Paul Bunyan

This Disney short was created during the studio's creative free-fall in the 1950s. While the 1930s and 40s found the studio on top, by the mid-1950s, their shorts were dull, poorly animated and often overtly educational (yuck!). I am sure kids and adults alike longed for the old Mickey and Donald cartoons! Typical of the 50s, the animation style is VERY minimalistic--with exceptionally simple backgrounds and far fewer detail to the characters. This style was popularized by UPA Studio and Disney realized that making these cheap cartoons was profitable--though lacking artistry and sophistication--a trend that was to continue for the next several decades.

Despite crappy animation, the story itself isn't bad. It lacks a sense of humor (that's bad) but the song is very catchy and the story quite clever. It's certainly not among the best stuff Disney ever produced, though it's a good bit better than a typical film of the era.

By the way, listen for the voices of Thurl Ravenscroft (Tony the Tiger and many other cartoon characters) and Parley Baer (a TV regular and voice of Ernie from the Keebler commercials).