Melody Time

Melody Time
Original theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jack Kinney Clyde Geronimi Hamilton Luske Wilfred Jackson
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
Produced by	Walt Disney
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
Production company	Walt Disney Productions
Distributed by	RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Release date	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 "contemporary 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 fifth package film following Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros, Make Mine Music, and Fun and Fancy Free.

Film segments

This particular film has seven segments:

• Once Upon a Wintertime featured 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. This short was 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 Boogie was a surrealistic nightmare for a solitary bee trying to escape from a visual and musical frenzy. The music was courtesy of Freddy Martin and his orchestra (with Jack Fina playing the piano) and was 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 was 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 narrated and provides all the voices.
• Little Toot was based on the poem 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 provided the vocals. Out of all the musical segments, this one was the most famous.
• Trees was a reciting 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 has Donald Duck and José Carioca meeting with the Aracuan Bird who introduced 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 provided the vocals while organist Ethel Smith played the organ.
• Pecos Bill was the finale about the famous hero from Texas, the biggest and best cowboy that ever lived, his horse Widowmaker, and how he was brought back down to earth by a woman named Slue-Foot Sue. This retelling of the story was courtesy of 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.

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)

Home video

Melody Time was first released on VHS on June 2, 1998, under the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection title. Its latest release was on June 6, 2000 on VHS and DVD under the Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection title. The DVD print is still in stock today in several stores.

External links

• Template:Bcdb title
• Melody Time at IMDb
• Melody Time at Rotten Tomatoes