Tempo de Melodia

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."

Overall, I enjoyed "Melody Time" very much. It isn't as good as "Fantasia", which I consider a perfect introduction to classical music, but there are some entertaining parts. Elevated by some lovely animation, good songs and cute characters it is very pleasant to watch, even if there are segments that are better than others.

"Once Upon a Wintertime"(9/10)- One of my personal favourite segments from the film. I admit I knew about this one long before seeing "Melody Time" from watching my old Christmas videos. The animation is absolutely gorgeous in this segment, with a nice romantic story and a truly beautiful title song, sublimely sung by Frances Langford.

"Bumble Boogie"(9/10)- When I first heard of this I thought "Rimsky Korsakov jazzed up? How will that turn out?" My verdict is surprisingly entertaining, despite its scant running time and being a tad too rushed, with a cute and endearing title character, nice animation and a clever arrangement of "Flight of the Bumble Bee". I will say I don't know what Rimsky Korsakov would make of it though, he was very particular about how he liked his orchestration.

"Johnny Appleseed"(10/10)- My personal favourite. Very colourful visually, with some lively songs and the perfect melodious voice of Dennis Day elevated it to a greater level. Could've easily been very dull in terms of story, but the above elements made it worth seeing.

"Little Toot"(8/10)- I have one word for this little segment- CUTE! Little Toot himself is adorable. I loved the animation and music here, the Andrews Sisters have wonderful voices that blend beautifully together. A little too slow in places.

"Trees"(8/10)- Plot-less it is, but it is a visual and musical feast, and the poetic narration was lovely. If only it wasn't so short!

"Blame it on the Samba"(7/10)- Sorry, this was my least favourite, despite the presence of the wonderful Donald Duck and his little green parrot buddy. Excellent music and decent animation, but the editing and pacing seemed somewhat rushed, and for some strange reason Ethel Smith left me cold.

"Pecos Bill"(8/10)- This is one rootin' tootin' cartoon. While starting off a little tedious and some of the characters were a bit deflated, there were however some very nice backgrounds, funny moments and a corker of a soundtrack. Not to mention the fabulous Roy Rogers, wow!

Overall, uneven mix but pleasant enough. 7/10 Bethany Cox

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.

All possibly to reflect Walt Disney's dreams and possibly some of his new ideas, while the world was recovering from the terrifying Second World War, Disney released "Melody Time", a collection of beautiful, heartwarming, musical and entertaining shorts. At the beginning, a speaking mask (who at times is the narrator), explains that there is something for everyone and there indeed just about is! A lot of different kind of shorts await you and you are bound to like at least one a little bit.

In order of when the shorts are shown:

"Once Upon A Wintertime": A different kind of Disney animation, including pristine backgrounds, Disney shows a rather messy winter love story. Not the best short in the bunch, but definitely not the least best, with a good woman singer.

"Bumble Boogie": Good for the eye, this short shows a very angry and upset bee trapped and flustered in a world of musical caterpillars and images. A good short mainly for the older, for the young it may be a bit upsetting, especially as the bee is quite a likable character.

"Johnny Appleseed": One of the few shorts with a proper plot, with some of the best animation in the set, Johnny Appleseed is a heartwarming story, you may even be inclined to believe this beautiful American story is true! Good for all ages.

"Little Toot": Unfortunately, this short is rather tedious babyish and a slight bit depressing, probably the least good of the lot. However, it is likely to entertain the wee ones and maybe some grown-ups would not mind watching it.

"Tree": Is basically a poem, a moving painting and a picture of a tree. Like "Bumble Boogie", it is plot less and another feast for the eyes, hopefully it will become your favourite of the set. Very beautiful for any animation and stunning.

"Blame It On The Samba": Featuring Donald Duck, a parrot friend of his and a rascal of a waiter bird! Showing a naughty bird bullying and entertaining Donald Duck and his friend with the amazement and annoyance of the samba.

"Pecos Bill": The last of the set, Pecos Bill is pretty entertaining - even with a rather tedious beginning and animation that could do with some work. The songs and characters are certainly entertaining. It shows a young boy being bought up by coyotes and becoming a "rooting, tootin' cowboy".

So, enjoy "Melody Time"!

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.