I stumbled upon this little gem purely by chance when I saw it listed as one of comedian Steve Martin's film credits. I looked into this a little further and discovered that the actor appears in the film for only a few seconds when he was caught on camera while working at Disneyland during his pre-acting days. I was intrigued, and the film was only half an hour long and easily available online, so I watched it and I'm glad I did.
I love things that are different and unique. This is a home movie made by a family about their trip to Disneyland in 1956. When I read the description of the film, which stated that it was a home movie, I was reminded of the films of Chris Marker, which were marketed as documentaries but which the director himself always maintained were nothing more than his home movies. And I love his films, so I would have been happy if this had been in line with those, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was something completely different, heartfelt and original.
The style and tone are different from most movies for that reason and—although it's very amateur—that is exactly why it is so charming. A lot of love and dedication went into the making of this film. It wasn't made for profit, it was made for pleasure, and that is what I love about it.
One last thing I should mention is that this is a time capsule into the United States as they were in 1956. It's a brief look at a few people in a few places during that time, just as it was. It's a better glimpse and record of the time than Rebel Without a Cause or other films of the era because, while those are dramatic forgeries, this films is real and it is raw. And it is wonderful. Even at just thirty minutes in length, it seemed even shorter and I didn't want it to end.
