Melody Time (1948)

The Bad:This is a compilation of shorts, not a cohesive story. Some of the shorts are fun, but some are pretty bad. The short "Blame it on the Samba" - in which Donald dances around while a live-action woman sings and plays instruments – made me try to fast-forward through the never-ending scene. I strongly disliked that one. Although someone who is a fan of that style of music might find it more palatable. "Pecos Bill" contains Indian stereotypes which are outdated and potentially offensive, along with a depiction of the hero smoking. The Good:I really loved the "Johnny Appleseed" segment. It's loosely based on a true story (hey, history education!), plus had an unexpectedly positive view of Christianity (in something like two lines). The "Little Toot" segment was also pretty cute. The handful of other segments were fairly forgettable in my opinion, but not unwatchable. The Mom view:Created after Fantasia, it feels like it is a much lesser cousin – or even simply a grouping of completely unrelated shorts rather than a harmonious concert experience. Since the music can be so varied (and not contemporary), I find this could be educational for a child. Exposure to music style that a parent doesn't regularly listen to can be a very good thing. Also, the American folk hero aspect of this compilation was nice. If I could snip out the segments I liked and discard the irritating ones, this would make for an okay movie for my kids, but the "Samba" segment simply kills this for me. I'll get Fantasia instead.

Fun Disney anthology movie that features seven musical cartoons. Most are very good and all are watchable. My least favorite is probably "Bumble Boogie." Not because it's bad, it's just nothing that memorable. The ones I like the most are "The Legend of Johnny Appleseed," with Dennis Day, "Once Upon a Wintertime" with Frances Langford, the adorable "Little Toot," and "Pecos Bill," a retelling of the folk hero's story introduced by a live action segment that includes Roy Rogers and Bobby Driscoll. This last segment is the one most likely to offend the PC police, both for its depictions of Indians as well as Pecos Bill smoking a cigarette. Stupid, I know, but some think we live in a time where we need others to do our thinking and decide what's best for us. The other two cartoons in this movie are "Trees" (the poem put to music) and a Donald Duck cartoon called "Blame It on the Samba." Both are good. All of these cartoons were released later on their own as theatrical shorts. This is a very enjoyable way to pass the time. It'll put a smile on the face of any fan of old-school Disney movies.

All possibly to reflect Walt Disney's dreams and possibly some of his new ideas, while the world was recovering from the terrifying Second World War, Disney released "Melody Time", a collection of beautiful, heartwarming, musical and entertaining shorts. At the beginning, a speaking mask (who at times is the narrator), explains that there is something for everyone and there indeed just about is! A lot of different kind of shorts await you and you are bound to like at least one a little bit.In order of when the shorts are shown:"Once Upon A Wintertime": A different kind of Disney animation, including pristine backgrounds, Disney shows a rather messy winter love story. Not the best short in the bunch, but definitely not the least best, with a good woman singer. "Bumble Boogie": Good for the eye, this short shows a very angry and upset bee trapped and flustered in a world of musical caterpillars and images. A good short mainly for the older, for the young it may be a bit upsetting, especially as the bee is quite a likable character."Johnny Appleseed": One of the few shorts with a proper plot, with some of the best animation in the set, Johnny Appleseed is a heartwarming story, you may even be inclined to believe this beautiful American story is true! Good for all ages."Little Toot": Unfortunately, this short is rather tedious babyish and a slight bit depressing, probably the least good of the lot. However, it is likely to entertain the wee ones and maybe some grown-ups would not mind watching it."Tree": Is basically a poem, a moving painting and a picture of a tree. Like "Bumble Boogie", it is plot less and another feast for the eyes, hopefully it will become your favourite of the set. Very beautiful for any animation and stunning."Blame It On The Samba": Featuring Donald Duck, a parrot friend of his and a rascal of a waiter bird! Showing a naughty bird bullying and entertaining Donald Duck and his friend with the amazement and annoyance of the samba."Pecos Bill": The last of the set, Pecos Bill is pretty entertaining - even with a rather tedious beginning and animation that could do with some work. The songs and characters are certainly entertaining. It shows a young boy being bought up by coyotes and becoming a "rooting, tootin' cowboy".So, enjoy "Melody Time"!

I have seen this movie dozens of times and can't get tired of watching it. It's a great movie for small children, like my son and nephew, who are just 9 and 20 months, respectively. They're great entertainment, beautiful songs, nice stories of love, respect for others and nature and fun. For me the best are Pecos Bill and Little Toot. You just have to admire Disney's cartoonist for all the wonderful work they did as you cannot forget that this was made in 1948 thus all hand drawn! This is a great way of introducing kids into cartoon and animation movies, as other Disney movies, such as Lion King, Finding Nemo etc are for when they're a bit grown up. Once again, thumbs up for this, just as The three caballeros, Fantasia and Make mine music. There's just way too much violence and sex on TV for small kids to watch it, so stick to this magical movies and keep their innocence and imagination alive.