Mighty Uke
| Mighty Uke: The Amazing Comeback of a Musical Underdog | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Tony Coleman |
| Written by | Margaret Meagher |
| Distributed by | Tiny Goat Films, Inc. |
|
Release date
|
January 11, 2010 |
|
Running time
|
76 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
Mighty Uke: The Amazing Comeback of a Musical Underdog (released 2010) is a documentary film about the ukulele. It combines graphics, photographs, interviews and performance footage to tell the story of the ukulele and its recent resurgence in popularity.
Mighty Uke follows the history of the ukulele's popularity from its earliest days in the court of Hawaiian King David Kalākaua through the ‘lost’ years, then its first revival on early radio and the stages of vaudeville; then through several decades in the shadows again as jazz flourished until the days of early television and revival again with stars such as Arthur Godfrey. It again fell out of popularity as rock dominated popular music, but in the 21st Century is experiencing its third revival. In addition to the musical capacities of the small instrument, the film investigates the social aspects of the ukulele.
Mighty Uke opens with Jake Shimabukuro talking about his journey with the ukulele and then describes the current revival, in which young musicians, middle aged amateurs and school kids alike are all turning to the uke. It tracks the revival around the world, through Europe, the Middle East, Japan, Canada and the US, where ukulele groups 2000-strong meet in parks, thousands gather for ukefests and children play their first music on the ukulele.
One segment features the Langley Ukulele Ensemble, a school program that began in the 1970s.
Among the stories is one about the "Ukuleles for Peace", an initiative to teach the ukulele to Arab and Israeli children together. As film critic Leonard Maltin says, "When you see Arab and Israeli children singing and playing a tune called “Ukuleles for Peace” I dare you not to smile."
The documentary covers many important people in the ukulele world.
The DVD release includes a large number of shorts gathered during filming. Brief interviews and demonstrations give additional insight into the history and the social aspects of the ukulele as well as its musical abilities.
Sponsored in part by Kala Brand Music Co., the film continues to travel around the world for showings. Showings are often prefaced with the local ukulele groups and performers and followed up with open strums for those that bring their instruments with them. One feature is often a drawing for a Mighty Uke ukulele.
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