Considered the sister movie to Song of the South, this next film reunites the child stars Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten for a heart-warming adventure. Thanks to this project, I was finally able to see this film and I’m glad I got the opportunity. For this project, I’m focusing on the story itself, including dialogue, character development, any subplots, how a story presents itself, the speed at which it moves, if it slows down unnecessarily, etc.
Update: In February 2022, I started a video version of the DFP on Tiktok. You can find the video below. Thoughts expressed in the video may be different than what are expressed in the blog post, due to the time difference in posting.
A Brief Summary
When Jeremiah Kincaid saves a baby black lamb on his Granny’s farm, he names him Danny after the famous racehorse, Dan Patch. Wanting Danny to be great like his namesake, Jeremiah begins to train Danny, with cousin Tildy and Uncle Hiram helping him out. But Danny isn’t always well-behaved and gets into plenty of trouble with Granny and several townspeople on his way to becoming a champion. Includes a horseshoe nail ring, a bee tree, and a Scottish spider.
What works
- Rather than having a traditional storybook, like in Snow White and Pinocchio, a scrapbook holds a prominent place in this film. I actually really like the scrapbook idea. It makes the film a bit more personal, more relatable. The narrator is the adult version of Bobby Driscoll’s character, Jeremiah Kincaid (the protagonist). It kind of reminds me of how the ‘Where the Red Fern Grows’ book started.
- I enjoy the layers of Granny’s character. She’s tough yet fair, fun yet serious and I think she teaches Jeremiah more lessons than what he got from the ‘Wise Old Owl’ in his scrapbook. The complexity of her character also provides a contrast to Uncle Hiram’s and Jeremiah’s characters.
- There are plenty of ups and downs in this film, conflict-wise, which I really like. Instead of just having one or two high-stakes conflicts, there are a lot of smaller conflicts throughout the film, creating a steady wave throughout the film. What I like the most is that it doesn’t feel forced, it feels like normal life struggles. Something that I can relate to on a strong level.
- Jeremiah has such a great character arc throughout this film. He’s made to be more natural, a real-life boy instead of one that can only exist on the silver screen. His focus on prizes and the glory of winning added such depth and realism to his character, or maybe I liked it because that’s been the reason and failure behind a lot of my hobby choices, and created interactions with the other main characters that helped move the film forward.
- The dialogue in this film is simple yet smart. Matching the setting of the film, it was easy to understand and
- Other than the animated sequences, this is probably the most realistic film made yet by Disney. I don’t feel a disconnect from the characters and their struggles and challenges. Instead, I can see bits of myself in each of the four main characters (and some similar human traits in Danny, the sheep) which makes me enjoy the movie that much more.
What may or may not work
- The animated sequences. They’re cute but feel a bit unnecessary. They’re almost randomly there, but unlike in Song of the South, the animated scenes don’t mix with the live-action characters. The songs are cutesy, matching the scenes well and as an audience member, I like the motivational, helpfulness of the songs but they kind of pull away from the live-action parts of the movie. Jeremiah (the owner of the scrapbook where the sequences are based) briefly interacts at the beginning of each sequence but then the focus is just on the animation until the next full live-action scene.
Honorable Mentions
- All of Uncle Hiram’s songs. Burl Ives has such a nice singing voice (just a nice voice all around) and I really enjoyed the selection of songs including “Lavender Blue (Dilly, Dilly)”.
- The songs during the animated portions remind me of the Sherman brothers and their classic 1973 Charlotte’s WEb
- Jeremiah tries to sing along with Granny (during the ‘Billy Boy’ song) and gets shushed by Tildy.
- Also in the same scene, Uncle Hiram tricks Granny into showing off her dancing skills
- The judge of the county fair contest was also the President of the Senate in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Side Questions
- How is Tildy related to the Kincaid family? Is she just a friend who just happens to call Hiram as Uncle Hiram or is she a cousin? Her parents are mentioned a bit but she doesn’t live with the Kincaids and yet she’s always over without any sight of other family members.
So, apparently, Uncle Hiram is her dad. I’m bad at paying attention to movies (hangs head in shame).- According to Disney Wikia, she’s a cousin of Jeremiah and a niece of Uncle Hiram but not related to Granny. But I still wonder, so yeah. Pretty sure it’s not going to be answered any time soon.
What I learned from watching this film
- Sometimes the smallest bit of detail or dialogue can answer questions or change the direction of a storyline. I had been wondering about Tildy’s relationship to the rest of the characters and at one point, Uncle Hiram said that it was time for him and Tildy to leave and that Tildy needed to go to bed. I hadn’t paid attention to that line during the first viewing of the movie and during the second viewing, I caught it, thinking “That’s who her dad is!” Yet just a couple of scenes later, she was calling out for “Uncle Hiram”. I remember noticing that during the first watch-through, yet why I didn’t remember it when I thought he was Tildy’s dad, I’ll never know.
- Anyway, back to what I learned: the audience is only going to have a certain amount of time within the world created by the story. True, rewatches, rereads, and relistens can happen, but there’s only ever going to be a FIRST TIME through the story. Everything put into the story needs to matter, needs to keep the story moving and needs to provide clarity when necessary.
If you’ve seen So Dear to My Heart, what did you think? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Rewind to the beginning of the Disney Film Project
Skip back to the previous film with Melody Time
Fast Forward to the next film with The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
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