Melody Time

Melody Time
Original theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jack Kinney Clyde Geronimi Hamilton Luske Wilfred Jackson
Produced by	Walt Disney
Written by	Winston Hibler Harry Reeves Ken Anderson Erdman Penner Homer Brightman Ted Sears Joe Rinaldi William Cottrell Jesse Marsh Art Scott Bob Moore John Walbridge
Starring	Roy Rogers Trigger Dennis Day The Andrews Sisters Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians Freddy Martin Ethel Smith Frances Langford Buddy Clark Bob Nolan Sons of the Pioneers The Dinning Sisters Bobby Driscoll Luana Patten
Studio	Walt Disney Productions
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Release date(s)	May 27, 1948 (1948-05-27)
Running time	75 minutes
Language	English

Melody Time is a 1948 animated feature produced by Walt Disney and released to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures on May 27, 1948. Made up of several sequences set to popular music and folk music, the film is, like Make Mine Music before it, the popular music version of Fantasia (an ambitious film that proved to be a commercial disappointment upon its original theatrical release). Melody Time, while not meeting the artistic accomplishments of Fantasia, was a mildly successful film in its own right. It is the tenth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the sixth package film following Fantasia, Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros, Make Mine Music, and Fun and Fancy Free.

Film segments

Melody Time has seven segments:

^[1] This segment features Frances Langford singing the title song about two romantic young lovers in December. The boy shows off on the ice for his girl, and near-tragedy and a timely rescue ensues. Like several other segments of these package films, Once Upon a Wintertime was later released theatrically as an individual short, in this case on September 17, 1954.^[2] This short is also featured in Very Merry Christmas Songs. which is part of Disney Sing Along Songs, as a background movie for the song Jingle Bells.

Bumble BoogieThis segment presents a surrealistic nightmare for a solitary bumble bee as he tries to escape from a visual and musical frenzy. The music is courtesy of Freddy Martin and his orchestra (with Jack Fina playing the piano) and is a swing-jazz variation of Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee, which was one of the many pieces considered for inclusion in Fantasia.

The Legend of Johnny Appleseed

This segment is a retelling of the story of John Chapman, who spent most of his life roaming Mid-Western America (mainly Illinois and Indiana) in the pioneer days, and planting apple trees, thus earning his famous nickname. Dennis Day narrates and provides all the voices, except for the angel, who is voiced by Dallas McKennon (uncredited). This segment was released independently on December 25, 1955 as just Johnny Appleseed.^[3]

Little Toot

This segment is based on the story also titled Little Toot by Hardie Gramatky, in which the title protagonist, a small tugboat, wanted to be just like his father Big Toot, but couldn't seem to stay out of trouble. The Andrews Sisters provide the vocals.

Trees

This segment is a recitation of the famous Alfred Joyce Kilmer poem by Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians with the lyrical setting seen through the seasons.

Blame It on the Samba

This segment has Donald Duck and José Carioca meeting with the Aracuan Bird, who introduces them to the pleasures of the samba. The accompanying music is the 1914 polka Apanhei-te, Cavaquinho by Ernesto Nazareth, fitted with English lyrics. The Dinning Sisters provide the vocals while organist Ethel Smith plays the organ.

Pecos Bill

The film's final segment is about Texas' famous hero, the biggest and best cowboy that ever lived. It also features his horse Widowmaker, and recounts how Pecos was brought back down to earth by a woman named Slue-Foot Sue. This retelling of the story features Roy Rogers, Bob Nolan, and the Sons of the Pioneers to Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten. This segment was later edited on the film's NTSC video release (but not the PAL release) to remove all scenes of Bill smoking a cigarette. The entire scene with Bill rolling the smoke and lighting it with a lightning bolt was cut and all other shots of the offending cigarette hanging from his lips were digitally removed.^[4]

Cast

• Roy Rogers - Himself; Narrator; Singer (Pecos Bill)
• Trigger, the Smartest Horse in the Movies - Himself
• Dennis Day - Narrator; Singer; Characters (Johnny Appleseed)
• The Andrews Sisters - Singers (Little Toot)
• Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians - Singers (Trees)
• Freddy Martin - Music composer (Bumble Boogie)
• Ethel Smith - Organist (Blame It On the Samba)
• Frances Langford - Singer (Once Upon a Wintertime)
• Buddy Clark - Singer; Narrator
• Bob Nolan - Himself; Singer; Narrator (Pecos Bill)
• Sons of the Pioneers - Themselves; Singers; Narrators (Pecos Bill)
• The Dinning Sisters - Singers (Blame It On the Samba)
• Bobby Driscoll - Himself (Pecos Bill)
• Luana Patten - Herself (Pecos Bill)
• Dallas McKennon - Himself; Narrator; Character (Johnny Appleseed)

Home video

Melody Time was first released in Japan on laserdisc on January 25, 1987, and on VHS on June 2, 1998, under the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection title. The Japanese laserdisc is uncut during the Pecos Bill segment. Its latest release was on June 6, 2000 on VHS and DVD under the Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection title. Dvd May 17 2005

References

1. ^ Once Upon a Wintertime
2. ^ "Melody Time" (in French). http://affichesdisney.canalblog.com/archives/c_est_un_souvenir_de_decembre/index.html. Retrieved 2010-12-03. 
3. ^ "Johnny Appleseed" (in French). http://affichesdisney.canalblog.com/archives/johnny_pepin_de_pomme/index.html. Retrieved 2010-12-03. 
4. ^ http://www.ultimatedisney.com/melodytime.html

External links

• Melody Time at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Melody Time at the Internet Movie Database
• Melody Time at Rotten Tomatoes