Classic Shorts showcase: Casey at The Bat

Yes, this week's short was good. It actually made me laugh. Oh I'm sorry, this week on Classic Shorts Showcase, I'll be taking a look at Casey at The Bat.


The Plot




In this short, we follow Casey who plays for the Mudville baseball team and everyone adores him especially Casey as he thinks he is the best and that he cannot make a mistake when it comes to  baseball. With this short however we soon learn that is not the case.


Narration


Narrator -  Jerry Colonna

The narration for this  short was perfect. It actually made me feel as though I was listening to a radio announcer going over the highlights of a baseball game from the '40s. He truly put his all into it and this narration is tight up there with any of Sterling Holloway's narration.  Jerry Colonna's narration was certainly one of the highlights of  this short with how much he put into it.


Main Character


I'll only be focusing on Casey as he is the most important character.


Casey - Not Voiced

Oh, Casey.  You were such a funny character who had a bit of an ego problem.  That is the major flaw of Casey he has an ego that is too big for his own good because everyone admires him and thinks he can do no wrong.  In many ways, Casey's ego reminded of Gaston but unlike Gaston, Casey had no development but that worked because it made his downfall so much funnier.  When Casey went up to bat, the first two times, he didn't even try and by the time the short got to the third ball, it pulled a cutaway gag. I was bit confused by this because it cutaway and showed birds singing and children playing but when it went back to Casey. Everyone had left the ballpark and it was raining and there was poor Casey still trying to hit the ball but to no avail.  The change in weather can be used to repseresnt Casey's attitude when he is up to bat,  and thinks he has it, the sun is shining and everything is going his way but when we see Casey didn't hit, it is raining and this is used to show the sadness that Casey is feeling about not achieving his goal. When I saw Casey still trying to hit the ball I just busted out into a fit of laughter and after Ben and Me, I needed that.

My Final Thoughts

This was just the short I needed after Ben and Me. It was funny, the narration was perfect. Casey was intentionally a jerk which made it easier to laugh at him and his downfall was one of the funniest things that I have seen during any Disney short.  Even if your aren't a fan of baseball such as myself,  you can get a laugh out of this short. I'd say that this short is a home run.    Join me next time when I take a look at...

Morris The Midget Moose