Walt Disney's early cartoons to hit big screen in Jakarta

By Tam Notosusanto

JAKARTA (JP): The answer is: Doc, Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy, Bashful, Happy and Dopey.

If you can supply the question, then not only are you a probable contender for Special Disney Jeopardy! but also one of the millions of people who grew up watching Disney films. But then again, what individual on this planet hasn't watched a feature from Uncle Walt's cartoon factory?

Disney movies leave such lasting impressions that most of us treasure the memory of watching those cute Dalmatian defeating the wicked Cruella de Ville, or won't escape the pain of seeing the youthful Bambi losing his mother to evil hunters. It is a legacy that has gone through seven decades, beginning with a 1923 series of short films called Alice in Cartoonland.

Walt Disney made that series when he had just moved to Hollywood after a short career as a Kansas City commercial artist and cartoonist, making animated ads and satiric, short cartoons. Alice in Cartoonland features cartoons integrated with a living girl, presenting Disney's imagination in a blend of the real world and the surreal animated dimension.

Disney did not only become a master in the realm of animated films, he also pioneered the Technicolor cartoon and the American animated feature. And his success of incorporating sound into his animated films -- defying the norm that such an attempt is risky and foolhardy -- made him one of the most influential and respected film producers.

According to film historians Gerald F. Mast and Bruce F. Kawin in their book The Movies: A Short History, the Disney sound cartoon united three of the great traditions of silent filmmaking and carried them into the Sound Era: the wacky, speedy physical comedy of Mack Sennett; the fantasy world of Georges Melies, in which what cannot happen happens; and the genius of Charlie Chaplin, Winsor McCay and especially animator Emile Cohl for transforming one kind of object into a totally different one.

Those qualities are fully showcased in Disney's groundbreaking masterpiece Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first American feature-length animated film. This 83-minute movie was the result of two years of production, involving 750 artists who worked on 500 miles of paper to create about 2 million drawings and sketches. And the music by Frank Churchill and Larry Morey sends us heigh-ho-ing along with the dwarfs and wishing for Snow White's prince to come someday.

This weekend, starting Friday, Oct. 30, a series of six early Disney features, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, will be screened at Teater Utan Kayu (TUK), East Jakarta,

TUK's film curator, Rayya Makarim, said: "This showing is in response to comments that our programs have included movies for adults only all this time.

"What's special about the Disney films is that they can be shared by the entire family. The children love them, and their parents can also enjoy them."

The other films being shown are the Oscar-winning Pinocchio (1940), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959), The Jungle Book (1967), and Robin Hood (1973). A discussion on Women and Villains in Disney films, led by award-winning author Ayu Utami, will conclude the series on Sunday, Nov. 1.

It is going to be quite an experience to watch these Disney gems on a big screen, sharing the joys and thrills with the rest of the audience, especially the generations of moviegoers who only got to know Disney films through video and television Sunday specials in the isolated comfort of their homes.

This time, the romantic pasta dinner between two canines in love; the funny escapades of Sherwood Forest's merry men; and the nightmarish transformation of villains into terrifying creatures will be grand and mesmerizing.

For children, it will be an exciting comparative study between these old, conventionally made cartoons and the megacomputerized Disney flicks they know from the cineplexes, like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Hercules and the just-opened Mulan. For grownups, it's a trip down memory lane with nostalgic ditties like I'm Wishing, Bella Notte, The Bare Necessities, and the all-time favorite, When You Wish Upon a Star.

But for everyone, it is definitely an opportunity to marvel at the genius of a man who turned drawings into stories and images that have stood the test of time.

"We never get enough of watching Disney movies over and over again," said Rayya. "There's always something new to discover every time you watch them."