The first segment, Once Upon a Wintertime, is an endearing story of a couple experiencing the joys of love in the cold of winter. With superb animation and solid musical accompaniment, this short sets the appropriate tone for the entire film, letting the audience know that these stories are meant to be told through expert craftsmanship from the animators and musicians alike. The following segment, Bumble Boogie, contains some predictably great animation, but comparatively speaking, this one just does not work for me. It falls into the trap that Make Mine Music did by allowing the music to overpower the story. However, Melody Time recovers nicely in the following short with perhaps the highlight of the entire film. The Legend of Johnny Appleseed is the perfect addition to this film as it retells this classic story with sheer brilliance. Proclaiming a powerful message to go along with some fantastic animation, this segment is one of the best scenes produced by the studio during the package film era.
Little Toot follows Johnny Appleseed, and while this short fails to live up to the superior tale of the apple farmer, it is still a well done short that connects the audience with its adorable protagonist. The abstract short, Trees, is, to be frank, a bore. I understand what the animators were trying to do here as they were attempting to recapture the magic of Fantasia, but it just did not work for me. Luckily, the last two segments are an excellent finale to this package film. Blame It on the Samba stars our now legendary caballeros, Donald Duck and Jose Carioca, as they become intoxicated with the allure of the samba. This is a really nice short that deftly blends music and beautiful animation. Pecos Bill rivals Johnny Appleseed as the film's highlight. The song performed by Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers is one of my favorite songs from the package film era. It is witty, clever, and quite hilarious. The segment is an absolute blast. If you are ever having a bad day, just watch Pecos Bill and I promise you will leave with a smile on your face.
Truthfully, I could really just apply that challenge to Melody Time overall. Even with the two segments that never quite come together, Melody Time is still an extremely well done package film that proves once again that the studio can make films like this work. Melody Time is everything Make Mine Music should have been and more. They seemingly learned from their mistakes, resulting in a film that should not be overlooked.
Rating: 7.5/10
Historical Significance: The Pecos Bill segment seen on home entertainment devices today is a heavily edited version of the original from 1948. In the original, Bill is shown smoking cigarettes quite often, including an entire sequence where one of Bill's cigarette's starts a tornado. In the newly edited version, Bill is not shown smoking at all. Interestingly enough, however, Bill's apparent obsession with gunfire is still included in the edited version.
Behind the Scenes: Ken Darby is best known in Disney lore as the vocal director for Song of the South, but he also was tasked by Walt to compose songs for the Johnny Appleseed segment. Upon first presenting his songs to the boss, Walt scorned Darby's songs for "sounding like New Deal music." Understandably angry, Darby fired back at Walt by exclaiming, "That is just a cross-section of one man's opinion!" Darby would finish his work on Melody Time and the following package film, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, but was then relieved of duties at the studio.
Favorite Character: I know I said that I would always pick Donald Duck as my favorite if he were in a movie, but Johnny Appleseed is the perfect role model throughout his segment and Donald never actually talks in his segment, so that makes Johnny my favorite character in this case. This is a man everyone should aspire to become like one day. He is virtuous, headstrong, and philanthropic. His story is one filled with worthwhile messages that are so rarely told nowadays that upon watching Melody Time, the tale becomes a genuine breath of fresh air. The Lord has been good to Johnny (you will understand that reference if you have seen this segment), and Johnny's story continues to be good to us.
Favorite Scene: As much as I love The Legend of Johnny Appleseed, I have to go with Pecos Bill as my favorite scene from the film. As I mentioned before, this short is too much fun to choose something over it. From the music to the animation to the rather subdue morality of it all,Pecos Bill is one of the crowning achievements of the studio during the forties.Updated Ranking: Melody Time is a really good package film, but as I wrote with Fun and Fancy Free, even the best package films cannot live up to the first five.
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- Pinocchio
- Dumbo
- Bambi
- Fantasia
- Fun and Fancy Free
- Melody Time
- The Three Caballeros
- Saludos Amigos
- Make Mine Music
Tomorrow, we will watch our sixth and final package film as Disney has saved one of their best for last with The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad! Welcome back to the Summer of Magic!
-Cody Fleenor
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