Mélodie Cocktail

During the '40s many of the animated films released by the Disney studios were compilation-style movies. By that, I mean that instead of telling one story over the course of 80 or so minutes, the films were made up of a series of short animated stories linked together. The most successful example of this approach was "Fantasia" (which was linked together by pieces of classical music), but nowadays many people are not aware that the studio made several films of this kind. "The Three Caballeros", "Make Music Mine", "Saludos Amigos", "Fun and Fancy Free" and "Melody Time" are some of the other examples.

Melody Time is split into seven sections. "Once Upon A Wintertime" deals with a loving couple who go ice-skating on a frozen river; "Bumble Boogie" deals with a bee which is pursued by a variety of living musical instruments to the accompaniment of Rimsky Korsakov's Flight Of The Bumblebee; "Johnny Appleseed" retells an old American legend about a pioneer who struck out west and planted the first apple forests; "Little Toot" deals with a mischievous young tugboat which redeems itself by saving a liner in a storm; "Trees" is a short poetic sequence in which the title tells you all you need to know; "Blame It On The Samba" is a simple dance sequence starring Donald Duck; and "Pecos Bill", which begins with real-life actors (among them Bobby Driscoll) talking around a desert campfire, and proceeds to relate the animated story of the titular Wild West character who was raised by coyotes and got into various wacky adventures.

Generally-speaking, I find the longer sequences the best. The opening sequence, "Wintertime", is excellent, with just the right touch of comedy and excitement. "Little Toot" is excellent too - arguably the best episode in the film in fact. And "Pecos Bill" is thoroughly entertaining and has some laugh-out-loud moments. Of the longer episodes, only "Johnny Appleseed" feels laboured and frankly dull. The shorter episodes are actually rather disappointing. "Bumble Boogie" has terrific musical accompaniment, but is forgettable; "Trees" is pleasant but ordinary; and "Blame It On The Samba" looks like a rejected sequence from The Three Caballeros (1947), and is by far the most irritating sequence in this film, despite the presence of the perennially popular Donald Duck. On the whole, Melody Time might only really appeal to Disney completists; it has amusing and ingenious moments though you have to wade through some dull stretches to find them.

Seven animated musical shorts from Walt Disney (with some live-action interspersed) include themes of young love and the wonders of nature. Highlights are the raucous "Pecos Bill" segment and the story of "Johnny Appleseed". Obviously, "Melody Time" was a holding-pattern release for the studio while they completed their more high-profile pictures. Certainly it is filled with gorgeous color, animated grandeur, and old-fashioned songs, but it's considered to be one of Disney's lesser efforts, and for good reason. The lack of a strong theme, matched with Disney's penchant for cuteness, may cause some non-Disney buffs to start squirming after thirty minutes or so. Pretty much interchangeable with "Make Mine Music", which was released in 1946. **1/2 from ****

One of the last animated package films that Disney released in the 40s to keep afloat and the last one to be an anthology of short films (the next one will be just two stories combined). As was the case with "Make Mine Music" before, the film tries to be a kind of "Fantasia" for popular music, but the result in both is much worse (even worse here). Of the seven segments, the first one with a recognisable visual design by the great Mary Blair and "The Legend of Johnny Appleseed" are probably the best ones (even when "Little Toot" and "Pecos Bill" were very popular at the time).

The WWII years were not good to 'ol Walt Disney. First, a crippling strike occurred just before the war (in which he lost about a third of his animators) and then the war took a whole bunch more. Plus, apart from making military training films and a few shorts here and there, the production of full-length films ground to a complete halt. Up until this time, Disney had produced some amazingly good cartoons such as "Snow White", "Pinocchio" and "Bambi" among others. Once the war was over, the studio was a mess and they were in no shape to try to replicate their past glorious films. So, the studio worked on a wide variety of short films--intended as experimental productions and opportunities for the new animators to hone their craft. To put it bluntly, it was almost like the minor leagues of Disney--or perhaps the pre-season! Regardless, by 1946-8, they had A LOT of shorts and decided to clump them together (sometimes clumsily) and release them as full-length films, such as "Make Mine Music", "Saludos Amigos" and this film. Unfortunately, these all were wildly uneven pictures--full of very good stuff, some poor stuff and some downright awful stuff. For kids, in particular, they were second or third-rate films--often full of dull songs and varying wildly in style, content and focus.

Of the collections marketed as full-length films, "Melody Time" might just be the most consistent of them. While it still is uneven and occasionally bad (Once Upon a Winter Time), it also had more good stuff--though nothing exactly great. The best of them were probably "Pecos Bill" and "Little Toot"....though I also liked "Bumble Boogie". The rest of the crop would fall somewhere between these extremes. Enjoyable but probably a film best for die-hard Disney fans or people who adore animation...REALLY adore animation. Otherwise, I anticipate some very disappointed people out there.

'Melody Time' showcases seven classic short stories utilizing the talents of The Andrews Sisters, Dennis Day, Roy Rogers, Sons of the Pioneers and Frances Langford. Highlights include "Pecos Bill" and "Johnny Appleseed", as well as "Little Toot", the tale of a mischievous tugboat. "Bumble Boogie" and "Blame it on the Samba" are other highlights.

A nice mixture of fun and fantasy with some great music on the soundtrack while the Disney animation dazzles with its highly stylized cartoon art. Although an uneven blend of sketches, it's got plenty of entertainment value. A winter wonderland romance sung by the Andrews Sisters gets it off to a good start. Kids of all ages should love it and adults won't be bored. Highly recommended.