Happy Friday, Disnerds! Who says it has to be St. Patrick’s Day to enjoy a good Irish story? Last night we watched Disney’s Darby O’Gill and the Little People, the 29th film in the Disnerd Movie Challenge. If you watched with us last night, feel free to skip the synopsis and jump right into our review.

Synopsis

In the Irish town of Rathcullen, an elderly woman named Sheelah Sugrue visits Katie O’Gill to borrow tea, but is really there to persuade Katie to marry her son Pony. Katie refuses. Lord Fitzpatrick arrives looking for Katie’s father, Darby, who is Lord Fitzpatrick’s caretaker. Lord Fitzpatrick has brought along Michael McBride, who is set to replace Darby as the caretaker since Darby is getting older. Katie rushes off to find her father, who is down at the pub telling the patrons stories of the time he met the King of the Leprechauns. Pony mocks Darby for this, but no one pays him any mind, as the folks love Darby’s stories. Darby tells the story of how he caught King Brian Connors of the leprechauns and got three wishes out of him. He wishes for health, potatoes, and a pot of gold. However, King Brian tricks Darby into making a fourth wish which negates his previous three. As the story ends, Father Murphy asks Darby to retrieve an old church bell from the next town over. Katie arrives and brings her father back to Lord Fitzpatrick, who delivers the news that he’s being replaced. Darby is upset and Michael offers that Darby should keep the house he and Katie have lived in for years, but Fitzpatrick refuses. Darby only requests that he be the one to tell Katie. Michael and Katie meet later that evening and are immediately smitten with each other. Darby uses his fiddle to play a song he claims to have learned from the leprechauns. Michael doesn’t believe Darby’s stories but is happy to listen to them all the same. Later that night, as Darby is riding toward the ruins of Knocknasheega, his horse Cleopatra is frightened and Darby chases after her. She is actually a pooka, and she causes Darby to fall down a nearby well. He lands deep inside the mountain, knocked out. When he comes to, he is met by two leprechauns who take him to meet King Brian. Brian tells Darby about all the fascinating treasures stored in Knocknasheega, and then reveals that Darby will never leave again, and his family will think he has died. Darby is outraged, feeling tricked after all he has done to ensure the town respect leprechauns. King Brian disagrees, believing that in keeping Darby he is sparing him the trouble of telling Katie the news that they must move.

Darby tricks King Brian by playing The Fox Chase on a fiddle, which eventually causes the leprechauns to leave the cave to go on a real hunt, and allow Darby to escape. He returns home and prepares a mug of whiskey as bait for Brian, who shows up in his home shortly after. Darby convinces King Brian to drink the whiskey and the two stay up well into the morning which traps Brian as leprechaun magic doesn’t work during the day. Darby wheedles three more wishes out of Brian, using his first wish to force Brian to stay with him for two weeks or until Darby is out of wishes. The next day, Michael is concerned about the missing Darby, but Katie insists her father is all right. Darby eventually returns, and after conversing with Katie, decides he will use his last two wishes to provide a better life for Katie. At the pub later on, Darby (who is carrying King Brian in a sack), rouses the attention of the patrons as the sack moves. He convinces the patrons that the King of the Leprechauns is real after placing a shot of whiskey into the sack and the glass is then thrust back out of the bag, empty. Meanwhile, Katie and Michael grow closer together, falling in love. There’s a dance that evening and Katie wishes Michael could go, but he’s guarding Lord Fitzpatrick’s manor and watching for poachers. Michael later tackles Darby, suspecting him of poaching. Darby insists King Brian is in his bag, but all Michael sees is a rabbit. Darby says he wishes Michael could see King Brian, to which Brian says Michael can see him—he just sees him as a rabbit; he promises to show himself to Michael in his dreams that night. The dance ends and Pony forces Katie to go home with him. Darby wants Katie to be with a better man than Pony, his greatest wish being Katie’s happiness. King Brian visits Katie and Brian in their dreams that night to encourage the two as a couple.

The next day, Katie and Michael are flirting when Katie playfully runs away into Pony, who forces his rival away and tries to take Katie for himself. The two men prepare to fight, but Katie tells Pony to back off, which bothers Michael as he feels he should be fighting for her. Although it’s tense at first, and Michael pulls back to leave, Katie rushes to him and kisses him. Later, Katie reads a postcard for her father and finally learns that Michael has replaced her father. She is angry at Michael for not telling her, and he chooses that moment to propose to her because he does not want to lose her or her father. Katie storms out of the house. Darby, who can now use his third wish, is wondering what to choose. Katie arrives and reveals that she knows the truth, and in a short haste she overturns the sack holding Brian, allowing him to escape as a rabbit. That evening, Michael tries apologizing to Katie, but she has none of it and runs off. Michael is ambushed by Pony, who knocks him unconscious, pours liquor on him, and leaves him in front of the Fitzpatrick manor in order to persuade the lord into giving Pony the caretaker job. Darby finds Michael, though, and wakes him up. Katie finds Cleopatra and chases her to Knocknasheega. Darby and Michael follow, where they discover that Katie has fallen down the mountain onto some rocks below. At that moment, the wail of the banshee cries out through the storm, and the banshee herself appears. Darby forces the banshee away and he and Michael take Katie home. The banshee follows them, and Darby again fights her off, but she summons the Coiste Bodhar, the Death Coach, to take Katie’s soul away. Darby calls Brian and makes his third wish: to go with the Coiste Bodhar instead of Katie. Brian agrees, and the headless coachman orders Darby inside. Darby and Brian speak together, reminiscing about their adventures. Brian slyly makes Darby make a fourth wish by saying he wishes Brian could go with him to the afterlife, and this causes his previous three wishes to be negated. Darby is released from the coach and is able to return to Katie, who has recovered. Darby recounts the story at the pub, with Pony once more jeering. Michael arrives and chides Pony for not believing the stories, and the two have a brief scuffle before Michael knocks Pony out. Michael and Darby leave the pub and join Katie. Katie and Michael can get married, and Darby and Katie get to keep their house in the end.

Thoughts Before Watching

Megan: I’ve never seen this film before, though I’ve heard my parents mention the title once or twice. While I’m curious to see how the special effects and camera work of the day made the actors playing leprechauns look smaller, I’m a little worried this film could be a bit culturally insensitive toward Irish people. (The Disney Plus disclaimer about outdated cultural depictions only heightens that concern.) Kevin and I both have a bit of Irish in our family trees and share an interest in Irish folklore, so I’m curious to see how this holds up.

Kevin: I saw this only once before, when I was very little. For many years the only thing I could remember about it was the banshee, which I originally thought was a ghost. It frightened me when I was little and I never saw the movie again. (I mean, being that it was the only thing that stuck in my memory, why bother seeing it? Adult me still doesn’t like any kind of horror.) It’s apparently a very beloved classic, however, so this and the Irish folklore have got me curious indeed.

Thoughts After Watching

The trouble with leprechauns

Megan: At first glance, this film may not seem particularly offensive. Sure, some of the actors’ fake Irish accents are terrible, and the characters fit the Irish stereotype of drinking, fighting, and telling outlandish stories—not great, but not the worst out there. However, the problem runs much deeper than that. It turns out that the very image of a leprechaun that most of us are familiar with has very little to do with the original Irish folklore. In fact, the popularized image of a leprechaun was heavily influenced by derogatory 19th-century caricatures seen in anti-Irish propaganda when the Irish immigrated to the U.S. during that time (if you’re ever in NYC after this pandemic is over, I highly recommend the Irish Outsiders tour at the Tenement Museum to learn more about this time in our country’s history). So, in that sense, an entire film about leprechauns is already asking for trouble. Here’s an interesting tidbit from Wikipedia:

While the film project was in development, Walt Disney was in contact with, and consulting Séamus Delargy (an Irish folklorist, professor of folklore at University College Dublin and Director of the Irish Folklore Commission) and the Irish Folklore Commission, but never asked for leprechaun material, even though a large folkloric repository on such subject was housed by the commission. The Commission would have preferred the project be not about leprechauns, and Delargy was clearly of this sentiment. The commission's archivist Bríd Mahon also recalls suggesting as alternatives the heroic sagas like the Táin or the novel The Well at the World's End, to no avail.

So while Walt Disney did the right thing in consulting with the Irish Folklore Commission, it seems like it was a half-hearted effort, more for show than for substance. From this excerpt it sounds like Disney was determined to create a film about leprechauns in their popular (read “Americanized”) depiction, with little regard for the original folklore. Choosing to depict King Brian as a red-haired, green-clad leprechaun seems all the more problematic within this context.

Kevin: I agree completely with Megan here. So much that there isn’t much more for me to comment on the matter of leprechauns, but I did want to comment briefly on some additional downsides. First, I must put a disclaimer here that some of my thoughts to come are not just from this recent watch, but also from doing some further research afterwards. Honestly, I have some mixed feelings here. The film is lauded by a lot of people as a fun adventure with witty banter and whimsical elements, and to an extent that is true. But I’ve also seen some reviews praising the depiction of Irish culture when so much of it, as said above, is based on an American audience’s view. I agree that Walt’s consulting was less about creating a genuine depiction, because research into the movie shows that Disney was, in some way, prioritizing box office scores than creativity. For example, Disney originally wanted to cast Barry Fitzgerald for the role of Darby, but Fitzgerald turned him down and the role eventually went to Albert Sharpe. Disney was said to have later admitted that the film would have been more successful had Fitzgerald taken the role. I’m not exactly faulting Disney for this, though. He was, after all, a businessman and needed to turn profits. What’s frustrating about this last bit, though, is that in going after profits Disney neglected to properly credit his actors. Disney was so dedicated to his (very silly) idea of pretending he found real leprechauns (more on that below) that he refused to give screen credit to the actors playing the leprechauns, apart from Jimmy O’Dea in the role of King Brian. As I said, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, the leprechaun depiction has its issues, and perhaps in hindsight it’s good that the actors’ names weren’t attached. But on the other, I’m not a fan of withholding credit from people who contributed to any work.

It passes the Bechdel test…but only for the first 2 minutes.

Megan: I was initially excited when the movie opened with two women, Sheila and Katie, talking to each other about borrowing some tea, thus immediately passing the Bechdel test. However, by time-stamp 00:02:03, Sheila has to go and insert a man into the conversation. Not only does the conversation then only revolve around men (Katie’s father, Sheila’s son, and the idea of a man for Katie to marry), but it relies on the outdated and sexist idea that a woman becomes undesirable to a man the longer she waits to marry. Sheila warns Katie, “There’s many a lass that lost her market from waiting too long.” Sheila then further insinuates that Katie’s appearance of wealth puts her on too high a pedestal for any man to pursue her: “There’s not a man doesn’t want you. But who among them dare look at you, with the grand house you live in?” Katie lightheartedly disagrees with Sheila’s sentiments, but this sexist theme returns yet again when King Brian has this rather insulting exchange with the sleeping Katie:

KING BRIAN: Michael is a fine strong lad with temperate ways. He’d make you a grand husband.

KATIE: I don’t want a husband. Not yet.

KING BRIAN: Not yet?! Ah Katie, many a girl has spoke these words and lived to rue them. You know, when a girl is 20, her boy’ll marry her up in a minute. But when she’s 30, doesn’t she have a time trying to make him say the hard word.

KATIE: I’ll have me courtship first.

KING BRIAN: Courtship is it? And marriage the bone and sinew of the country? What would you call a girl who’d keep her lad dangling through pure selfishness or sinful dalliance? I know what I’d call her! I’d call her—I’d—

It’s not hard to guess that what King Brian meant to say before he was cut off was something synonymous with “slut.”

Megan: There are so many things wrong with both these exchanges: the sexist and insulting idea that a woman has an expiration date at which she’s no longer valuable (and how is 30 years of age already undesirable?!); the idea that a woman of wealth and good standing is too unattainable for any man to so much as look at her (is this because a man’s fragile sense of masculinity is dependent on how much wealth he has over the woman he’s with? Because there’s yet another sexist idea for you…); and to top it all off, King Brian’s shaming insinuation that a woman who wants to date before committing to a lifetime with a man is a slut (um, what?) while a woman who’s willing to marry the first available man is upholding the sacred institution of the country. I’m sorry, but, what?! For Katie’s part, I appreciate that she holds her own and rejects Sheila and King Brian’s notions outright, even if she does so politely. However, within two weeks she’s matched up with Michael and we’re led to believe the two intend to marry each other. So much for Katie defying society’s expectations.

The romance of Michael and Katie

Megan: I will admit that I truly found Michael and Katie’s relationship to be one of the most entertaining parts of this film. That said, it, too, has its drawbacks. As much as Michael and Katie appear to buck the traditions of their society, they’re both slaves to it. For one thing, Michael tells King Brian, “I don’t want [Katie] to fall into my arms.” Seems like a win—he doesn’t want a damsel. He wants a girl who can take care of herself, so that’s good, right? However, when Katie gets between Michael and Pony and threatens Pony, saying “If you lay a finger on him I’ll never speak to you again,” Michael is anything but appreciative. He hates that Katie—a woman—came to his aid against another man, especially when he thought he was there to rescue Katie from Pony. While this scene is followed by Katie playfully telling Michael she doesn’t like him and Michael playfully rebuffing her, the two quickly kiss and make up. That is, until Katie discovers Darby and Michael’s deception and Michael, clearly not reading the room, asks Katie to marry him in an attempt to calm her down. Spoiler alert—it doesn’t work. Instead it sets off a series of events in which Katie slaps Michael with a rag (leaving a pretty visible red gash, no less), and Katie falls off a cliff and nearly dies. Quite the marriage proposal there, Michael. Way to go. And Katie, who was so headstrong before, has once again fallen into the trap that has ensnared so many female Disney characters before—she’s become the damsel in distress. So much for bucking tradition.

There is toxic and fragile masculinity here.

Kevin: It’s a movie from 1959, so I shouldn’t be too surprised that two men eventually duke it out in a bar, and frankly over petty things in the end. True, Pony technically threw the first punch, but Michael did basically goad him. Then again, Pony also knocked Michael out which was unwarranted. Michael, on the other hand, isn’t exactly the most ideal by today’s standards when judging some of his later actions with Katie. My point here is that Darby O’Gill and the Little People is another example of how men from this era, especially burly white men, are either chauvinistic brutes or reluctant heroes come to the rescue. Pony is this movie’s Gaston, except no one but his mother likes him. Still, he’s a brash, bullying man with no qualms about shoving people around or being rude. He vies for Katie’s affections without a care for what she wants, expecting to win her over because he’s, well, he’s Pony. What’s not to love, right? He doesn’t get it, or doesn’t care. Michael, by contrast, is meant to be the handsome newcomer that eventually fights off the bully, but I question his heroic nature. I don’t think his love for Katie is fake, but the way he pursues his interest is a reflection of the way society expected men to be, and the way men believed they must be. When Brian visits Michael in his sleep to convince him to marry Katie, it is not the fact he loves her that spurs Michael, but instead when Brian suggests that not pursuing “Pony’s girl” would be an act of cowardice. Michael won’t let this accusation stand, lest his ego be bruised. Later, when Katie stops Pony from hitting Michael, he is upset with her for helping, requesting that she not do so again unless he asks for it. These instances make Michael just a little less heroic than he was meant to be. Ironically, it was this very role that landed Sean Connery in the role of James Bond a few years later.

A sense of realism

Kevin: In spite of the previously mentioned issues, if there’s one thing about this movie that’s a highlight for me, it is how it strives to make the setting appear completely real. Whatever his flaws, Walt Disney strove to give a sense of realism to his work, from his movies to the theme parks, with the idea that anyone experiencing them could feel like it was a possible reality. With this movie, the studio’s artists painstakingly brought a taste of Ireland to California. The scenes from the film are the result of impressive matte paintings and set designs filmed in the studio backlot. I think this is very impressive, although now that I know this I wish there had been some actual footage shot in Ireland itself. Research says that it was much too costly and they needed to make extensive use of special effects, so it made sense to fly the Irish actors to Burbank. This adherence to realism wasn’t just in the physical set pieces, but also in the mythology itself. Disney went as far as to pretend that he had truly found leprechauns. This is seen in the thank you message to King Brian displayed during the movie’s opening. Disney also filmed a short entitled “I Captured the King of the Leprechauns” as a way to promote the film on television. In the short, Walt travels to Ireland to speak with Darby, and the short chronicles the two discussing the best way to capture leprechauns and how to film the Fair Folk. I should also point out how the filmmakers used “forced perspective” really well. Any of the shots with Darby and King Brian look completely believable. The technique was created by placing Jimmy O’Shea several times the distance from Albert Sharpe. Cameras don’t pick up perspective, which creates the illusion that Darby is several times the size of King Brian. They also made the set pieces surrounding O’Shea four times bigger than those that Sharpe was filmed in, further creating the illusion. I can’t help but appreciate the technical work that went into this.

The Irish folklore still makes for a fun story.

Megan: While the film may not have captured leprechauns accurately, I still love that it has other elements of Irish folklore. There aren’t too many films in the U.S. that have popularized elements of Irish folklore, so it’s fun to see the banshee, the pooka, and the Coiste Bodhar (death coach) represented in this film (even if the banshee and death coach frightened many child audiences). This film also has Knocknasheega, which may or may not be a reference to an actual hill in Ireland very similarly named Knocknashee. From tales of Irish folklore that I’ve read, the film’s depictions seem to be accurate. The Coiste Bodhar has a headless driver, just like the legend, and the banshee’s wail is the signal of death. In this film the pooka is a devious one, but pookas can be either bad or good spirits, depending on the tale. These magical elements combined with Darby’s outlandish storytelling really help immerse you in the world of the story, almost like you really were in Ireland (even if it was filmed in Burbank).

In terms of magic, it paves the way for future movies of its kind.

Kevin: At this point in our challenge, Darby O’Gill and the Little People is perhaps the first live-action film that really uses magic and mythology to a heavy degree, traits that would carry over into some later films as Mary Poppins and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Previous films in the catalog had some magic systems in place (The Shaggy Dog) or were focused on myth and legend (The Story of Robin Hood and the Davy Crockett films), and I believe Darby O’Gill combines these elements together really well. The film uses more of a soft magic system than a hard one; the rules of the leprechaun’s magic and the nature of the three wishes is not explained to Darby or to the audience, apart from the single fact that Darby cannot make a fourth wish without negating the first three. According to this article by Ashley Capes, a soft magic system “creates a sense of awe and deepens the fantastical setting.” Unlike hard magic systems (which are so fleshed out that it becomes realistic), soft magic systems rely on the audience not knowing what the outcomes of using magic are. I don’t know how much Walt Disney knew about hard magic and soft magic, since the terms were popularized long after his time, but as Disney was well known for his love of fantasy and mystery, it’s clear he used magic here as a way create mystique. As said, magic has been used in previous Disney films, but I say that Darby O’Gill and the Little People heralded future films of its kind because it is live action. We see the way magic works in this film and this same route is taken in many of the later live action or live action/animation hybrid films. The effects may be outdated, but I can imagine that these looked great back in the late 50s/early 60s. Well, all except that shot of Darby falling down the well—that one is bad no matter what decade you’re from.

Verdict

Megan: 3

Kevin: 3

Final Score: 3

What did you think of Darby O’Gill and the Little People? Tell us in the comments!

Ways to Watch

Disney Plus

Amazon Digital Video

DVD