TCM’s Treasures from the Disney Vault: December 2017
TCM's Treasures from the Disney Vault closes out 2017 on December 20th with an evening full of uniquely Disney content. The evening includes two swashbuckling adventures, two films about orphans on the run, and two TV specials. Some of Disney's biggest stars are in attendance, including the one and only Mickey Mouse, Guy Williams, Kevin "Moochie" Corcoran, Henry Calvin (twice), Elliott the dragon, and Walt Disney himself. From some rare films and oddities to a few well known classics, Leonard Maltin has assembled a perfect gift of classic Disney films from the vault just in time for the holidays. And best of all, this lineup features three shining examples of Disney animation.
8:00 pm - The Brave Little Tailor (1938)
Mickey Mouse kicks off the evening in one of his most iconic shorts, The Brave Little Tailor. After excitedly killing seven flies with one swat of a fly swatter, his bragging is confused for having killed seven giants. He is rushed to the castle where the king promises the hand of the fair princess (Minnie) in exchange for him killing the giant. And so he ventures off with just his shears and his will to defeat the beast.
The Brave Little Tailor was nominated for Best Animated Short at the 1939 Academy Awards, but lost to another Disney short, Ferdinand the Bull (recently adapted as a Fox animated film). Walt Disney provides the voice of Mickey, as he did for all of his shorts from 1928 through 1946. Walt's last time speaking for Mickey was in the Mickey and the Beanstalk segment of Fun and Fancy Free, a film where Mickey's costume looks strikingly similar to that of The Brave Little Tailor and also pits him against a giant. In 1987, a Disney side project lovingly sampled the title with The Brave Little Toaster.
Recommendation: Start the evening off right with one of Mickey's most memorable roles.
8:15 pm - The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952)
When Disney fans think of Robin Hood, they mostly picture an animated fox from the 1973 animated feature. But that film was Disney's second adaptation of the handsome thief who robs from the rich to give to the poor. 1952's The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men came on the heels of 1950's Treasure Island and was the studio's second all-live action feature film. Like Treasure Island, it was produced with profits Disney made during World War II, which had to be spent in Europe.
Like the animated film, Alan-a-dale is a traveling minstrel who sings the tales of Robin Hood as a segue between major plot points. Richard Todd stars as Robin Hood and went on to headline two additional Disney films produced using the studio's war profits. This was Director Ken Annakin's first Disney film of many and his other credits include Third Man on the Mountain and Swiss Family Robinson.
While produced after it, Disney's adaptation was unable to dethrone Errol Flynn's The Adventures of Robin Hood from 1938, a Warner Brothers film that is still hailed as the greatest screen adaptation of Britain's greatest folk hero. It has mostly fallen into obscurity, but is given a prime spot on TCM this evening. Other than a few pacing issues, it's a great adaptation of a classic story.
Recommendation: While slow paced, "The Story of Robin Hood" features excellent performances and Peter Ellenshaw matte paintings. The film's historical significance should be of interest to Disney history buffs.
9:45 pm - The Sign of Zorro (1960)
Like the two Davy Crockett films, The Sign of Zorro combined episodes from the weekly ABC TV series that began in 1957. However, the Crockett films were harvested from between two and three 45-minute episodes, whereas Zorro split apart eight 25-minute episodes to make this 90-minute film. It tells the origin story of Zorro and was originally created for the European market in 1958, debuting the same year the series came to an end in the U.S. It received an American release later in 1960, the same year that four hour-long TV specials were being produced for Walt Disney's anthology series.
Don Diego (Guy Williams) returns home to Los Angeles after studying abroad to find that Capitan Monestario has taken control as a dictator. Being the son of a high profile resident, Don Diego pretends to be clumsy and dim so that at night, he can don his cape and mask and become the caped crusader Zorro, a cunning fox that can free his people from oppression.
In addition to seeing the old backlot sets from the Disney Studio, viewers will get a taste for the high quality production values on Zorro, where each episode cost more to produce than the air date advertising revenue would cover. The series was always cinematic in scope, and this edit, while a little too episodic and unable to linger in the moment, demonstrates that perfectly. In Europe, there was another package feature called Zorro the Avenger that never received a U.S. release.
Recommendation: "Zorro" was such an amazing television series and "The Sign of Zorro" offers a brief preview of the quality each episode contained, while not being as satisfying as individual full episodes.
11:30 pm - Toby Tyler (1960)
Just around the corner from the Zorro set on the Disney backlot was Western Street, where Toby Tyler (or Ten Weeks with a Circus) begins. But more than that, Henry Calvin and Gene Sheldon from the Zorro series were reunited for this film and would be paired again a year later in Babes in Toyland, which made its Treasures from the Disney Vault debut in 2015.
Kevin "Moochie" Corcoran stars as Toby Tyler, an orphan who lives on his aunt and uncle's farm and runs away to join the circus when it passes through town. Starting as a concessionaire, he makes friends with a young horse riding acrobat and a chimp named Mr. Stubbs. But when his friend's riding partner has an accident, Toby must quickly train to become a star of the show. Despite making his circus dreams come true, he will learn the hard way that home is where the heart is.
I was obsessed with Toby Tyler as a kid after seeing it on Vault Disney and even told my local Blockbuster that my rental VHS was lost so that I could keep it (that set my piggy bank back $3). The circus wagons used in the film were original circus wagons from the 1800's, purchased and restored for use at Disneyland as part of the Mickey Mouse Club Circus parade. The wagons still exist and can be visited at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, WI.
Recommendation: One of my favorite Disney films ever, I hope you love it as much as I do.
The evening is only just getting started. Continue to the next page to complete the night's lineup.
1:15 am - Tricks of our Trade (1957)
This episode of Disneyland is all about the animation process. Walt Disney is your host for this rare peek into Disney's animation studio and features staged recreations of innovations made on films that predate this special, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia, and Bambi. There's even a bit of original Mickey Mouse animation produced just for Tricks of our Trade.
First broadcast in black and white, Walt had the foresight to film his weekly serials in color (unlike Zorro, which was filmed in black and white). In preparation for this broadcast, Disney has released an HD restoration of the special, giving anyone whose seen it before a great reason to see it again like never before. This special features some of Disney's top animation talent, most of which were not great on-screen actors. Be on the lookout for some unintentional humor in their forced performances.
Recommendation: Required viewing for all Disney fans.
2:15 am - Pete's Dragon (1977)
My personal favorite of Disney's live action films that incorporate animation, Pete's Dragon serves as a perfect companion to all of the previous offerings of the night. It highlights Disney's masterful animation skills, previously exemplified in The Brave Little Tailor and Tricks of our Trade, and many of the live action principles the studio learned on The Story of Robin Hood and Zorro. But more than that, the town of Passamaquoddy was built on the Disney backlot, modifying most of the Western sets seen in Toby Tyler and adding a small port. In terms of themes, both Toby Tyler and Pete's Dragon tell the story of orphans who run away in search of a better life.
Pete is a boy who has been adopted into slavery on the Gogan's farm, but is saved by a disappearing dragon named Elliott who helps him run away and leads him to the coastal town of Passamaquoddy. There he befriends the lighthouse keeper Nora and her father Lampie and finds what could be a new forever home. But when a traveling salesman and his assistant hear about Pete's dragon, they plot to destroy the beast and use its parts for their phony remedies.
Helen Reddy, Mickey Rooney, Jim Dale, Red Buttons, and Shelly Winters headline this musical spectacular. The memorable songs include the Oscar nominated "Candle on the Water," "Brazzle Dazzle Day," "It's Not Easy," and "There's Room for Everyone in this World," all of which were written by Al Kasha and Joel Hirschorn. The duo also contributed a song for Epcot Center in 1982, writing the catchy "Universe of Energy" theme song.
Recommendation: This night keeps getting better and "Pete's Dragon" is the zenith, my favorite film of the lineup.
4:30 am - Fuzzbucket (1986)
A real curiosity in the vault of Disney productions, Fuzzbucket was a pilot for an unproduced TV series which aired as a TV special in 1986. Following the theme established in Pete's Dragon, Fuzzbucket is about a boy with an invisible friend that nobody else can see or hear. But whereas Elliott is charming, humorous, and magical, Fuzzbucket is weird, annoying, and rodent-like.
Michael Gerber is a lonely kid on his first day of middle school, his parents seemingly on the brink of divorce. His big secret is that he has an invisible friend named Fuzzbucket and he's trying to help him become visible again. In the special, Michael makes him a glowing green smoothie that allows him to finally see Fuzzbucket, which means his secret friend will have to leave if he wants to remain a secret.
I had previously heard stories about Fuzzbucket, mostly from those old enough to remember it fondly from their childhoods. Like Child of Glass and the Mr. Boogedy films, I believe experiencing it at an impressionable age is a prerequisite to enjoying it. Sadly, the Michael Eisner/Mickey Mouse introduction is not available with the film, which could have made this a must-watch for that intro alone. It is otherwise a groan worthy piece of television that like the fuzzy creature himself, should remain hidden.
Recommendation: "Fuzzbucket" is the one dud of this evening's lineup, get some sleep and avoid the day terrors it will induce.
Overall, this was one of the most high quality presentations of Treasures from the Disney Vault to date. With the exception of Fuzzbucket, each film is worth your time and keeps getting better as the midnight oil burns. If you can't stay up all night, you should definitely make room on your DVR for the majority of the evening's programming.