Welcome to another edition of Classic Shorts Showcase. Y'know sometimes it feels like Disney doesn't know how to make a good short these days or so people say. Join me as I take a look at the newest short to be reviewed on Classic Shorts Showcase as I take a look at John Henry. Now an explanation is in order. You see, this short came out in 2000 and I first learned of it when it was put together on the collection DVD, Disney's American Legends hosted by James Earl Jones. Which includes Johnny Appleseed and Paul Bunyan both of which I have reviewed. So in that regard, it's not a classic but the feel of it is that of a classic short especially of Paul Bunyan as this short is bit similar to that short but more depressing. You'll find out what I mean as I take a look at this short.
The Plot
To understand this short we need to take a look at when it is set. As you see in this short, Lincoln is President and he had just signed The Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves which John Henry and his love, Polly were. When they got married, Polly took the chains that John wore and had them made into a hammer, 20 pounds to be exact. When they come across a crew of people working on a railroad, they see that they are having troubles and can't get it done. So John volunteers his help and only for split second is he questioned until he proves his worth. The people there with come to appreciate John and his help. Therefore tall tales about John's life start spreading. This is the basic plot of the short and I have to say this was a great short. More on that in my final thoughts though
Look
Before we get too far into things I gotta bring up the look of this short. As that is one of my favorite aspects. This may sound odd to say about a short but it looked comfortable. To understand where I'm coming from let's take a look at opening title
This is something that the short plays with throughout the short whenever other people are talking about John especially during the tall tale segment, it has this look a quilt that was stitched together. I love this, it looks so inviting and as if it's saying "watch me". Of course, you could also connect this to the character of Polly and how it is revealed she is telling the story to her son while stitching a quilt. Either way, I just love the look of it. This in my opinion is one of the coolest looking shorts that I have reviewed.
Narration
Narrator - Alfre Woodard
As stated above the narration is done by a character that is actually part of the short. Which is similar to another short that I struggled with. However unlike that short, here it flowed better and felt more personal as Polly, John's love and wife was the one telling the story. There just seemed to be more depth and love coming through in the narration
Characters
Now as usual, I'll be breaking this down into Main, Supporting & Rival.
Main Character
John Henry voiced by Geoffrey Jones
John Henry is perhaps one of the coolest characters to appear in an underrated piece of Disney animation. He is a kindhearted man, who is hardworking. Again as stated he carries his 20 pound hammer that Polly gave to him and carries it with him through life and he says that he'll die with it in his hand. Which he ultimately does because you see as I mentioned John Henry goes to help the railroad crew and late on in the short, a steam drill driver comes to take over the work. The railroad crew was angry and wanted to tip over the drill which they almost did but with John Henry's strength as he is able to stand it back up. The crew doesn't understand what John Henry is doing but John believes there is a better way to solve the problem. John challenges the driver and driver accepts. Now this is where the similarity to Paul Bunyan starts and stops because both of these shorts have a challenge but unlike Paul, John Henry wins the challenge but at a high cost as he dies right after the challenge. So, this short doesn't really have a happy ending for the character of John Henry but it does end on a happy note. If that's makes sense.
Supporting Character
Polly voiced by Alfre Woodard
Polly was a very sweet character and again as I said, she was the narrator of this short and she was such a great and caring character. Even if in the short, she felt a tad underused but all the same, she was great. She was John Henry's rock and the one that convinced him not to give up. You could feel how much she loved John Henry in both the short and with her narration. Come to think of it, this is the first short that I have reviewed that has a female narrator. Go figure! All the same, she was a great character and just added so much more to this short.
Music
John Henry
Now again, I know that I'm posting the first half of this short, which I hope that you 'll take your time to watch the rest of. This song is just so beautiful. It's fun, encouraging and I like the way how it starts up the tall tale. Again, this is another reason this short makes me think of some of the older classic shorts that I have taken a look at on Classic Shorts Showcase.
Rival
The Steam Drill
While not the steam drill from the short, this is basically what John Henry had to go up against. The person driving this was cold because he burned the contract. Part of me wanted to see this drill be tipped over but in the end, John Henry did the right thing. Again, going back to Paul Bunyan for a second, the premise of Man Vs. Machine is very prevalent in this short but unlike Paul Bunyan, man wins the challenge but loses his life. As I stated this short doesn't have a happy outcome for John Henry but I like that because it makes the short feel more realistic.
My Final Thoughts
I hope that you have enjoyed this step outside the norm on Classic Shorts Showcase. I typically wouldn't review shorts this new as a Classic Shorts Showcase but there was just something about this short that convinced me it deserved to be featured on Classic Shorts Showcase. Again, even though it came out in 2000, it feels like a classic Disney short that Walt would have worked on. It's a very fun short to watch and the best way to describe is beautifully simple. Not simply beautiful because we are dealing with something different as you see the beauty of this short comes from how simple it is along with how it takes itself and the story presented seriously. If you haven't seen this short, look for it.
Join me next week when I look at...
The Robber Kitten
The Plot
To understand this short we need to take a look at when it is set. As you see in this short, Lincoln is President and he had just signed The Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves which John Henry and his love, Polly were. When they got married, Polly took the chains that John wore and had them made into a hammer, 20 pounds to be exact. When they come across a crew of people working on a railroad, they see that they are having troubles and can't get it done. So John volunteers his help and only for split second is he questioned until he proves his worth. The people there with come to appreciate John and his help. Therefore tall tales about John's life start spreading. This is the basic plot of the short and I have to say this was a great short. More on that in my final thoughts though
Look
Before we get too far into things I gotta bring up the look of this short. As that is one of my favorite aspects. This may sound odd to say about a short but it looked comfortable. To understand where I'm coming from let's take a look at opening title
This is something that the short plays with throughout the short whenever other people are talking about John especially during the tall tale segment, it has this look a quilt that was stitched together. I love this, it looks so inviting and as if it's saying "watch me". Of course, you could also connect this to the character of Polly and how it is revealed she is telling the story to her son while stitching a quilt. Either way, I just love the look of it. This in my opinion is one of the coolest looking shorts that I have reviewed.
Narration
Narrator - Alfre Woodard
As stated above the narration is done by a character that is actually part of the short. Which is similar to another short that I struggled with. However unlike that short, here it flowed better and felt more personal as Polly, John's love and wife was the one telling the story. There just seemed to be more depth and love coming through in the narration
Characters
Now as usual, I'll be breaking this down into Main, Supporting & Rival.
Main Character
John Henry voiced by Geoffrey Jones
John Henry is perhaps one of the coolest characters to appear in an underrated piece of Disney animation. He is a kindhearted man, who is hardworking. Again as stated he carries his 20 pound hammer that Polly gave to him and carries it with him through life and he says that he'll die with it in his hand. Which he ultimately does because you see as I mentioned John Henry goes to help the railroad crew and late on in the short, a steam drill driver comes to take over the work. The railroad crew was angry and wanted to tip over the drill which they almost did but with John Henry's strength as he is able to stand it back up. The crew doesn't understand what John Henry is doing but John believes there is a better way to solve the problem. John challenges the driver and driver accepts. Now this is where the similarity to Paul Bunyan starts and stops because both of these shorts have a challenge but unlike Paul, John Henry wins the challenge but at a high cost as he dies right after the challenge. So, this short doesn't really have a happy ending for the character of John Henry but it does end on a happy note. If that's makes sense.
Supporting Character
Polly voiced by Alfre Woodard
Polly was a very sweet character and again as I said, she was the narrator of this short and she was such a great and caring character. Even if in the short, she felt a tad underused but all the same, she was great. She was John Henry's rock and the one that convinced him not to give up. You could feel how much she loved John Henry in both the short and with her narration. Come to think of it, this is the first short that I have reviewed that has a female narrator. Go figure! All the same, she was a great character and just added so much more to this short.
Music
John Henry
Now again, I know that I'm posting the first half of this short, which I hope that you 'll take your time to watch the rest of. This song is just so beautiful. It's fun, encouraging and I like the way how it starts up the tall tale. Again, this is another reason this short makes me think of some of the older classic shorts that I have taken a look at on Classic Shorts Showcase.
Rival
The Steam Drill
While not the steam drill from the short, this is basically what John Henry had to go up against. The person driving this was cold because he burned the contract. Part of me wanted to see this drill be tipped over but in the end, John Henry did the right thing. Again, going back to Paul Bunyan for a second, the premise of Man Vs. Machine is very prevalent in this short but unlike Paul Bunyan, man wins the challenge but loses his life. As I stated this short doesn't have a happy outcome for John Henry but I like that because it makes the short feel more realistic.
My Final Thoughts
I hope that you have enjoyed this step outside the norm on Classic Shorts Showcase. I typically wouldn't review shorts this new as a Classic Shorts Showcase but there was just something about this short that convinced me it deserved to be featured on Classic Shorts Showcase. Again, even though it came out in 2000, it feels like a classic Disney short that Walt would have worked on. It's a very fun short to watch and the best way to describe is beautifully simple. Not simply beautiful because we are dealing with something different as you see the beauty of this short comes from how simple it is along with how it takes itself and the story presented seriously. If you haven't seen this short, look for it.
Join me next week when I look at...
The Robber Kitten
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