Orphans' Benefit

THE REMAKE HAS long been a staple of the great Hollywood motion picture business. But until now, we weren't aware of the extent to which redoing a picture had pervaded the studios, extending into the cartoon units. In this case, it is at the Walt Disney Studios that we find this absolute carbon copy of the black & white release from the previous decade.

IF IT WEREN'T for the evolved, modified and updated appearance of the principal players, one could not be faulted for believing that this 1941 version was simply a colorized copy of the old 1934 original. The design, the background and the scripted action & gags all match in a nearly perfect manner.

BY THIS TIME, Mickey had been either promoted or relegated to the straight man of the group. His stature as the "leader" of the Disney stable of characters was reassured and strengthened with his starring in the Sorcerer's Apprentice segment of FANTASIA that previous year. That left the comedy business up to the others. Goofy, Horace Horse Collar, Clarabelle Cow and the Hen.

THAT LEFT ONLY the participation of Donald Duck, who had by this time affixed his rising star to the very zenith of the animated comedy. His reprising of his 1934 performance seems to be a case of spinning his wheels and wasting time.

ALTHOUGH IT SEEMS to be a sort of sacrilege to even think, let alone to write or say, the animation in this installment appears to be just a trifle rough, poorly executed and even somewhat "limited"(a word that one never uses in reference to Disney).