Being online is so hot right now (please imagine that I sound like I’m in Zoolander), which is why I spotted this retweeted into my Twitter timeline yesterday.
I don’t post this here to disagree. Greg is right. If you go to Disney+, it’s not at the top of the home page along with other major titles. It’s not in the New to Disney+ section either (and I knew before reading Greg’s tweet, because I checked it out for myself on Friday morning).
My initial reaction to this tweet was, “Hey, listen, I’m just glad The Straight Story is even available.” And I am! I’m also not entirely shocked that a low-budget G-rated drama directed by David Lynch isn’t in the rotator space on the home page along with Onward, Frozen II, and The Simpsons. I get that. But its absence from the New to Disney+ section is a bit baffling, if only because it…well, it is new. Now, the movie is there if you look for it, by searching, finding that 90s Throwbacks section (and I’m not entirely sure I would call this movie a throwback, but whatever), or going through the Disney Through the Decades collection.
It’s unfortunate that you have to go on the hunt for any number of titles perceived to be lesser or not famous on Disney+. But such is life. Don’t just stay on the home page. Go on the hunt.
Your Recommendation for Today
Speaking of going on the hunt, and searching for something that’s new to Disney+, let me help you out with today’s recommendation. The 1978 short The Small One is well worth your time, either if you’re an animation fanatic, a completist, or just a big fan of Don Bluth. Because this 25-minute short serves as Bluth’s directing debut at Disney, and really the only thing he made before leaving the studio a year later during an infamous walkout.
The Small One premiered during a re-release of Pinocchio, and is a more notably religious-themed story from a studio that has largely eschewed anything directly preachy. It’s the story of a little boy (who wants to be a big boy) and his donkey, lovingly called the Small One in spite of not being a very useful nag. In short, this is the shaggy-dog/donkey story of how Joseph gets the donkey that will prove useful in the story of the baby Jesus that many people are familiar with.
I will here freely admit to not being a big fan of Don Bluth’s work. The year before The Small One premiered, The Rescuers was released in theaters and has all the markings of a Bluth film, if you ask me. It’s got a darker, grimmer atmosphere, an unpleasant core story, unremarkable voice acting, and more. The film was arguably a balance between older animators and the new generation, but Bluth’s voice feels quite strong in that one. It’s got the same kind of nasty mood that I find permeates most of his features.
Mercifully, the same cannot be said for The Small One. It’s a slight story, as the title and length would imply, but not lacking in charm, decent character animation, and a bit of wit. Bluth’s presence would have marked a much different 1980s for Disney if he hadn’t felt the working environment was so stifling. As it is, he represented the first major competition to Disney as their Renaissance began. The Small One, at least, shows a lot of promise for the filmmaker.