''Melody Time'' is a 1948 American
live-action/animated musical film
Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...
produced by
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 ...
. The tenth
Disney animated feature film, it was released to theatres by
RKO Radio Pictures
RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...
on May 27, 1948. Made up of seven segments set to
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
and
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
, the film is, like ''
Make Mine Music
''Make Mine Music'' is a 1946 American animated musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the eighth Disney feature animated film, released on April 20, 1946.
During World War II, much of Walt Disn ...
'' before it, the popular music version of ''
Fantasia
Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
''. ''Melody Time'', while not meeting the artistic accomplishments of ''Fantasia'', was mildly successful. It is the fifth Disney
package film following ''
Saludos Amigos
''Saludos Amigos'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "Greetings, Friends") is a 1942 American Live-action animated film, live-action/animated anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures. It is the List of ...
'', ''
The Three Caballeros
''The Three Caballeros'' is a 1944 American live-action/animated musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The film premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944. It was released in the United States on ...
'', ''
Make Mine Music
''Make Mine Music'' is a 1946 American animated musical anthology film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the eighth Disney feature animated film, released on April 20, 1946.
During World War II, much of Walt Disn ...
'', and ''
Fun and Fancy Free
''Fun and Fancy Free'' is a 1947 American animated musical fantasy package film produced by Walt Disney and released on September 27, 1947 by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the ninth Disney animated feature film and the fourth of the package films th ...
''.
Vignettes
According to Disney, the film's plot is as follows: "In the grand tradition of Disney's greatest musical classics, such as FANTASIA, MELODY TIME features seven classic stories, each enhanced with high-spirited music and unforgettable characters...
feast for the eyes and ears
ull of
Ull or ULL may refer to:
University:
* University of La Laguna, a university in Canary Islands, Spain
* University of Louisiana at Lafayette, a research university in the USA
Other:
* Ullr or Ull, a Germanic god
* Ull (Greyhawk), a political sta ...
wit and charm...a delightful Disney classic with something for everyone".
Rose Pelswick, in a 1948 review for ''The News-Sentinel'', described the film as an 'adventure into the intriguing make-believe world peopled by Walt Disney's Cartoon characters". It also explains that "with the off-screen voice of Buddy Clark doing the introductions, the...episodes include fantasy, folklore, South American rhythms, poetry, and slapstick".
A 1948 review by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described it as a "mixture of fantasy, abstraction, parable, music, color, and movement".
The seven "mini-musical"
stories outlined:
''Once Upon a Wintertime''
This "Mansley" segment features
Frances Langford
Julia Frances Newbern-Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was an American singer and actress who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and made film and television appearances for over two decades.
She was known as the "GI Nighting ...
singing the title song about two romantic young lovers on a winter day in December, during the late 19th century. The couple are Jenny and Joe (unlike most Disney cartoons, Jenny and Joe lack spoken dialogue). Joe shows off on the ice for Jenny, and near-tragedy and a timely rescue ensues. This is intertwined with a similar rabbit couple.
Like other segments of these package films, ''Once Upon a Wintertime'' was later released theatrically as an individual short, in this case on September 17, 1954.
''Bumble Boogie''
This segment presents a surrealistic battle for a solitary bumblebee as he tries to ward off a visual and musical frenzy. The music, courtesy of
Freddy Martin
Frederick Alfred Martin (December 9, 1906 – September 30, 1983) was an American bandleader and tenor saxophonist.
Early life
Freddy Martin was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Raised largely in an orphanage and by various relatives, ...
and His Orchestra (with
Jack Fina
Jack Fina (August 13, 1913 – May 14, 1970) was a bandleader, songwriter, and pianist.
Fina was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and educated at the New York College of Music and was a student of August Fraemcke and Elsa Nicilini. He started out pla ...
playing the piano), is a swing-jazz variation of
Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...
's ''
Flight of the Bumblebee'', which was one of the many pieces considered for inclusion in ''
Fantasia
Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...
''.
''The Legend of Johnny Appleseed''
A retelling of the story of
John Chapman, who spent most of his life roaming the
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
(mainly Ohio and Indiana) in the pioneer days, and planting apple trees, thus earning his famous nickname. He also spread Christianity.
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 ...
narrates (as an "old settler who knew Johnny well") and provides the voices of both Johnny and his
guardian angel
A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played a major role in A ...
.
The segment was released independently on December 25, 1955 as ''Johnny Appleseed''. The piece has a running time of "17 minutes
aking itthe film's second-longest piece".
Before being adapted for ''Melody Time'', the story of Johnny Appleseed was "first immortalized around campfires", then later turned into "storybook form".
''Little Toot''
The story of ''
Little Toot
''Little Toot'' is a 1939 children's picture book written and illustrated by Hardie Gramatky. It features Little Toot, a small young tugboat in New York Harbor who does not want to tug. Instead, he would rather play, making figure eights in the ha ...
'' by
Hardie Gramatky
Bernhard August "Hardie" Gramatky, Jr. (April 12, 1907 – April 29, 1979) was an American painter, writer, animator, and illustrator. In a 2006 article in ''Watercolor Magazine'', Andrew Wyeth named him as one of America's 20 greatest watercolo ...
, in which the title protagonist, a small
tugboat
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, wanted to be just like his father Big Toot, but could not seem to stay out of trouble.
The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the Swing music, swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andre ...
provide vocals. A clip features briefly in the "Friendship" song on ''Disney Sing Along Songs'' volume ''Friend Like Me''. It was also featured in ''
Sing Me a Story with Belle
''Disney's Sing Me a Story with Belle'' is an American live-action/animated television series created by Patrick Davidson and Melissa Gould. The series features Belle from the 1991 film ''Beauty and the Beast'', who now owns and manages the books ...
''. This segment is later served as an inspiration for
TUGS
A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...
.
''Trees''
A recitation of the 1913 poem
"Trees" by
Joyce Kilmer
Alfred Joyce Kilmer (December 6, 1886 – July 30, 1918) was an American writer and poet mainly remembered for a short poem titled "Trees" (1913), which was published in the collection ''Trees and Other Poems'' in 1914. Though a prolific poet who ...
, featuring music by
Oscar Rasbach Oscar Rasbach (August 2, 1888 – March 23, 1975) was an American pianist and composer and arranger of art songs and works for piano.
Biography
Oscar was born in Kentucky, but studied "academic subjects in Los Angeles". He also studied music wi ...
and performed by
Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians. The lyrical setting accompanies animation of bucolic scenes seen through the changing of the seasons.
To preserve the look of the original story sketches, layout artist Ken O'Connor came up with the idea of using frosted cels and rendering the pastel images right onto the cel. Before being photographed each cel was laminated in clear lacquer to protect the pastel. The result was a look that had never been seen in animation before.
''Blame It on the Samba''
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...
and
José Carioca
José "Zé" Carioca (; ) is a cartoon anthropomorphic parrot created by the Brazilian cartoonist José Carlos de Brito (J. Carlos) and shown to Walt Disney in his trip to Rio de Janeiro in 1941. The Walt Disney Company then incorporated the ide ...
meet the
Aracuan Bird
This list of Donald Duck universe characters focuses on Disney cartoon and comics characters who typically appear with Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck, but are not related to them. For relatives of Donald and Scrooge, see Duck family (Disney) or ...
, who introduces them to the pleasures of the
samba
Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...
. The accompanying music is the 1914 polka ''Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho'' by
Ernesto Nazareth
Ernesto Júlio de Nazareth (March 20, 1863 – February 1, 1934) was a Brazilian composer and pianist, especially noted for his creative Maxixe and Choro compositions. Influenced by a diverse set of rhythms like the polka, the habanera, and the l ...
, fitted with English lyrics.
The Dinning Sisters provide vocals while organist
Ethel Smith appears in a live-action role.
''Pecos Bill''
The finale follows about
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
' famous hero
Pecos Bill
Pecos Bill is a fictional cowboy and folk hero in stories set during American Expansionism, westward expansion into the Southwest of Texas, New Mexico, Southern California, and Arizona. These narratives were invented as short stories in a book b ...
. Raised by coyotes, he became the biggest and best cowboy that ever lived. He out hissed the Rattlesnake. And learned about all of the animals. It also features his horse Widowmaker, who’s been saved by the vultures that try to eat him. He brought the rain from California to save Texas from the drought. But when he woke up from the river, he heard a cow mooing. There was the band of evil rustlers stealing the herd of cattle. But they didn’t know the herd they stole was Bill’s. So he lassoed them and knocked out all of their teeth one by one. The Rustlers were now finally reformed and started to sing, “Yippee-I-Yay!” Then, Bill and Widowmaker traveled through the desert. He got a stick and then he dug the rio grande. And it recounts the ill-fated romance between Bill and a beautiful cowgirl named Slue Foot Sue,
with whom he fell in love at first sight until a jealous Widowmaker made Sue to get literally stranded at the Moon at their wedding day.
This retelling features
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...
,
Bob Nolan
Bob Nolan (born Clarence Robert Nobles; April 13, 1908 – June 16, 1980, name changed to Robert Clarence Nobles in 1929) was a Canadian-born American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a founding member of the Sons of the Pioneers, and compo ...
, the former's horse
Trigger
Trigger may refer to:
Notable animals and people
;Mononym
* Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers
;Nickname
* Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist
* "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster
;Surname
* Bru ...
, and the
Sons of the Pioneers
The Sons of the Pioneers are one of the United States' earliest Western singing groups. Known for their vocal performances, their musicianship, and their songwriting, they produced innovative recordings that have inspired many Western music perf ...
telling the story to
Bobby Driscoll
Robert Cletus Driscoll (March 3, 1937 – March 30, 1968) was an American actor known for his film and television performances from 1943 to 1960. He starred in some of the Walt Disney Studios' best-known live-action pictures of that period ...
and
Luana Patten
Luana Patten (July 6, 1938 – May 1, 1996) was an American actress who appeared in films produced by Walt Disney Pictures, such as ''Song of the South'' (1946), ''Fun and Fancy Free'' (1947), and ''Melody Time'' (1948). Later in life, she pla ...
in a live-action frame story. The segment was later edited on the film's
NTSC
The first American standard for analog television broadcast was developed by National Television System Committee (NTSC)National Television System Committee (1951–1953), Report and Reports of Panel No. 11, 11-A, 12–19, with Some supplement ...
video release (sans the
PAL
Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...
release) to remove all shots with Bill smoking a cigarette and almost the entire tornado scene with Bill rolling his cigarette and lighting it with a lightning bolt. Both the cigarette and tornado scenes were restored when the film was released on
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
. With a total running time of "22 minutes,
tis the lengthiest piece".
Cast
The cast is listed below:
*
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...
– Himself; Narrator; Singer (''Pecos Bill'')
*
Trigger
Trigger may refer to:
Notable animals and people
;Mononym
* Trigger (horse), owned by cowboy star Roy Rogers
;Nickname
* Trigger Alpert (1916–2013), American jazz bassist
* "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), American gangster
;Surname
* Bru ...
, the Smartest Horse in the Movies – Himself
*
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 ...
– Narrator; Singer; Characters (''Johnny Appleseed'')
*
The Andrews Sisters
The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the Swing music, swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andre ...
– Singers (''Little Toot'')
*
Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians – Singers (''Trees'')
*
Freddy Martin
Frederick Alfred Martin (December 9, 1906 – September 30, 1983) was an American bandleader and tenor saxophonist.
Early life
Freddy Martin was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Raised largely in an orphanage and by various relatives, ...
– Music composer (''Bumble Boogie'')
*
Ethel Smith – Organist (''Blame It On the Samba'')
*
Frances Langford
Julia Frances Newbern-Langford (April 4, 1913 – July 11, 2005) was an American singer and actress who was popular during the Golden Age of Radio and made film and television appearances for over two decades.
She was known as the "GI Nighting ...
– Singer (''Once Upon a Wintertime'')
*
Buddy Clark
Buddy Clark (born Samuel Goldberg, July 26, 1912 – October 1, 1949) was an American popular singer of the Big Band era. He had some success in the 1930s, but his career truly blossomed in the late 1940s, after his return from service in Worl ...
– Singer; Narrator
*
Bob Nolan
Bob Nolan (born Clarence Robert Nobles; April 13, 1908 – June 16, 1980, name changed to Robert Clarence Nobles in 1929) was a Canadian-born American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a founding member of the Sons of the Pioneers, and compo ...
– Himself; Singer; Narrator (''Pecos Bill'')
*
Sons of the Pioneers
The Sons of the Pioneers are one of the United States' earliest Western singing groups. Known for their vocal performances, their musicianship, and their songwriting, they produced innovative recordings that have inspired many Western music perf ...
– Themselves; Singers; Narrators (''Pecos Bill'')
*
The Dinning Sisters
The Dinning Sisters were an American sisters singing group, active from the late 1930s to 1955. They made a handful of film appearances and had several hit records at the height of their popularity in the late 1940s.
The trio originally consiste ...
– Singers (''Blame It On the Samba'')
*
Bobby Driscoll
Robert Cletus Driscoll (March 3, 1937 – March 30, 1968) was an American actor known for his film and television performances from 1943 to 1960. He starred in some of the Walt Disney Studios' best-known live-action pictures of that period ...
– Himself (''Pecos Bill'')
*
Luana Patten
Luana Patten (July 6, 1938 – May 1, 1996) was an American actress who appeared in films produced by Walt Disney Pictures, such as ''Song of the South'' (1946), ''Fun and Fancy Free'' (1947), and ''Melody Time'' (1948). Later in life, she pla ...
– Herself (''Pecos Bill'')
Songs
The songs in ''Melody Time'' were all "largely based around (then) contemporary music and musical performances".
"Blue Shadows on the Trail" was chosen by the
Western Writers of America
Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction, the more than 600 current members also include historian ...
as one of the top 100 Western Songs of all time.
Production
In late 1947, Disney announced he would be releasing a "regrouping of various cartoons at his studio under two titles, ''Melody Time'' and ''Two Fabulous Characters''", to be released in August 1948 and 1949, respectively. ''Melody Time'' ended up being released a few months earlier than planned, in May.
''Melody Time'' is considered to be the last anthology feature made by Walt Disney Productions (the next film to be released was ''
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
''The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad'' is a 1949 American animated anthology film produced by Walt Disney Productions, released by RKO Radio Pictures and directed by Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney and James Algar with Ben Sharpsteen as production ...
'', which featured two stories). These package features were "little-known short-film compilations that Disney produced and released as feature films during World War II". They were "financially (and artistically) lightweight productions meant to bring in profits
o allow the studio toreturn to fairy tale single-narrative feature form", an endeavour which they successfully completed two years later with ''Cinderella''. While the shorts "contrast in length, form, and style", a common thread throughout is that each "is accompanied by song
from musicians and vocalists of the '40s"
– both popular and folk music. This sets it apart from the similarly structured ''Fantasia'', whose segments were set to classical music instead.
As opposed to ''Fun and Fancy Free'', whose story was bound to the tales of ''Bongo'' and ''Mickey and the Beanstalk'', in this film "Walt Disney has let his animators and his color magicians have free rein".
''Melody Time'' was the last film The Andrews Sisters took part in. They sang throughout the 10-minute segment known as ''Little Toot''. Andrews Sisters member Maxine said: "It was quite an experience. On the wall at the studio they had the whole story in picture form. Two songwriters played the score and Walt Disney explained it to us. It was a new thing for Disney. We sang the narrative. It was very exciting to work with Disney-he was such a gentleman".
Favourite Disney juvenile actors
Bobby Driscoll
Robert Cletus Driscoll (March 3, 1937 – March 30, 1968) was an American actor known for his film and television performances from 1943 to 1960. He starred in some of the Walt Disney Studios' best-known live-action pictures of that period ...
and
Luana Patten
Luana Patten (July 6, 1938 – May 1, 1996) was an American actress who appeared in films produced by Walt Disney Pictures, such as ''Song of the South'' (1946), ''Fun and Fancy Free'' (1947), and ''Melody Time'' (1948). Later in life, she pla ...
, who also starred in ''
Song of the South
''Song of the South'' is a 1946 American Live-action animated film, live-action/animated musical film, musical drama film directed by Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson; produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures. ...
'' and ''
So Dear to My Heart
''So Dear to My Heart'' is a 1948 American live-action/animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Its world premiere was in Chicago, Illinois, on November 29, 1948. Like 1946's ''Song of the South'', the film comb ...
'', appear in the last sequence as the two children who hear the story of Pecos Bill.
''Melody Time'' was the last feature film to include Donald Duck and José Carioca until the 1988
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures, Inc. was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featu ...
film ''
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American live-action/animated comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely adapted by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman from Gary K. Wolf's 1 ...
''.
Release
The film was originally released in USA, Brazil, and Argentina in 1948, in 1949 in Australia and in 1950 in Mexico and Uruguay. From December 1948 (UK) to 15 September 1954 (Denmark) the film was released across Europe. The film was known by a variety of names including ''Време за музика'' in Bulgaria, ''Mélodie cocktail'' in France, ''Musik, Tanz und Rhythmus'' in Germany, and ''Säveltuokio'' in Finland.
Disney later released a package film entitled ''Music Land'', a nine-segment film which "recycled sequences from both ''Make Mine Music'' and ''Melody Time''". Five selections were from ''Melody Time'' while another was the short ''Two For the Record'', which consisted of two segments produced under Benny Goodman's direction.
''Melody Time'' was unusual in that, until 1998 (50 years after its initial release), it remained "one of the handful of Disney's animated features yet to be released on videocassette". Some of the segments "have been re-released as featurettes", and ''Once Upon a Wintertime'' has "been included on other Disney video cartoon compilations".
Home media
''Melody Time'' was first released on January 25, 1987, in Japan, on
Laserdisc
The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
, and then on
VHS on June 2, 1998, under the
Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection
Walt is a masculine given name, generally a short form of Walter, and occasionally a surname. Notable people with the name include:
People Given name
* Walt Arfons (1916-2013), American drag racer and competition land speed record racer
* Walt Bel ...
title.
Prior to its 1998 home video debut in the US, in part of the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection, ''Once Upon A Wintertime'' was featured on the VHS, A Walt Disney Christmas,
''Little Toot'' on Storybook Classics,
''Blame It On The Samba'' on The Wonderful World of Disney: Music for Everybody
and ''Pecos Bill'' on the American Heroes VHS paired with ''
Paul Bunyan
Paul Bunyan is a giant lumberjack and folk hero in American and Canadian folklore. His exploits revolve around the tall tales of his superhuman labors, and he is customarily accompanied by Babe the Blue Ox. The character originated in the or ...
''.
Its latest release was on June 6, 2000, on VHS and
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
as part of the ''
Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection''. However, all scenes of smoking were digitally removed in the ''Pecos Bill'' segment. This is not the case in the UK Region 2 DVD where it is unaltered. On
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
, the smoking scenes were left intact for the first time in 70 years. The same uncut scenes are released on Blu-ray for the first time ever, exclusive to the Disney Movie Club on November 2, 2021.
The DVD has bonus features in the form of the following three cartoons: ''Casey Bats Again'', ''
Lambert the Sheepish Lion
''Lambert the Sheepish Lion'' is a Disney animated short film that was released in 1952. It was directed by Jack Hannah.
Plot
A stork (the same stork from ''Dumbo'') delivers a flock of newborn lambs to their expectant mothers, but finds that ...
'', and ''Donald Applecore''.
Marketing
The various taglines of the film were: "For Your All-Time Good Time!", "7 Hit Songs! 11 Musical Stars!", and "Walt Disney's Great New Musical Comedy".
Collectible items for the film include books, figures, and posters.
Reception
Critical reception
Contemporary reviews
At the time of its release, the film received "generally unfavorable reviews".
However, ''Disney Discourse: Producing the Magic Kingdom'' notes that an article in ''Time'' Magazine around that time "celebrated the global scope of the Disney product",
and a 1948 review for ''
The News-Sentinel
''The News-Sentinel'' was a daily newspaper based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The afternoon ''News-Sentinel'' was politically independent. The papers suspended publication in November 2020, after the beginning of COVID-19 pandemic.
Early history
'' ...
'' said the "charm and skill" that one had to expect from Disney is "delightful entertainment" for all children.
A 1948 review of the film for the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' said the "acts" ''Johnny Appleseed'' and ''Pecos Bill'', which the "new variety show from Walt Disney
ave
''Alta Velocidad Española'' (''AVE'') is a service of high-speed rail in Spain operated by Renfe, the Spanish national railway company, at speeds of up to . As of December 2021, the Spanish high-speed rail network, on part of which the AVE s ...
special attention to" are "'human' sagas" and as a result "more endearing" than the rest of the segments. ''The Andrews Sisters: A Biography and Career Record'' notes that "the public liked the film and it was a box-office success".
A 1948 review by the ''
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...
'' said the film was a "visual and auditory delight" and added that if Disney were able to reach his audience's other senses, "there's no doubt he'd be able to please them too". It says a "tuneful and functional soundtrack rounds out the Disney art". It said that ''Bumble Boogie'' "reverted back to fantasia-like interpretive technique". It also notes that the abstraction ends after ''Trees'', and the final three shorts are "story-sequences". It says the simple story of Johnny Appleseed is done with "touching perception". It said ''Little Toot'' "is destined to become a fable of our time" and adds "the Andrew Sisters tell the story in lilting song". The review ended with the author saying "deserving accolades will go to
alt Disneyand his whole production staff, as well as to the staff whose voices he has used as well".
A 1948 review of the film for ''The News-Sentinel'' described ''Pecos Bill'' as the best segment, and said it "caused a stir among the small fry in the audience".
Retrospective reviews
Later reviews are more mixed, noting the film's faults, but also praising it for various technical achievements.
DVDizzy notes that in regard to the mix of shorts and 1940s music, "the marriage often does not work, and the melodies are not particularly the film's forte"; however, it adds that this is a modern-day opinion, and that paying audiences at the time the film was released probably "felt better about the music". The site then reviewed each segment in turn, saying: ''Once Upon a Wintertime'' is "physical slapstick" that doesn't match the "dramatic singing by Frances Langford", ''Bumble Boogie'' is "fun but forgettable", ''The Legend of Johnny Appleseed'' is the "most enjoyable" of the segments, ''Little Toot'' is "rather generic", ''Trees'' features "some nice imagery", ''Blame it on the Samba'' "involve
Latin dancing and nothing more", and ''Pecos Bill'' has "Disney...go
ngback and us
ngtoday's technology to alter
ill's smoking,what admittedly is a minor point in one short of a film that's predominantly going to be watched and purchased by animation enthusiasts/historians". It explains the "video quality is consistently satisfying" and that the "audio has the dated feel of other '40s Disney films".
The film received a score of 77.06 out of 100 based on 50 votes, on the site Disney Movies Guide.
In his book ''The Animated Movie Guide'', Jerry Beck gave ''Melody Time'' a rating of 2/5 stars, and described the film as "odds and ends from a studio geared up towards revival". He said that by this time the post-war formula of releasing anthologies had become "tired", with only a few of the segments being interesting, and feeling as if the animators kept "pushing for something more creative to do". He commented that the film, a "vast underachievement" for Disney, felt dated like its predecessor ''Make Mine Music'', and added that he found it hard to believe that the artists who made this film had also made ''Pinocchio'' eight years before. He praised the "exceptional designs and palettes" by stylist
Mary Blair
Mary Blair (born Mary Browne Robinson; October 21, 1911 – July 26, 1978) was an American people, American artist, animator, and designer. She was prominent in producing art and animation for The Walt Disney Company, drawing concept art for s ...
, including the "flat styli
d backgrounds" of ''Wintertime'', and the Impressionist painting/folk art look of ''The Legend of Johnny Appleseed''. He highlighted the "slapstick...impressive montage of Bill's impressive feats" as a "true treat". He described the "manic interpretation" of ''Flight of the Bumblebee'' known as ''Bumble Boogie'', in which a bee terrorized by musical instruments and notes "change
colors and outlines from one moment to the next as the backgrounds seamlessly dissolve, change or morph around him", as "Disney's best piece of surrealism since the 'Pink Elephant on Parade' sequence in Dumbo". He also spoke about the "stellar special effects" involved in the dynamite exploding Ethel Smith's organ instrument, in the segment ''Blame it on the Samba''. However, he added that the rest of ''Melody Time'' was "sad
y..forgettable".
In ''The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life'', Steven Watts explains that while ''Pecos Bill'' "recaptured some of the old magic", the film as a whole, along with the other "halfhearted...pastiche
of short subjects", came across as "animated shorts surrounded with considerable filler and stuff into a concocted package". He adds that as a result they "never caught fire" due to their "varying wildly in quality", with moments of creativity being outweighed by the "insipid, mediocre, stale stretches of work".
The authors of ''The Cartoon Music Book'' said ''Melody Time'' was "much better" than the other post-''Fantasia'' Disney package films of the era, adding that it was "beautifully designed and scored", paving the way for the "'populuxe' style" of Disney's first renaissance (starting with ''Cinderella'' in 1950). They stated that ''Trees'' and ''Blame it on the Samba'' (which they described as a "psychedelic Latin American sequence") are "charming, if still obscure, entries in the Disney pop song catalog
e.
''The Andrews Sisters: A Biography and Career Record'' author H. Arlo Nimmo said "in general,
he Andrew Sisters-sungMelody Time holds up well, and the story of 'Little Toot' is as appealing to today as when it originally appeared fifty-some years ago". He described the singing as "unremarkable but narrat
ngthe...story cleverly". He adds ''Variety'' quote: "'Little Toot,'...is colorful and engrossing. Andrew Sisters give it popular vocal interpretation", and said that although ''The New York Times'' preferred the film to ''Make Mine Music'' the magazine added "The Andrew Sisters sing the story...not very excitingly". He also included Metronome's indifferent comment: "The Andrew Sisters sing a silly song about a tugboat". The article ''The Walt Disney Classics Collection Gets "Twitterpatted" For Spring'' deemed ''Little Toot'' one of ''Melody Time'' highlights.
In a review of the 2004 Disney film ''
Home on the Range
"Home on the Range" is a classic cowboy song, sometimes called the "unofficial anthem" of the American West. Dr. Brewster M. Higley (also spelled Highley) of Smith County, Kansas, wrote the lyrics as the poem "My Western Home" in 1872 or 1873 ...
'', the article "Frisky 'Range' doesn't measure up: Disney delivers fun" said that the "sendup of the Wild West...has some fitful comic vitality and charm -
utit can't hold a candle to the 'Pecos Bill' segment of the studio's late-'40s anthology, 'Melody Time'".
Rotten Tomatoes reported that of critics have given the film a positive review, with an average score of . The critical consensus reads, "Melody Time is a charming musical anthology film that's expertly crafted and filled with high-spirited numbers."
A 1998 ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' review of the film, in honor of its VHS release, described the film as a "sweet, old-fashioned delight and one of the few Disney animated films that pre-schoolers can watch alone without danger of being traumatized", but also added that the younger generation might be bored by it, as they are "attuned to the faster, hipper rhythms of the post-'Mermaid' era".
Beck considers the segment "Blame It on the Samba" to be the best "Good Neighbor" Disney film there is, stating that "it blows my mind every time I watch it." Film historian
J.B. Kaufman J.B. Kaufman is a film historian and author who specializes in Disney animation history and silent films. His books include ''The Fairest One of All'', ''Pinocchio: The Making of the Disney Epic'', and ''Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse''. He is the consu ...
has noted that the segment is a cult favorite among Disney fans.
Box office
The film returned rentals to RKO by 1951 of $2,560,000 with $1,810,000 being generated in the U.S. and Canada.
Controversy
Due to the controversy surrounding the smoking in ''Pecos Bill'', the segment was "heavily edited" when the film was released onto VHS in 1998. While the character of Bill is shown "smoking a cigarette in several sequences", the edited version cuts these scenes, "resulting in the removal of almost the entire tornado sequence, and
reatingsome odd hand and mouth movements for Bill throughout". In a review at DVDizzy, it is noted that if one has an interest in the shorts, one will "probably be upset to know that Disney has decided to digitally edit out contents of the 50-plus-year-old frames of animation".
In the ''Melody Time'' section of the ''Your Guide To Disney's 50 Animated Features'' feature at Empire Online, the review said of the editing: "at least, it was
one
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
for the US releases, but not for the rest of the world. Go figure."
The scenes are removed on the ''Gold Collection'' DVD release
although the Japanese laserdisc and the version of the DVD released in the United Kingdom are uncut. For the first time in 80 years, the uncut version with Pecos Bill's cigarette can now be seen on
Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...
, alongside a Disney Movie Club exclusive Blu-ray, released on November 2, 2021.
According to a source, upon reviewing the music that Ken Darby had composed for ''Johnny Appleseed'', Walt Disney "scorned the music", describing it as "like New Deal music". Darby was "enraged", and said to Disney "THAT is just a cross-section of one man's opinion!". Darby was only employed at The Walt Disney Company for a short while after this supposed incident.
Jerry Beck, in his book ''The Animated Movie Guide'', comments on a risqué joke in ''Pecos Bill'' that somehow made it past the censors, when Bill kisses Sue and his guns rise from their holsters and begin to fire by themselves, simulating ejaculation. He adds jokingly that "perhaps Roy Rogers was covering the eyes of Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten during this scene".
Legacy
Many of the seven segments were later released as shorts, and some of them became "more successful than the original film". ''Bumble Boogie'' was among the few segments to receive huge popularity upon individual release.
The article ''The Walt Disney Classics Collection Gets "Twitterpatted" For Spring'' notes that "the ''Little Toot'' segment of the film was so popular that it was re-released on its own as a short cartoon in 1954, and was subsequently featured on Walt Disney's popular weekly television series".
There are many references to the ''Pecos Bill'' segment in the
Frontierland
Frontierland is one of the "themed lands" at the many Disneyland-style parks run by Disney around the world. Themed to the American Frontier of the 19th century, Frontierlands are home to cowboys and pioneers, saloons, red rock buttes and gol ...
part of
Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The W ...
: there is a sign of Bill outside the Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe, as well as various images of him, the other characters, and their accessories around the cafe. A pair of gloves with the inscription "To Billy, All My Love, Slue Foot Sue" is located in a glass
display case
A display case (also called showcase, display cabinet, shadow box, or vitrine) is a cabinet with one or often more transparent tempered glass (or plastic, normally acrylic for strength) surfaces, used to display objects for viewing. A display c ...
. In the World of Disney, Jose Carioca from ''Blame it on the Samba'' appears in a mural on the ceiling among many other characters. In a glass case, behind the windows of the All-Star Movies, there is a script for ''Melody Time''.
See also
*
1948 in film
The year 1948 in film involved some significant events.
Top-grossing films (U.S.)
The top ten 1948 released films by box office gross in North America are as follows:
Events
* May 3 – The Supreme Court of the United States decide in ''Unit ...
*
List of American films of 1948
A list of American films released in 1948.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P-Q
R
S
T
U-V
W
Y
Documentaries
Serials
Shorts
See also
* 1948 in the United States
References
External links
1948 fil ...
*
List of Walt Disney Pictures films
This is a list of films produced by and released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner (known as that since 1983, with ''Never Cry Wolf'' as its first release) and films released before that under the former name of the parent company, Walt ...
*
List of Disney theatrical animated features
This list of theatrical animated feature films consists of animated films produced or released by The Walt Disney Studios, the film division of The Walt Disney Company.This list does not include films or specials streamed on Disney+ as Disne ...
*
List of animated feature films of the 1940s
A list of animated feature films released in the 1940s.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Animated films 1940
1940s
File:1940s decade montage.png, Above title bar: events during World War II (1939–1945): From left to right: Troops in an LCVP landing craft ...
*
List of highest-grossing animated films
Included in the list are charts of the top box-office earners, a chart of high-grossing animated films by the calendar year, a timeline showing the transition of the highest-grossing animated film record, and a chart of the highest-grossing animate ...
*
List of package films
This is a list of animated package films. There are two types of package films — a film with little or no new animation; usually there is only new bridge animation to link older theatrical/TV shorts together, for example ''Daffy Duck's Quackbuste ...
* ''
Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill'' (1995)
References
External links
*
*
*
{{Wilfred Jackson
1948 films
1948 animated films
1940s American animated films
1948 Western (genre) films
1940s English-language films
American Western (genre) films
American children's animated musical films
American films with live action and animation
Animated films about insects
Animated films set in New York City
Censored films
Donald Duck films
Films about angels
Films directed by Clyde Geronimi
Films directed by Wilfred Jackson
Films directed by Jack Kinney
Films directed by Hamilton Luske
Films produced by Walt Disney
Animated films about rabbits and hares
Films set in Texas
Films set in the 19th century
Films set on boats
Animated anthology films
Walt Disney Animation Studios films
Films scored by Ken Darby
Films scored by Paul Smith (film and television composer)
Walt Disney Pictures animated films
Western (genre) animated films
Johnny Appleseed
Pecos Bill
American anthology films
Films with screenplays by Winston Hibler
Films about bees
Films about trees
Films set in forests
Animated films about birds
Animated films about horses