|
|
Rating:  - All the cats joined in!!!
Great video of popular stories musically enhanced. But best of all the cartton featuring Benny Goodman's "All the cats join in" is included in this collection. One of THE BEST cartoons ever!!! Featuring some COOL swing animation!!!!!
Rating:  - 'Make Mine Music' doesn't make my day
For the first time in North America, Disney's MAKE MINE MUSIC has been released to video and DVD. I had never seen the film prior to its DVD release, at least not in its entirety. After having bought and viewed a copy of the DVD, I think it is one of the worst entries in Disney's rich catalogue of animated films.
One of the main reasons why it doesn't hold up well is because it takes itself too seriously. The so-called "arty" segments are a case in point. The "Two Silhouettes" segment, for example, features two shadowy figures dancing in the moonlight, and set to Dinah Shore's warbling vocals with an orchestral backing. This may serve well as an easy-listening music video, but not for a Disney film! It's just a piece of filler, much like most of the segments in the film. The two major highlights don't appear until the second half, with "Casey at the Bat" and "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met." They represent what Disney does best: tell an interesting story, with some memorable characters and songs thrown in for good measure.
As for the DVD, the bonus cartoon shorts are good, but there's nothing else on it except an endless series of coming attractions. One bonus they could've included is a documentary on why they bothered to make such a lackluster film in the first place. Too bad the "Martin & McCoy" sequence was cut from this release. It would've been interesting to have seen that.
Otherwise, be prepared to accept that MAKE MINE MUSIC may not make your day.
Rating: - Disappointed
I have been awaiting this film's release on video, as it is one of the few early Disney releases I've never seen. Admittedly, "Music" is a mixed bag with some very good features and some pretty lame ones. It was nice that they included "Band Concert" on the tape too. However, my biggest disappointment was the censoring of "The Martins and the Coys" sequence! Why take that out? In reading other viewers' comments, I see that this wasn't the only aspect of the film revised. I can accept that this was one of Disney's compilation films and I wasn't expecting a "Snow White". If Disney was going to release the film on video, they should have released the entire thing in its original uncut form!
Rating: - The best and Worst of Disney
After hearing about all the butchering this film suffered, I almost decided not to even rent it, but did anyway. What I discovered was some of the most astonishing Disney animation ever produced. For those who think the disney aesthetic died alongside Bambi's mother, I'd have to vehemently disagree. Nearly everything here is brilliant (okay, so the kitschy, lovey-dovey hats become instantly unwatchable). Each segment ranges from classical (remnants of FANTASIA, though more successfully sublime) to jazz-tinged; as the musical styles change, so does the interpretive technique, from the expected Disney "classical" look to out-of-left-field, pre-UPA/Hubley-esque modernism. For those who prefer the comfortably familiar, there are the well-known highlights of Casey at bat and Willie the Whale (nearly as devastating in its minor way as BAMBI). Amazingly, Disney has included one of the greatest animated shorts of the all-time, the Silly Symphony THE BAND CONCERT. If you're an animation buff, this alone is worth the price of the dvd, and a highly unusual gesture from the tightminded dollar clutchers at Disney. That said, the film has indeed been all but destroyed by the most perverse, wrong-headed form of political correctness: "artistic" self-censorship. I find films like LION KING and POCAHONTAS far more offensive than anything Disney produced in its golden era. Even the clean-minded Mr. Disney must be convulsing in his grave. Nonetheless, the film must be seen, despite the multitude of deserved criticism of the video/dvd release.
Rating: - A disappointing Disney film and DVD to boot
For the first time in North America, MAKE MINE MUSIC has been released to video and DVD. I had never seen the film prior to its DVD release, at least not in its entirety. After having bought a copy of the DVD, I think it is one of the worst entries in Disney's rich catalogue of animated films.
One of the main reasons why it doesn't hold up well is because it takes itself too seriously. The so-called "arty" segments are a case in point. The "Two Silhouettes" segment, for example, features two shadowy figures dancing in the moonlight, and set to a warbling Dinah Shore over an orchestral backing. This may serve well as an easy-listening music video, but not for a Disney film! It's just a piece of filler, much like most of the segments in the film. The two major highlights don't appear until the second half, with "Casey at the Bat" and "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met." They're more representative of what Disney does best: tell an interesting story, with some memorable characters and songs thrown in for good measure.
As for the DVD, the bonus cartoon shorts are good, but there's nothing else on it except an endless series of coming attractions. One bonus they could've included is a documentary on why they bothered to make such a lacklusture film in the first place. Too bad the "Martin & McCoy" sequence was cut from this release. It would've been interesting to see that.
Otherwise, be prepared to accept that MAKE MINE MUSIC may not "make your day."
|
|