Homespun Theme In
“Dear To My Heart”
“So Dear To My Heart” is not only the most appealing story Walt Disney ever had produced in colour by Technicolor, but it is also his most unique offering in that its delightful live-action ties in strikingly with his customary all-cartoon animations. It deals with familiar reality instead of fantasy.
It is the story of a recollected boyhood out of the heartland of America a generation ago, and is packed with emotion and treasured remembrance; filled with the gaiety, songs and dances, and with the sentiment of its time and place in Indiana. It deals simply and stirringly with the adventures of young Jeremiah Kincaid, a country lad, and spirited contest of wills between him and his austere grandma which involves the whole neighbourhood and the fate of a rambunctious black ram foundling.
The cartoon sequences all are applied to the motivation of the boy, played by Bobby Driscoll.
Beulah Bondi plays Granny Kincaid, who teaches the boy his manners and his morals; Burl Ives is the village Smith and family friend who champions the lad in times of stress, and who sings the haunting songs which gives so much grace to the drama; little Luana Patten is the loyal comrade, who shares experiences with the headstrong Jeremiah and his black ram, and Harry Carey, is seen as the sage judge of livestock and human nature.
Disney based the picture upon Sterling North’s story. RKO destributes the film.