Day 10: Melody Time

Melody Time (1948)

Starring: Roy Rogers, Trigger, Dennis Day, the Andrews Sisters, Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians, Freddy Martin, Ethel Smith, Frances Langford, Buddy Clark, Bob Nolan, Sons of the Pioneers, the Dinning Sisters, Bobby Driscoll, Luana Patten, Mel Blanc, Thurl Ravenscroft, Bill Lee

Songs: "Melody Time," "Once Upon a Winter Time," "Bumble Boogie," "Johnny Appleseed," "Little Toot," "Trees," "Blame it on the Samba," "Pecos Bill," "Blue Shadows on the Trail"

Melody Time is the fifth package film and the tenth animated feature from Disney.  Double milestone!  In its structure, this movie is more like Make Mine Music in that it has several segments, some of which focus on music and art while others have more of a story.  The seven segments are as follows:

• "Once Upon a Winter Time" is the very cute story about two couples ice skating -- one a young man and woman, the other two rabbits.  This segment is charming, the music is lovely, and the art (which is pure Mary Blair) is beautiful and sets this segment apart.
• "Bumble Boogie" is a jazzy version of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee."  This was a leftover idea from Fantasia.
• "The Legend of Johnny Appleseed" tells the American folk legend of John Chapman, otherwise known as Johnny Appleseed, the pioneer who supposedly roamed the country planting apple trees.  The story is narrated by Dennis Day and Johnny is voiced by Disney favorite Bobby Driscoll.  This is a cute, simplistic story and the backgrounds are very beautiful (and also smell of Mary Blair).  
• "Little Toot" is the story of a little tugboat who wants to be like his father, Big Toot.  This one is beautifully sung by the Andrews Sisters, who could sing the phone book and still get a thumbs up from me.
• The "Trees" segment features the poem by Joyce Kilmer set to music and animation.  It reminds me a bit of the 1937 Silly Symphony "The Old Mill."
• "Blame it on the Samba" is a fun number about Donald Duck and Caballero pal José Carioca discovering the samba. Like The Three Caballeros, it blends animation and live action, and sets it off with awesome music.
• "Pecos Bill" is another American folk legend, this one about the famous cowboy who was raised with coyotes and his female buckeroo girlfriend Slue-Foot Sue.  This story is told by Roy Rogers, Bob Nolan, and the Sons of the Pioneers to adorable Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten. 

This movie is pretty fun and shines with vintage charm.  Like in the other package films, the segments are varied in art and music style so that makes it interesting to watch.  I quite enjoyed it.  When reading up on the film in preparation of writing this, I was surprised to see that this movie got pretty bad reviews when it opened.  Watching these package films back to back this way, I can only imagine bad reviews and dissatisfaction with this movie might be because the public was tired of not getting a regular, full length animated feature and instead getting glorified shorts packaged together.

This isn't a movie I ever saw as a child.  I saw it for the first time when I was seventeen or eighteen (nineteen at the oldest) but I did enjoy it at the time and still enjoy it now.  I was, however, familiar with "Once Upon a Winter Time" because of its use in a Christmas themed Disney sing-a-long VHS in my childhood, and I have a bit of a sentimental attachment to the Pecos Bill story because of Slue-Foot Sue.  I wouldn't say this is one of my favorite Disney movies, but I do rather enjoy it.

What I Liked: Bobby Driscoll.  Mary Blair's backgrounds getting a chance to shine in a couple of the segments.  

What I Disliked: No Panchito in the "Blame it on the Samba" segment.  I like the THREE Caballeros to be together, not just two.

Favorite Segment: That would be a tie between "Blame it on the Samba" and "Once Upon a Winter Time." 

Least Favorite Segment: Ehhh... that's a tough one.  As is usually the case, I don't dislike any of them.  "Trees," I suppose, isn't as much fun as some of the others, so I guess I'll pick on that one.

Should You Watch This Movie: I'd go for it.  Could be a fun one for families.  Though a few of the segments are a bit corny by modern standards, it's still a cute movie.  I wouldn't be surprised, however, if it bores kids who are used to more excited stories with flashier, more realistic animation.