Live Action Discussions: So Dear to My Heart

[zackisthewalrus]

I watched my DVD copy of this today. Wow, this movie is awesome! Better than SOTS, but not by too much (in my opinion). Very feel good!

[my chicken is infected]

Well I saw it for what is probably only the second or third time ever today. (I've had the VHS for years, but I probably only watched it once, maybe twice.) A little sugary sweet and sentimental, but it IS Disney, so not shocking. But it was really good, actually. And songs by Burl Ives top it off nicely.

One quibble about the DVD transfer - it could have REALLY used Warner Bros. Ultra Resolution process. In some shots, the differently shaped warping of the three-strip Technicolor negatives was VERY obvious, with the blurring and such. Although the transfer was probably taken from a duped negative, and I know it's kinda dumb to expect spectacular DVDs from the DMC Exclusives, it can be a bit distracting to see some shots be perfect, and then cut to a somewhat blurry shot due to the images not matching perfectly.

[a-net-fan]

A little sugary sweet and sentimental, .

No wonder I love it so much!!

[JeanGreyForever]

Finally got around to watching this film after seeing Song of the South first. This was a film I never was interested in originally because I always viewed it as a Song of the South knockoff and the few animated bits in it seemed cheap to me as well from what little I'd seen. Only when I discovered that this was one of Walt's favorite movies did this movie pique my interest. That, as well as the history of the train station and barn, and how the former helped to inspire Disneyland or at least a section of it. The glowing reviews also made me realize that just because the film isn't well-remembered today, doesn't mean that it deserves to be forgotten.

Both the children still shined, especially Bobby in his love for Danny the lamb. I really loved the grandmother as well! She did an excellent job of playing the authoritarian figure while still being sympathetic. I didn't find the film overly "sugary sweet" as some people described it either.

The animated sequences were well done and I liked seeing the different stories represented in the form of songs and lessons. None of the songs, unlike Song of the South, really stood out to me, but it's nice to know that Lavender's Blue got its revival from this film. I do prefer the version in Cinderella, but all the folk songs in this film were perfectly charming. The dance scene especially was joyous to watch and even a little nostalgic since they reminded me of the folk dances I had to do in elementary school, living in Texas and all. I don't have a deep love for the South or Midwest, but I did enjoy seeing a portrayal of country life that was positive and lacked stereotypes.

Overall, it was a charming film that deserves way more attention than it gets. I'm assuming that Disney finds it hard to market since it isn't as overly recognizable as Mary Poppins is, and it lacks a really iconic animated character to promote like Pete's Dragon has with Elliot (and Bedknobs and Broomsticks seems to suffer from this as well now that I think of it). I suppose they can't market it as the spiritual successor or sister film of Song of the South either. Still, I hope Disney will one day get around to a Blu-Ray release of this film. Forgot the package films, this film deserves the Blu-Ray treatment first.

[Escapay]

Tokyo Disneyland is all about Danny the lamb (or Dear Danny, as they call him). They have a whole store in Westernland devoted to merchandise specifically for the character. I wanted the full size plush, but he was too expensive, so I picked up a little keychain size one as well as a candy tin (they're all about candy tins as well). It would have been cool if they'd stocked Japanese DVDs of So Dear to My Heart, but alas...

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMCFIbbjbp3 ... ainescapay

Albert

[JeanGreyForever]

Tokyo Disneyland is all about Danny the lamb (or Dear Danny, as they call him). They have a whole store in Westernland devoted to merchandise specifically for the character. I wanted the full size plush, but he was too expensive, so I picked up a little keychain size one as well as a candy tin (they're all about candy tins as well). It would have been cool if they'd stocked Japanese DVDs of So Dear to My Heart, but alas...

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMCFIbbjbp3 ... ainescapay

Albert

Oh thanks for posting that! Tokyo really gets all the best Disney merchandise and I love, how unlike here in America, they actually care about the classic characters. As if I didn't need enough reason to go there now. I'd love to get a plush of Danny.

[JeanGreyForever]

Turns out Danny has his own webpage. His merchandise is cataloged here as well. The keychain is really cute so I can see why that would be a better alternative to the plush since I checked the price of the plush on Ebay and it really is expensive.
http://www.tokyodisneyresort.jp/fantasy ... index.html

[JeanGreyForever]

I recently watched The Window, the noir film that Walt Disney loaned Bobby Driscoll for and which Driscoll won a juvenile Oscar award for along with his performance in So Dear to My Heart. Out of all the films I've seen with him (all the rest which have been Disney), this is definitely his finest performance. Makes me wish even more that his career and life hadn't been cut so short.