerks. At one point they decide he’;s no longer an elephant. And they don’t even learn their lesson, which honestly might be good since any change in them would be very forced.

And as for the infamous crow’s, I’m in the middle. They are kinda racist but it was 1941 so i can see where they were coming from and their song is nice so…yea.

Oh, and of course the animation is very strong and the few songs we get are fun.

The movie mostly works because of the nice moments, especially the ending. Dumbo is likable and the mouse is a cool guy even if hes a bit like Jimminy cricket. So overall, it is a nice little movie but it’s nothing too great compared to some others. I put it above Snow White simply for having more substance, at least from where I’m standing.

I like it, just not a lot. I can see why some really love it though. It’s sweet at least. That’s all i got, it’s pretty simple. Not too much to this one.

Pinocchio (1940):

I was expecting to like this one just a bit more but I still ended up enjoying it quite a bit.

By now you know my main issues are more subjective. There’s the usual slow moments and padding. Nothing too much worse than some others but I do think it could have been shorter.

 (Also, the whale is more out of nowhere than I remembered)

Other than that it’s pretty enjoyable.It’s a good classic story which tells it’s basic morals (Be a good person and don’t follow shitty people) pretty well with some solid and likable characters. The villains are pretty fun in how bad they are.

The animation and music are of course very nice. Heck, When You Wish Upon a Star is used at the start of every Disney movie. It’s just a very nice movie with plenty of heart to it.

Oh, and I actually love that whole Donkey scene for how messed up it is. Also, someone says Jackass in a Disney Movie. Awesome.

It may not get me in the gut like others (even taking the pacing aside, it’s not the greatest ever in terms of what’s actually there), but it’s pretty good and a somewhat higher Good to an extent.

So yeah, it’s a classic, my preferences just make me like others, especially our next two.

Fantasia (1940):

…I need to explain myself on this one. Most would put this at the top but here it is at only 2nd place. Objectively, the movie is pretty great. It’s exactly what people say it is, and you all know why it’s so good. It’s lovely and all that artistic stuff,.

But personally…well, this movie is 2 HOURS. The longest Canon film i think and boy does it feel it. There’s some segments that go on too long…most of them actually, especially Rite of Spring and the 3rd to last one.

This doesn’t bother everyone but for me there was no need for it to be this long. Some segments go on as long as they need to like the last one but most just feel longer than they are.

Fantasia 2000 managed to be just a bit over an hour, even if it needed to repeat a segment to reach that mark. So yeah, it’s not a movie you can just watch.

However, by all counts it is really good and quite a sight to behold…and listen to i guess. There’s not much “wrong” with it, i just don’t care for how long it is. There’s no need to go into detail as you all know why it’s good.

I do love a lot of it, especially the animation and also certain segments like A Night on Bald Mountain. I put it this high, you know I do quite like it and see how it’s importance.

But it just got too long for him. .But for some, it’s no \big deal. And that’s fine.

…And that’s all I got. As I said, everyone’s gone into the details of why it’s so good i just wanted to explain why I don’t LOVE it. The flaws in this one matter the least and even more so than usual, are up to personal preference.

Either way, the film is quite the feat and the nature of it alone makes it number 1 for most people. I get that so I won’t rain your parade too much. Let’s move on.

And my favorite Disney film of the 1940’s is…

Bambi (1942):

Yep, of the obvious choices I could have picked, I went with this one. I was debating between this and Fantasia but after thinking it over, I went with one, so let’s explore why.

The thing about this movie is that it’s more of a slice of life than a real story, the plot is just Bambi living life.

Which works as a nice little slice of life story, mostly because Bambi’s Mom’s death is foreshadowed (perhaps a bit too much, one scene almost makes you think someone died when no one did, and me knowing of the scene thought this was it) and has an impact, at least with the whole Man thing.

The dedicate a lot of time to Bambi and the mom which gives that scene (which is basically the  “It was his sled” of animation)  real impact. …Even if it has bad mood whiplash with a happy song right after. Yeah that was weird. It’s also odd how the film goes back to being chill right after but the climax makes up for it.

Those two parts are really well done and the rest is charming to combine and make a very good thing. As usual, i see some loving it more but the exact way they did this made me like it more than other older ones. So that’s a big plus.

Overall, a charming classic with two really great scenes with emotional impact. Also pretty animation.The nature of it even makes me forgive the pacing, at least to some extent.

The fact that it managed to make me really like this kid of thing alone makes it my favorite for the decade. But even on it’s own, I think it’s the one from this decade that combines charm with real emotional impact the best.

It’s a nice movie with some really great moments and handles the padding the best. All that makes this my personal favorite Disney Animated Film of the 1940’s.

And those were the Disney Animated Canon films of the 1940’s. Overall, it’s a good star to their legacy. The pacing issue did appear the most here but given the time period, it mostly wasn’t a huge issues.

The package films held them back a bit but they had to be done, I get it. The better films managed to be quite charming and timeless and I see why some could love them quite a bit.

I somewhat apologize for the reviews in this being so short and at times repetitive. I don’t wanna waste too much time with these and most of these have the same main flaw and that flaw isn’t always a flaw to some.

As long as I make my feelings clear, I’m fine with all that. I think that should about do it with this one. We’re almost done guys, just 2 more and we’ll be done with this crazy project.

Next time, we just ahead a bit…and I do mean only a bit. With the two decades we have left, that’s a totally obvious hint but whatever.

See ya.