Melody

When "Melody" began, I immediately recognized it from the Sing-Along Songs videotape series from Disney. My oldest daughter watched this particular tape a bazillion times and my only experience with it until now has been in the Sing-Along version. In the case of the Sing-Along tape, entirely new narration and music was added--and the story was completely changed. Sadly, I wasn't all that impressed with either version. Why? Well, "Melody" suffers on two major accounts. First, the animation is very splashy and VERY low quality--the sort of minimalistic stuff Disney began doing after UPA Studio began winning Oscars for its ugly looking shorts. I just think they look poorly animated. Second, the story itself is exactly the sort of stuff kids hate--as there isn't any fun--just lots of education about melodies. Yuck. You can do better.

A Walt Disney Cartoon.

Professor Owl teaches the students in his avian schoolhouse the importance of Melody & the sources of Inspiration in their daily lives.

ADVENTURES IN MUSIC - MELODY is a very enjoyable little film which gets its musical message across in a delightful manner. This was also the Studio's first foray into the field of 3-D animation. The wacky imagination of its co-director & animator, the irrepressible Ward Kimball (1914-2002), is evident throughout. The film would be followed the same year by a sequel, TOOT, WHISTLE, PLUNK, AND BOOM, which won the Oscar for best animated short for 1953.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a blizzard of doomsayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Bambi, Peter Pan and Mr. Toad. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off.

It's been quite a while since I've seen a cartoon with that school of singing birds. I remember seeing them when I was a kid in this short and in "Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom." It's a very fun and interesting concept as the birds teach the viewer about different aspects of music. Too bad this series didn't extend past TWP&B. The drawing style is very fun and carefree also. This is just a fun cartoon. I especially enjoyed the song that details the life of a human being.

However, it's not perfect, in my opinion. Near the end of the short, things get a little manic, and the short jumps to different songs and stories without notice. What starts out as a look at singing, melody, and the life of humans through a bird's perspective, turns into a bunch of stories and songs that just zoom on by the viewer. You can definitely notice "Melody's" 3-D roots as birds and objects fly toward the screen at a rapid pace. Too bad I didn't have the glasses, or they would have flown right at me!

Overall, "Melody" is still a solid and fun cartoon that will delight kids today and strike a chord of nostalgia with grown-ups. It has its drawbacks, but it's still a very enjoyable short!

My IMDb Rating: 8/10

Anybody who remembers or loves the Disney Sing-a-Long-Songs series will recognise Melody and its sequel Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom as serving the opening credits and various links in that series. Both Melody and Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom are well worth watching, delightful and nostalgic also for all ages, though I have more of a preference for the latter. This short Melody is a little rushed in the second half and at this point its emphasis is more on stringing songs together than educating. Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom was more even pacing-wise and I learned more from it. The somewhat abstract animation is a unique(for the time) and striking style and still looks good. You still learn a great deal from melody and it's told through told and some funny visual gags. The songs are very catchy with great harmonies, and the terrific singing vocals from all involved just elevate that quality. I agree that the one detailing a human being's life was the standout. Bill Thompson doesn't disappoint either. Overall, very nicely done and fun but falls a little short. 8/10 Bethany Cox