this has always been a sentimental favorite of mine amongst the old studio Disney live action films. doesn't mean it's mushy or not well made however. well, maybe it's a little mushy. and the budget is certainly a lot lower and more economical than a 'Butch Cassidy' or a 'Little Big Man'. but even though Disney always practiced economy, their family films were of the highest quality offered usually.
a lot of Disney films at this time were either over the top, over sentimentalized treatments of pseudo dramatics such as 'Castaway Cowboy' or outright slapstick fare like 'Million Dollar Duck' and the 'Ugly Daschund'. it is nice that they tried to be serious about this film. something they didn't do later on with the zany 'Apple Dumpling Gang' westerns with Don Knotts. this film actually attempts some pretty decent cinema and a carries a little weight and substance.
it also features Disney regular Jodie Foster, who was then only nine or ten years old. Jodie Foster has helped to make several Disney films memorable and charming and she has a sweet little role here with veteran actress Vera miles.
this also has a good history lesson about camels and the United States Calvery, which i hear was true and accurate. this film is certainly more toned down and more intelligent than the non-Disney family feature a few years later, 'Hawmps', which was played mostly for laughs.
this really is a sweet little movie that, of course, is not on the scale of a 'Little Big Man', but is very worthwhile in it's own modest way. Disney films from the old Burbank studio days, like this one, often don't gather the respect and recognition they really do deserve. not even from so called die hard Disney fans who often aren't even aware that they existed or to the extent of Walt and the Burbank staff's involvement in these films. it's a little disturbing because that kind of mindless dedication to a icon, while having a flippant disregard for the heart and foundations of what makes the person and the icon great, seems baffling in a kind of depressing way.
any true fan of the Disney legacy should find this movie enjoyable and cute fun. if not at least interesting in context to Disney studio history.
a lot of Disney films at this time were either over the top, over sentimentalized treatments of pseudo dramatics such as 'Castaway Cowboy' or outright slapstick fare like 'Million Dollar Duck' and the 'Ugly Daschund'. it is nice that they tried to be serious about this film. something they didn't do later on with the zany 'Apple Dumpling Gang' westerns with Don Knotts. this film actually attempts some pretty decent cinema and a carries a little weight and substance.
it also features Disney regular Jodie Foster, who was then only nine or ten years old. Jodie Foster has helped to make several Disney films memorable and charming and she has a sweet little role here with veteran actress Vera miles.
this also has a good history lesson about camels and the United States Calvery, which i hear was true and accurate. this film is certainly more toned down and more intelligent than the non-Disney family feature a few years later, 'Hawmps', which was played mostly for laughs.
this really is a sweet little movie that, of course, is not on the scale of a 'Little Big Man', but is very worthwhile in it's own modest way. Disney films from the old Burbank studio days, like this one, often don't gather the respect and recognition they really do deserve. not even from so called die hard Disney fans who often aren't even aware that they existed or to the extent of Walt and the Burbank staff's involvement in these films. it's a little disturbing because that kind of mindless dedication to a icon, while having a flippant disregard for the heart and foundations of what makes the person and the icon great, seems baffling in a kind of depressing way.
any true fan of the Disney legacy should find this movie enjoyable and cute fun. if not at least interesting in context to Disney studio history.