Melody Time

If you like Fantasia, Fantasia 2000 this nearly lost film is worth checking out. It is an anthology of shorts set to popular music from the 40's. It is a lot more accessible to the average viewer than the classic music of fantasia. The shorts-like always-are a mixed bag but each has its charm that make each worth watching once. I particularly liked "Little Toot" and "Bumble Boogie."

Buddy Clark's voice hosts and introduces 7 shorts set to popular and folk music sung by contemporary talent of the era ranging from the Andrew Sisters to Roy Rogers.

The anthology film produced by Walt Disney pictures and second to last "package film" which would conclude with the following year's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Melody Time like other projects of the mid to late 40s was intended to be cheaply produced by the studio, but unlike previous films made either out of necessity or under contract to the State Department, the goal of Melody Time as well as the following Year's Ichabod and Mr. Toad was to accumulate capital to return to single narrative features with 1950's Cinderella. Like many of the post Fantasia anthologies produced by Disney it lacks the grandiosity and artistry of Fantasia, but some of its shorts do come close to reaching the same level.

Most of the shorts of Melody Time are pretty well in line with the standards of a typical Silly Symphony cartoon with segments such as Once Upon a Wintertime, Little Toot, and Bumble Boogie being technically well made, but not all that memorable or substantive. Even Bumble Boogie which tries for a more surreal approach feels rather rote at this point because it looks so similar in style and execution to Pink Elephants for Dumbo or sequences to Three Caballeros there's a feeling of "been there, done that" that's hard to escape. Blame It on the Samba features a reteam of Donald Duck and Jose Carioca who are livened up by the Aracuan Bird introducing both of them to the Samba which leads to a live-action/animated mix where the three cartoon birds interact with organist Ethel Smith in what's admittedly a retread of the Baia segment from Three Caballeros, but the syncing of animation with live-action actors has gotten noticeably better with more in depth levels of interaction and some more ambitious camera work. The only weird part of this short is that Jose and Donald are completely mute and lacking in personality and I'm not entirely sure why. Both Jose and Donald are really expressive characters with distinguished personalities and without Jose's suave charm and energy or Donald Duck's anger, annoyance, and irritability it's kind of strange seeing them without the usual traits associated with them.

The other shorts are slightly above average with a retelling of the Legend of Pecos Bill being a well animated slapstick comedy with some creative imagery (even if it's kind of an odd note to end the movie on), a recitation of the Joyce Kilmer poem "Trees" brought to life with animation to show a single tree in all four seasons that's quite beautiful, but easily the best short is The Legend of Johnny Appleseed where we look at the life of John Chapman who goes from humble apple farmer to American legend with the help of his guardian angel. Johnny Appleseed despite it's short length shows grand ambitions and encompasses all the best parts of the ideals of America and humanity as we see Johnny befriend nature and spread apples and kindness across the land solely for its own sake and to help bring a sense of decency and community. The imagery in this short is nothing short of epic with a scene of Johnny's shadow stretching across the land, or apple blossoms transitioning to clouds being some truly memorable sights.

Melody Time like all the other package films Disney produced during the 40s has some okay segments and some segments that are awe inspiring. I don't think the movie's all that impressive as a whole and would say it's probably preferable to experience these shorts on their own, but there is some really strong work on display despite it being disjointed.

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.

Following on the heels of 'Fantasia' (which used classical music to accompany animated shorts) and 'Make Mine Music' (which used popular songs and recital instead), comes another musical anthology, 'Melody Time', the weakest of the three.

The Andrews Sisters perform 'Little Toot' to give life to a charming tale about a mischievous tug-boat who eventually redeems himself; while Roy Rogers performs the dullest piece of the film, 'Pecos Bill'. In-between we have a mixed bag - a choral version of the croaky old poem 'Trees'; a hot samba with Ethel Smith and Donald Duck; 'Bumble-Boogie' (which has a bee trying to escape from the musical cacophony which is Freddy Martin's orchestra and The Flight of the Bumble Bee); and the tale of Johnny Appleseed.

OK to pass the time but does not have anything on the scale of 'The Whale Who Wanted To Sing At The Met' or 'The Nutcracker Suite' from the previous films.

'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.