Published between 1982 and 1995
Among the sequences which impress is the first appearance of Ratigan when – with some dapper foot-work and much swirling of his opera-cloak – he sings the praises of his blackguardly reputation as ‘The World’s Greatest Criminal Mind’, in an incongruous mock-Hollywood set flowing with pink champagne; and the scene in which Basil and Dawson … Read more
Brian Sibley has been reading the two recently published biographies of Walt Disney. Two biographies of Walt Disney? Published in the same week? What can be so fascinating about the man? Well, to begin with, he is the greatest dream-merchant of this, or any, age: the creator of a pantheon of cartoon gods and goddesses … Read more
Trifling errors all, if they weren’t so numerous and if they didn’t cast serious doubt on the thoroughness of Mosley’s research. Since they are (Disney archivist David R. Smith has listed over 100 of them) and since they do, one is left wondering how accurate are the central claims of his book – such as … Read more
Brian Sibley gives a retrospective view of Pinocchio as the film goes on release once more. In writing of Pinocchio, you are limited only by your own power of expressing enthusiasm. To put it in the simplest possible terms, this film is fantastically delightful, absolutely perfect, and a work of pure, unadulterated genius… Not my … Read more
The characters, like those in Snow White, are sharply delineated: a cast of players, humorous and dramatic, who compensate for the somewhat insipid personality of Pinocchio himself. First and foremost there is Jimmy Cricket – voiced by veteran Hollywood entertainer, Cliff Edwards, and visualized by the young Disney animator, Ward Kimball (who was on the … Read more