Melody Time

1948

Action / Animation / Comedy / Family / Musical

16
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 47% · 13 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 47% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.1/10 10 7690 7.7K

part live action live action and animation package film

Plot summary

In the grand tradition of Disney's great musical classics, Melody Time features seven timeless stories, each enhanced with high-spirited music and unforgettable characters. You'll be sure to tap your toes and clap your hands in this witty feast for the eyes and ears.

Director

Clyde Geronimi Photo
Clyde Geronimi

Top cast

Frances Langford Photo
Frances Langford as Frances Langford
Luana Patten Photo
Luana Patten as Luana Patten
Bobby Driscoll Photo
Bobby Driscoll as Bobby Driscoll
Thurl Ravenscroft Photo
Thurl Ravenscroft as Big Toot
720p.BluRay 720p.WEB 1080p.BluRay 1080p.WEB
692.83 MB
968*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us   dk   es   it   no   pt   fi   sv  
23.976 fps
1 hr 15 min
Seeds 3
694.78 MB
1280*952
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us   dk   es   it   no   pt   fi   sv  
23.976 fps
1 hr 15 min
Seeds 4
1.26 GB
1440*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us   dk   es   it   no   pt   fi   sv  
23.976 fps
1 hr 15 min
Seeds 17
1.26 GB
1440*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us   dk   es   it   no   pt   fi   sv  
23.976 fps
1 hr 15 min
Seeds 4

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by CubsandCulture 7 / 10

A more accessible and popularist Fantasia

If you like Fantasia, Fantasia 2000 this nearly lost film is worth checking out. It is an anthology of shorts set to popular music from the 40's. It is a lot more accessible to the average viewer than the classic music of fantasia. The shorts-like always-are a mixed bag but each has its charm that make each worth watching once. I particularly liked "Little Toot" and "Bumble Boogie."
Reviewed by IonicBreezeMachine 6 / 10

The final anthology from Walt Disney studios features varying degrees of quality.

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.
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