Jiminy Cricket hosts two Disney animated shorts: Bongo about a circus bear escaping to the wild, and Mickey and the Beanstalk, a take on the famous fairy tale.
Edgar Bergen
Himself / Charlie McCarthy / Mortimer Snerd
Dinah Shore
Narrator (voice)
Luana Patten
Herself
Walt Disney
Mickey Mouse (voice) (uncredited)
Anita Gordon
Singing Harp (voice)
Cliff Edwards
Jiminy Cricket (voice)
Clarence Nash
Donald Duck / Cat (voice)
Pinto Colvig
Goofy (voice) (uncredited)
James MacDonald
Lumpjaw (voice) (uncredited)
Billy Gilbert
Willie the Giant (voice)
The King's Men
Singers
Eugenia Doy "Jean" Dinning
The Dinning sisters - Singers
The Starlighters
The Starlighters
Director
Bill Roberts
Director
Hamilton Luske
Director
William Morgan
Director
Jack Kinney
Original Story
Sinclair Lewis
Story
Ted Sears
Story
Homer Brightman
Story
Harry Reeves
Story
Tom Oreb
Story
Lance Nolley
Story
Eldon Dedini
Writer
Frank Tashlin
January 14, 2018
6
After World War 2 the Disney studio had difficulty getting back to where they were prior to the war's disruptive affects on the studio's operations. Having said that, they produced what they called "Package Features", which contained multiple stories rather than just one feature, as was the case with "Snow White", "Pinocchio", and "Fantasia", prior to the war. This one, "Fun And Fancy Free", uses 2 story lines that were in development prior to the American declaration of War, in December of 1941. "Mickey & the Beanstalk", pictured on the cover, plus "Bongo" the 'Circus Bear'. 2 films that weren't fleshed out sufficiently to be a feature, on their own, but put together with Edgar Bergman and his act for narrative and time filling purposes. I have this and the others in this series on DVD for children and grandchildren, but this isn't Disney's best effort. There are special features on some of both the Video & DVD editions which does make the "Package Feature" worthwhile. Other "Package Features" include, "Melody Time", "Make Mine Music", "Three Caballeros", "The Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad". All produced in the late 1940s and having somewhat pieced together though highly watchable formats made to suit a young audience.