Tim: Welcome back to another Classic Shorts Showcase. I must be having an itch for shorts based on American folklore because before Sleepy Hollow, I took a look at Paul Bunyan and today I'll be taking a look at Pecos Bill. Though for the first time on Classic Shorts Showcase, I have decided to make this a cross over. Please join me in welcoming my good friend and fan of Westerns, BigBlackHatMan. With that out of the way, let's begin.
The Plot
Tim: The plot of this short is rather simple in that we follow the life of Pecos Bill. Who was adabandoned as a child when he fell out of the stagecoach but was soon taken in by coyotes a la Mowgli and was raised by them until he was an adult and became a cowboy. He proved to be one of the toughest and roughest greatest cowboys of all time.
Narration
Narrator - Roy Rogers & The Sons of Pioneers
BBHM: I enjoyed this narration by one of the classic singing cowboys and the band that he actually got his start with. (FYI, Roy Rogers was part of the Sons of the Pioneers and was recruited by Republic Pictures to do singing cowboy films after the success of Gene Autry.) They sang some of those classic cowboy songs like “Blue Shadows.” I also liked the rotating nature of the narration as the band helped tell it around Rogers as the main story teller. It was a little strange how Trigger got such a high billing considering he was only seen once. He must have had a good agent.
Tim: I agree that the narration was excellent and as usual the narration was a great highlight. When the short opened and I saw how the narration, I just got this feeling of an old time campfire. I also like the way of how it was sung. It just helped to set the mood of the short and put me in for a good time. To your thing about Trigger, I think the reason he got high billing is because that you have to take into account that while yes, Roy Rogers was a big name, Trigger was just as big if noting else for being Roy Roger's horse. Lest we not forget that he had his name lent to a musical film & a comic book. Also I'd like to point that the two child actors that you saw at the beginning of the short are Luana Patten and Bobby Driscoll, who appeared in the yet to be released, Song of The South, (C'mon, Disney release that from the vault) Sorry but that upsets me. Anyways here is a picture of him from the open of the short.
Characters
Tim: Now, we'll be breaking this down into Main, & Supporting. As with the narration, I'll let BBHM go first. Let's begin.
Main Character
Pecos Bill - Not Voiced
BBHM: I thought the character of Pecos Bill was funny. They showed all the mythical things that attributed to him in such a highly animated way, and it was fun to watch. It is somewhat strange to see a Disney character smoking and firing guns, but it works here. I am sure parents would have a fit today. He does seem to be an oddly tragic character as he was abandoned as a child and lost his true love, Sue.
Tim: I do agree that Pecos Bill was funny. As stated in the plot description, when I saw him being raised by the coyotes, my mind automatically thought of The Jungle Book. He was so over the top and everything that he did was so outlandish that it was a mixture of awesome and funny. I loved every second of it. I do agree that parents would throw a fit about a gun and cigarette appearing in a Disney short and from my understanding there is edited release of this short that took out the cigarette. Luckily for BBHM & myself, I was able to find an unedited version.
Supporting Characters
Widowmaker - Not Voiced
BBHM: How big of a jerk is Widowmaker? The guy who saved his life and was gutsy enough to kiss him right on the lips has a chance to be happy, and Widowmaker ruins it. Honestly, there is not much to like about Widowmaker as a result other than being Pecos Bill’s friend.
Tim: Going into this short, I wanted to disagree with you on the character of Widowmaker because at first his actions were understandable and I could see where he was coming from. It reminded me of how Timon & Pumbaa felt when Nala reunited with Simba but in the end, I couldn't come to like this character that much myself either. You say he is a jerk but I'm not sure that is the right word to describe him. No, I would say that he is jealous. Again, this is understandable because for most of his life, Bill has been the only one is life and then all of the sudden here comes Slue Foot Sue. Widowmaker doesn't want to share Bill with someone else and that is why he did what he did. His actions while understandable aren't commendable. This just dawned me but when you look at his name, it can almost be attributed to a form of foreshadowing. Take the wedding day of Slue Foot Sue and Pecos Bill. Bill had promised a ride to Sue on Widowmaker but he shot straight into orbit. Making Pecos Bill a widow.
Slue Foot Sue - Not Voiced
BBHM: My thoughts on Sue are that she was a neat character who was clearly the perfect match for Pecos Bill. She is a little fast in her coming and going, and one wonders why if she was good enough to ride a fish and Widowmaker that she could not resolve the bustle issue herself. Her dismissal to the moon, as a pointed out when talking about Widowmaker, seems overly harsh. I know it is all Western legend, but when did it become Greek tragedy?
Tim: Funny that you say Greek tragedy because I too had similar thoughts as to what happened to Sue. Though while Widowmaker remains my least favorite character I was able to care about him but truthfully the only time I ever cared about Sue was when Widowmaker sent her into orbit. I hate saying this but with the way she was used she felt more or less like nothing more than a plot device to keep the story going. Again, she wasn't a bad character and she had her moments but I couldn't find myself liking or disliking her.
Music
The Ballad of Pecos Bill
Tim: As with most of the shorts that I have reviewed, the music is one of the true highlights. This music is just so much fun and very crucial to the short as it helps to tell the tale of Pecos Bill. It also shows that Disney knew how to use celebrities well in their shorts and make good use of their talent. This is such a fun song. Perhaps one of my favorites that has been featured on Classic Shorts Showcase.
BBHM: I really like the song. I think it has a good sound for anyone who appreciates country music as this is right out of that cowboy tradition. It goes through the legends of Pecos Bill, as silly as they may be, and lets the audience get a good grasp of his myth. I even enjoy the yodeling despite knowing it is not everyone's cup of coffee.
Our Final Thoughts
BBHM: In conclusion, I really liked this short. It was done at a time in Roy Rogers’ career where he was in a transition from the B westerns to his popular television show. It was the height of his popularity. The dialogue flows well like a harmony song and is nice to listen to. Pecos Bill is a good collaboration between Disney and one of the more popular cowboys among the younger audience in that era.
Tim: As a Disney short on it's own, this is a great short but I have come to feel that when Disney went out and got big names such as Roy Rogers or Bing Crosby to narrate these shorts, it adds another layer of something special to it. Aside from that this is a very fun short and one I highly suggest watching. If you like Disney (and I hope you do if your reading this) then you'll enjoy this short. If you like cowboys and wanted to be one as a little kid then relive those memories with this short. Thanks again to BBHM for joining me on Classic Shorts Showcase. Join me next time when I take a look at a short from 2000 as I look at....
John Henry
The Plot
Tim: The plot of this short is rather simple in that we follow the life of Pecos Bill. Who was adabandoned as a child when he fell out of the stagecoach but was soon taken in by coyotes a la Mowgli and was raised by them until he was an adult and became a cowboy. He proved to be one of the toughest and roughest greatest cowboys of all time.
Narration
Narrator - Roy Rogers & The Sons of Pioneers
BBHM: I enjoyed this narration by one of the classic singing cowboys and the band that he actually got his start with. (FYI, Roy Rogers was part of the Sons of the Pioneers and was recruited by Republic Pictures to do singing cowboy films after the success of Gene Autry.) They sang some of those classic cowboy songs like “Blue Shadows.” I also liked the rotating nature of the narration as the band helped tell it around Rogers as the main story teller. It was a little strange how Trigger got such a high billing considering he was only seen once. He must have had a good agent.
Tim: I agree that the narration was excellent and as usual the narration was a great highlight. When the short opened and I saw how the narration, I just got this feeling of an old time campfire. I also like the way of how it was sung. It just helped to set the mood of the short and put me in for a good time. To your thing about Trigger, I think the reason he got high billing is because that you have to take into account that while yes, Roy Rogers was a big name, Trigger was just as big if noting else for being Roy Roger's horse. Lest we not forget that he had his name lent to a musical film & a comic book. Also I'd like to point that the two child actors that you saw at the beginning of the short are Luana Patten and Bobby Driscoll, who appeared in the yet to be released, Song of The South, (C'mon, Disney release that from the vault) Sorry but that upsets me. Anyways here is a picture of him from the open of the short.
Characters
Tim: Now, we'll be breaking this down into Main, & Supporting. As with the narration, I'll let BBHM go first. Let's begin.
Main Character
Pecos Bill - Not Voiced
BBHM: I thought the character of Pecos Bill was funny. They showed all the mythical things that attributed to him in such a highly animated way, and it was fun to watch. It is somewhat strange to see a Disney character smoking and firing guns, but it works here. I am sure parents would have a fit today. He does seem to be an oddly tragic character as he was abandoned as a child and lost his true love, Sue.
Tim: I do agree that Pecos Bill was funny. As stated in the plot description, when I saw him being raised by the coyotes, my mind automatically thought of The Jungle Book. He was so over the top and everything that he did was so outlandish that it was a mixture of awesome and funny. I loved every second of it. I do agree that parents would throw a fit about a gun and cigarette appearing in a Disney short and from my understanding there is edited release of this short that took out the cigarette. Luckily for BBHM & myself, I was able to find an unedited version.
Supporting Characters
Widowmaker - Not Voiced
BBHM: How big of a jerk is Widowmaker? The guy who saved his life and was gutsy enough to kiss him right on the lips has a chance to be happy, and Widowmaker ruins it. Honestly, there is not much to like about Widowmaker as a result other than being Pecos Bill’s friend.
Tim: Going into this short, I wanted to disagree with you on the character of Widowmaker because at first his actions were understandable and I could see where he was coming from. It reminded me of how Timon & Pumbaa felt when Nala reunited with Simba but in the end, I couldn't come to like this character that much myself either. You say he is a jerk but I'm not sure that is the right word to describe him. No, I would say that he is jealous. Again, this is understandable because for most of his life, Bill has been the only one is life and then all of the sudden here comes Slue Foot Sue. Widowmaker doesn't want to share Bill with someone else and that is why he did what he did. His actions while understandable aren't commendable. This just dawned me but when you look at his name, it can almost be attributed to a form of foreshadowing. Take the wedding day of Slue Foot Sue and Pecos Bill. Bill had promised a ride to Sue on Widowmaker but he shot straight into orbit. Making Pecos Bill a widow.
Slue Foot Sue - Not Voiced
BBHM: My thoughts on Sue are that she was a neat character who was clearly the perfect match for Pecos Bill. She is a little fast in her coming and going, and one wonders why if she was good enough to ride a fish and Widowmaker that she could not resolve the bustle issue herself. Her dismissal to the moon, as a pointed out when talking about Widowmaker, seems overly harsh. I know it is all Western legend, but when did it become Greek tragedy?
Tim: Funny that you say Greek tragedy because I too had similar thoughts as to what happened to Sue. Though while Widowmaker remains my least favorite character I was able to care about him but truthfully the only time I ever cared about Sue was when Widowmaker sent her into orbit. I hate saying this but with the way she was used she felt more or less like nothing more than a plot device to keep the story going. Again, she wasn't a bad character and she had her moments but I couldn't find myself liking or disliking her.
Music
The Ballad of Pecos Bill
Tim: As with most of the shorts that I have reviewed, the music is one of the true highlights. This music is just so much fun and very crucial to the short as it helps to tell the tale of Pecos Bill. It also shows that Disney knew how to use celebrities well in their shorts and make good use of their talent. This is such a fun song. Perhaps one of my favorites that has been featured on Classic Shorts Showcase.
BBHM: I really like the song. I think it has a good sound for anyone who appreciates country music as this is right out of that cowboy tradition. It goes through the legends of Pecos Bill, as silly as they may be, and lets the audience get a good grasp of his myth. I even enjoy the yodeling despite knowing it is not everyone's cup of coffee.
Our Final Thoughts
BBHM: In conclusion, I really liked this short. It was done at a time in Roy Rogers’ career where he was in a transition from the B westerns to his popular television show. It was the height of his popularity. The dialogue flows well like a harmony song and is nice to listen to. Pecos Bill is a good collaboration between Disney and one of the more popular cowboys among the younger audience in that era.
Tim: As a Disney short on it's own, this is a great short but I have come to feel that when Disney went out and got big names such as Roy Rogers or Bing Crosby to narrate these shorts, it adds another layer of something special to it. Aside from that this is a very fun short and one I highly suggest watching. If you like Disney (and I hope you do if your reading this) then you'll enjoy this short. If you like cowboys and wanted to be one as a little kid then relive those memories with this short. Thanks again to BBHM for joining me on Classic Shorts Showcase. Join me next time when I take a look at a short from 2000 as I look at....
John Henry
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