Before fighting in the Creek Indian War, before Congress or the Alamo, Davy Crockett’s legend was growing with tales such as the two in this next film. 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 Davy Crockett and George E. Russell try to catch a boat ride down towards New Orleans to sell fur pelts, they find themselves entered into a keelboat race against Mike Fink, King of the River. Despite Mike Fink’s attempts to cheat them out of a win, time and time again they prove him wrong and end up the victors. Unfortunately, by the time the race is over, the Ohio River has become dangerous for all boat traffic, with river pirates on the loose. With the local Indian tribes getting ready to start a war, it’s up to Davy, George and Mike Fink to find out who’s really behind all the trouble. Includes a skunk, a falling chandelier, and a golden cannon.
What works
- We’re going to call this the “Earlier Film” mini-section because there were a few story techniques, both similarities and differences, between Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier and this film that I wanted to mention.
- As with the earlier film, both sections of the film (the Keelboat Race and the River Pirates) have narrations set to the tune of the Davy Crockett theme song. They’re even more detailed than the earlier film, which made it really nice to understand what was going to happen in the story.
- Unlike the earlier film where the sections were relatively separate (with few recurring characters and story mentions to connect them), in this film, the two sections are linked together. There specific character and setting introductions during the ‘Keelboat race’ portion that will tie into the ‘River pirates’ section. Not the least of these is Mike Fink himself who plays a prominent role throughout.
- Everything about this movie is just past the line of reality into make-believe. Not surprising, really. It’s a ‘prequel’ of sorts, telling the tales of two Davy Crockett ‘legends’. With every prominent character we meet, including Davy and George E., their personalities are just a little bit extra. Mike Fink (when we first meet him) is big, loud, boisterous, the classic bully who then becomes a friend. George E. is much more the comic relief and Davy is even more modest and tough than ever before.
- Mike Fink was so great to watch! He has this awesome transformation with how he treats Davy and George E. before they become friends and after. He still generally acts the same throughout the film, I mean his personality didn’t really change, but his interactions with Davy and George E. did change. They had earned his respect after the Keelboat race and it was so amazing seeing how that altered their relationship. He seemed more level-headed when he was talking to them, rather than just bellowing at his crew or at anyone.
- So this next thing is one of my biggest facepalm moments from this project. There’s a character, introduced in the ‘River Pirates’ half of the film, that “calls himself Colonel Plug” and after finding out about the ‘Spanish gold’ that Davy and Company are carrying, he asks for a ride to Shawnee Town where they’re headed. When I first watched the film, I didn’t really think about his name. Nor when I watched it the first time for the DFP. It wasn’t until my last viewing of the film for the DFP that I got it. You guys, his name is what he does for the river pirates. He drills holes into the ‘victim’ boats and plugs the hole with special plugs that have strings attached to be pulled out later. I will not lie, my jaw dropped and I just stared at the screen trying to wrap my head around how clever and simple that name is. Up until Davy, George E. and Mike Fink (and crew), there had been no survivors of the river pirates so NO ONE had ever realized about Colonel Plug’s involvement.
- In a side note, the river pirates’ plan? Actually really well thought out. This wasn’t just some thrown-together fist fight for treasure, it’s this intricate, detailed plan with scapegoats (the real Indians), an invitation (pretending their hideout is a tavern with girls and drinks), the messenger (Colonel Plug with his banjo singing about what the victims carry like ‘yeller gold’) and a backup plan (the powder canoe ready to drift towards and blow up the boats). Other than dressing up as and blaming the Indians (though story-wise, I get why it was done), I love it.
What may or may not work
- I love Davy, I do, but he just didn’t quite seem himself in this film. This may just be me, but usually, a character (real or otherwise) might act more outgoing, more exuberant when they’re younger, before maturing in their later years. But Davy seems to have done the opposite. He’s a bit more mature/reserved in this than he was in King of the Wild Frontier. He was still enjoyable to watch (because he’s Davy Crockett) but I just didn’t get quite the same vibe from him that I got while watching the earlier film.
Honorable Mentions
- Mike Fink’s ‘King of the River’ song is one of the catchiest new-to-me songs I’ve heard yet, especially when Mike Fink sings it himself. Also, he does this adorable little dance step while his crew sings part of the song. Gosh darn precious.
- Colonel Plug’s song ‘Yeller Gold’ is also a contender but more so for the chorus portion sung by the Wellingtons (aka the ones who sing the Davy Crockett theme song)k
- So Mike and Davy do a trick-shot shoot off, with each trying to outdo the other. Davy cheats (totally missed the ‘how’ the first view through) and “catches” the bullet in his mouth. It took me a few rewinds to figure out where the real bullet disappeared to. (Hint: Watch George E.)
Side Questions
- How big are these keelboats (actual measurements) because they look a lot bigger on the inside than they do on the outside?
What I learned from watching this film
- What I really liked about this was that it was a continuation of Davy Crockett’s story without actually being a continuation. I hate for a story to end as much as the next person (unless it’s really scary, then I’m good) but continuing a finished story is always a risk. Davy Crockett doesn’t survive the battle of the Alamo that was featured in the previous film, so rather than look to the future, we look to the past…by taking a sideways path. Here’s a folk hero, a man with some tall, tall tales told about him. The sky is the limit! It allows the story to be fun, to tell about some pretty crazy adventures and to meet (possibly) unbelievable characters without the full painstaking practice of sticking to the original story. Yes, the real-life characters need to remain similar to their actual selves, but even they can get a slight upgrade because it’s a tall tale. Exaggeration is key, yes?
If you’ve seen Davy Crockett and the River Pirates, what are some of your thoughts? Share in the comments below!
Rewind to the beginning of the Disney Film Project
Skip back to the previous film with The Great Locomotive Chase
Fast Forward to the next film with Secrets of Life
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