Willie the Operatic Whale (1946)

Originally part of the movie Make Mine Music, this cartoon was released later on its own as a theatrical short. This is a showcase for Nelson Eddy, who does the narration, voices of the characters, and all the singing. The story is about a whale named Willie that is heard singing by the crew of a ship at sea. As reports spread about Willie, opera impresario Tetti-Tatti is convinced the singing is actually coming from an opera singer the whale must have swallowed. He sets out to hunt and kill Willie to prove this. What follows is a bittersweet and somewhat allegorical story with a surprisingly dark end. It's a good cartoon with nice animation and impressive vocals from Eddy. Not sure how the ending will play for little ones, though.

When I was 8 or so, I used to watch Willie the Operatic Whale a lot and loved it. I am 17 now, and watching it again, brings back all those good memories. The cartoon is very short, but is so sweet and charming you can't help but like it. I absolutely love anything to do with classical music, and would love to train to be a singer in a few years time, and this cartoon was the one where I drew my inspiration from. The animation is really lovely considering it was made in 1946, especially Willie in heaven, and Nelson Eddy, from films such as the Chocolate Soldier, narrates with feeling and passion, and sang the soundtrack wonderfully. The story, is simple, about a whale who sings opera with three voices tenor, baritone and bass, and there are attempts to kill Willie, as people think he swallowed an opera singer, and in the end he does get killed and that was sad. The ending was really sad, seeing that seagull like that, made me want to reach into the television and hug him. I think the real star was the music, wonderful choices, from the hilarious Largo Al Factotum from Barber of Seville, Mephistopheles' terrifying aria from Mephistophele, the sextet from Lucia Di Lamemoor(a beautiful piece too) and a duet from Wagner's masterpiece Tristan and Isolde. Overall, a beautiful cartoon, that has made me appreciate classical music more over the years. 10/10 Bethany Cox.

I was introduced to opera at 6 years age listening repeatedly to the 78 RPM 3 disk recording of this magnificent Disney production. I never saw the video until I was 40 years old. It is a charming and exciting animation that will captivate young children. I forgot about opera by 9 years age until I accidentally heard the sextet from Lucia di Lammermoor at college and immediately recognized Willie. I fell in love with grand opera all over again at that moment and pushed aside my rock and pop collections.Music from Barber of Seville (Rossini), Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti), Pagliacci (Leoncavallo), Mephistofiles (Boito), Tristan und Isolde (Wagener), Martha (Flotow), possibly other I do not recognize.Play it to your children. Wean them with it, and one day they will remember.

This cartoon was featured in a Disney movie called "Make Mine Music" that had different segments. It's now shown as a separate cartoon most of the time, because it was the best of the segments. I saw this as a child; I remember Willie the Whale singing and thinking it was so cute and adorable. I was so rooting for Willie. And then came the ending, which was to say the least, shocking. Really, it was like getting kicked in the stomach. There was talk of "heaven" but that didn't make things any better. This cartoon is entertaining the but ending is something that might upset some children. It sure upset me. Really, it broke my heart, and it affects me the same way still.