Mélodie Cocktail

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.

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.

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).

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 ****

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"!