Melody Time

Melody Time was Disney’s 10^th fully animated feature and was released May 27, 1948. Starring Roy Rogers, Trigger, Mel Blanc, Thurl Ravenscroft and a host of singers, Melody Time was another package film and was a disaster on its initial theatrical release.

The film is made up of seven mini musical stories:

Once Upon a Wartime, which features Frances Langford singing about two young lovers in December named Jenny and Joe. Joe tries to show off on ice for Jenny and eventually needs to be rescued.

Bumble Bookie, presented as a battle for a bumblebee warding off a visual musical frenzy.

The Legend of Johnny Appleseed that tells the story of John Chapman wandering Midwest America and earning his nickname.

Little Toot, a story sung by The Andrews Sisters about a small tugboat who couldn’t stay out of trouble.

Trees featuring a recitation of the 1913 Kilmer poem of the same name. The lyrics accompany the changing seasons.

Blame it on the Samba, where Donald Duck and Jose Carioca are introduced to the Samba by the Aracuan Bird.

Pecos Bill, about the titular hero raised by coyotes. This short features Roy Rogers, Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers.

Fantasia lite part deux. This is pretty much the same as Make Mine Music. There’s no interconnected plot, but the shorts are enjoyable and the music is fun to listen to.

Final Call: I guess the above paragraph summed it up. #8

Fun and Fancy Free

September 27, 1947 saw the release of the fourth package film by Disney. Fun and Fancy Free featured two shorts framed by Jiminy Cricket. Starring Cliff Edwards, Edgar Bergen, Luana Patten, Walt Disney, Clarence Nash, Pinto Colvig, Billy Gilbert, Anita Gordon, Dinah Shore, Sterling Holloway and Dennis Day, the film would be the last time Disney voiced Mickey Mouse, replacing himself with Jimmy MacDonald.

The film begins as Jiminy Cricket first appears inside a large plant in a house. Exploring it while singing, he comes across a doll, a teddy bear, a record player and some records. He sets it up to play the story of Bongo

The first segment, Bongo, based on Sinclair Lewis’ “Little Bear Bongo,” features a circus bear named Bongo who wants to be free in the wild. He breaks free and takes about a day before the idealism is met with harsh conditions. The next morning, he meets a female bear named Lulubelle. They fall in love, but an enormous bear named Lumpjaw cuts in. Bongo fails to interpret Lulubelle slapping him as a sign of affection and she accidentally slaps Lumpjaw, causing him to claim her for himself. He forces the bears into a celebration for them. Bongo comes to understand the meaning of slapping one another among bears and challenges Lumpjaw. Bongo is able to outwit Lumpjaw, but the two go over a waterfall. Lumpjaw is swept away and Bongo is able to claim Lulubelle.

Between Bongo and the second short, Jiminy finds a birthday party going on where Edgar Bergen is entertaining Luana Patten and… living ventriloquist dummies.  Bergen sets up the second short, Mickey and the Beanstalk.

An adaptation of Jack and the Beanstalk, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are peasants living in a place called Happy Valley, which was plagued by drought after a golden harp was stolen from a nearby castle. After Donald tries to kill their cow with an axe, Mickey trades the cow. However, when he comes back, he reveals he traded the cow for beans instead of money. Donald throws tem through a hole in the floor and a beanstalk sprouts overnight. It carries the house to a gigantic kingdom and the three enter the castle. They help themselves to the food, but Willie the Giant spots them. Willie is able to transform himself in to anything and Mickey asks him to turn into a fly when he spots a fly swatter. However, Willie turns into a pink bunny but when he spots them with the swatter, he captures them and locks them in a box. Mickey escapes to find the key and finds the golden harp. He frees the others and takes the harp to her rightful place in Happy Valley, which is returned to normal. They then kill Willie by chopping down the beanstalk.

Actually Willie survives and is looking for Mickey Mouse in Hollywood.

While I have to commend the framing of Jiminy Cricket being in the position to start up the stories, it’s not much of a frame story. It seems like Disney was trying to find a way to force these two stories together and thought the character of Jiminy was the perfect idea. In actuality, the inclusion of Jiminy makes it feel even more forced. And the living ventriloquist dummies? They don’t seem out of place, but seem downright bizarre and disturbing in context of Edgar Bergen entertaining Luana Patten at a party. I realize they wanted some sort of comic relief in the scene, but couldn’t that have been done with actual people? Especially since the dummies eventually just snarked over Bergen’s narration of the beanstalk short.

That’s not to say the shorts aren’t good. Bongo is interesting and Mickey and the Beanstalk is rather enjoyable. But they would have been better had they been released as individual shorts.

Final Call: entertaining shorts, but has an odd frame that feels forced. I did like it better than Make Mine Music though, which makes Fun and Fancy Free my new #6

The Three Caballeros

February 3, 1945 saw the release of The Three Caballeros, which frames Donald Duck opening birthday gifts from his Latin American friends against a series of segments. The film was the second one produced as a good will message for South America and stars Clarence Nash, Jose Oliveira, and Joaquin Garay.

The film opens on Donald Duck receiving three presents. The first is a film projector that shows him a documentary about birds. In the documentary, he learns about the Aracuan Bird who proceeds to make several appearances throughout the film.

Next, Donald is given a book by Jose Carioca, which tells of Bahia, one of Brazil’s 26 states. Jose shrinks them both down so they can enter the book and meet with several of the locals. They dance the samba and Donald ends up infatuated with one of the girls. They leave the book and Donald finds he is too small to pen the third present, so Jose shows him how to use magic to turn himself to proper size. Upon opening the present, the two meet Panchito Pistoles and the trio take the name of the Three Caballeros and have a short celebration. Panchito presents Donald with a piñata and tells him of the tradition behind it. He breaks it open and ends the celebration by being fired away by firecrackers in the shape of a bull.

The frame story is broken up by seven segments:

The Cold-Blooded Penguin involves a penguin named Pablo who is fed up with the cold South Pole and leaves for warmer climates.

The Flying Gauchito features a boy from Argentina and his winged donkey, Burrito.

Bahia, which is a pop-up book trip through the state.

Los Posadas, which is a story told by Panchito of a group of Mexican children celebrating Christmas by re-enacting the journey of Mary and Joseph.

Mexico: Patzcuaro, Veracruz, and Acapulco, where Panchito gives Donald and Jose a tour of Mexico on a flying sarape.

You Belong to My Heart over the skies of Mexico City as Donlald falls in love with singer Dora Luz.

Donald’s Surreal Reverie, where Donald is kissed and goes into a Disney Acid Sequence and dances with Carmen Molina.

This is what Saludos Amigos should have been. It’s a coherent frame with sequences that make sense. And not only do the sequences have a sense of belonging, the overarching story is also fun to watch. Also, the running gag of the Aracuan Bird never got old, which is probably why he appeared in a couple more shorts as time went on.

Unfortunately though, most of the music isn’t very memorable. Only one song really stands out, and it’s the title song which also features some funny gags.

Final Call: a story with shorts that belong and a frame that doesn’t feel forced. It’s not going to make the Edge of Satisfaction, but it will make #4.