It's Tough to Be a Bird

Ward Kimball was truly a one of a kind artist. His sensibility, on the surface, looked at odds with the Disney sensibility. Yet, Walt really valued him throughout the course of their lives. Kimball contributed a sense if comic flair and wackiness that no one else did. And it really came out after Disney's death.

Kimball had directed Disney cartoons before and they were highly successful, despite Disney himself not being a fan of the aesthetics. This title, similar to the educational featurettes that were put out earlier in the decade blends satire and irreverent humor. The animation looks like a mesh between the Sesame Street characters and Monty Python (both shows coincidentally premiered the same year). All these elements combined feel like a film produced by a studio other than Disney. The template is still there though. And at the same time, Kimball honors his Disney roots by juxtaposing a few clips from some classic Disney cartoons, with birds, with the absurdism.

Not suprisingly, few Disney executives and veterans were not crazy about this film, but the critics praised it and it won an Oscar. Despite the success, this film has fallen into obscurity, never having seen an official media release of any kind. Perhaps the Disney execs are still put off by it? Or perhaps it's too much a product of the late 60s?

A highly unusual Disney film, but one of Kimball's greatest achievements.