''The Legend of Johnny Appleseed'' is an animated

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

segment from

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

's 1948 film ''

Melody Time ''Melody Time'' is a 1948 American live-action/animated musical film produced by Walt Disney. The tenth Disney animated feature film, it was released to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures on May 27, 1948. Made up of seven segments set to popular mu ...

''. It is narrated by

Dennis Day Dennis Day (born Owen Patrick Eugene McNulty; May 21, 1916 – June 22, 1988) was an American actor, comedian, and singer. He was of Irish descent. Early life Day was born and raised in the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx, New York City, the ...

and is based on the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

frontier A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts o ...

sman John Chapman, better known as

Johnny Appleseed John Chapman (September 26, 1774March 18, 1845), better known as Johnny Appleseed, was an American pioneer nurseryman who introduced apple trees to large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Ontario, as well as the northern coun ...

. It is also included on the 2001 direct to video, VHS, and DVD release ''

Disney's American Legends ''Disney's American Legends'' is a 2001 American animated anthology film narrated by James Earl Jones. It is a compilation of four previously released animated musical shorts from Walt Disney Animation Studios based on American tall tales. The fi ...

''.

Plot

In 1806,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

farmer Johnny Appleseed watches as pioneers depart out west and wishes that he could follow, but doesn't know how to survive in the unknown wild. Johnny is inspired by an angel to abandon his farm, go west, and plant apple seeds everywhere he goes so that settlers will always have something to eat during their travels. The angel tells Johnny that he has all that he needs to go out West: a bag of apple seeds for planting, a holy book known as the Bible, and a tin pot he can use for a hat. In one of his travels, Johnny befriends a skunk, and thereafter, all animals instinctively trust him. As Johnny travels, he uses his pot to fry in, and sings a tune "The Lord Is Good to Me." In the end, after walking hundreds of miles and planting apple trees all along the way, Johnny finally rests for the last time under a tree; his angel appears before him, and tells Johnny that it's time to go. Johnny's spirit gets up, scared at first upon realizing he's dead and is reluctant to go to his final resting place, believing that his work is not done yet. However, the angel tells him that, where they're

headed Headed may refer to: *A headed phrase, in linguistics * Headed notepaper See also * * Head (disambiguation) The head is the part of an animal or human that usually includes the brain, eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Head or Heads may also refer to: ...

, they're low on apple trees, so Johnny picks up his seed bag and happily agrees to go with him. The narrator finishes by saying that he always thinks of Johnny Appleseed whenever he looks up because the clouds in the sky aren't really clouds at all: "they're

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

blossom In botany, blossoms are the flowers of stone fruit trees (genus ''Prunus'') and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring. Colloquially, flowers of orange are referred to as such as wel ...

s in Johnny's heavenly orchard."

Songs

* The Lord is Good to Me * Get on the Wagon Rolling West (Pioneers song) * There's a Lot of Work To Do * Apple Feast

Cast

- Narrator, The Old Settler, Johnny Appleseed, Johnny's Angel *

Dallas McKennon Dallas Raymond McKennon (July 19, 1919 – July 14, 2009), sometimes credited as Dal McKennon, was an American film, television and voice actor, who had a career lasting over 50 years. During World War II he served in the Army Signal Corps and wa ...

- Additional voices

Uncredited

* Jimmy MacDonald - Additional voices * The Rhythmaires - Vocals, Additional voices

Theatrical release

The film was originally a sequence in ''

'', released May 27, 1948, then reissued as a stand-alone short on

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

of 1955 and later reissued again by

Buena Vista Distribution Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. until 2007, is an American film distribution studio within the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. It ha ...

in 1967 as part of Disney's Cartoon Special.

Home media

It was included on the DVD releases of ''

'', on February 12, 2001; Volume 3 of '' Walt Disney's It's a Small World of Fun!'' In February 2007; and Volume 6 of ''Walt Disney Animation Collection: Classic Short Films'' on May 12, 2009.

External links

* 1948 films 1940s biographical films 1940s Disney animated short films American biographical films American folklore films and television series Films directed by Wilfred Jackson Films produced by Walt Disney Films scored by Paul Smith (film and television composer) Films about angels Films set in the 19th century Films set in the United States Films with screenplays by Winston Hibler Johnny Appleseed 1950s English-language films 1940s English-language films 1950s American films {{disney-animation-film-stub