#Phil Harris

[animatejournal]

The Aristocats | Director: Wolfgang Reitherman Studio: Walt Disney | USA, 1970

[citizenscreen]

Phil Harris was born on June 24, 1904 #botd

[scarletafterglow]

[twisting-echo]

(Click on picture for better quality)

As Snow White wandered through the surrounding forest of the Kingdom of Corona, she sat on the grass by the shore near the bridge. The sun danced on the water, and birds sang merrily. Suddenly, she heard a cheerful voice singing in the distance.

The voice belonged to Baloo, a carefree and fun-loving bear. He appeared from behind a tree, his massive frame swaying rhythmically as he sang about his adventurous lifestyle.

“I like the cheech-a-cheech-chee-roni like they make at home. Or a healthy fish with the big backbone. I'm Baloo boppa-doo, dee-boppa-dooba, Baloo von Bruinwald, von Bruinwald, the 13th! I've got that wanderlust. Gotta walk the scene. Gotta kick up highway dust. Feel the grass that's green.” Baloo sang, brushing his hand over the tall grass. “Gotta strut them city streets, showin' off my éclat, yeah!” 

Spotting Snow White, His eyes widened, and he shook his head to make sure he wasn't imagining her. He continued to sing, now staring directly into her eyes. “Tellin’ my friends of the social elite. Or some cute cat I happen to meet. That I'm!” With confident swagger, Baloo danced his way over to her, his movements light and nimble for such a large bear. He noticed a tree branch full of flowers above Snow White and, with a playful grin, reached up and gave the branch a gentle shake. “Baloo boppa-doo, dee-boppa-dooba, Baloo von Bruinwald, von Bruinwald, the 13th!” He sang, as he sent a cascade of colorful flowers rained down, surrounding Snow White in a fragrant shower.

Snow White giggled as she brushed the flower petals from her shoulder, looking up at the tall gray bear before her. “Why, sir, your name seems to cover all of Corona.”

“Well, of course. I'm the only cat of my kind,” he admitted, plucking a pink blossom from the branch and tossing it at her feet. He continued his song, moving closer. “I'm king of the highway. Prince of the Boulevard. Duke of the avant-garde. The world is my backyard. So if you're goin' my way, that's the road you wanna seek. Calcutta to Rome. Or home-sweet-home, in Paris, magnifique you all!”

He came to a halt, his smile widening as he stared down. He blinked and did a little twirl, continuing to sing and rhythmically strutting toward her. “I only got myself, and this big ol' world. When I sip that cup of life with my fingers curled.” He wiggled his curled pinky at her, then began to jauntily strut a circle around her. “I don't worry what road to take; I don't have to think of that. Whatever I take is the road I make. It's the road of life; make no mistake, for me!”

Finishing his circle around her, Baloo stepped off to the side, kicking his leg out with a flourish. He cross-stepped back toward her, weaving rhythmically, singing his name while scatting. “Yeah, Baloo boppa-doo, dee-boppa-dooba, Baloo von Bruinwald, von Bruinwald, the 13th! That's right, and I'm very proud of that. Yeah!” He finished his song standing directly in front of her, staring down and smiling with a dream-like gaze.

Snow White clapped her hands, laughter bubbling up as she exclaimed, “Bravo! Very good. You are a great talent!”

Baloo put his hand on his chest and said, “Oh, thank you. And what might your name be?” he asked, shaking his head slightly.

“My name is Snow White,” she replied.

“Snow White... Beautiful... Love it!” Baloo’s eyes rolled back in a dreamy way. “And those eyes... ooh! Why your eyes are so soft, gentle as a doe.” He leaned in, his voice dropping to a low, flirtatious murmur. “They make my heart sigh and set my soul...aglow~”

Snow White blushed, her cheeks turning a delicate shade of pink. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes meeting Baloo's with a shy smile. “Oh, that's very pretty, sir. Very poetic. But it is not quite Shakespeare,” she said.

Baloo winked, his grin widening. “Of course not. That's pure von Bruinwald, baby. Right off the cuff, yeah. I got a million of 'em.” He adjusted his pilot cap and casually scratched himself.

Snow White’s smile faded as she sat on a log, her shoulders slumping. “Oh, no more, please. I am really in a great deal of trouble.”

Baloo, sensing her distress, plopped down next to her with a reassuring pat on her shoulder. “Trouble? Helping beautiful dames—uh, damsels—in distress is my specialty. Now what's the hang-up, your ladyship?” He asked, scooting closer, cocking his head to the side, and smiling, hoping to meet her gaze.

“Well, it is most important that I get back to my team. I got separated and lost in this forest. So, if you would be just so kind and help me find my way back to them?” Snow White explained, her voice tinged with worry.

“Help you find the way? Oh, perish the thought!” Baloo declared with a grand gesture. He pulled her close as he gestured to the sky with his other arm. “We shall fly back to your team on a magic carpet, side by side, with the stars as our guide. Just we two,” he said, his eyes twinkling with excitement.

Snow White's eyes widened in surprise. “A magic carpet?”

Baloo chuckled and stood up, offering his paw to her. “Well, not exactly a magic carpet. More like... a magic plane. Come on, I'll show you.”

Snow White took his paw, curiosity replacing her worry. Baloo led her through the forest until they reached a clearing where his trusty plane, the Sea Duck, was parked. The plane's gleaming hull and powerful engines gave it an almost magical aura.

“Your chariot awaits, milady,” Baloo said with a flourish, opening the door for her.

Snow White giggled, the worry in her eyes fading as she climbed into the plane. With a confident nod, Baloo joined her in the cockpit, and soon they were soaring into the sky, the sunlight breaking through the clouds and lighting their way back to her team.

....

Notes:

I discovered this ship on DeviantArt, and I was like, "Yep, this passes the 'Harkness Test'; I'm down."

Ship belongs to ManKambo on DA.

I love that Disney Mirrorverse used a combination of Baloo from The Jungle Book and his TaleSpin counterpart because we honestly get the best of both worlds! I adore Baloo's laid-back, fun-loving personality and beatnik mannerisms—traits he inherited from his voice actor Phil Harris, who also voiced Thomas O'Malley from The Aristocats and Little John from Robin Hood. Overall, I think Snow White and Baloo's personalities mesh really well together; they are definitely an O'Malley and Duchess type couple.

And yes, "boppa" and "dooba" are real examples of jazz scat words—I checked. I didn't want to use Thomas O'Malley's full name for Baloo, so I decided he could scat instead.

Anyway, I tried to capture the Thomas O'Malley meets Duchess scenes from The Aristocats for the mini-fic I wrote. You can check out the scenes I linked below and let me know how I did.

LINK 1 - The Aristocats: Thomas O'Malley (YT video).

LINK 2 - The Aristocats (1970) - Thomas O'Malley Meets Dutches & Kittens (YT video).

Ship names: SnowBear/Snowloo

🚫IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THIS SHIP, PLEASE DON'T COMMENT OR REBLOG 🚫🚫 PLEASE DON'T STEAL OR REPOST MY EDITS 🚫

[courseyoulovemeyoudontknowme]

The Jungle Book (1967, Wolfgang Reitherman)

21/09/2024

[oldshowbiz]

[anintelligentoctopus]

Another poll for Old People Tumblr!

[disneysooner]

It’s good to see Disney’s sense of humor about Little John and Baloo sharing the same voice actor hasn’t died out. If only they had Thomas O’Malley in the mix, it would’ve been perfect!

(In case you didn’t know, all three were voiced by Phil Harris in their original releases)

[haveyouseenthisromcom]

[greenparakeetwantsbananas]

[elijones94]

🐻 One of my favorite moments from the short “Once Upon A Studio” is when Baloo and Mowgli sing an ending verse of “When You Wish Upon A Star”. It happened right after Baloo closes Scuttles beak due to the seagull attempting to sing, though extremely off key and out of tune. In January, I did some sketches and similar drawings much like this one. In the short, Baloo was voiced by Jim Cummings, the voice of Winnie the Pooh. 🐾🌴

[citizenscreen]

Phil Harris and Alice Faye with Jack Benny and Mary Livingstone on board the Queen Mary en route to England in June 1950.

[theknucklehead]

Today I went down the Hollywood Walk of Fame, here are some of the names I came across (I apologize if some of them are hard to read.):

[blaylists]

playlist for ur home-dawg

[oldshowbiz]

1968.

Pat Boone interviewed Richard Pryor.