Perri (1957)

About Perri

Perri is a beloved family movie released in 1957 by The Walt Disney Company. The plot centres around a cute little squirrel, Perri, based on Felix Salten's 1942 Perri: The Youth of a Squirrel. The movie is quite unique because it beautifully blends fictional storytelling with semi-documentary wildlife footage. It provides an enchantingly detailed up-close look into the forest life from a squirrel's perspective, presenting various challenges, fears, friendships, and survival.

Making / Production

The movie is part of Disney's True-Life Adventures series. The production was primarily a live-action feature film but included sequences of animation to bring out the narrative elements. The movie was directed by N. Paul Kenworthy Jr. and Ralph Wright and co-produced by Walt Disney and Winston Hibler.

Actors

• Winston Hibler: Hibler served as the narrator, delivering engaging dialogue that adds depth to the movie.

Trivia / Interesting Facts

• Perri is Disney’s first completely live-action movie.
• This movie has a blend of animation with real-life animal footage, which was quite innovative for the time.
• Although the book was a sequel to Bambi, the movie adaptation never mentions Bambi.

Awards

The movie did not win any awards but is loved by Disney fans and remains a classic.

Quotes

• “The great pine tree is father, mother, and playmate to Perri . . . For some day she will raise a family of her own in this tree. Her life will be spent in it, woven into its very wood.” – Narrator

Music, Soundtrack

• "Perri" - written by Paul J. Smith and George Bruns
• "Winter and Spring" - written by Paul J. Smith and George Bruns
• "The Mother Squirrel" - written by Hazel "Gil" George and Paul J. Smith