IMDb RATING
6.1/10
7.2K
YOUR RATING
An anthology of animated vignettes set to contemporary music.An anthology of animated vignettes set to contemporary music.An anthology of animated vignettes set to contemporary music.
- Awards
- 1 win
Dennis Day
- Narrator
- (voice)
- …
Laverne Andrews
- Andrews Sisters
- (singing voice)
- (as Andrews Sisters)
Maxene Andrews
- Andrews Sisters
- (singing voice)
- (as Andrews Sisters)
Patty Andrews
- Andrews Sisters
- (singing voice)
- (as Andrews Sisters)
Freddy Martin
- Self
- (credit only)
Frances Langford
- Frances Langford
- (singing voice)
Pat Brady
- Singing cowboy
- (as Sons of the Pioneers)
Hugh Farr
- Singing cowboy
- (as Sons of the Pioneers)
Bob Nolan
- Singing cowboy
- (as Sons of the Pioneers)
Lloyd Perryman
- Singing cowboy
- (as Sons of the Pioneers)
Tim Spencer
- Singing cowboy
- (as Sons of the Pioneers)
Ginger Dinning
- Dinning Sisters
- (singing voice)
- (as The Dinning Sisters)
Jean Dinning
- Dinning Sisters
- (singing voice)
- (as The Dinning Sisters)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBecause of the controversy about cowboys smoking, the "Pecos Bill" segment was heavily edited for release on DVD. In the original film, Bill is seen smoking a cigarette in several sequences. The cigarette was edited out in each case, resulting in the removal of almost the entire tornado sequence and some odd hand and mouth movements for Bill throughout. These scenes have since been restored in a recent American Blu-ray release.
- GoofsAt the end of Pecos Bill (1948), when Pecos and Widowmaker go back to live with the coyotes, it's seen that Pecos has removed his clothes and left them in a pile in the desert and Widowmaker has removed his horseshoes. However, Widowmaker lost his horseshoes earlier in the cartoon when he was bucking around when Slue-Foot Sue was riding him and a cowboy was seen being hit in the head by the horseshoes.
- Quotes
[introduction to "Blame It On the Samba"]
Master of Ceremonies: The intoxicating rhythm of the samba. A talented miss serves a musical cocktail with a true Latin American fling. So if three boisterous birds of a feather fall under the influence of this torrid tropical tempo, don't blame them, blame it on the rhythm of the samba.
- Alternate versionsThe November 2021 Blu-ray (a Disney Movie Club exclusive) contains the unaltered Pecos Bill segment, along with the original RKO logo and mono soundtrack. This version is also available on Disney+.
- ConnectionsEdited into Contrast in Rhythm (1955)
- SoundtracksMelody Time
Written by George David Weiss (as George Weiss) and Bennie Benjamin
Performed by Buddy Clark
Featured review
Buddy Clark's voice hosts and introduces 7 shorts set to popular and folk music sung by contemporary talent of the era ranging from the Andrew Sisters to Roy Rogers.
The anthology film produced by Walt Disney pictures and second to last "package film" which would conclude with the following year's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Melody Time like other projects of the mid to late 40s was intended to be cheaply produced by the studio, but unlike previous films made either out of necessity or under contract to the State Department, the goal of Melody Time as well as the following Year's Ichabod and Mr. Toad was to accumulate capital to return to single narrative features with 1950's Cinderella. Like many of the post Fantasia anthologies produced by Disney it lacks the grandiosity and artistry of Fantasia, but some of its shorts do come close to reaching the same level.
Most of the shorts of Melody Time are pretty well in line with the standards of a typical Silly Symphony cartoon with segments such as Once Upon a Wintertime, Little Toot, and Bumble Boogie being technically well made, but not all that memorable or substantive. Even Bumble Boogie which tries for a more surreal approach feels rather rote at this point because it looks so similar in style and execution to Pink Elephants for Dumbo or sequences to Three Caballeros there's a feeling of "been there, done that" that's hard to escape. Blame It on the Samba features a reteam of Donald Duck and Jose Carioca who are livened up by the Aracuan Bird introducing both of them to the Samba which leads to a live-action/animated mix where the three cartoon birds interact with organist Ethel Smith in what's admittedly a retread of the Baia segment from Three Caballeros, but the syncing of animation with live-action actors has gotten noticeably better with more in depth levels of interaction and some more ambitious camera work. The only weird part of this short is that Jose and Donald are completely mute and lacking in personality and I'm not entirely sure why. Both Jose and Donald are really expressive characters with distinguished personalities and without Jose's suave charm and energy or Donald Duck's anger, annoyance, and irritability it's kind of strange seeing them without the usual traits associated with them.
The other shorts are slightly above average with a retelling of the Legend of Pecos Bill being a well animated slapstick comedy with some creative imagery (even if it's kind of an odd note to end the movie on), a recitation of the Joyce Kilmer poem "Trees" brought to life with animation to show a single tree in all four seasons that's quite beautiful, but easily the best short is The Legend of Johnny Appleseed where we look at the life of John Chapman who goes from humble apple farmer to American legend with the help of his guardian angel. Johnny Appleseed despite it's short length shows grand ambitions and encompasses all the best parts of the ideals of America and humanity as we see Johnny befriend nature and spread apples and kindness across the land solely for its own sake and to help bring a sense of decency and community. The imagery in this short is nothing short of epic with a scene of Johnny's shadow stretching across the land, or apple blossoms transitioning to clouds being some truly memorable sights.
Melody Time like all the other package films Disney produced during the 40s has some okay segments and some segments that are awe inspiring. I don't think the movie's all that impressive as a whole and would say it's probably preferable to experience these shorts on their own, but there is some really strong work on display despite it being disjointed.
The anthology film produced by Walt Disney pictures and second to last "package film" which would conclude with the following year's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Melody Time like other projects of the mid to late 40s was intended to be cheaply produced by the studio, but unlike previous films made either out of necessity or under contract to the State Department, the goal of Melody Time as well as the following Year's Ichabod and Mr. Toad was to accumulate capital to return to single narrative features with 1950's Cinderella. Like many of the post Fantasia anthologies produced by Disney it lacks the grandiosity and artistry of Fantasia, but some of its shorts do come close to reaching the same level.
Most of the shorts of Melody Time are pretty well in line with the standards of a typical Silly Symphony cartoon with segments such as Once Upon a Wintertime, Little Toot, and Bumble Boogie being technically well made, but not all that memorable or substantive. Even Bumble Boogie which tries for a more surreal approach feels rather rote at this point because it looks so similar in style and execution to Pink Elephants for Dumbo or sequences to Three Caballeros there's a feeling of "been there, done that" that's hard to escape. Blame It on the Samba features a reteam of Donald Duck and Jose Carioca who are livened up by the Aracuan Bird introducing both of them to the Samba which leads to a live-action/animated mix where the three cartoon birds interact with organist Ethel Smith in what's admittedly a retread of the Baia segment from Three Caballeros, but the syncing of animation with live-action actors has gotten noticeably better with more in depth levels of interaction and some more ambitious camera work. The only weird part of this short is that Jose and Donald are completely mute and lacking in personality and I'm not entirely sure why. Both Jose and Donald are really expressive characters with distinguished personalities and without Jose's suave charm and energy or Donald Duck's anger, annoyance, and irritability it's kind of strange seeing them without the usual traits associated with them.
The other shorts are slightly above average with a retelling of the Legend of Pecos Bill being a well animated slapstick comedy with some creative imagery (even if it's kind of an odd note to end the movie on), a recitation of the Joyce Kilmer poem "Trees" brought to life with animation to show a single tree in all four seasons that's quite beautiful, but easily the best short is The Legend of Johnny Appleseed where we look at the life of John Chapman who goes from humble apple farmer to American legend with the help of his guardian angel. Johnny Appleseed despite it's short length shows grand ambitions and encompasses all the best parts of the ideals of America and humanity as we see Johnny befriend nature and spread apples and kindness across the land solely for its own sake and to help bring a sense of decency and community. The imagery in this short is nothing short of epic with a scene of Johnny's shadow stretching across the land, or apple blossoms transitioning to clouds being some truly memorable sights.
Melody Time like all the other package films Disney produced during the 40s has some okay segments and some segments that are awe inspiring. I don't think the movie's all that impressive as a whole and would say it's probably preferable to experience these shorts on their own, but there is some really strong work on display despite it being disjointed.
- IonicBreezeMachine
- Sep 1, 2021
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- All in Fun
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 15 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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