"It's Whatcha Do With Whatcha Got!": 'So Dear to My Heart' (1948) 🐑🎈🖤
For as big of a Disney Stan as I am (or was these days, I am sick of their BS), I realized I had actually never seen So Dear to My Heart! I knew that my grandmother LOOOOOOOVED this movie, and when I saw that Tokyo Disneyland really loves Dear Danny, I wanted to see it.
Click to viewVerdict? Like the song says, "It's Whatcha Do With Whatcha Got!"
So Dear To My Heart tells the story of an orphan named Jerry in 1903 rural Indiana and his little scrapbook hopes and dreams. Instead of the usual "boy and his dog" or "boy and his horse/pony," it's the adventures of his little black sheep, and their quest for a prize at the fair.
So Dear To My Heart is adorable. It's a very sweet and charming film, with a very sweet and charming message. It's nostalgia's nostalgia. It has everything that I adore about the post-war era of Disney animation: its (very brief, sadly) beautiful animation, great music, great cast. Burl Ives (who usually gives me the creeps) is actually very tolerable in this film. Beulah Bondi can't be anything other than funny and perfect in everything that she does. Patton and Driscoll are a forever dream team. Mary Blair did the concept art. Also, ALL THE TRAINS. ALL OF THEM. ALL. OF. THEM.
That's it. It's just a very, very sweet film for a simpler ("simpler") era that's wholly nostalgic for an era it deemed simpler ("simpler"), seen through the eyes of small children at the turn of the 20th century. Walt saw it as a personal depiction of his childhood, and it was one of his most treasured and personal films. It has a lot of Americana and Midwest-ness (which I am going to be perfectly honest with you, I absolutely cannot stand), but it lacks a lot of the kind of Americana that makes me absolutely rage, like Little House on the Prairie and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
That being said, it's not to say that this is a perfect film, or a particularly memorable film. It's cute and sweet, but that's about it. It's not the best movie, but it genuinely has some really wonderful moments. Grammy's line “I’ll live to dance on your grave” is freaking hilarious (and my new life motto). I have to say, Jerry's bond with Danny is really moving. It also boasts a lot of remarkable Disney trivia for being such an unknown!
The biggest flaw in the film isn't its lack of plot, but its lack of animation. There's less than 10 minutes of animation in the entire film, which is a shame, because the "It's Whatcha Do With Whatcha Got!" animation is really truly some of the loveliest of that era. The animation doesn't have the seamless quality that other films of that or later Disney eras have. There is simply not enough Dear Danny!!!!!!!
I take it back, the biggest flaws of the film are the weird Biblical references as a song stanning Christopher Columbus, but, again, as is that era.
I know a lot of reviewers on those movie reviewing sites are SOOOOO hard on this film (especially men), and it's like why are you being so critical of a kids movie like this? Why you gotta be so ugly?! Not everything has to have shoot-em-up-bad-guys, or boobs, or Armageddon, FFS. This is a movie meant for very small children, and I think it's probably geared towards a 2-6 year old audience. There's nothing wrong with that. Not everything requires you to mandate your filmbro fuqboi pronouncements literally no one asked for. That's great, you as a grown ass adult man who actually thinks that Marriage Story or The Shining were actually good films, IDK WTF to tell you. Sensationalist and extreme storytelling does not equate to good storytelling, and not everything is designed for you as its target audience. STOP.
The last thing I wanted to add about this film, is that I always appreciate how truly innovative Walt Disney was, and now during his lifetime, he took some big commercial risks. There is some really artsy stuff in this film (like the scrapbook stuff is gorgeous and absolutely genius). I have always gotten the sense that he really, truly cared most about making art, rather than continuously pooping out blockbuster hits.
All and all, I enjoyed it. It was the best thing I have ever seen, but it felt ....weird that I had never seen it, especially since it ticks off so many nostalgia points, it feels like I HAD seen it. It gave me some very serious déjà vu.