Melody Time

Melody Time_360P

source: Melody Time

Like Fantasia, Melody Time is an anthology of animated sequences, but is not as long like the former and not as brilliant or vibrant in my opinion. It contains seven animated shorts, some with just music and some with dialog and music. You won't find much plot in this film - just a bunch of cartoon shorts set to the music of contemporary oldies and songs sung by singers from the Golden Era. The animation looks pretty washed up and the overall movie misses the rich music, dynamic and scenic animation sequences and the excitement and majesty Fantasia was able to present. While each segment wasn't very appealing, the Johnny Appleseed sequence was a little touching and the Trees segment was quite beautiful. The story of Little Toot was too "cute" but has some heroic elements, and the Blame it on the Samba sequence was quite catchy with its Latin music (and it's nice to see a familiar face, Donald Duck, star in that sequence). However, the Once Upon A Wintertime short was boring, Bumble Boogie was a little too mindless and the Pecos Bill story, while set to some good ol' American flavor, dragged the film. Overall, the film doesn't have much that would grab your attention and has that all-around lazy feel to it. It might be something that is OK for adults to watch once to pass the time, but children might not be able to sit through it. Grade D+

The Bad: This is a compilation of shorts, not a cohesive story. Some of the shorts are fun, but some are pretty bad. The short "Blame it on the Samba" - in which Donald dances around while a live-action woman sings and plays instruments – made me try to fast-forward through the never-ending scene. I strongly disliked that one. Although someone who is a fan of that style of music might find it more palatable. "Pecos Bill" contains Indian stereotypes which are outdated and potentially offensive, along with a depiction of the hero smoking. The Good: I really loved the "Johnny Appleseed" segment. It's loosely based on a true story (hey, history education!), plus had an unexpectedly positive view of Christianity (in something like two lines). The "Little Toot" segment was also pretty cute. The handful of other segments were fairly forgettable in my opinion, but not unwatchable. The Mom view: Created after Fantasia, it feels like it is a much lesser cousin – or even simply a grouping of completely unrelated shorts rather than a harmonious concert experience. Since the music can be so varied (and not contemporary), I find this could be educational for a child. Exposure to music style that a parent doesn't regularly listen to can be a very good thing. Also, the American folk hero aspect of this compilation was nice. If I could snip out the segments I liked and discard the irritating ones, this would make for an okay movie for my kids, but the "Samba" segment simply kills this for me. I'll get Fantasia instead.

A simple movie. very ugly. without history. "movie" terrible. disney fail for me

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.

"Bumble Boogie" and "Blame it on the Samba" rate as some of the best stuff that Disney has ever done.

'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.

Seven musical Disney animated shorts come together in Disney's 1948 movie, "Melody Time," a movie cartoon starring all your favorite Disney friends together being so very musical!!!!! Here are five things that I liked the best about this film: 1. The shorts. Nice selection by Walt Disney on all those cartoons selected for "Melody Time." They were quite a toe-tapper! 2. The history. Yes, this movie has aged quite well, and this movie is a window back in time to when cartoons were enjoyable! 3. The folk tales. Yes, I remember folk tales quite well! Here, we have a couple of them made into shorts: Johnny Appleseed, and Pecos Bill. You might remember these!!!!! 4. It's Disney. What could an old Disney film be like without the Disney characters of Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, etc.? 5. It's fun! It's that plain simple! Have these five reasons convinced you to have a go at "Melody Time" yet? 10/10

...but no one in the 21st century is going to recognize any of the people who did the music for "Melody Time". Dennis Day? Fred Waring? Frances Langford? And besides, the movie has some of the hokiest sketches. As for Roy Rogers, maybe he and John Wayne were seen as role models in the '40s and '50s, but can we in the 2010s truly see them as such?* So, it's not just that I'm the sort of person who prefers to watch all sorts of different movies from around the world. I prefer it if family movies have a more complex purpose than being happy-go-lucky. For example, I wouldn't call "Frozen" a masterpiece but I thought that it made a good point about accepting oneself as one is and others as they are. But more than anything I always preferred the Looney Tunes cartoons; their irreverence and grittiness starkly contrasted with Disney's cuteness. The point is that I don't recommend "Melody Time". *Read John Wayne's comment about relations between white settlers and American Indians if you want to know what I mean.