Vimacone In the early 40s, the Disney Studio had a number of features in planning stages, but these would not see the light of day until the post-war years. Two of these were Bongo and The Legend Of Happy Valley. Work began as early as early as 1940, but were shelved due to several setbacks.Like every feature that the studio produced in the immediate post-war years, this was a compilation of unrelated stories or visuals. Both stories were cut down in length to accommodate a feature length, much like The Wind And The Willows was. I've wanted to see what the studio's vision was for these stories as feature films.Disney had largely moved away from frightening sequences by this point. They still had occasional dark moments but it was toned down to a dramatic atmosphere. What you'll see here is a very lighthearted feel good film. Bongo doesn't really offer much story wise, but Dinah Shore's narration and singing interludes make it a very enjoyable segment. Mickey And The Beanstalk as narrated by Edgar Bergan makes for an interesting period piece. This is the best Mickey, Donald, and Goofy outting. This time they function as a team working through many perilous obstacles and comical situations. The Singing Harp almost anticipates Cinderella (different voice actress though).While Disney's package films are not well remembered and were panned by the studio staff, they do present a lot of light hearted and enjoyable moments. This film is a prelude to the studio's Silver Age of the 1950's.

OllieSuave-007 This movie consists of two cartoons combined to make into a full-length feature film: Bongo and Mickey and the Beanstalk.From what I recall, Bongo was the story about a circus bear who escapes the Big Top to seek adventures and survive on its own in the wild. It was an OK cartoon without dialog, but I believe its pretty obscure to today's audiences.The more exciting story is the Mickey and the Beanstalk short, a cartoon based on the Jack and the Beanstalk fairytale and stars Mickey in the lead role. Other characters include the huge but somewhat clueless Giant and a beautiful singing Golden Harp; she sings a very soothing and serene song, typical of the 1940s era, but very comforting. Donald and Goofy join Mickey in this adventure, first starting off as starving farmers, then finding the magic beans that grow into a huge beanstalk. They climb it and it leads them to the Giant's castle, where they attempt to rescue the Golden Harp. It's non-stop fun you would expect in a cartoon from beginning to end.It is one of the more shorter in length Disney classics. But, it's great for the kids - perfect duration for their attention span. I personally prefer the second story over the first one. though.Grade B+

Atreyu_II The 9th animated Disney classic is something I have mixed feelings about, in similarity to what happens with "The Three Caballeros".It's a curious cartoon with some to offer, yet not one of Disney's finest creations.For one thing, I like its introduction. I was surprised when I heard a familiar singing voice. I thought «This voice sounds like Jiminy Cricket». And in the next moment, Jiminy Cricket appears, voiced by the same Cliff Edwards. Another interesting fact is that Jiminy Cricket is the narrator of the story in some parts. He introduces us the first of the two stories, "Bongo": it is the story of a little circus bear that runs away from the circus and discovers what it's like to be free.I liked the story of Bongo and the character itself. He's a cute and adorable little bear. This is, without a doubt, the best segment of this motion picture. It is, however, narrated by Dinah Shore.As for the second and final segment, "Mickey and the Beanstalk", it is narrated by Edgar Bergen, but before that there are a few live-action scenes where Edgar Bergen is working as a ventriloquist and tells the tale to child actress Luana Patten. After the end of the story, there are a few more live-action scenes like this and Jiminy Cricket appears in both.As for the segment itself, needless to say it is based on "Jack and the Beanstalk". It's not a bad segment, but honestly I found it nothing special. It features, however, well known cartoons like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy. It also features Willie, the famous temperamental giant from some Disney tales. Mickey Mouse is voiced by Walt Disney himself, while Donald Duck is voiced by the inimitable Clarence Nash.

ian-1211 This is yet another short story combination from Walt Disney which is pretty much a commonplace with the likes of "Saludos Amigos" and "The Three Caballeros" but it is still good fun and will take you to see a different twist to your fairy tale you grew up with. Here, Pinocchio's Jiminy Cricket takes centre stage as he hops though a bunch of records and comes across "Bongo", a story about a little bear who runs away from the circus and finds the girls of his dreams then bounces over to a nearby house to see real life people (Walt Disney was into having real life scenes at this stage of the Disney era) telling the story of "Mickey and the Beanstalk" where (you guess it) Mickey, Donald and Goofy climb up the beanstalk that tells the classic fairy tale the Disney way. I find this inferior to "Make Mine Music" which came out before it but this is a great way to past 70 minutes and if there's nothing on T.V then this will be a good alternative.7/10