Hello friends, happy Monday! I hope you are all doing well. Today I’m finally back with my Disney Movies project, watching Disney movies from the first half of the 1950s, let’s get into it!

This decade was a lot… and not just because there were quite a few movies, but the movies started to sound the same as I went along, but I made it. In the first half the decade it was an easier watch than the second. This is when most of the animated movies were released (out of the 5, only 1 was released in the second half), we got a few period pieces, and it was the start of the Westerns that soon dominated the second half of the 50s. There was a documentary series that was released and just a lot of films I didn’t see coming. I’ve split this decade into two posts or else this would have gotten really long. So here we are in the first half of the decade.

Cinderella: Finally a feature film! After all the anthologies in the 40s it’s nice to see a good feature film. This was just as good as I remembered it. The pacing was just right; there were a few too many cat and mouse scenes for my liking but it didn’t take away from the story. If anything, watching these mice try and help Cinderella gave me anxiety because I’m like, are they going to be able to get to her in time, oh no! I mean, obviously they would, it is a movie after all. Then you have the prince falling in love after one meeting with Cinderella and wanting to get married was really fast – but it worked for what the premise of this movie was. What I didn’t remember was the whole reason for the ball was so that the prince could get married… so his father could be a grandfather. I did not remember that – what a strange plot. In the end they didn’t even follow through with that because they don’t show that the prince and Cinderella have a child, it ends on them getting married… which I guess is to imply they’ll have children, but not necessarily, so that was a weird way to end it. What also made me laugh was the fact that everyone made a face and despised the step sisters right away; they didn’t even have to open their mouths and the Duke was like nope. The magic and the music were fun and lightened the mood a lot. Otherwise, this was a cute love fairytale that was just over an hour long so it moved really quickly. (1950)

Treasure Island: This was Disney’s first completely live-action film and it was surprisingly really good. I don’t know why I went into this thinking it’d be boring and dull, but it was anything but that. The plot was never dull, there was always something happening – although I found it more dialogue heavy at times, that if I was watching this as a kid, I probably would have been bored by that – but the action did pick up by the end. We’re constantly left wondering if Long John Silver is bad or good and the whole ambiguity that surrounded his character made for a captivating watch. We never knew exactly what he was going to do next. This was such a fun adventure movie, the pirates looking for treasure and doing anything to get their hands on it was exciting to watch. The pirate slang was used effectively; the fighting was comical at times and wasn’t really scary, which I think fit well for a kid movie. I’ve never read the book (but I want to, especially now after seeing this) but from what I’ve read, this has been one of the better adaptions, which makes me happy to hear. Would I watch this one again? Probably, it definitely has that rewatch-ability full of grand adventure. (1950)

Alice in Wonderland: This was a rewatch for me, but I feel like I enjoyed it just as much as the first time around. There was always something happening and there were so many iconic elements throughout this that was such a joy to watch. There was never a moment when this really stopped, scenes played into one another so there wasn’t time to be bored by any of it. It went by super quick because as Alice follows the white rabbit through the thickets of wonderland it’s such an adventure and fun place to explore. From the rabbit hole, to Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat and the red Queen and all the characters in-between, they were all so memorable; there were maybe a handful, if that, that I didn’t remember as vividly. There is definitely that undertone of philosophy (which I think I may have seen part of this movie in a philosophy class in high school) to really make you think, especially in the beginning when Alice is talking about a place of her own where things that appear as such wouldn’t be what they were and things that didn’t appear as such, would be what they are (just writing that sentence is a thinker!). This was a fun adaption of the book (which I have read) and something I’d watch again. (1951)

The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men: I’ve never seen or heard of this movie before (I feel like this is going to be a theme for a lot of these movies from the 50s and 60s). This does exactly what the title says, it tells the story of Robin Hood and his merrie men. I’ve also never read/watched any of the Robin Hood lore so going in all I knew was that Robin Hood steals from the rich and gives to the poor and that is shown in this film. We see that he became an outlaw when his father was killed for speaking out on over taxations and bullying from the rich. This inspires Robin to steal from only the rich… even from the Prince himself. He uses it to try and help the King who is being held captive, but the Prince keeps getting in the way (clearly the prince didn’t want the King to be free). It was a clever story but it was such a slow build up and even the climax was just alright. There wasn’t a lot of action and it felt like there was more dialogue than anything else. As well, we had a troubadour-like character who sang about what was happening to help the viewer follow along and to entertain us. This isn’t something I would have picked out on my own to watch; I’m not a big fan of medieval settings so this was an alright watch for me. The acting was good for what it was, sometimes a little over the top and cheesy but very of its time. Would I rewatch this one? No, I’m glad I saw it once but I don’t need to see this again. I feel like there are better adaptions of Robin Hood. (1952) 

Peter Pan: I haven’t seen this film in 20+ years so my memory of it is rusty at best. I was excited to rewatch it after so many years… but this didn’t hold up as much as I remembered. This was the first film from the 50s to have a content sensitivity warning in front of it, which for reasons became very clear. As a child watching this, you don’t realize a lot of things. The first thing I noticed that turned me off was the girl hate, first with Tinkerbell wanting to kill Wendy (like woah, girl that’s extreme!) then it continues with the mermaids (which I didn’t remember at all) who are mad jealous of Wendy too and want her dead as well, and Peter just laughs it off like it’s all fun and games. Peter could be really obtuse to watch at times. The second thing, and this was what the sensitivity warning was for, the depiction of Native Americans. It was stereotypical and of course made them look bad; it was very narrow minded in execution. The song they sing about why they are called the red man was highly insensitive (that a woman made them blush and they turned red… ) if you ask me you could say that about any race so that’s racist to their skin colour and just so ignorant and of course it had to involve a woman to make it misogynistic. Aside from those elements (that really could be taken out and this would have been fine), this film did still have magical moments and childlike wonder. The act of never growing up sounds tempting, especially from an adult’s point of view now watching it. The pirates were definitely entertaining, especially Captain Hook and the crocodile. Not everything in this film holds up, and I’m glad I rewatched it, but I don’t know if I’d rewatch it again. I’ve never read the book this is based on, but I’ve wanted to, and now more so, to see what the differences are or if this was a straight adaption. (1953)

The Sword and the Rose: I’ve never heard of this movie before, nor is it on Disney+ (in which, I couldn’t find a single reason online why it’s missing from the streaming platform) but this wasn’t a bad movie at all, in fact it was quite entertaining. This takes place during the reign of Henry VIII, he wants his sister, princess Mary to marry the King of France so that they can form a bond between France and England, but Mary has none of that. She’s fallen for a regular guy, but because she’s a princess she can’t be with him (but of course). She tries everything to be with him, but keeps coming up short. She finally strikes a deal with her brother; she’ll marry the king of France, but once he dies (because he’s really old, I couldn’t help but laugh because it looks like they put makeup on the actor to make him look ancient) she gets to choose her second husband. The amount of deceit, revenge, and plot twists this movie had kept me on my toes the entire time. Sure there were moments where it could get boring especially the beginning, it took some time to warm up to this film, but after that this plot was moving. Everything happened so quickly too, like Mary runs away, but is captured a few scenes later and I went, well that didn’t last long, and it continued like that. Did I enjoy this, yes I did, it was very entertaining, would I watch it again? Probably not because I know everything that is going to happen already and I’d be bored because the suspense is what really kept me in the movie. (1953)

The Living Desert: I didn’t know what to expect because the title and poster alone made it seem like it’d be something cheesy, but it wasn’t as cheesy as I thought it’d be. This is the first feature film from Disney’s True-Life Adventures series, which were documentary films on wildlife. This one took place, like the title suggests, in the desert. We start on some slight animation to get us to the West Coast, US and from there we zoom in on Tucson Arizona where we explore the plant and animals that live there. It was really fascinating to watch how they live their daily lives, how they survive in the harsh conditions and how they survive from predators, whether it’s eat or be eaten. They focus on a few animals and insects, where some you’d never think they’d fight or interact with each other, yet they do. There was always something to learn; it could get boring at times, but I think that’s why they added in the dramatic music to reel the viewer back in and give the film more life. I don’t know if I’d watch this particular film again because there were so many snakes and I hate snakes, but it does have a rewatch-ability to it because of its educational component. (1953)

Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue: This is another film that isn’t on Disney+ but it follows much the same format as the Sword and the Rose (even having a few of the same actors), although this film wasn’t as good. This tells the story of Rob Roy who was a real Scottish outlaw back in the eighteenth century. After all his shenanigans, King George I deems him an outlaw, where the English now hunt him. He goes back to the Highlands, marries Helen, only to be captured during his wedding. It then becomes this back and forth of him trying to be free of these huntsmen for the rest of the film. This, again, doesn’t follow history correctly and is mostly set for entertainment… although entertaining this was not. The plot moved rather slowly, scenes would drag on and sometimes plots weren’t explained properly so that made following along hard because then we had no idea what was happening and why. I wanted to like this, but it just didn’t do anything for me, everything about this was boring; the stakes didn’t feel high enough, there wasn’t as much drama as their could have been. This felt like a period piece that is stuck in the 50s. I can say with full confidence that I wouldn’t watch this again. (1954)

The Vanishing Prairie: This was the second nature documentary in Disney’s True Life Adventure series where it explored the prairies of America, featuring places in Wyoming, South Dakota, and Nebraska. This one followed much the same format as The Living Desert in which we are taken through the different parts of the prairies and learn of the different animals that live among it. There were so many animals I’ve never even heard of, and there’s a reason for this, at the time of filming, the narrator tells us that these species are close to extinction… so now just shy of 70 years later, they are now extinct. It was so interesting to see all the different animals and how they interact and live – it also made me not want to be an animal in another life because the thought of being in constant survival mode from the moment you’re born is not for me. After doing a bit of research I learned that this film was once banned for a short period because there’s a scene where a bison gives birth and people thought that to be problematic, which alright then. You can watch these animals get taken down and killed by each other, but it’s problematic to watch an animal come into this world… because that makes sense. Also, how it is problematic to know how something comes to being? It wasn’t like they were mating. Anyways, people can be strange. I enjoyed this and am glad it was only just over an hour; I think any longer and it would have been too long. The music they added felt a touch too over the top and they did the same thing again where they kept showing the same thing multiple times; it was like ok, we got it the first four times you showed us. The narrator also felt like he got cheekier in his script. It wasn’t just strictly facts but he gave these little narratives to the animals that could be seen as fun and entertaining, sometimes it was a little too much. Overall though, this was informative (as it also touched on history and on Native American culture a bit) and entertaining to watch. Would I watch it again, possibly. (1954)

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: This was such a fun adventure movie based on the book by the same name. I haven’t read the book yet, but this makes me want to read it even more. We follow professor, Pierre M. Aronnax and his assistant, Conseil on their adventures. We meet them in San Francisco where they are stuck because there’s a monster in the water attacking ships. When asked if he would like to join a ship going out to explore this monster, he agrees. This is where he and his assistant meet Ned Land, a harpooner. When their ship gets attacked the three of them become survivors and soon learn that the monster is really a submarine. On board we meet Captain Nemo as he explores the great unknowns of the sea. This movie was slow, but it never felt truly boring; the visuals mixed with some really good acting made it such a pleasurable watching experience. The second half was where most of the action took place, but after a while I just wanted to know how it was all going to end. I don’t think this needed to be over 2 hours, but I wonder if it was this long because of how faithful they were to the book. Maybe I would have appreciated its length if I’d read the book first, but regardless this was still a really well put together film that I can see myself watching again, probably once I do my readings! (1954)

Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier: This film opened thanking the indigenous peoples and the land they used to film, which I thought was very progressive for the mid-fifties (unless they added this years after and made it in the same style as the film so you couldn’t tell it was added). I had so many questions while watching this it was so hard not to just start googling as I was watching. Being a non-American, I’m as not familiar with their history, I feel like I knew Davy Crockett was a real person, but I couldn’t have told you what he did and I’m willing to bet he probably wasn’t as amazing as this movie let on. I feel like this film glorifies Crockett and paints him in a savour complex light. The film takes place in the 1700s where the Americans are colonizing and taking away the lands from the indigenous people. That’s when Crockett and his buddy George come in and help make the peace between them. When he finds out his wife has died (and just abandons his children since they have a new home now, which was crazy to me) he runs for congress to help the Americans live in peace alongside the Natives, but of course America isn’t about that. The film then takes us to Texas where we see the Texas Revolution and the Battle of Alamo. What I think the film does well is it’s a starting point for learning American history in a way that’s a little more entertaining than a textbook would be. It gets the mind thinking (or well it got mine thinking anyway) and encourages people (or maybe just me) to look up information. I read a review that said this was a Disneyified version of history and I can believe that because it shows more good than what probably actually happened. As far as watching this went, it was entertaining, it could get a little boring at times because there was a lot of exposition and narrative explaining everything, but it also wasn’t the worst thing ever since it did prove to be educational in a broad sense. Would I rewatch this, no, once was enough for me, but the song was hella catchy. (1955)

Lady and the Tramp: This was a rewatch for me, and one that I remembered very vividly. I don’t remember the last time I watched it, but the way I could remember felt like it was very recent. Anyways! This was a fun watch but it opened with an advisory warning, which after some research I found was due to the Siamese cats who were portrayed how white people saw and thought Asian people looked and acted. I’ve never actually thought or paid attention to that since they have such a small role in the film, but now that it’s been pointed out, it’s very obvious. Apparently they were voiced by a white actor who put on an accent, which is even worse. This film, aside from that, still holds up and is enjoyable to watch. We see how Lady lives with her owners until a new baby comes and ruins their dynamic. That’s when she meets Tramp who wants to show her the joys of life being without a family… but we’re left to wonder, are they really joys since he seems more lonely than anything else. There is the iconic spaghetti scene that was cute. The way this ended felt like a scene was missing the way it jumped from Trusty being hit by a carriage to Christmas was so odd. I guess for a kids movie, to move things along in a more happier way this was the way to do it. Otherwise, this was a good film that has rewatch-ability, I’d watch it again. (1955)

The African Lion: This is the third documentary film in the True-Life Adventures series that was filmed in Kenya, Tanganyika, Uganda and South Africa – the first one filmed outside the US. This one focused on the lion in Africa, which we saw quite a bit of. We also saw other animals who live among the lion, like elephants, rhinos, hippos and zebras, to name a few; how they all interact with one another and facts about all these animals. I always find these to be very entertaining because there is always something I didn’t know or an animal I’ve never heard of so it’s really fascinating to watch. Plus, the fact that these run just over an hour gives the audience enough so that they don’t feel overwhelmed or get bored by the information presented to them. The narrative surrounding the male lion as lazy was funny to me. I’m not sure if it was meant to be funny, and I’m not sure if they were trying to personify lions and relate them to human males, but it was amusing. They pointed out that it’s the lioness who does all the work, go figure. There were some more gruesome scenes in this one. It wasn’t so much the kill itself, but them eating and dragging their kill. I know it’s all a part of life, it was just a little gross. Aside from that, this had many of the same set ups as the previous two films where they had music synced up to movements and they showed something happening multiple times. I also thought it was amazing how close these camera crew got to these animals because wild animals can be unpredictable. Overall, this was an enjoyable film that I may never watch again, but I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing again. (1955)

The Littlest Outlaw: I’m not really sure what to make of this film, because on the one hand it wasn’t bad, but on the other it wasn’t great either. First off, this one isn’t on Disney+, which I’m thinking has more to do with rights to the film than it does by having anything wrong with it. What surprised me was not only was this shot in Mexico, but they had Mexican actors play the roles in a time when that wasn’t very common, especially for a company like Disney. This film follows a young boy who tries to save a horse from being killed by running away with it. The plot had moments of interest and captivation, because I was invested enough to want to know what would happen to the horse (although this is a Disney film so predictably is very high as to how it would end) but there were also a lot of dull moments too. For a movie that was only an hour and 15 minutes this still felt long. We had scenes drag out where the kid was traveling with the horse; even some of the moments where he runs into people are dull because the dialogue was boring. Also, I’m not sure why the bull fighting was added at the end. Was it to show Mexican culture? Because the film did a well enough job before the bulls as he walked through town. Was it to show the high stakes of the horse’s life? Maybe, since they try to make us believe that the horse and the kid are in danger, yet again we all know this is a Disney film so the ending is going to be happy. In the end, this has no rewatch-ability to me. I’ve seen it once, there are better films out there that focus on the same themes. (1955)

Have you seen any of these movies? Let me know in the comments below!