Day 26: I don't like them sad endings.-- Mortimer Snerd

"I don't like them sad endings."-- Mortimer Snerd, Fun and Fancy Free

At the end of the "Mickey and The Beanstalk" segment, Mortimer Snerd makes this comment after the fate of The Giant is revealed. This leads to quite the commentary between Edgar Bergen and Mortimer with The Giant stepping in on his own behalf.

I'm a lot like Mortimer in this sense. I don't like sad endings, or even endings that may appear sad. Give me happy endings for all any day. Sure I know that life doesn't always happen like that, but hey I like to believe it can. I usually tend to shy away from the sad endings because there is too much sadness in the world as is and reading sad endings makes me feel sad too. I feel so bad for Mortimer every time I watch this part of the segment because he grew rather attached to The Giant and made quite the emotional plea for the (to Mortimer) misunderstood character saying he was "a nice giant" who "got too big for his britches". It makes me wonder if that plea had anything to do with The Giant's ultimate fate.
On a side note: Mortimer Snerd is one of Edgar Bergen's ventriloquist dummies. He is very slow to understand and comprehend things. He also appears to like the happy things too. He is also the complete opposite to one of Edgar Bergen's other dummies seen in the segment, Charlie McCarthy, who is very sarcastic and has a habit of calling Edgar out on certain things from time to time. Edgar Bergen is one of the first mainstream ventriloquists and a major inspiration for modern ventriloquist Jeff Dunham. Edgar also had his own radio show with these characters in the 1930s-40s. He is also the father of Candice Bergen of Murphy Brown fame. You can find more information on Edgar here.
Until next time! Keep Cooking With Character!

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Day 25: But it's not the story you expect.-- Dinah Shore

"But it's not the story you expect."-- Dinah Shore, Fun and Fancy Free

This is found just after Jiminy Cricket places the record on the record player and starts it up. On the record, Dinah Shore introduces the story she will be telling with "This is a story about 3 bears, (pauses) but it's not the story you expect." Then she finishes her introduction to the story of "Bongo", a trained circus bear who yearned for something more.

Sometimes we come across such stories. Some stories are in books or magazines with misleading titles just to get you to purchase the book/magazine. This also stems to internet articles and online videos, in a "click-bait" sort of way.
 Others are found in the story of Life; such as a person who may appear to be well-off but is struggling to get enough to eat and purchased their outfit at a thrift store or garage sale because they care what others think, or a person who may appear to be struggling but has more than enough to eat and just doesn't care at all. Someone also could appear to be the most happiest person in the world on the outside, but they are struggling with depression on the inside and doesn't want anyone to know or see how truly unhappy they are or have lost the will to live.
Yet others who have big dreams but don't have the gumption or drive to actually see them through. Others who may have smaller dreams could have all the gumption and drive to see the smaller dreams through. Still more could have big dreams and the drive but appear like they're at a standstill making their dreams come true. I fall in this last category. I have big plans for this blog AND my YouTube channel, here, including something for when I hit my first 1k subscribers. Yet it looks like I'm at a standstill because I am needing a lot of components for both: a better computer, better video equipment, certain cooking appliances, among other things. So in the meantime, I'm working on what I can until that happens: catching up on and posting my 365 Days of Disney Quotes, and doing a lot of planning for my future recipe videos, Character Interviews, Patreon page, my blog and my YouTube channel. So a LOT is going on behind the scenes, even during my extended online absences. You never know what story is being written behind the scenes, unless you ask and they are willing to tell.
Until next time! Keep Cooking With Character!

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Day 24: Life is a song.. -- Jiminy Cricket

"Life is a song! Happy! Gay! So let's have some music! Whaddya say?-- Jiminy Cricket, Fun and Fancy Free

In another classic "package" film, Jiminy Cricket says this while he is looking for the record player and talking to a very sad looking stuffed bear and a doll who's smile is turned upside down. Then he begins the introduction for the Bongo segment.

It is a very fitting quote. Life is full of music and song. Songs don't always have to have lyrics. It could be something like the sounds of traffic or when you're making a meal. Let's say you're making spaghetti and meatballs. One doesn't always think of what sounds happen when you're making it because they are sometimes a split second or longer: from the sharp loud snap of the dry noodles, the soft almost inaudible sound of the boiling water, the loud sizzle of the meatballs frying in the pan, the plop of the spaghetti sauce as trapped heat bubbles make their way to the surface. Each sound, no matter how silent it appears, creates a song even though it may not appear to have any rhythm like we are used to hearing with traditional songs or music. It's all in how you look at it.
Just like some sounds can be sad like a deflating balloon, they can be happy or gay, like a bird chirping happily welcoming a new day. Up until the 1960s, the word "gay" meant being happy, joyful, or carefree. To be honest: this is the definition I think of every time I hear the word, not the more modern definition. I suppose that was part of my upbringing and also part by choice. This is the definition used in this 1947 film. Life's what you make it. You can either be like  the sad "deadpan doll" or the "droopy bear", or you could be like the ever happy and gay Jiminy Cricket. The question is: what do you choose to be? A droopy bear or a happy chirping cricket?
Until next time! Keep Cooking with Character!

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