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Rating:  - Quackeriffic!
Melody Time (1948) was the third of the Disney Orchestral cartoons.Produced and illustrated by Walt Disney (1902-1966).I remember watching this in 2nd grade.The only cartoon in this movie I remember is the Johny Appleseed sequence.It's about a man named Johny(Appleseed isn't really his last name,you knoW)and why he likes apples and why they call him Appleseed.Of course,Mr Applessed isn't just made up.But why do they have Donald on the boxes?I didn't see Donald in this.It's sort of a 2nd sequel to Fantasia(1940) but it's not.Fantasia only has one sequel:Fantasia 2000(1999).Make Mine Music (1946) was nicknamed the 1st sequel to Fantasia.If you like Melody Time,buy Fantasia,Fantasia 2000 or Make Mine Music today!
Rating:  - The original sequel to Fantasia?
This fine collection of short subjects was obviously done to be a sequel of sorts to Fantasia. Here's what to expect:
In "Once Upon a Wintertime" one can almost believe that you have stepped over a threshold into a greeting card come to life.
In "Bumble Boogie" we are treated to a jazzy version of "Flight of the Bumblebee" complete with a bee and flowers, and the ever more surreal adventures he has. This is one of the most obvious nods to "Fantasia" in the movie. There are no words. Just the Bee and his music.
"Johnny Appleseed" is one of the main reasons to buy this disk, however. The story of this American Folk Hero has never been done better. I still get a little choked up every time I get to the end. "Johnny Appleseed" will always be one of my very favorite Disney shorts.
In "Little Toot" we are treated to a Disney version of this great Children's story. The story of the "Little Tugboat that Could" gets the young ones chanting right along - "You can do it, Little Toot!"
"Trees" is a marvelous animated rendition of Joyce Kilmer's famous poem.
"Blame It On The Samba" seems to be left over from the recent releases of "Saludos Amigos" and "Three Caballeros". An infectious Latin American rhythm and Donald Duck make this a wonderful way to introduce both "Saludos Amigos" and "Three Caballeros".
Finally, "Pecos Bill". Another American legend, this time more in the flavor of Paul Bunyan, "Pecos Bill" does not suffer from the limited amount of retouching they did to remove almost all references to Bill's cigarette.
I think this is a wonderful addition to the "canon" of Disney Animated movies, and a great addition to a library of children's films.
Rating:  - Anouther censored piece of art.
This film has been censored just like Fantasia and Saludos Amigos and Make Mine Music. I really hate when someone tries to tell me what I can and cannot see. I don't see the reason why Disney can't release 2 versions. The same way Dragonball is released edited & uncut version.
Rating:  - Classic Disney!
Great classic cartoons, fun for the whole family! Gotta love the old Disney stuff! Cute stories, great animation, and great music.
Rating:  - Interesting, yet ultimately flawed
Like Fantasia, this movie features many short animated clips, but set to "modern" music -- if you consider the 40's to be modern. A number of interesting clips - the wintertime one, the bumblebee one and johnny appleseed stand out. There are unfortunately an equal number of segments that seem to drag or are incredibly dated: the trees and the samba segments come to mind.
However, the worst thing about this particular DVD is that the Pecos Bill segment has been obviously edited from the original to remove a cigarette from Pecos Bill. This seems the height of hypocrisy - plenty of new Disney films have no such resistance to cigarettes appearing onscreen. This version of the film stands as a bad example of spineless political correctness for no reason that benefits the end product.
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