Monday, June 24, 2013

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

1951

Alice in Wonderland, adapted from the novel by Lewis Carroll, is the 13th film by Disney Animated Studios.
Lewis Carroll's book was a great inspiration to Walt Disney who produced several short films based on several segments of the original story. Since the days of the Laugh O Grams, Disney worked on several  animated segments called Alice Comedies, which combined live action with classic animation.

In 1936 he also released a short film, starring Mickey Mouse, called "Thru the mirror" which finds Mickey having a strange dream after reading Alice through the looking glass. Although the film is very loosely based on the original story, there are some nice gags, and the animation is really great.

After this production, the studio worked on several other adaptations of the story, none of which would be released.


Sunday, June 16, 2013

CINDERELLA



1950

Cinderella is the 12th animated feature in the Disney Animated Classics, and the return to full length films after the production of 6 package films (films made up of several shorts). 

Even though many of their features had been critically acclaimed, up to this point Snow white had been the only real economic success for Disney. By the end of the 1940s the company's future was in doubt. So when Walt Disney decided to make a new full length feature film, the idea of reimagining a classic story was probably the safe way to go. 

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD AND MR. TOAD

1949

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad is the last package film in a series of 6, made by Disney Animated Studios through the 1940s. 

As the title sugests, this feature film is made up of two stories, both based upon popular tales. The first one, Mr Toad is a character from The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, a classic tale from English literature. The second one is an adaptation of the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, a tale written by American writer Washington Irving. 

Monday, June 3, 2013

MELODY TIME


1948

Melody Time is the 10th feature film released in the Disney Animated Classics, and the fifth package film produced due to economic problems during the 40s.
As the previous package films had, Melody time features short films using music as the base for storytelling. This time there are 7 different stories, some with original concepts, some that are based on popular tales.