The Plot
The story of Golitah II follows our lead character of the same name who is quite small for an elephant. This upsets his father as he is looked down upon for having such a small child and no one believes in Golitah that is until he proves himself worthy of being part of the herd.
Narration
I have decided to once again talk about the narrator but unlike last week, I have decided to make this it's own category.
Narrator - Sterling Holloway
Now when I saw on the opening credits that Sterling Holloway was the narrator, I was excited as he has narrated many a great Disney short such as Peter & The Wolf and he was also the original voice of Winnie The Pooh. Now this is where part of the problem comes in. Not that he did a bad job but whenever heard him speak, I could only picture Pooh Bear. I don't what it is, I don't have this problem with Peter & The Wolf but all I could hear was Pooh Bear and I kept on thinking Pooh doesn't belong in the jungle. Besides that he did a good job of matching his voice to the emotions of the characters but I think he did this more like he was reading a children's storybook whereas Don Wilson, the narrator of Ferdinand was able to match his voice to the emotion of the character just a little bit better. I just didn't get that feeling here and I'm rather disappointed to say that.
Characters
Now we come to one of my favorite parts and as I stated above, this short actually contains two bad guys. Therefore, I'll be breaking down this section even more than I have in the last two entries of Classic Shorts Showcase. Instead of breaking it down into Important Characters and Supporting Characters though, I'll be breaking down into Main Character and Supporting Character and then I'll talk about the villains.
Main Character
Golitah II voiced by Kevin Corcoran
Golitah II, who is named after his father is no bigger than a mouse. He wants to make his father proud and prove that he measure up in his dad's eyes but his dad is embarrassed by his tiny son. Golitah causes much mayhem because of his tiny size and his told that he is a pest. This upsets and he decides to run away and leave the herd. He is scolded and branded for leaving the herd. I'd like this character while not as relatable as Ferdinand, I still found him enjoyable. I found myself rooting for him and cheering him on. I also sympathized with him because he all want our parents to be proud of us. It takes Golitah standing up to a mouse to garner his father's respect. Boy did he put up quit the fight. Still, I found it rather heartbreaking that it took so much for his father to accept him. Though he has a great spirit and being an 8 year old, who doesn't at that age and I think the voice actor really makes the character work here.
Supporting Characters
Golitah II's Mother voiced by Barbara Jo Allen
Golitah II's mother is a bit of worry wart but understandably so. Because of her son's small size and since her husband chooses to ignore their son, that leaves her to look after him by herself. The best way to describe her is a bit of a helicopter parent. Which for those of you that don't know, that means she is overprotective of her son and keeps an eye on his every move. That is until Golitah II proves himself and she no longer has to worry about keeping an eye on him as the herd doesn't to lose him after that great accomplishment.
Golitah I voiced by J. Pat O'Malley
Golitah I is the father of Golitah II and as I have stated above, he is embarrassed by his son because of his tiny size. As in the elephant community, the bigger you are, the more well respected you are. Therefore, he is highly respected among the elephant community. He looks down upon his son but Golitah II wants to prove himself but it is to no avail that is until the herd comes across the greatest fear of all elephant-kind. A mouse. After Golitah II confronts the Mouse, he is given quite the high postiton in the herd on his father's head. As I said when talking about Golitah II, I find it sad that it took this much for his father to accept him. Because to me, I feel as though that is just rude and it shouldn't matter how big or small your child is. You should love them who they are. I actually found myself quite angry with this character because of his treatment towards his son. I just wanted to go into this short and tell him, not cool, dude. Though, looking back I think this was great as this character was able to emote something out of me. I have always believed that if a character is able to get some type of reaction out of the audience, they are doing something right.
The Villains
Raja - No Voice
Raja in this short is a predator and he keeps on preying young Golitah as he wishes to find out what an elephant tastes like. He isn't the smartest animal but he keeps on trying but Golitah II's mom doesn't care for him. (Gee, I wonder why?) At one point after Golitah leaves the herd, Raja starts to hunt him and he almost has his way with him until Golitah II's mom defeats him and throws him into the water to be eaten by a crocodile but it looks as he survived but he is never seen again. I found Raja to be pretty funny as he tried to be sly but he was so bad at it and the grin on his smile just made me chuckle. I think he was one of the funniest characters in this short and they gave him enough screen time for the audience to enjoy the character before moving onto the next sequences
The Mouse - Paul Frees
The Mouse is the second baddie that Golitah comes across and as I have stated all throughout this review, this is Golitah II is the most confrontational as he is fairly oblivious to Raja in the beginning. Unlike all other elephants, young Golitah isn't scared of The Mouse because they are of the same height. They put up a great fight and they both have the edge at one point during the fight but Golitah puts him over the cliff to be the crocodile. I will say that The Mouse puts up a great fight and is able to stand his own. It is rather amusing how brave he is, in an almost arrogant sort of way. Again, I think this goes back to the voice and I don't know why but the voice reminded me more of New York but I think that worked to it's advantage. I was able to laugh at this character while still being able to enjoy the fight between him and Golitah II.
My Final Thoughts
Golitah II is a sweet and simple short about overcoming differences. This short reminded me that just because people have differences in their life does not mean that they won't adhere to anything. It just means that they will find different ways to get around the obstacles in their life. For the most part, I enjoyed this short but I will admit that I had a bit of a problem with Sterling Holloway's narration. Again, he didn't do a bad job but all I could hear was Winnie The Pooh. While not as Ferdinand The Bull, I would suggest this one because it was a good watch but it is just isn't as strong as the former short.
Join me next week, when I take a look at.
Johnny Appleseed
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