Casey Bats Again (1954) User Reviews

A nice sequel to Disney's "Casey at Bat"....minus Jerry Colonna

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 2 February 2011]

This film begins with a quick recap of the last film of the previous film, "Casey at Bat". This original film was packaged as a short with the full-length compilation "Make Mine Music". Because some time has passed between the two shorts, the art style is a bit different and Jerry Colonna was not available to narrate (which is a shame--and surprising considering that Colonna lived for another three decades after the sequel debuted).

In this film, Casey marries and hopes that his future sons will somehow be able to redeem his reputation in baseball. However, to his dismay, his wife kept having daughters. But, not giving up, he taught his girls to play. However, even though they girls were awfully good, they didn't seem very serious about the sport. In a funny twist, in the 'big game' and in the final inning, Casey trust the kids and himself comes up to bat--in drag!! The finale is a hoot...trust me.

one of the eternal subjects

[Mikko_Elo_ · 5/10 · 27 September 2004]

what was surely considered by the men that made this film in 1954 a way to please the censors and say a word for women's rights, today seems like a shockingly sexist, politically incorrect caricature. women are considered 'mistakes', by the narrator. on the field the girls are doing their makeup and making sexy moves for the crowd. wife is home on the stove. man is on the club smoking cigars. certainly an interesting view historically. one has to remember the battle of the sexes had already begun long before this film came out by the braver individuals, but the rooted attitudes have always been difficult to change. have we changed, or are we in the same situation now, 50 years later?

5 of 10, no good but must see

There was no cheating in baseball; all was fair and square . . .

[pixrox1 · 7/10 · 1 June 2022]

. . . Till Dizzy decided to muck it up, breaking it beyond repair. With Walnut's crude cross-dressers tainting a girls' game, America's National Pastime never was the same. Anything goes with Dizzy, no matter how wrong and vile; forbidden dads on the field: This is the rodent style. After last night's game in Motown Big Farm Ah took home plate just because their kid had walked when not too busy swinging late. Dad swore by the Fountain of Youth, pitching forever and a day, but Detroit's starters are forced to tell the truth; in a disabled heap they all lay. On some dream diamond somewhere balls are getting smacked, but the Motor City Tigers are perpetually paddy-whacked. They're scoring far fewer runs than anyone has for more than 50 years; the D can blame it all on Dizzy for unleashing their torrential tears.

One More Whack At The Old Apple

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 15 May 2003]

A Walt Disney Cartoon.

CASEY BATS AGAIN when it looks as though the Casyettes, his all-daughter team, may lose the big game.

This lively & colorful little film was a sequel to CASEY AT THE BAT, one of the sequences in MAKE MINE MUSIC (1946), which itself was a spoof of the famous poem by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. What it's missing is the tremendous contribution the musical recitation by Jerry Colonna made to its predecessor. However, the good humor, fine animation and gentle nudge for women's rights more than compensate for any lack in presentation.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a blizzard of doomsayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off.

Better than he's ever been

[Horst_In_Translation · 8/10 · 22 November 2017]

"Casey Bats Again" is a Disney cartoon from 1954, so this one is over 60 years old already and it was made by the Kinneys. Director Jack Kinney already was in charge of directing the 1946 cartoon that showed us Casey first, but we talked about that one on another occasion. Anyway, these 8 minutes we have here are clearly superior to the subject in my opinion. The supporting characters are all funny and memorable like Casey's wife who adds some genuine sweetness in the very first minute already. The daughters, the doctor and the friends are as much fun as is Casey when he shows up in drag to make people forget about his shame eventually, but it is one of his daughters (that really resemble her mother) who strikes in the film's most crucial and memorable moment. Goosebump material there and a happy ending for everybody. I really enjoyed this one. It has more heart than you'd expect, but it also nicely delivers in the comedy department. And the best is: You don't need to care one bit for baseball as I know nothing about this game and you still can totally enjoy this one from start to finish. One of the best from its year and I highly recommend checking it out. Strong narration, looks and everything else too. A must-see for cartoon lovers.