Disney's American Legends

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 Directed by
 Produced by
 Written by
 Starring
Geoffrey Jones
Tim Hodge
Thurl Ravenscroft
Dal McKennon
Dennis Day
Jerry Colonna
 Narrated by
 Cinematography
 Edited by
 Production
company
 Distributed by
 Release date
 Running time
 Country

***Disney's American Legends*** is a 2001 direct-to-video animated anthology film hosted by James Earl Jones. It is a compilation of four previously released animated musical shorts from Walt Disney Animation Studios based on American tall tales. The film features *The Brave Engineer* (1950), *Paul Bunyan* (1958), *John Henry* (2000), and *The Legend of Johnny Appleseed* which is a segment from the 1948 film *Melody Time*.

The film's new short is based on John Henry and stars Alfre Woodard and Tim Hodge. *John Henry* was later released on Blu-ray in *Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection* on August 18, 2015.[1]

## Contents

* 1Content
	+ 1.1*John Henry* (2000)
	+ 1.2*The Legend of Johnny Appleseed* (1948)
	+ 1.3*Paul Bunyan* (1958)
	+ 1.4*The Brave Engineer* (1950)
* 2Reception
* 3References
* 4External links

## Content[edit]

### *John Henry* (2000)[edit]

Retells the story of John Henry, who raced against a steam drill.

* production company: Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida[2]
* **Director**: Mark Henn
* **Producer**: Steven Keller
* **Writer**: Broose Johnson, Tim Hodge, Shirley Pierce
* **Music**: Score by Stephen James Taylor, original songs by Gary Hines and Billy Steele and performed by Sounds of Blackness
* **Art Director**: Robert Stanton

### *The Legend of Johnny Appleseed* (1948)[edit]

Based on the story of Johnny Appleseed (voiced by Dennis Day), a nurseryman who introduced apple trees to Ohio and Indiana. The short was originally featured in the 1948 film *Melody Time*.

* **Director**: Wilfred Jackson
* **Producer**: Walt Disney
* **Writer**: Winston Hibler, Erdman Penner, Joe Rinaldi, Jesse Marsh
* **Music**: Paul J. Smith
* **Art Director**: Mary Blair

### *Paul Bunyan* (1958)[edit]

Based on the story of Paul Bunyan (voiced by Thurl Ravenscroft), a folklore giant lumberjack, and his blue-colored ox, Babe.

* **Director**: Les Clark
* **Producer**: Walt Disney
* **Writer**: Lance Nolley, Ted Berman
* **Music**: George Bruns
* **Lyrics**: Tom Adair
* **Art Director**: Eyvind Earle

### *The Brave Engineer* (1950)[edit]

Based on the exploits of railroad engineer Casey Jones.

* **Director**: Jack Kinney
* **Producer**: Walt Disney
* **Writer**: Dick Kinney, Dick Shaw
* **Music**: Ken Darby

## Reception[edit]

Mike Pinsky, of DVD Verdict, reviewed the compilation saying, "If, as James Earl Jones says in the finale, the message of this film is to "look for the heroes around you and celebrate them," Disney's American Legends is an interesting, if half-hearted, attempt to carry out that advice."[3] Kirby C. Holt, Toon Talk, reviewed the compilation saying, "Although the program definitely presents the shorts in descending order of quality, it ends on a high note with these inspirational words from James Earl Jones: "Look for the heroes around you and celebrate them ... you can find them in the past, in the present, even in the mirror."[4]

## External links[edit]

* Official website
* *Disney's American Legends* at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

* *Walt Disney's Classic Cartoon Favorites*
* *Walt Disney's Funny Factory*
* *Walt Disney's It's a Small World of Fun!*
* *Walt Disney's Timeless Tales*
 Single releases
* *Disney's Mickey & Minnie's Sweetheart Stories*
* *Walt Disney's Vintage Mickey*

Categories:

* 2001 films
* 2001 animated films
* 2000s American animated films
* American anthology films
* American films
* American folklore films and television series
* Disney direct-to-video animated films
* Films based on mythology
* American children's animated films
* Johnny Appleseed