This is another one that’s new to me that I’ve been trying to track down for a very long time! Do ewe think it’ll shear me up? Or is this movie just plain baa-aaaaaaad? Well, don’t be sheepish- let’s find out!
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Walt Disney was famous for his nostalgic view of middle America that stemmed from his childhood in Marceline, Missouri. That idea heavily inspired Main Street U.S.A., but before that, it informed his early live-action efforts, Song of the South. In fact, in many respects, So Dear to My Heart is very similar to a less controversial version of that previous film. It even stars the same actors, Bobby Driscoll and Luanna Patten, though thankfully they’ve matured as actors. They’re joined by It’s a Wonderful Life’s Beulah Bondi and the incomparable Burl Ives.
Information on this film’s production is limited, so sadly this is going to be kind of short. It was based on a 1943 novel called Midnight and Jeremiah by Sterling North, which I sadly couldn’t find anywhere. Walt felt it was the perfect story to adapt, but apparently North himself disagreed because he changed the whole book in reissues to reflect the changes Walt made.
Walt intended for it to be his first fully live-action feature, but RKO refused to distribute anything by Disney that didn’t have animation in it. The animated sequences were shoehorned in last minute and…. yeah, you can tell. The intention was for the animation to represent young Jeremiah’s daydreams but mostly they just feel shoehorned in. They look great, but they slow the plot to a crawl and accomplish basically nothing.
It’s basically forgotten now, but So Dear To My Heart marked several important milestones for Disney and for film in general. First, it was the first live-action filmed on location, though they filmed in the sweltering heat of California instead of Indiana. It was the first live-action Disney film shown on television and the first film shown on the Disney Channel. Mostly, though, the only reason anyone remembers it is because of one song that everyone now thinks is from Cinderella.
Unfortunately, a film like this that relies so heavily on emotion is exceedingly difficult to market. As a result, the film did pretty poorly at the box office. It was, however, the first time since Bambi that a Disney film was praised by critics. Lavender Blue was nominated for Best Original Song, though it lost to Baby It’s Cold Outside from Neptune’s Daughter. The Academy also awarded Bobby Driscoll a special award for “outstanding juvenile actor of 1949”. Not too shabby when you think of how little-known it is!
STORY
Like many movies before and after, So Dear to My Heart begins with a book opening. In this case, it’s a scrapbook, lying forgotten in an attic. The protagonist’s older self reminisces about his idyllic life in the country via some lovely animated multiplane shots. The pretty multiplane shot transitions into a pretty live action shot. The narrator introduces us to the farm where he grew up and his town, Fulton Corners. We linger on each shot of the barn and the general store. That’s a kind of nice thing about this movie. It’s not in any hurry to get anywhere. It just kind of meanders. While that’s usually really frustrating, it works here to let us soak in the feel of nostalgia Walt tried so hard to bring across.
A train rattles into the station, and the whole town comes out to see what’s going on. Young Jeremiah Kincaid and his friend Tildy are at the front of the pack. Turns out the train car is carrying a famous racehorse called Dan Patch, and they’ve stopped to let the horse stretch its legs a little bit. The small town is honored, having never expected to see the greatest racehorse in the world in the flesh. Jeremiah’s older self tells us about all the pictures he has of this horse and how much he admires him.
The excitement builds when Jeremiah’s own Uncle Hiram is chosen to fix a loose nail in Dan Patch’s horseshoe for the low, low payment of… the nail. Personally, I think this is a rip-off but Hiram seems happy enough. Dan Patch’s handlers let Jeremiah give him an apple and pet him and Jeremiah decides then and there that he’ll own a horse like that when he grows up. Tildy and Uncle Hiram are doubtful that Jeremiah’s grandmother will let him, but his mind is made up.
However, Granny Kincaid is a single woman running a farm and raising a child all on her own. She has no time for Jeremiah’s silly daydreams. Jeremiah might be scrapbooking and dreaming and wondering why they can’t trade the mule for a mare that can bear a colt. She’s got wool to spin and crops to harvest, and the mule does good hard work. That’s more important and she’ll hear nothing more about it. So there goes that life goal.
Granny takes Jeremiah with her to go check on their pregnant ewe. And as it turns out, she’s had twin lambs! And they’re adorable and fuzzy and I love them. Mama Sheep, however, only loves one of them. The other one is black, so she goes crazy any time he tries to get near. Granny isn’t thrilled about having a black sheep in the family either. Why? Because she doesn’t like black wool. Not because there’s no market for it because there totally was. Because she personally doesn’t like it. What is your damage, lady? Jeremiah pleads with her not to just let the cute little lamb die, but she just replies that it’s best to just let God do what He wants with it.
I absolutely hate that excuse and so does Jeremiah, so he sneaks the black lamb into the cottage. Granny catches him like thirty seconds later with the sheep wrapped in her best dishtowel. Granny argues that they don’t have money for a pet that doesn’t earn his keep, and that he just looks wicked because he’s black (that’s racist!). Eventually, though Jeremiah and the little sheep’s sweet little face and waggly little tail wear her down. When Jeremiah asks if he can keep him, she answers with “we’ll see”. So that’s something.
Jeremiah decides that if they can’t afford an animal that doesn’t earn them money, he’ll just have to find a way for the black lamb to make money. He takes all the pictures of Dan Patch the champion horse out of his scrapbook, replacing them with pictures of champion black sheep. He names the sheep Danny after the racehorse and begins daydreaming about making him a winner.
Or, at least, that’s why Walt wants us to believe the pictures in the scrapbook are suddenly coming to life. Mostly, it just feels like an excuse to have animation for the sake of it. An owl flies off a sticker in Jeremiah’s scrapbook and starts lecturing Danny that it doesn’t matter that he’s a sheep. It’s what he does that really counts. It’s a great lesson with one major issue: this isn’t Danny’s story. The sheep is not the one who needs to learn the lesson. But at least animated Danny is cute.
Calendar pages flick by, and we transition back to live action. Danny is running wild on the farm, breaking things and causing trouble much to Granny’s irritation. Jeremiah insists he’ll get better but it hasn’t escaped Granny’s notice that he’s been neglecting his chores since the lamb came along. He says he’ll do them, but the exact second she turns her back, he stops chopping wood to snuggle Danny.
He makes up his mind that he’s going to build Danny a proper pen and just… wanders away from the wood he’s supposed to be chopping to go to the store. But he can’t step away from his new pet for five minutes so he puts a leash on the sheep and takes him along. Shockingly, Danny isn’t any better behaved in the store than he is at home and he goes crazy and smashes half the merchandise. Grundy, the shop owner, is livid and demands that Jeremiah replace his screen door.
Back home, Uncle Hiram helps Jeremiah build the new door while Jeremiah makes excuses and swears up and down that it wasn’t Danny’s fault he broke everything. Which, technically, it was Jeremiah’s fault for bringing an untrained animal to a general store. Uncle Hiram points out that Danny is kind of a menace and doesn’t buy his claim that he can do good things. He does, however, cheer up Jeremiah by pretending to be a county fair judge pronouncing Danny a champion. It’s a very sweet moment.
Okay, I’m going to say it. The scene transitions here are awful. There’s no indication of the passage of time. One thing ends. The next thing starts. It’s very choppy. So now we’re suddenly watching Jeremiah, Tildy, and Danny frolicking in a field. Tildy decides the best thing for a champion to eat is clover, because suddenly the nine year old is an expert in sheep nutrition. The subject of the fair comes up again, but Granny hasn’t told Jeremiah he can go. The train rattles down the tracks and terrifies Danny into a frenzy.
Uncle Hiram suddenly takes over the role of narrator to inform us of just how much trouble Danny’s causing. Granny is frustrated by Jeremiah’s insubordination and obsession with the sheep, but Hiram pacifies her by telling her Jeremiah has Danny under control. Just then, Danny races in and smashes a plow. And the chicken coop. And some laundry. And Granny’s loom. And another screen door. Yeah, the sheep is most definitely not under control. This is the last straw for Granny, who decides then and there she’s going to give him up for adoption. After all, she never said Jeremiah could keep him.
Suddenly, it’s night time and Jeremiah isn’t in bed. Granny goes out to search for him. Turns out, he’s asleep in the barn snuggling Danny. It’s actually kind of adorable and warms Granny’s heart enough that she gives Danny one more chance. She’s not really great at sticking to her guns. The next morning, Uncle Hiram helps the kids build a big pen for Danny to burn off energy in. He offers to sneak the Country Fair into the conversation for them to increase their chances of getting to go.
That night after dinner, everything is the picture of domesticity. Tildy and Jeremiah wash the dishes while Hiram plays his guitar and sings for everyone’s entertainment. It’s a long, slow moment in a movie full of long, slow moments, but there’s such a feeling of contentment and simplicity that I can’t even be mad about it. Hiram strums the Blue Danube Waltz and says it’s best known for merry-go-rounds. And merry-go-rounds are best known for being at country fairs.
Granny sees right through this and says no out of hand. Hiram tries to throw her off the scent by suggesting she enter her “kivers” into the fair, whatever that means. But she makes them for herself and no one else, so that’s that. Tildy whines that her mother already ordered a new dress for her to wear to the fair which begs the question… why don’t you go with your mother? How are you related to these people? Why do you need Granny’s permission? Granny’s only answer is not to put too much stock into anything a man says.
Hiram pretends to regret bringing it up, because old people should just sit around the fire… and Granny’s no spring chicken. She snaps back that she’ll “live to dance on [his] grave.” Them’s fightin’ words, so she rolls up the quilt on the floor. And it’s time for what every quaint slice of life needs. A dance off! It’s like they never argued, and everyone’s in a good mood. So Hiram tries bringing up the fair again.
Jeremiah immediately starts going on about how Danny just has to win the blue ribbon. Ever practical, Granny refuses yet again, saying the train and the fair itself will be too expensive. Hiram offers to help them out, but Granny refuses out of sheer stubborn pride which… come on, lady. Jeremiah offers to pay with thoughts and prayers but that’s utterly useless… and also Granny says you can only pray for things of the spirit. Whatever that means. I’m not religious, can you tell?
To make himself feel better, Jeremiah looks through his big book of platitudes. This launches us into our second screeching halt- I mean, animated section. The only difference between this pointless interlude and the last one are that instead of illustrating the lesson in perseverance with Biblical figures, the wise old owl uses historical references. The first is Christopher Columbus, who time has revealed to be an absolutely despicable human and not someone to look up to for any reason. Also he never actually found his trade route to the West Indies and just kind of hit land and gave up. The other is Robert (the) Bruce, who’s a really random and obscure figure. His verse does include a spider in a kilt doing the Highland Fling for some reason so that’s cool.
The last chorus of the song fades out as Jeremiah walks down the train tracks to the General Store. He sells Grundy sassafras to raise money for the fair but it’s not quite enough. By crazy random happenstance, a little girl comes in asking for some wild honey, but the store only has tame honey. Grundy offers Jeremiah ten cents a pound if he can find the wild honey, more to get him out of his hair than anything. Another store owner points out that this is kind of a fool’s errand, but Grundy has no problem wasting the kid’s time or sending him into the swamp to annoy bees. Jerk.
Off Tildy and Jeremiah go into the swamp, which I’m pretty sure is how you get eaten. Tildy is terrified but Jeremiah insists she’s just being a silly girl even though there are deer bones and weird diurnal owls in this swamp. Wolves howl in the distance, which Tildy thinks might be wild dogs that have been killing sheep in the neighborhood. He brushes her off again and again, despite Tildy pointing out that adults often take years to find bee trees. Finally, Jeremiah agrees to turn back. When they do, though, they find a bird that eats bees sitting on a branch. And what do you know? It’s a bee tree!
Hiram shows up out of nowhere with a wagon to bring two pounds of honey back to the General Store. Grundy is flabbergasted, but to his credit he keeps his promise and pays Jeremiah $22. For some reason, people are still making fun of Jeremiah, though the kid zings out pretty great comebacks. A bully goes to hit Jeremiah, who retaliates by shoving him right into the honey. And that’s the end of that.
Back in the field, Jeremiah tries to show Granny his money but she doesn’t care. Tildy’s missing! She tried to feed Danny, the rascally little sheep escaped again, she ran after him, and now they’re both lost. It’s a good thing she comes running up safe and sound because Jeremiah only cares that his sheep is missing. He runs out after Danny while Granny and Hiram take Tildy in to get warmed up. No one bothers to stop him or look for him.
Hours later, a vicious storm has kicked up and Jeremiah still isn’t home. Only now is Granny actually worried. She finds him in the woods screaming for Danny and afraid wild dogs have eaten him. She finally gets him to come home, but he doesn’t eat anything or even say his prayers despite her reassurances that he’s okay. I mean, her idea of reassurance is that only God can help Danny which is absolutely terrible advice. Jeremiah agrees with me and cries that God just can’t take his sheep.
I’m Team Jeremiah all the way but Granny is horrified. God can do whatever he wants and how dare Jeremiah think otherwise? He’s moving away from his Christian upbringing and focusing all his energies on worldly things like blue ribbons. And that’s just the worst thing in the world. Okay, I’m projecting a little bit. But this scene’s a little uncomfortably preachy and I’m not cool with it. I do agree with the lesson that blaming God for your problems is not okay but not for quite the same reasons. But this is not a theology blog nor is it an atheism blog so let’s just move on.
The next morning, the weather has improved, so Jeremiah heads out in search of Danny again. Hiram searches for both of them, but Granny does not care no matter how long he’s gone. And… come on, lady, I know you’re disappointed in him but your nine-year-old grandson has been missing since early morning and you’re not the least bit concerned? At least Tildy’s happy when she finally finds him. He even has Danny in his arms, safe and sound! The kids run off to clean off the sheep while Granny gives them the cold shoulder.
I am then treated to the sound of Luanna Patten fake crying because they’re no longer going to the fair. Curious as to what could have brought on this sudden change, Granny goes into the barn to talk to Jeremiah. Turns out Jeremiah promised God he wouldn’t go if Danny came back safely. Touched, Granny lies and says she promised if Danny was okay, they would go to the fair, and her promise carries more weight because she’s older and what she says goes. They hug and all fences are mended and best of all, we’re going to the fair!
Our last piece of animation is even more utterly pointless than the last bunch. Basically, the owl’s just really excited for the county fair. Did I mention the transitions here are terrible? Because we’re back to live action that quickly. Excitement is in the air and everyone’s in their Sunday best- we finally made it to the fair! Tildy pops in weighed down with all the toys Uncle Hiram won for her and pops right back out. But then it’s down to business for the sheep competition.
Granny reminds Jeremiah that there will only be one champion sheep, so he can’t take it too hard. The judges examine each of the white sheep and ask about their pedigrees. But oh no! Jeremiah doesn’t know Danny’s parentage because Danny’s just a regular old farm sheep! So that’s a disadvantage. Another disadvantage is Danny freaking out again, running wild, and headbutting a judge. Most of the time this would be an automatic disqualification.
True to form, Danny doesn’t win the blue ribbon. Probably because he headbutted the judge and is a little troublemaker. But this is a Disney movie, so the judge is more impressed by Danny’s strength than anything else. He compliments Danny’s black wool and says he’s unique because he’s black, and decides he’s a champion because… reasons. And for the first time in four years, he awards Jeremiah a special award of merit. Even though he really didn’t do anything. The end of this movie is baffling.
We end as we begin, with a train rolling into Fulton Corners and a man announcing that they have a champion on board. Except this time the man is Uncle Hiram, and the champion is an unruly little black sheep. Jeremiah is the town hero, and no one thinks of Danny as a menace anymore. Even Old Man Grundy invites Danny and the rest of the town into his store to celebrate their participation award. The End!
The movie as a whole is sweet and simple. I usually don’t like movies like this that have so little conflict, but this one is just bubbling over with emotion that it’s hard to dislike it. I do think it’s flawed, because the ending makes no sense and the animation is obviously shoehorned in. And as previously mentioned, the religious teachings skeeve me out a little bit. But Walt put a great deal of love into this movie, and it shines through.
CHARACTERS
Jeremiah Kincaid is another Bobby Driscoll character. He comes off much the same as Johnny from Song of the South, if older and slightly more mature. I say slightly because he falls in love with this lamb and suddenly his entire life revolves around him. He’s obsessive and kind of selfish about it, but it’s a childish selfishness you can’t really be mad about. He’s also revealed to be kind of a dreamer but to his credit he takes steps to make his dreams come true. And isn’t that what Disney is all about?
Granny Kincaid is a strict, no-nonsense woman who is practical in every sense of the word. If something isn’t serving a purpose, it doesn’t need to exist. However, she’s kind of wishy-washy, easily coerced into backing down when her grandson bats his eyes. It’s frustrating, because that’s not how her character is established, but it just keeps happening. I’m also a little ehhh on her because her insistence on sitting back and letting God do whatever he wants rubs me the wrong way. Beulah Bondi’s performance is excellent, though, I will say that.
Tildy is Jeremiah’s… friend? Cousin? It’s never actually explained. She has her own family but is for some reason always with Uncle Hiram. He’s not her dad, either- she explicitly calls him Uncle a few times. Her role in the story is mostly to let Jeremiah have a playmate and she doesn’t do much else. I’ve seen whole blog posts that don’t even mention her as part of the plot. It’s nice to see Luanna Patten slowly improving as an actress, though. She’s much better here than… well, any of the other times we’ve seen her.
Uncle Hiram is a sweetheart. This was Burl Ives’ first film role, and he filled it with so much warmth and sweetness that he instantly became a star. He’s very much a child at heart, always on the kids’ side and there to help no matter what craziness they get into. The one thing I don’t like is that he suddenly becomes the narrator and sings little ditties about what’s going on. It takes away from the idea that an older Jeremiah is reminiscing on his time with his sheep. But as the embodiment of that joy Walt gets when looking back on this life? Hiram is fantastic.
Sidenote: I mainly know Burl Ives’ voice from Christmas songs like Holly Jolly Christmas. This is not at all what I expected him to look like and it is weird.
Danny is the mischievous little sheep Jeremiah rescues. He’s more plot device than character, since he’s really just an animal. Still, the animated segments focus on imparting wisdom to this nonsapient creature for some reason. It doesn’t gel very well. Still, even though he wreaks havoc on the farm and is a little fuzzy terror, he’s very cute!
ARTISTRY
To add to the heavy themes of nostalgia, most of the movie is filmed in warm sepia tones. Everything’s in soft focus, which either means the version I watched is wonky or they were trying to give the visuals a dreamy sort of quality. I’m going to pretend it’s the latter. It helps the movie a lot.
The animation is also worth mentioning. The segments may be pointless and out of place, but they are gorgeous. The Stick-to-It-Tivity number in particular could stand on its own with Bambi or Snow White in terms of quality. Historical inaccuracy aside, the part where Columbus randomly fights a dragon is a phenomenal piece of work. There’s also some neat use of balloons and clouds to drum up excitement in the County Fair number. It’s visually striking, which makes up for how much these sequences detract from the story.
MUSIC
So Dear To My Heart is our credit song. John Beal sings in a slow, relaxed croon that’s very of its time. Yet I kinda like it. It reminds me of Elvis, a little. It’s meant to set the wistful, dreamy tone of the rest of the film and it certainly succeeds.
It’s Whatcha Do With Whatcha Got is the first appearance of Ken Carson as the animated Wise Old Owl. I’ve made my opinions on the animated parts clear, yet as a stand-alone song, it’s not bad. There’s a great little message here, and even the generic Disney chorus seems to be having fun.
The Black Lamb/Old Dan Patch/The Honey Song/Jerry’s Lamb are Uncle Hiram’s narration songs, and I’m lumping them together because they’re all the same song with the same tune as the traditional Old Dan Tucker. I’m totally baffled as to why they’re there when adult Jeremiah is established as our narrator. The Black Sheep in particular has some disturbing lyrics about cooking Danny for misbehaving! I do like The Honey Song, though. As random as it is, Burl Ives infuses it with so much energy it’s hard not to smile.
Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly) is the only thing anyone remembers about this movie, largely because of Burl Ives’ heartfelt performance (again). It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song, but lost to Baby It’s Cold Outside from Neptune’s Daughter. Honestly, I think it was robbed. When you ignore the fact that it has no context whatsoever, it’s a gorgeous song. It’s a sweet, simple little love ballad with no frills at all, just Ives’ guitar and his magnificent voice.
Billy Boy, which immediately follows it, isn’t nearly as good. It’s just as quaint and folksy as Lavender Blue (fitting, since it’s a real folk song), but the lyrics skeeve me out. It’s about a man seeking a wife and finding a girl who “cannot leave her mother”. Which… yikes. Maybe I’m reading too far into it. I don’t know.
Stick-To-It-Ivity would be a much better song if it wasn’t the exact same song as It’s Whatcha Do With Whatcha Got. It’s got a great message too, it’s just really redundant in the context of the film. And using Christopher Columbus as a figure to be admired really rubs me the wrong way. They do get points for the spider, though. The spider’s rad.
Ho-Dee-I Ho-Dee-Ay At the County Fair is easily the best of the three animated songs. It’s full of childish exuberance and some really great visuals. It’s also really a satisfying celebration of an accomplished goal. There is one line that made me raise my eyebrows a little bit: “they’ll be gettin’ their best gals for pettin’ in the Tunnel of Love”. Very risqué for 40’s Disney!
THEME PARK INFLUENCE
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For such an obscure movie, this film has had a massive impact on the Disney Parks. Namely, inspiring their creation in the first place. Around the same time So Dear to My Heart was in production, Walt had the idea for a traveling display of models he’d made, one of which was a 1/8 scale replica of Granny Kincaid’s cabin. The attention to detail was remarkable, with a chimney made out of pebbles, a tiny Bible, and even a cat with real whiskers. The model can be seen on display at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in the Walt Disney Presents exhibit.The traveling exhibit idea never came to be, but the idea of letting people experience his stories in three dimensions evolved into Disneyland.
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Speaking of Disneyland, Walt wanted the train station set for Frontierland Station on the Disneyland Railroad. Unfortunately for him, animator Ward Kimball had already bought it and had put a lot of time and effort into reassembling it on his property. So, Walt had a replica built for the park. Even though Frontierland Station is now New Orleans Square station, the replica can still be seen on the far side of the tracks. The real thing lives on John Lasseter’s vineyard.
Our last appearance of So Dear to My Heart is a much more modern one. In 2015, Tokyo Disneyland kicked off a Chinese New Year celebration. Throughout the Year of the Lamb, guests could purchase little “Dear Danny” plushes and decorate them with wreaths and ribbons. A statue of Danny’s animated form still stands in Westernland. Not quite as massive as inspiring the entire theme park industry, but still fun!
FINAL THOUGHTS
So Dear to My Heart isn’t the most exciting movie, but it’s not trying to be. It’s just a nice little slice of life, focused on characters instead of any kind of internal conflict. It’s not without its flaws. The animated segments are pretty distracting, it suffers from lack of focus, and the songs aren’t very memorable except for one. But it’s a sweet, simple little movie that I’m glad I finally got to watch!
Favorite scene: The dance off. I was joking when I wrote in my notes, “DANCE OFF! DANCE OFF!” but it happened and it brought me such joy.
Final rating: 5/10. Watching it felt warm and cozy and familiar even though I’d never seen it before. Also apparently “kivers” means “covers”, like the quilts Granny makes. The more you know.
Quick note before I go: I’ll be taking another hiatus next week. Kingdom Hearts 3 comes out on Tuesday and I’ve been waiting for this game for thirteen years. So, I’m taking a few days to sit back and play it! Also I still need to catch up on my reading. I just finished Wind in the Willows, but I’ve barely started The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. So once I get that done, I’ll get started on the research and write-up for our next film!
The Great Disney Movie Ride 