The Peggy Lee Bio-Discography's Picture Gallery:
Animated Films From Walt Disney And George Pal
by Iván Santiago-Mercado

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Scope And Contents

This page focuses on the music that Peggy Lee contributed to the world of children's cinema. In Lee's case, such music is specifically linked to the work of two film enterpreneurs: Walt Disney and George Pal. Besides the songs mentioned below, Lee recorded a few other numbers for children movies, such as the titular song from Disney's 1948 film So Dear To My Heart and the plaintive ballad "It Changes" (otherwise known as "Charlie Brown's Calliope"), from the 1972 Cinema Center movie Snoopy, Come Home!. Those titles have been left out of this page because Lee did not record them for inclusion on film productions. Instead, they were made for release on commercial records (78s, 45s, and LPs). It is also worth nothing, in passing, that Lee wrote a theme song for Pal's movie The Time Machine, but the song was ultimately left out of the film.

I. MAKE MINE MUSIC (A WALT DISNEY PRODUCTION)




Artwork Shown:

1 - 5. Title: Walt Disney's Make Mine Music / Note: Peggy Lee does not actually sing in this movie's soundtrack but she does so in a set of Disney 78s created as promotion for the movie. The 78s bear the legend From Walt Disney's Make Mine Music and are presumed to have been manufactured around 1945. (The movie's premiere took place in 1946.) The vocals sung by Peggy Lee in the 78s are "Johnny Fedora And Alice Blue Bonnet" (recorded by The Andrews Sisters for the soundtrack) and "Two Silhouettes" (recorded by Dinah Shore for the soundtrack.) I have found no indication that these 78s were intended for commercial release; they seem to have been meant just for promotion and, perhaps, for internal reference at Disney. An extensive discussion about the 78s and its connection to the animated movie can be found here. On display in the artwork shown above are movie posters and scenes from the various vignettes of which the movie is comprised. The last two images show scenes from the vignettes for which the songs "Johnny Fedora And Alice Blue Bonnet" and "Two Silhouettes" were written.

II. JASPER AND THE BEANSTALK (A GEORGE PAL PRODUCTION)




Artwork Shown:

Title: Jasper And The Beanstalk / Note: George Pal originally made his puppet cartoons for theatrical release, creating all of them between 1942 and 1947. (I am referring to his American-based puppetoons. Pal's earlier forays into animation took place in his native European land.) As revealed by the small print visible in the above-shown movie poster (image #1), Paramount was the company that released Pal's wood-carved puppet cartoons to theatres. Pal and Paramount hired Peggy Lee to voice a lyre in at least two puppetoons from the Jasper series. The earliest was Jack And The Beanstalk (1945). This entry in the series features not only the lyre, the giant, and the ever sweet, innocent protagonist (image #1) but also Jasper's antagonists The Scarecrow and Black Crow (images #3 and #4). In her role as the "magic lyre" who is prisoner to the giant who lives atop the beanstalk, Peggy Lee mournfully sings "Ain't Goin' No Place." Many of Pal's 1942-1947 theatrical toons ended up in syndicated television later during the 1950s and 1960s, and this one was no exception. Among Pal collectors, Jasper And The Beanstalk survives in a poor TV print. It has not been commercially issued on an official VHS tape or DVD.

III. JASPER IN A JAM (A GEORGE PAL PRODUCTION)




Artwork Shown:

1-3. Title: Jasper In A Jam / Note: In this 1946 puppetoon from the Jasper series, Peggy Lee reprises her role as a singing lyre (image #3), now consigned to a pawnshop. During her very brief appearance, she sings a number about the pawnshop owner. Entitled "Old Man Mose Is Dead," the number is a variation on the then-popular novelty "Old Man Mose Ain't Dead." Instrumentals by The Woody Herman Orchestra are also featured, at greater length, in this puppet cartoon. Seen above (image #2) is a generic poster that theatres used for the Jasper series. One of the opening credits from the actual puppetoon reel is displayed in image #2. Jasper In A Jam has been commercially issued on both VHS and DVD, as shown below.





Artwork Shown:

4. Title: The Puppetoon Movie / Note: Shown in this image is the poster for the 1987 Arnold Leibovit film that paid tribute to Pal's cartoon oeuvre. "Jasper In A Jam" was among the 11 puppetoons anthologized in the movie.

5. Title: The Puppetoon Movie / Format: VHS & Laser Disc / Label: Arnold Leibovit Productions - Video Treasures [distributor: Anchor Bay] / Cat. Num.: Sv 9990 / Rel. Year: 1995 / Note: Video release of the movie described in entry #4.

6 & 7. Title: The Puppetoon Movie (Expanded Edition) / Format: DVD / Label: Arnold Leibovit Productions [distributor: Image Enterntainment] / Cat. Num.: Id 5865 Aldvd / Rel. Year: 2000 / Note: This is a DVD release of the movie described in entry #4, with 12 additional, bonus puppetoon features. Image #6 shows the disc's American cover, image #7 the French cover.





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8. Title Cartoon Crazys: Spooky Toons / Format: DVD & VHS / Label: Winstar / Cat. Num.: unknown / Rel. Year: 2000 / Note: Jasper In A Jam is among the 13 horror cartoons anthologized in this disc.

9. Title: Halloween Stomp: Jazz & Big Band Music For A Haunted House Party! / Format: CD / Label: Jass / Cat. Num.: J Cd 163 / Rel. Year: 1990 / Note: Contains Lee's puppetoon version of "Old Man Mose Is Dead."

10. Title: Cartoon Classics in Color, #7 / Format: VHS / Label: Video Yesteryear / Cat. Num.: unknown / Rel. Year: unknown / Note: Jasper In A Jam is among the cartoons included. (Image #10 shows one side of the generic cover which Video Yesteryear used for all VHS releases. The other side usually had an affixed b&w photo, taken from the featured show.)

Missing Artwork:

11. Title: The Best of George Pal / Format: VHS / Label: Video Dimensions / Cat. Num.: unknown / Rel. Year: unknown / Note: Jasper In A Jam is among the anthologized puppetoons in this item.

IV. LADY AND THE TRAMP (A WALT DISNEY PRODUCTION)




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1-4. Title: Walt Disney's Lady And The Tramp / Note: For this 1955 animated classic, Peggy Lee did the voices of four characters: Peg (canine image above), Si and Am (feline image above), and Darling (motherly image above). Under each role, she sang one number: "He's A Tramp" (as Peg), "The Siamese Cat Song" (as Si and Am), and "La La Lu" (as Darling). She also co-wrote all three of those songs, as well as others heard throughout the movie, in the voices of other actors (e.g., "Bella Notte" and "Peace On Earth"). The last of the above-shown images comes from the TV special Walt Disney's Cavalcade of Song , in which Peggy Lee and The Mellomen re-enact their soundtrack recording performance of "He's A Tramp." (This televised special is available as a bonus feature in some of the items listed below.)





Artwork Shown:

5. Title: Walt Disney's Lady And The Tramp / Format: Laser Disc / Label: Walt Disney / Cat. Num.: 582 Cs / Rel. Year: 1987 / Note: CAV speed version.

6. Title: Walt Disney's Lady And The Tramp / Format: Laser Disc / Label: Walt Disney / Cat. Num.: 582 As / Rel. Year: 1987 / Note: CLV speed version.

7. Title: Walt Disney's Lady And The Tramp ("The Classics" Series) / Format: VHS / Label: Walt Disney Home Video (distributed by Walt Disney Telecommunications) / Cat. Num.: 582 / Rel. Year: 1987 / Note: "Presented in digitally processed Hi-Fi stereo. Close captioned."





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8. Title: Walt Disney's Lady And The Tramp / Format: Laser Disc / Label: Walt Disney / Cat. Num.: 14673 Cs / Rel. Year: 1998 / Note: CAV speed format. Newly mastered. The red sticker in the front cover, where Peggy Lee's name is prominently featured, indicates that this disc included the TV special Walt Disney's Cavalcade of Song (or at least excerpts from that special), in which Peggy Lee and company re-enact the process of conceiving the songs for the film. I do not know if the CLV edition (item #9) also has this bonus feature, but I doubt that it included in the earlier, 1987 laser discs. It is definitely part of the platinum DVD edition (item #13).

9. Title: Walt Disney's Lady And The Tramp / Format: Laser Disc / Label: Walt Disney / Cat. Num.: 14673 As / Rel. Year: 1998 / Note: CLV speed format. Newly mastered.

10. Title: Walt Disney's Lady And The Tramp ("Masterpiece" Series) / Format: VHS / Label: Walt Disney Home Video (distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment) / Cat. Num.: 14673 (also C 9096) / Rel. Year: 1998 / Note: "Digitally mastered. Hi-Fi stereo."





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11. Title: Walt Disney's Lady And The Tramp ("Masterpiece" Series) / Format: Laser Disc / Label: Walt Disney / Cat. Num.: 15344 / Rel. Year: 1999 / Note: CLV speed format. Newly mastered. Differs from items #8 and #9 in its use of full-frame screen (as opposed to the less desirable widescreen).

12. Title: Walt Disney's Lady And The Tramp (Limited Issue) / Format: DVD / Label: Walt Disney / Cat. Num.: 717951003997 (UPC); 9780788819438 (EAN) / Rel. Year: 1999 / Note: May have been sold only through Disney's website and physical facilities.





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13. Title: Walt Disney's Lady And The Tramp; 50th Anniversary Edition ("Platinum Edition" Series) / Format: DVD / Label: Walt Disney Home Video / Volumes: 2 / Cat. Num.: 40233 / Rel. Year: 2006 / Note: Viewable either as widescreen (2:55:1) or full screen (pan and scan). Digitally remastered. The crowning achievement among all the commercial versions of the animated film which have been released so far, this DVD boasts excellent picture quality and numerous bonus features. One bonus feature of special interest to Peggy Lee fans is the TV special Walt Disney's Cavalcade Of Song, during which Peggy Lee and company re-enact the process of conceiving the songs for the film. The special spotlights Peggy Lee's singing of both "He's A Tramp" (image #4 above) and, accompanied by composer Sonny Burke, "The Siamese Cat Song" (below, images #19 and #20).





Artwork Shown:

14-17. Title: Lady And The Tramp; Disney / Release Date: February 7 2012 (first three items) and March 27, 2012 (DVD edition only) / Note: Diamond (Blue-Ray) and Editions of the movie. I should be able to provide additional details about them once they have been released.





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18. Title: Disney's Halloween Treat / Format: VHS / Label: Disney / Rel. Year: 1984 / Cat. Num.; unknown / Note: Originally a 1982 TV special that aired as part of the regular The Wonderful World Of Disney series, this film anthology collects fear-inducing and Halloween-themed clips from Disney's catalogue of shorts and full-length movies. The Si and Am segment from Walt Disney's Lady And The Tramp is one of the chosen clips.





Additional Notes:

As can be seen in the Lady And The Tramp entries listed above, every time that a VHS or DVD editions were issued, laser disc counterparts were also released, with one arguable exception. Not surprisingly, there was no laser counterpart to the 2006 DVD edition, as laser discs had gone out of fashion much earlier (by the year 2000). However, the 2012 blu-ray edition can be considered a modern equivalent to the laser disc editions, as well as a belated counterpart to the 2006 release.

There are many non-domestic VHS, DVD and laser disc editions of the film Lady And The Tramp. Because they were dubbed to the language of the targeted nations, most of those editions do not feature Peggy Lee's vocals. Examples: La Belle Et Le Clochard (France), Wan-Wan monogatari (Japan), La Dama Y El Vagabundo (Spain, Latin America). There is a South Korean DVD edition (released by C K Ani) which might or might not be an exception; judging from details given online, its audio appears to be in English.

V. TOM THUMB (A GEORGE PAL PRODUCTION)




Artwork Shown:

1 - 4. Title: "tom thumb" / Note: Peggy Lee does not sing or appear in this 1958 British-American MGM movie, but she was involved in the making of its music. George Pal first conceived and planned his film version of the the tom thumb story in the 1940s. Peggy Lee was attached to that initial version of the film, as a songwriter and perhaps also as singer. Image #4 shows her playing with the puppetoons that had been contructed for inclusion in the originally planned film. The movie did not go into production until the 1950s, by which time numerous modifications of the initial plan had probably been made. Of the various songs that Peggy Lee had written for the feature, two were kept, and are prominently heard in the movie: "Tom Thumb's Tune" (aka "This Is My Song," sung by the lead character, played by Russ Tamblyn) and "Are You A Dream?" Images #1, #2, and #3 show the scene in which Tamblyn sings "Tom Thumb's Tune," and in which the toys around him come to life.





Artwork Shown:

6 - 8. Title: "tom thumb" / Format: VHS / Label: Turner Entertainment / Cat. Num.: / Rel. Year: 1992, 1996, unknown / Note: Specifics about these VHS versions are scarce. I do not know which version corresponds with each of the years given.

7. Title: "tom thumb" / Format: DVD / Label: Turner Enterntainment and Warner Home Video / Cat. Num.: 65401 / Rel Year: 2000





Artwork Shown:

5. Title: "tom thumb" / Note: Movie poster. In the last line of the poster, Peggy Lee is credited as one of the songwriters.

6. Title: tom thumb / Format: LP / Label: MGM / Cat. Num.: (England) C 772 / Rel. Year: 1958 / Note: Album soundtrack.

7. Title: "tom thumb" / Format: LP / Label: MGM's Lion / Cat. Num.: L 70084 / Rel. Year: 1958 / Note: In the United States, the album soundtrack was released in this budget subsidiary of MGM. "It's beleived to be the first instance in which a $1.98 line has carried a first-line sountrack edition," commented Billboard magazine.





Artwork Shown:

8. Title: The Music, Songs & Story From Tom Thumb / Format: LP / Label: MGM / Cat. Num.: Ch 104 / Rel. Year: unknown / Note: Includes Russ Tamblyn's soundtrack vocal for "Tom Thumb's Tune." May be a British issue. (In the United States, Tamblyn's vocal was furthermore issued on a single, Metro #20012, backed with an unrelated, rock n' roll vocal entitled "Fifteen Cents." Metro was a division of MGM.)

9. Title: The Music, Songs & Story From Tom Thumb (Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack; "MCA Classics Soundtracks" Series) / Format: LP & CS / Label: MCA / Cat. Num.: Mca 25006 & Mcac 25006 / Rel. Year: 1986 / Note: Seems to be a reissue of item #8. Includes Russ Tamblyn's soundtrack vocal for "Tom Thumb's Tune."

VI. A "PORCINE" APPENDIX: MISS PIGGY





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1 - 5. Although Peggy Lee had no direct involvement in the creation of Miss Piggy, this appendix is herein included because Lee was the original inspiration for the famous muppet. Verification comes from Bonnie Eriksson, the marionette's designer. As part of an interview published in the October 2008 issue of Smithsonian magazine, interviewer Anita Gupka explained that "Bonnie Erickson designed and built the inimitable Miss Piggy in 1974 for an early 'Muppets' television special, produced by Jim Henson." Asked who was the inspiration for the character, Eriksson told Gupka the following: "[m]y mother used to live in North Dakota where Peggy Lee sang on the local radio station before she became a famous jazz singer. When I first created Miss Piggy I called her Miss Piggy Lee—as both a joke and an homage. Peggy Lee was a very independent woman, and Piggy certainly is the same. But as Piggy’s fame began to grow, nobody wanted to upset Peggy Lee, especially because we admired her work. So, the Muppet’s name was shortened to Miss Piggy." In another interview, conducted by Ann Bilot and published on the international edition of the art webzine Blouin Artinfo (July 14, 2011), Eriksson elaborated on the character's origin and early development: "it was actually a request from Jim. He wanted three pigs for a series that we were doing. He came to me because I'm from the Midwest, so I'm sure he thought I understood and knew pigs. The three pigs ended up being Miss Piggy, one was just sort of a background pig, and the other ended up being something very similar to Dr. Strangepork. So we first did her as a character for that bit, but she was quickly commandeered because we did a Herb Alpert appearance and they needed some sexy female, so I very quickly made her purple gloves, and I draped her in purple satin, and gave her some pearls and bigger eyes. I went to the eye drawer and changed her look and she went back and forth in those personalities for quite awhile. She started out in 'The Muppet Show' as a chorus girl and as you know, she's now a big diva." Once the marionette's eyes underwent their transformation from beady to 'bedroom big,' the resemblance to Peggy Lee became more marked: Miss Piggy's eyes and hair give her a distinct resemblance to Lee's iconic Mona Lisa look from the early 1970s (seen in images #3 to #5 above). Additional details about the muppet's subsequent history and career can be found at http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Miss_Piggy , where we read that "Miss Piggy considers herself a dramatic actress and a great singer, but she has other talents, too (besides karate)." Also worth mentioning herein are the facts that the muppet was actually called Piggy Lee in two episodes of the show (one from 1976, the other from 1977) and that she is known not as Piggy but as Peggy in various other countries (Mexico, France, Spain).











Artwork Shown:

6-7. Miss Piggy and guest Rachel Welch sing "I'm A Woman" during a 1978 episode of The Muppet Show. The segment has obvious connections to Lee because of the use of one of her hits. Furthermore, the visuals bear some similarity to one of the duets that Lee performed with Petula Clark in 1970. The duet was "When Johhny Comes Marching In" and the resemblance pertains mostly to the choice of white attire. The similarity might of course be entirely coincidental. It's also worth noting that the other duet performed by Lee and Clark in the 1970 show was "I'm A Woman." At the time of this writing (early 2012), both duet versions of "I'm A Woman" can be watched in YouTube, at the following addresses: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK0gHciQPd0 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIWpqSajYPM.





Artwork Shown:

8-9. These two images show Miss Piggy as a professional vocalist. In the first scene, she is singing B.J. Thomas' pop hit "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" with assistance from the cast. In the second, Miss Piggy adopts a torch singer stance as she interprets Noel Coward's standard "Mad About The Boy," which she naturally recasts as "Mad About The Frog."

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