Summer of Magic- "Make Mine Music"

After the goodwill tour of Latin America was complete with Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros, Disney shifted gears to offer a new style of package film. In 1946, Make Mine Music arrived on the scene using popular music to generate stories. Divided into ten segments, Make Mine Music undoubtedly has moments of animated brilliance, but overall, the music overpowers the story as the film fails to find the appropriate balance of the two. To me, Make Mine Music is the weakest of the package films for that reason.

Five of the nine segments (Blue Bayou, All the Cats Join In, Without You, Two Silhouettes, and After You're Gone) are simply not that memorable. While the music is stellar and the animation is nice, the stories are not strong, if existent at all, as it seems like the studio was becoming really desperate for segments to include in the final product. Now, some will argue that was the point of Make Mine Music. It was never meant to make sense all the time, but it was intended to showcase the music and animation. To an extent, I agree, but do you really need nine segments to do that? While not a lengthy film, Make Mine Music could have benefited tremendously from some editing.

In fact, if the film would have just consisted of the four good segments, my opinion on the film would be radically different. Casey at the Bat is an excellent short featuring superb slapstick humor and physical comedy with an actual story to tell. Its hilarity is unrivaled throughout the film, and the narration coupled with the music is really great. The Peter and the Wolf segment works because of the expert blend of music and story. This one uses the music to compliment the story, not overpower. Aided immensely by the always spectacular Sterling Holloway providing the narration, this short is an absolute delight. Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet is a short that anyone with a soul would thoroughly enjoy and fall for. On the surface, a story of two hats falling in love does not sound appealing at all, but it works because the amazing music is used to tell the story in an expert way. The finale, The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met, also boasts some incredible animation with genuinely great lead character.

I guess that is what frustrates me the most when it comes to Make Mine Music. Those four segments are really good shorts, a perfection display of Walt's vision for the film and the package films overall. Unfortunately, the other five are rather dull and unmemorable. If they had followed the model of Saludos Amigos and included only the best shorts, this one would have received a much higher rating from me, but due to the fact that nine segments are included, and five of them are not good, Make Mine Music is one of my least favorite Disney films to date despite the greatness that is found in those four good segments.

Rating: 6/10

Historical Significance: The Blue Bayou segment was originally intended to be included in Fantasia, the inspiration behind Make Mine Music and Melody Time in 1948. The reception of the segment was mixed, at best, as critics applauded the beautiful animation, but criticized its lack of story (sound like a familiar complaint?). Also, a segment entitled The Martins and the Coys was included in the film upon its original release, but was immediately hit with controversy as it was criticized for showing an abundance of gun violence and offensive stereotypes. This short was the first segment in the film upon its original release. but can no longer be found in the film on home entertainment platforms.

Behind the Scenes: Casey at the Bat is based on a poem written by Ernest Thayer entitled "Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of the Republic Sung in the Year 1888." Thayer was not a writer; he was a humorist for the San Francisco Examiner who occasionally wrote on sports. This poem is the only piece of literature Thayer is known for today. The Baseball Almanac calls it "the single most famous baseball poem ever written." Furthermore, Thayer maintained that Casey was not modeled after any baseball player in particular at the time but strictly imaginative.

Favorite Character: Johnnie Fedora is one of those characters that you simply cannot dislike whatsoever. Yes, he is a hat, but the animators did such an awesome job giving him a genuine
personality and real emotions. We can all relate to Johnnie's struggle to find and keep love, to some extent, but through Johnnie's simple story, we are not only entertained, but we find some hope. Plus, the song being performed to accompany Johnnie's story is fantastic.

Favorite Scene: The Casey at the Bat segment is the highlight of Make Mine Music. It is everything you are looking for in a first Golden Age short. It contains impressive animation, excellent narration, truly hilarious moments, and a memorable leading character. Casey at the Bat will leave a smile on even the most heartless of cynics.


Updated Ranking: As one of my least favorite Disney films, Make Mine Music finds its place at the bottom of my list today.

1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2. Pinocchio
3. Dumbo
4. Bambi
5. Fantasia
6. The Three Caballeros
7. Saludos Amigos
8. Make Mine Music

Even in the midst of mediocrity, Disney finds a way to shine some sort of light. While Make Mine Music is far from perfect, it does contain some really nice shorts. Tomorrow, though, we'll return to a more cohesive package film as a fan favorite character returns to entertain us all in Fun and Fancy Free!

-Cody Fleenor