La Boîte à musique

I'm a UK viewer and I saw "Make Mine Music" in the late 1940's,when it was newly released . I had seen and been excited by "Fantasia" and the "MMM" numbers, as a late teenager, I found hugely enjoyable. I'm sad to learn that the "Martins and the Coys" number has been deleted - it was fun and the hill billy feuding' was something we'd found amusing and harmless. I disagree with some of the comments on the individual numbers, particularly "Without You" by Andy Russell and "Two Silhouettes" by Dinah Shore, both of which made an impression on me and I've been trying to obtain a record of the former for years, without success. I have fond memories of "Johnny Fedora and Alic Blue Bonnet" (absurdly sentimental though it was)and can sing the first lines to this day. The Benny Goodman numbers are superb - musically and animation-wise - but then I'm a B.G.fan and ever will be. "Peter and the Wolf" persuaded me to listen to the real classical version and, subsequently, to buy the sound track record. Perhaps I do agree with the viewer who found Jerry Colonna's rendering of "Casey" a lemon but then you either take Jerry's versions of things or you don't. Nelson ("The singing capon")Eddy's version of "Willie" was a delight, though in later years it may have made one more conscious of the bloody aspects of whale hunting. Anyway, it was good to hear Nelson without "Heart of Steel" Jeanette MacDonald. You see, without seeing the film again the memories come tumbling out and I've given it a 9 for more reasons than one. Please will somebody tell me where I can obtain a VHS copy ? David Miles

Unable to initially return to making true animated features like "Pinocchio" and "Bambi" after the Second World War, Disney turned to making "package features". Like "Fantasia", these films strung together various shorts and featurettes into a feature-length anthology. Between their release in the 1940s and the DVD age, these films were rarely, if ever, shown in their entirety. Instead, the individual segments were re-released as stand-alone pieces, some of which became quite popular. It's understandable why this was done. Whereas the individual elements of "Fantasia" have a similar enough artistic vision to be kept intact as a single experience, the package features do seem like a line of random, individual shorts that have been strung together. As such, the films can seem quite uneven and somewhat unsatisfying collectively.

In particular, "Make Mine Music" stands out as being one of the most inconsistent package features. It consists of ten shorts, all relying heavily on music. Some of the shorts are fairly conventional, story-driven, while others are quite experimental. The real stand-out pieces are "Peter and the Wolf" (initially considered for a sequel/continuation of "Fantasia") and "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met". The stories are engaging, and they are absolutely charming, although "Peter and the Wolf" relies a bit too much on narration. It comes as no surprise that these two shorts became the film's most famous segments. Special mention should also be given to "Blue Bayou", which uses footage from a deleted segment of "Fantasia" that was to be set to Debussy's "Clair de Lune" (here, though, it's set to a love ballad).

Other segments, however, vary. "The Martins and the Coys", which was rather stupidly removed from the American DVD, is not bad but hardly memorable. "After You've Gone", an interlude featuring anthropomorphised musical instruments, means well but falls quite flat, ultimately appearing as not much more than filler. "All the Cats Join In" and "Without You" equally seem like experimental filler, yet both are more successful. "Casey at the Bat", on the other hand, contains too many self-indulgent gags and overly caricatured animation to be of any real artistic or entertainment merit, a fact not helped by Jerry Colona's obnoxious narration. The two other segments, "Johnny Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet" and "Two Silhouettes", are so cutesy that they become nothing but pieces of unadulterated kitsch.

Ultimately, the only people I would recommend "Make Mine Music" to would be the people who would only be interested in it - Disney fans and animation buffs. To everyone else, as with a good number of package films, it would probably be best seeing individual segments, which is how these films work best.

Make Mine Music finds Walt Disney in the midst of the transitional period between his first five animated features (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, Bambi) and the post-war revival begun with Cinderella (1950).

The idea of a casual variant of Fantasia featuring popular music was a good one. Even though the segments which comprise the film vary in quality, the film as a whole is a bright, colorful and amusing light entertainment which fit wartime needs ideally.

Highlights include two spirited Benny Goodman swing numbers ("All The Cats Join In" and "After You've Gone") and the unforgettable finale, "Willie the Operatic Whale", narrated and sung by Nelson Eddy. The animation is generally first-rate and the Technicolor film will dazzle any viewer not expecting a genuine masterwork.

Make Mine Music was successful enough to warrant a considerably better follow-up, Melody Time (1948).

The undistinguished but harmless "Martins and the Coys" segment, concerning the gun-feuding backwoods families of American folklore, has idiotically been removed from current editions, evidently for PC reasons. It's scary that Disney may start altering their classics to meet artificial modern standards. (If they had cut anything from Make Mine Music, it should have been the tasteless "Two Silhouettes" ballet, all doilies and valentines and icky fake sentiment.)

An episodic musical tapestry a' la Fantasia, only this one utilizes the pop music of circa 1946. Some are worth viewing, and others are worth fast-forwarding through. My own personal favorites are the two Benny Goodman numbers, "All the Cats Join In" and "After You've Gone". I haven't seen the now-deleted "The Martins and the Coys" sequence, but I do oppose the tampering of classic films in the name of "PC". If I had known this was the case with "Make Mine Music", I would have never bought the VHS tape.

"Make Mine Music" is a beautifully crafted binding of Disney shorts, and I think it is an improvement over "Melody Time". "Melody Time" did have some memorable parts especially "Once Upon a Wintertime", "Bumble Boogie" and "Johnny Appleseed", but what made "Make Mine Music" better was that it had a somewhat better variety of music and that it contains some of my all time favourite Disney moments. But like it is with "Melody Time" the success of the shorts is variable.

"The Martins and the Coys"(10/10)-Man I loved this! Probably the most underrated of all the shorts featured in this film. It mayn't be to everyone's tastes now, and it does stereotype the Appalachians, but what makes it so enormously entertaining is the fluid and colourful quality of the animation, the rollicking soundtrack and the vocals.

"Blue Bayou"(10/10)- I don't know where to begin praising "Blue Bayou". Whether it was the stunning animation, with the pristine and perfect blue backgrounds, the poetic lyrics and the lyrical, sensual melody of the song. And the music is sublimely sung.

"All the Cats Join In"(10/10)-One cool and jazzy cartoon. I am not always that fond of jazz admittedly, but the music courtesy of Benny Goodman and his orchestra is wonderful. Topped with clever and sophisticated animation and the story, even for a combination cartoon, works effectively.

"Without You"(9/10)- I liked this, the animation is gorgeous in this sequence and the song itself is sweet and memorable. Andy Russell does a good job with the singing. I will say though it doesn't rank as a favourite, and I can't put my finger on why, maybe it was to do with where it was placed in the film.

"Casey at the Bat"(8/10)-The pace is rushed here, but this cartoon is entertaining. I for one liked Jerry Colonna's mini-commentary-like vocals here, and I liked the animation too. "Casey at the Bat" is also very funny, certainly makes a game of baseball entertaining.

"Two Silhouettes"(8/10)-Don't get me wrong, I really liked this sequence. It is sentimental and sappy of course, but it looked beautiful, with graceful dancing, and the song was lovely, sensitively sung by Dinah Shore.

"Peter and the Wolf"(9.5/10)-Easily one of the better shorts of the film. Not my personal favourite by all means, but definitely memorable. The animation is beautiful here, the music is outstanding and the story is effective. Not to mention the characters are very well done, in fact the Wolf when my sister and I were little was so scary for us, my sister still refuses to see this cartoon, as she got nightmares from the Wolf and the French horn motif played to signify his entrance.

"After You've Gone"(8/10)- I do prefer "All the Cats Join In" but this is full of jazz and pizazz. It's running time though is disappointingly scant, and it is a tad rushed. The artwork is beautifully done though, and the music is wonderful. Another example of a combination cartoon, and works well at it.

"Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet"(10/10)- I love how beautiful, simple and poignant this is. Coupled with nice animation, lovely music and beautifully blended vocals from the Andrews Sisters, this is a definite must.

"Willie the Operatic Whale"(or "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing At the Met")(10/10)-Save the best until last I'd say. Along with "Peter and the Wolf" this is the only other cartoon from the film I was familiar with before watching. This one is unforgettable, truly unforgettable with a truly special whale. The animation is gorgeous and charming, and the singing from undervalued Nelson Eddy is outstanding. What made this though was the opera music, it was wonderful to hear "Largo Al Factotum" from "Barber of Seville" and "Sextet" from "Lucia Di Lammermoor" to name a few. This was the cartoon that introduced me to the wonderful world of opera, that's why it is so special to be.

Overall, while there are one or two sequences that aren't as good as others, "Make Mine Music" is beautifully crafted, and I would recommend it. 8/10 Bethany Cox