It's 1956 and Fess Parker's acting career is at its peak, fresh after playing the lead role of Disney's surprise hit, "Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier." In 1956 kids like myself were literally begging their parents to buy them a fake but serviceable "Davy Crockett raccoon skin hat complete with a tail at the back!" Along with the cap, if you also owned a "Red Ryder BB Gun" (I didn't) you had achieved the kids' holy grail of popular 50s Western TV and film.
In Westward Ho! The Wagons (an odd title for sure) Walt Disney tosses Cowboys, Indians, and Fess Parker into an appetizing mix. But does this recipe work or is this just another film we hoped would be better?
I think it works. It's simple and the going is slow-paced as we watch John Doc Grayson lead a wagon train of families to the Oregon territory in the year, 1846. Good and bad Native Americans appear, there are songs to be sung, certain conflicts arise, and essentially, we are offered a 90 minute glimpse of what life must have been like for the hopeful White Settlers and the Native Americans (who were already quite happy and settled) in the Good Old West. It's a simple plot with little excess fat.
Five years after its film debut, Westward Ho! The Wagons was shown in two parts on The Disneyland TV show. Walt probably had it planned this way - he wasn't fond of "accidental marketing."
This 1956 film has a few tense and politically uncomfortable moments, specifically the portrayals of Native Americans. But to Walt's credit, several Native Americans were cast in the film and Disney consciously made an effort to emphasize the native customs.
Like many Disney feature films, this movie resides in its own category, and it would be unfair (as some reviewers have done) to criticize it because of its political incorrectness. This is classic Disney, a film that parents can confidently watch with their children without having to keep a finger on the "mute" button for fear of unsavory dialogue. Enjoy this movie for what it is, and not for what it could have been. It plays as well in 2021 as it did in 1956.
In Westward Ho! The Wagons (an odd title for sure) Walt Disney tosses Cowboys, Indians, and Fess Parker into an appetizing mix. But does this recipe work or is this just another film we hoped would be better?
I think it works. It's simple and the going is slow-paced as we watch John Doc Grayson lead a wagon train of families to the Oregon territory in the year, 1846. Good and bad Native Americans appear, there are songs to be sung, certain conflicts arise, and essentially, we are offered a 90 minute glimpse of what life must have been like for the hopeful White Settlers and the Native Americans (who were already quite happy and settled) in the Good Old West. It's a simple plot with little excess fat.
Five years after its film debut, Westward Ho! The Wagons was shown in two parts on The Disneyland TV show. Walt probably had it planned this way - he wasn't fond of "accidental marketing."
This 1956 film has a few tense and politically uncomfortable moments, specifically the portrayals of Native Americans. But to Walt's credit, several Native Americans were cast in the film and Disney consciously made an effort to emphasize the native customs.
Like many Disney feature films, this movie resides in its own category, and it would be unfair (as some reviewers have done) to criticize it because of its political incorrectness. This is classic Disney, a film that parents can confidently watch with their children without having to keep a finger on the "mute" button for fear of unsavory dialogue. Enjoy this movie for what it is, and not for what it could have been. It plays as well in 2021 as it did in 1956.