Year Released: 1949
Michael's Movie Grade: A
History
With So Dear to My Heart, Walt Disney was getting closer to making live action films without animation. So Dear to My Heart is essentially a live action film, but with bits of animation added. In fact some early scripts don't have any animation sequences in them. Animated scenes were added mainly due to RKO (Disney's then current distributor) saying they would not distribute a Disney film without animation. In fact Walt found out that his contract with RKO stated that they would distribute only animated films or live action films with animation, but not a film that was all live action.
The director of the film would be Harold Schuster. The reason for this is that Walt Disney loved the film My Friend Flicka which Schuster directed, and Walt thought because of he would make the perfect director of So Dear to My Heart, because Flicka had in it, the qualities Walt wanted in this film. Though Schuster directed the live action majority of the film, the animated sequences were directed by Disney regular Hamilton Luske.
So Dear to My Heart was so dear to Walt Disney's heart. Walt Disney had fallen in love with the book by Sterling North (Who also wrote the book Rascal, which would later be made into a Disney film in 1969), and he knew that he wanted there to be a Disney film adaption. right after he finished reading it. One reason Walt loved this book so much is because of it's small town Americana aspects. The reason these aspects appealed to Walt so much was because as a child he had spent four years on a farm near Marceline, Missouri, and he always had a nostalgia for farm life. Walt would later refer to this film as one of his personal favorites. In fact if you have ever seen Walt's Barn (His own personal barn that was made into a museum in Los Angles (and any Disney fan NEEDS to go)) it was heavily modeled after the barn in this movie. The trains used in this movie gave Walt the idea to make a place called Disneylandia which would use trains to help people, especially children, learn about history. This idea never came to fruition but was still a precursor to Disneyland. Walt even got involved in making miniatures for the film. For instance he built the miniature of Granny Kincaid’s cabin that was used in this film. This was a hobby of Walt's and something he loved doing. He planned to make more for his Disneylandia idea.
The actual railroad used in the film were bought by animator Ward Kimball. When Building Disneyland, Walt tried to buy back the railroad, but Kimball didn't want to give it up, so an exact copy was built for Disneyland.
Interestingly this film made a difference in the world of folk music as well, because for this film, Burl Ives performed a song called Lavender Blue which became his first big hit single.
Unfortunately the film was not a box office success, even though it was a big critical success.
Review
Great piece of small town Americana, that should definitely be better known and have a greater availability. This film is simply extremely charming, and you don't have to have ever lived in the country to feel it's nostalgia for small town America, and it can even make one nostalgic for a life he/she never lived.
So Dear to my Heart captures a feeling of small town America as well as any film possibly could. It is easy to see why Walt, a country boy, would consider this one of his favorite Disney films. This feeling is captured so well that even if you are watching this film in the big city, you feeling like you just took a trip to a very charming small town. This feeling is very addictive and I don't think I could ever watch this film and not have a smile on my face, during certain moments. Adding to this charm is the likability and reasonableness of these character, and the charming work of the actors portraying them as well. This film is full of the type of charm that makes Disney films, truly special.
The animation scenes unfortunately feel out of place in this film, and one could argue that the movie would be better off without them. However they are still quite well done, and give us some catchy song numbers, but they still feel like they belong in a different film. They are however quite brief and never feel too intrusive.
Overall this is a great film that should be better known, and shows an improvement in Disney's live action film-making since Song of the South (Though that still is a quite good movie). If you a can find this film definitely watch it, because it is an unjustly forgotten Disney classic.
Film Credits
Director: Harold D. Schuster
Animation Director: Hamilton Luske
Writers: John Tucker Battle, Maurice Rapf, Ted Sears, Marc Davis, Ken Anderson, Bill Peet
Based off the book Midnight and Jeremiah by Sterling North
Live Action Cast: Bobby Driscoll (Jerry Kincaid), Luana Patten (Tildy), Beulah Bondi (Grandma Kincaid), Burl Ives (Uncle Hiram), Raymond Bond (Storekeeper), Daniel Haight (Storekeeper's Son), Harry Carey (Judge at County Fair), Matt Willis (Horse Trainer), Walter Soderling (Villager), Spelman B. Collins (Judge)
Voices: Ken Carson (Wise Old Owl), John Beal (Narrator)
Producers: Walt Disney, Perce Pearce
Music: Paul J. Smith
Songwriters: Larry Morey, Eliot Daniel, Irving Taylor, Ticker Freeman, Don Raye, Gene de Paul, Robert Wells, Mel Tormé
Assistant Directors: Jasper Blystone, Joe Lefert
Cinematography: Winton C. Hoch
Film Editors: Lloyd L. Richardson, Thomas Scott
Production Manager: Fred Leahy
Art Director: John Ewing
Cartoon Art Treatment: John Hench, Mary Blair, Dick Kelsey.
Sets: Mac Alper
Makeup Artist: Ted Larsen
Hair Stylist: Vera Peterson
Sound Department: C.O. Slyfield, Max Hutchinson, Robert O. Cook
Camera Operator: Harvey Gould
Special Effects: Ub Iwerks
Effects Animators: George Rowley, Joshua Meador, Dan McManus
Background Artists: Art Riley, Ralph Hulett, Jimi Trout, Dick Anthony, Brice Mack, Ray Huffine
Layout Artists: A. Kendall O'Connor, Hugh Hennesy, Don Griffith, Thor Putnam
Animators: Eric Larson, John Lounsbery, Hal King, Milt Kahl, Les Clark, Don Lusk, Marvin Woodward, Hal Ambro
Resources Used
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041890/?ref_=rvi_tt
http://www.mouseplanet.com/9333/So_Dear_to_My_Heart_The_Secrets_Behind_the_Film
http://www.bcdb.com/cartoon-characters/26-So-Dear-To-My-Heart
The Disney Films by Leonard Maltin
-Michael J. Ruhland
Burl Ives's pleasantly lazy "Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly)" did become a big hit,as done by him, Dinah Shore and some others. :-) SC
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