Melody Time

Starring: Roy Rogers, Dennis Day (narrator), The Andrews Sisters (voice), Mel Blanc (voice), Frances Langford (voice)
Directed by: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney
Rating: Approved
Genre: Animation, Comedy
1948

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Animated segments set to music tell several different stories.

Review:

Tim: I'm really not a big fan of Disney's package films. I understand why they were a necessity for the studio, but they always feel very uneven to me. The anthology approach has some positives, but you inevitably end up with a mixed bag of stories. The good ones always feel too short and the bad ones tend to drag on. That's true again for this one, the 5th package film. It's a decent movie, yes, but not the most entertaining or memorable.

The first story is Once Upon a Wintertime. It's fine. The animation is decent and there's some intense moments. My kids seemed to enjoy it, but they didn't love it. Bumble Boogie felt odd and borderline incomprehensible to me. It's definitely less of a story and my kids didn't seem to follow it very well. The Legend of Johnny Appleseed is definitely a standout. The story is well delivered here and it's an engaging segment. It's the second longest segment in the film and the movie is greatly bolstered by it. It's the first segment that feels anywhere close to Disney magic. Little Toot was decent, but definitely a bit of a letdown after the Johnny Appleseed segment. It had some nice moments, but it was a bit intense, too. My kids weren't a big fan of that one. Trees features a great poem but was fairly bland and boring. It was hard for my children to stay engaged during that one. Shoot, it was difficult for me, too. Blame It on the Samba was cool because it featured Donald Duck, but it felt completely redundant to other segments in previous package films. It didn't really add much, although it's always nice to see Disney highlight different cultures. Pecos Bill was a solid way to end the film. It's the longest segment and it does go on a bit too long. It was fun and entertaining, but the mix of live action and animation didn't work quite as well during this one. Still, it was definitely one of the stronger aspects of the film.

So, with that quick walkthrough of the film, it's hard to know exactly what to think. Johnny Appleseed and Pecos Bill were the best segments, as they were the most linear and actual stories. Little Toot is similar, followed by Once Upon a Wintertime. The ones that felt more like a series of images without a strong narrative (Blame It on the Samba, Trees, Bumble Boogie) definitely felt weaker to me. That translates directly into an uneven viewing experience. The movie isn't compelling from start to finish. The weaker segments pull the whole film down. I was bored multiple times throughout the film. Now, the movie is only 1 hour 15 minutes, so that's definitely a relief.

Melody Time might be decent, but there's really no especially memorable imagery in this film. It feels like the 5th package film is just a variation of themes we've seen before. It would be easy to watch this movie when it was released and worry that Disney had run out of ideas. Things at the studio would certainly turn around, but this is definitely one of their more forgettable films. That being said, I enjoyed this movie more than several other package films, including The Three Caballeros and Fun and Fancy Free. It's not the best film, but it's definitely not the worst, either. The fact that it's short helps a lot.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros, Fun and Fancy Free