University of Virginia Library

CINEMA

Dope, Disney, And The Movies

By Paul Chaplin
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

It seems somewhat ironic that
"The People Next Door" and
"Fantasia" should open on the
same day. One film deals with the
drug problem, while the other is the
hit of the drug problem generation.
One is "realistic," and the other is
an adventure in imagination. Both
aren't the triumph of the decade,
but entertaining.

"The People Next Door," now
at the Barracks Road, is the type of
film David Susskind would want
everyone to see. It's an
"important" film dealing with the
hard questions of our time. Yes —
it's even, heaven forbid, relevant.
So let's send suburbia to see a film
about the drug situation in suburbia
and everything can be ironed out
without the harsh reality of real
life.

Things happen too quickly,
and ever so unbelievingly.
Scriptwriter J.P. Miller has made a
better pilot for a soap opera. All
the tragedies in the world befall six
people — alcoholism, a high school
riot, freak-out, drunken party,
affairs. Yes indeed, and all in only
90 minutes.

"The People Next Door" is
entertaining only if you realize how
many people will see this film and
begin to wonder about their own
children or their neighbors. It's also
enjoyable as a story produced by
people who had little idea of what
they were talking about, in a way
reminiscent of the great prison
escape story you wrote in fifth
grade. At least people can now have
another source, besides Readers'
Digest or Time, when they refer to
the menace of drugs.

Freak On Down

But while all the talking's going
on, people will freak on down to
the University to see "Fantasia."
Disney's cartoon has received such
an amazing popularity, that critics
now inform us Walt was ahead of
his times back in '39 when the film
was first released. One supposes the
"genius" of "Fantasia" was missed
by those who saw it, and it was
only until the doors of perception
were unlocked by drugs that
America realized what she'd missed.

Sure! Unfortunately, at least for
my money, "Fantasia" isn't
Disney's greatest cartoon. There is
something artificial about editing
music so it will conform to the
artist's pictorial rendering.
Furthermore, any parts of the film
simply drag on too long, such as
Beethoven's "Pastoral," and
Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring."

But oh those other segments!
Once you've seen the film, you'll
never hear the Chinese Dance from
the "Nutcracker" without seeing
little mushrooms. "The Dance of
the Hours" is in the best Disney
tradition of humor, featuring a
hilarious ballet with
hippopotamuses and alligators.
Most striking of all is "Night on
Bald Mountain," which forms a
terrifying conclusion, which Disney
blew by adding Schubert's "Ava
Maria" to the film.

Good Print

The University Theatre has been
blessed with an exceptionally
good print, with excellent sound. It
still sounds like the old Disney
orchestra to me, and not the
Philadelphia under Leopold
Stokowski, but the star isn't the
music but the animation. In fact, I
would suggest some segments of the
film could very easily have different
orchestration and nobody would be
the wiser. One obvious exception is
Dukas' "Sorcerer's Apprentice,"

which was created as a vehicle for
Disney's big star, Mickey Mouse.

"Fantasia," for me at least,
doesn't equal the artistry and
genius of other cartoons which are
remarkable for the attention to
detail, beautiful colors, and
triumph of the imagination.
Consider the richness in the plot of
"Pinocchio" for example, with the
puppet show, Pleasure Island, and
episodes inside Geppetto's
carpentry shop. Notice the forced
storyline in the "Pastoral" and
"Rite of Spring." Without a
traditional story line, Disney tends
to get lost and confused, as in the
Bach Fugue and "Ava Maria."

No animator today will go
through the rigorous pace
established by the Disney studios.
It's no wonder the art of animation
is rapidly dying in America. Not
only that, but the audience for
Disney's beautiful naturalistic
technique of animation is rapidly
declining. Save the cartoons; go to a
Disney cartoon and let's redevelop
an appreciation for animation and
humor! Who knows, animated
cartoons may become a lost art.