Melody Time (1948)

An anthology of animated vignettes set to contemporary music.

Directors:

Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson,

Writers:

Winston Hibler (story), Erdman Penner (story),

Stars:

Roy Rogers, Trigger, Dennis Day

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Roy Rogers	...	Roy Rogers
Trigger	...	Trigger (as Trigger the Smartest Horse in the Movies)
Dennis Day	...	Johnny Appleseed Narrator (voice)
The Andrews Sisters	...	The Andrews Sisters
Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians	...	Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians
Freddy Martin	...	Freddy Martin - Pianist
Ethel Smith	...	Ethel Smith
Frances Langford	...	Frances Langford (voice)
Buddy Clark	...	Master of Ceremonies (voice)
Bob Nolan	...	Bob Nolan (voice) (as Bob Nolan and the Sons of the Pioneers)
Sons of the Pioneers	...	Sons of the Pioneers
The Dinning Sisters	...	Dinning Sisters - Singers
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bobby Driscoll	...	Bobby Driscoll
Luana Patten	...	Luana Patten

Storyline

Segments: "Once Upon a Wintertime," two lovers rescued from an icy river by friendly animals; "Bumble Boogie," bee beset by musical instruments and symbols come to life; "Johnny Appleseed," story of the legendary pioneer tree-planter; "Trees," mood piece set to musical treatment of Joyce Kilmer's poem; "Little Toot," story of a heroic little tugboat who saves an ocean liner; "Blame it on the Samba," Donald Duck and Jose Carioca have the blues blown away at a Latin cafe; "Pecos Bill," story of the legendary cowpoke, his trusty mount Widowmaker and his sweetheart Slue Foot Sue.

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Plot Keywords:

jose carioca | pecos bill | johnny appleseed | samba | anthology | 

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Taglines:

For Your All-Time Good Time!

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Genres:

Animation | Family | Music

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 May 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

All in Fun

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Studios, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

72 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the making of this movie, when composer Ken Darby presented the music for the "Johnny Appleseed" segment to Walt Disney, Walt scorned the music, as sounding "like New Deal music," to which an enraged Darby shouted back, "THAT is just a cross-section of one man's opinion!" Darby would not be at the studio much longer after that.

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Quotes

[introduction to "Pecos Bill"]
Master of Ceremonies: Here's a tall tale straight from the chuck wagon, just the way the old-timers used to tell it. According to them, Pecos Bill was the roughest, toughest, rootin'est, tootin'est, shootin'est cowpoke that ever lived. Well, any story about old Pecos is bound to be right strong medicine, so maybe it's best to sashay into it kinda gentle-like.

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Connections

Edited into Blame It on the Samba (1948)

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Soundtracks

"Trees"
Poem by Joyce Kilmer
Music by Oscar Rasbach
Performed by Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians

User Reviews

A beautiful binding of Disney shorts.

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"!