Sunday 18 January 2009

Richard & Duane's Canadian Childhood DVD's Part 5


















CHAPTER 5


1. Cinderella (1950): Cinderella is the much-loved only child of a widowed aristocrat. After deciding that his beloved daughter needs a mother's care, Cinderella's father marries a proud and haughty woman named Lady Tremaine. She too has been married before, and has two daughters by her first marriage, Anastasia and Drizella, who are just Cinderella's age. Plain and socially awkward, these "Ugly Stepsisters" are bitterly envious of the beautiful and charming Cinderella.
The family lives in happiness for several years, until the untimely death of Cinderella's father. After that, Lady Tremaine's true nature is revealed, and she and her spiteful daughters take over the estate, and begin to abuse and maltreat Cinderella, envious of her beauty. She is forced into housekeeping responsibilities and made to wait upon her jealous stepsisters like a maid. As Cinderella blossoms into a beautiful young woman who is kind despite her hardships, she befriends the animals living in the barn, including Bruno the Bloodhound, Major the horse, and many of the mice and birds who live in and around the chateau. Cinderella finds a mouse inside a trap, releases him, and names him Octavius, "Gus" for short. She is also friends with a mouse named Jacques ("Jaq" for short), the leader of a mouse-pack.
At the royal palace, the King is angry that his son does not intend to marry. The King is determined to see grandchildren, so he and the Duke organize a ball for the Prince in an effort to cause his son to fall in love and marry, with every eligible maiden in the kingdom ordered to attend.
When the invitation to the ball arrives, Cinderella asks her stepmother if she can attend. Her stepmother tells her she may go to the ball, if she finishes her work and can find a suitable gown. To consume her time, her stepmother sets Cinderella with a mountain of chores. Her mouse friends Jaq and Gus use Cinderella's stepsister's discarded sash and beads to fix an old gown that belonged to Cinderella's mother. When Cinderella wears her dress before the ball, Lady Tremaine points out her daughters' beads and sash, and the jealous sisters physically assault her, tearing the gown to shreds, leaving Cinderella to run to the back of the garden in tears while her stepfamily attends the royal ball without her.
Cinderella's Fairy Godmother appears to her in the garden, and transforms her appearance for the ball. She transforms the mice into horses, Bruno the dog into a footman, Major the horse into a coachman, a pumpkin into the carriage, and transforms her torn dress into a beautiful blue dress with glass slippers. Cinderella departs for the ball after the godmother warns her that the spell will expire at the stroke of midnight.
At the ball, the Prince rejects every girl, until he sees Cinderella, with whom he is immediately smitten. The two dance throughout the castle grounds until the clock starts to chime midnight. Cinderella flees to her coach and away from the castle, accidentally dropping one of her glass slippers. After the Duke tells the King of the disaster, they plan to find Cinderella with the slipper they found during her escape.
The next morning, a royal proclamation is issued, stating the Grand Duke will visit every house in the kingdom to find the girl who fits the glass slipper, so that she can be married to the Prince. When this news reaches Cinderella's household, her stepmother and stepsisters begin hurriedly preparing for the Grand Duke's arrival. Cinderella, overhearing, begins dreamily humming the song from the palace ball the previous night. Realizing Cinderella was the girl who danced with the Prince, her stepmother follows Cinderella up to her attic bedroom and locks her inside.
When the Grand Duke arrives, the mice steal the key to Cinderella's room from Lady Tremaine's pocket and laboriously drag the key up the stairs to her room, only barely managing to free her after a fight with the Stepmother's cat Lucifer, in which Bruno comes to their rescue and scares the evil cat out of the house. Meanwhile, Anastasia tries on the slipper, but her foot is too big. Drizella tries on the slipper, and finds her foot is also too large. As the Duke prepares to leave, Cinderella appears at the top of the stairs, asking to try on the slipper. Knowing that the slipper will fit and that Cinderella will marry the Prince, her stepmother insists she's just a servant girl. The Grand Duke sharply reminds her that every maiden is to try on the slipper. As the footman bring the slipper to Cinderella, her stepmother trips him, causing the slipper to drop and shatter on the floor. Cinderella then reveals she has the other glass slipper. Delighted at this indisputable proof of the maiden's identity, the Duke slides the slipper onto her foot, which fits perfectly.
At the wedding, Cinderella and the Prince descend the church's staircase, surrounded by confetti tossed by the King and the Grand Duke. Cinderella loses a slipper and retrieves it with the aid of the King. As the film ends on a scene of the two newly-weds kissing, the narrator concludes "...and they lived happily ever after".

2. Alice in Wonderland (1951): On the bank of a tranquil river, Alice grows bored listening to her sister read aloud from a history book. Alice sees a White Rabbit wearing a waistcoat and carrying a large pocket watch. She follows him and tumbles down a rabbit hole and her skirt around her dress billows out like a parachute . At the bottom, she follows the Rabbit into a large chamber but he escapes through a tiny door. The Doorknob suggests Alice drink from a bottle marked "Drink me." The contents shrink her to a tiny fraction of her original size. The Doorknob is now locked, but the key has appeared back on the table which she can no longer reach. The Doorknob directs her to a cookie marked "Eat me." The cookie makes her grow so large that her head hits the ceiling. She begins to cry; her massive tears flood the room. The Doorknob points out that the "Drink me" bottle still has some fluid left inside, so she finishes the last drop. She becomes so small that she drops inside the bottle. Both she and the bottle drift through the doorknob's keyhole mouth and out to a sea made from Alice's tears.
On shore, a Dodo leads a group of animals in a futile caucus-race to get dry. Alice meets Tweedledum and Tweedledee, two fat brothers who recite "The Walrus and the Carpenter". Alice sneaks away to the White Rabbit's house. The Rabbit orders Alice to fetch his gloves. Inside the house, Alice eats a cookie. She becomes so large that she gets stuck inside the house. The Dodo tries to help by sending Bill the Lizard down the chimney and then setting the house on fire. Alice eats a carrot from the garden and shrinks down to three inches high.
Alice chases after the Rabbit again, this time into a garden of tall flowers who consider her a weed and throw her out. She engages a hookah-smoking caterpillar who turns into a butterfly, though not before giving her cryptic advice about the mushroom she is sitting on. Alice breaks off two pieces and nibbles them alternately until finally restoring herself to her normal size.
Alice receives mysterious directions from the Cheshire Cat, an eerily grinning feline that can disappear and reappear at will, which lead her to the garden of the March Hare, who is celebrating his "unbirthday" with the Mad Hatter and the Dormouse. Alice grows tired of their rudeness and decides to go home, abandoning her pursuit of the White Rabbit. She is lost and despondent among the strange creatures of the Tulgey Wood until the Cheshire Cat reappears and shows her a short-cut out of the forest.
In the hedge maze garden, Alice meets some playing cards painting white roses red. The White Rabbit heralds the arrival of the bellicose Queen of Hearts, the diminutive King, and a card army. She invites Alice to a strange game of croquet using flamingos as mallets, hedgehogs as balls, and card soldiers as wickets. The Cheshire Cat plays a prank on the Queen, who blames Alice and orders her execution. The King suggests that Alice be put on trial instead. At the trial, Alice's nonsensical acquaintances are of no help to her. The Cheshire Cat appears and causes enough distraction to allow Alice to eat the remaining portions of mushroom, causing her to grow to gigantic proportions. At this size, Alice scolds the terrified Queen for her rash behavior, but then starts shrinking back to her normal size all too soon. At the Queen's command of "Off with her head!" all the crazy inhabitants of Wonderland give chase.
Coming back to the Doorknob, Alice is told by him that he is still locked, but that she is already on the other side. Looking through the keyhole, Alice sees herself asleep in the park. As the mob draws nearer, she calls, "Alice, wake up!" to her sleeping self until she gradually awakens from the dream to the sound of her sister's voice. The two of them return home for teatime while Alice muses on her adventures in Wonderland, realizing that perhaps logic and reason exist for a purpose.

3. Peter Pan (1953): In Edwardian London in the neighborhood of Bloomsbury, George and Mary Darling's preparations to attend a party are disrupted by the antics of the boys John and Michael, acting out a story about Peter Pan and the pirates, told to them by their older sister Wendy. The father angrily declares that Wendy has gotten too old to continue staying in the nursery with them, and it's time for her to grow up. That night they are visited in the nursery by a pixie named Tinker Bell and cocky Peter Pan, who teaches them to fly and takes them with him to the island of Never Land.
A ship of pirates is anchored off Never Land, commanded by Captain Hook with his sidekick Mr Smee. Hook boldly plots to take revenge upon Peter Pan for cutting off his hand, but he trembles when the crocodile that ate it arrives; it now stalks him hoping to taste more. The crew's restlessness is interrupted by the arrival of Peter and the Darlings. The children easily evade them, and despite a trick by jealous Tinker Bell to have Wendy killed, they meet up with the Lost Boys, six lads in animal-costume pajamas who look to Peter as their leader. John and Michael set off with the Lost Boys to find the island's Indians, who instead capture them, believing them responsible for taking the chief's daughter Tiger Lily.
Meanwhile, Peter takes Wendy to see the mermaids, where they see that Hook and Smee have captured Tiger Lily, to coerce her into revealing Peter's hideout. Peter and Wendy free her, and Peter is honored by the tribe. Hook then plots to take advantage of Tink's jealousy of Wendy, tricking her into revealing the location of Peter's lair. The pirates lie in wait and capture the Lost Boys and the Darlings as they exit, leaving behind a time bomb to kill Peter. Tinker Bell learns of the plot just in time to snatch the bomb from Peter as it explodes.
Peter rescues Tink from the rubble and together they confront the pirates, releasing the children before they can be forced to walk the plank. Peter engages Hook in single combat as the children fight off the crew, and finally succeeds in humiliating the captain. Hook and his crew flee, with the crocodile in hot pursuit. Peter gallantly commandeers the deserted ship, and with the aid of Tinker Bell's pixie dust, flies it to London with the children aboard.
Mr and Mrs Darling return home from the party to find Wendy not in her bed, but sleeping at the open window; John and Michael are asleep in their beds. Wendy wakes and excitedly tells about their adventures. The parents look out the window and see what appears to be a pirate ship in the clouds. Mr Darling, who has softened his position about Wendy staying in the nursery, recognizes it from his own childhood, as it breaks up into clouds itself.

4. Lady and the Tramp (1955): One Christmas, Jim Dear gives his wife Darling a cocker spaniel puppy that they name Lady. Though initially determined that Lady would sleep in a basket in the kitchen like a proper "dog," she ends up sleeping on the bed with the couple. When she is six months old, she receives a collar and license. Lady goes to show off her badge of "faith and respectability" to her canine friends Jock, a Scottish terrier and Trusty, a Bloodhound. Across town, a stray mutt, referred to as the Tramp by other characters, visits an Italian restaurant where he gets a large bone from the owner for his breakfast. He also spots his fellow strays Peg (a former Dog and Pony Showdog) Pekingese and Bull a Bulldog, locked up in a dog catcher's van and sets them free, leading the dogcatcher away in a decoy chase.
Later, Lady is saddened after Jim Dear refers to her as "THAT Dog", and another occasion when Darling gently swats her for pulling on the yarn she was sewing with. When she tells Jock and Trusty about these events, and how Jim Dear is always asking about Darling's "condition" they explain to her that Darling is pregnant and going to have a baby. While her friends try to explain, the Tramp wanders into the yard. He tells her that they are nothing but trouble and warn her that when the baby comes she'll lose her comfortable place in their home. Jock and Trusty take a dislike to the stray and order him out of the yard, then try to reassure her that her humans would never be so cruel.
The baby boy arrives amidst much confusion. Curious, Lady creeps towards the nursery. Jim Dear spots her, but rather than ordering her away as she expected, he lets her in. Lady loves the baby as soon as she sees it, and assigns herself as its protector. Soon after the baby is born, Jim Dear and Darling decide to go on a trip together, leaving their Aunt Sarah to look after the baby and the house. She brings her two Siamese cats, Si and Am. While Aunt Sarah is looking at the baby, the two cats begin causing mischief. When they try to go upstairs to steal the baby's milk, Lady barks at them and chases them, and the cats wreck the room in the process of being chased. Aunt Sarah comes down at all the noise and the two cats pretend to be hurt.
Blaming Lady for the trouble, Aunt Sarah takes her to a pet shop and has her muzzled. Terrified, Lady escapes from her arms and runs out into the streets. A pack of vicious street dogs chase her, but Tramp hears the barking and rescues her. Seeing the muzzle, he takes her to the zoo where they convince a beaver to remove the muzzle. With Lady free from the muzzle, the two dogs go around town and Tramp tells her about his life, and all the "homes" and names he has.
At dinnertime he takes her to his favorite Italian place, Tony's, where Tony and Joe prepare the couple a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs and serenade the couple. As they eat, the dogs inadvertently share a kiss. After dinner, they go for a walk through the park, lending up on a hill overlooking the town. In the morning, Tramps asks Lady to stay with him, but she feels she must watch over the baby so he agrees to take her home. On the way, he convinces her to stop to chase some chickens, but while they are escaping, the dogcatcher catches Lady. At the pound, Lady is teased a bit by the rougher strays for being high bred, but Peg (who has been caught again), has them lay off. The other dogs admire Lady's license, as it is a "ticket to freedom" from the pound and later talk about Tramp's many girlfriends, and how he is unwilling to ever settle down. They also predict that if he ever does, he'll grow careless and likely be caught and put to sleep. The talk upsets Lady, but she is soon taken home. Aunt Sarah chains her to a doghouse in the back yard, much to her shame. Jock and Trusty visit to try to comfort her, and even propose marriage so she could move to one of their homes. Lady appreciates their gesture but gently turns them down.
Tramp tries to apologize for her being caught. When he calls her a "cute little trick" thunder starts to rumble as Lady furiously turns on him and questions him about all of his other girls. Refusing to see him, Tramp sadly leaves. Moments later, Lady sees a rat sneaking into the house. She barks frantically, but Aunt Sarah yells at her to be quiet. Tramp hears her and runs back to help. Following Lady's directions, he gets into the house and finds the rat in the baby's room and kills it. Lady, having broken her chain to follow him into the house, thanks him for his help. Aunt Sarah runs in, and seeing the overturned crib thinks Tramp attacked the baby. She pushes him into a closet and Lady into the basement then calls the pound to take Tramp away.
As the dogcatcher is taking him away, Jim Dear and Darling return home and Lady shows them the dead rat. Jock and Trusty, having overheard everything, chase after the dogcatcher van. Jock is convinced Trusty has long since lost his sense of smell, but the old bloodhound is able to find the wagon. They bark at the horses to make it stop, causing the wagon to fall. Jim Dear and Lady are not far behind and Lady is happily reunited with Tramp before they discover that the wagon fell on Trusty.
Christmas arrives and Tramp now has his own collar and license and has been adopted by Jim Dear and Darling. She and Tramp have a litter of four puppies: three girls who look like Lady and a boy who looks like Tramp. Jock and Trusty come to see the family and Tramp's new collar, with Trusty carefully walking on his injured leg.


By Richard Moody And Duane Ross

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