The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band

Today, I am presenting you with a musical from Disney that is not very well-known: The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band. This is an older musical but one that I have really enjoyed. At the beginning of the movie, we meet the Bower family. As the title describes, this is a very musical family who makes up their very own band. There are eleven people in this family: Mr. Bower and Mrs. Bower, Grandpa Bower, and eight children. Here is a cast list:

Calvin Bower- Buddy Ebsen
Katie Bower- Janet Blair
Grandpa Bower- Walter Brennan
Alice Bower- Lesley Ann Warren
Joe Carder- John Davidson
Bower Children:
Sidney- Kurt Russell
Mayo- Bobby Riha
Quinn- Jon Walmsley
Nettie- Smitty Wordes
Rose- Heidi Rook
Lulu- Debbie Smith
Laura- Pamelyn Ferdin

*Giggly Girl- Goldie Hawn

One character I forgot to mention above is Joe Carder. This young man is a Republican newspaper writer who is recruiting Republican families to move out to the Dakotas so they can be granted statehood. He and Alice, the oldest Bower child, have been writing to each other for some time. This movie is set in 1888 right before the election between Grover Cleveland and Benjamin Harrison. In fact, this election is a very important part of the movie. While Grandpa is a strong Democrat, Mr. and Mrs. Bower and the rest of the family are Republicans. Although this issue may cause a lot of tension at times, they have learned how to handle their differences. Grandpa’s bull-headed stubbornness causes a lot of trouble in this movie for not only his family but also for the townspeople. One day, he goes to the school where Alice teaches with instructions to dismiss school for the day. Instead, he teaches school himself and tells the kids about the War Between the States (Civil War) and encourages them to get involved in the political issues that their parents will vote on but the kids will feel the effects when they grow up. When the townspeople learn what happened, they are outraged and accuse Grandpa Bower of poisoning the minds of the children. This is just one example of Grandpa’s interference that appears in this movie.

My favorite songs in this movie are “The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band”, “Who Invented Music?”, “Grover Cleveland Campaign Song”, and “’Bout Time”. I like Grandpa’s lines the most in this movie so I will use one from the school scene. In these lines, a student is correcting Grandpa Bower on the proper textbook name of the Civil War.

Grandpa: “Right there’s the first thing I’m gonna learn ya! The proper name to call it is ‘The War Between the States’ cause that’s what it was! …And you can take my words for it ‘cause there wasn’t nothing ‘civil’ about it!”

I think this line is so true. Well, I hope ya’ll can enjoy this movie sometime. It may not be for everyone but I sure have enjoyed it. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Be safe in your travels and I hope ya’ll come back again for more musical reviews. Don’t be afraid to comment! Bye!