Next up were two more shorts about the war effort at home. “Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Firing Line” starred Minnie Mouse and Pluto explaining why it was important to save and recycle fats, like bacon grease. “Food Will Win the War” trumpeted the American farmers of the time and presented funny visual comparisons of their production. The Three Little Pigs made an appearance.
Jumping ahead four decades to 1982, “Fun with Mr. Future” was a piece that may have been created to entertain people waiting in line at Epcot Center. The animation, which looked different from the typical Disney house style, presented the oft-covered cartoon subject of what life will be like in the future. The robotic narrator was a skinless animatronic head of Lincoln.
Out that same year and familiar to Tim Burton fans, “Vincent” was his stop-motion tribute to legendary actor Vincent Price, who narrated the piece. The exaggerated gothic look and themes are trademark Burton. The short provided a segue to a mention that Burton was working on Alice in Wonderland and Hahn was producing a feature-length version of another Burton short, “Frankenweenie.”
The Rarities program then jumped to the near present with last year’s “Glago’s Guest,” by Bolt director Chris Williams. Done with computer graphics, the short about a Russian soldier encountering alien life looked amazing and made great use of the theater's speaker system. The audience was told that a surprise was in store to conclude the night, but it only turned out to be a new trailer for Disney/Pixar’s Up, which was extremely disappointing.
Although the shorts were not as entertaining as the previous year's, and quite a few are available on DVD, the program still made for a fun evening. Seeing them on a large movie screen and learning about them was a rare treat.
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