Year Released: 1948
Michael's Movie Grade:B+
History
Again, instead of doing one feature length animated story the Disney studio made a series of animated shorts put together to make a feature film. Again this was done mainly because of financial worries. Like it's sister film Make Mine Music, Melody Time focuses on the theme of music. Also like Make Mine Music, this film would be quite different from Fantasia, because of that film's financial failure and the negative reception it received from audiences and critics. Melody Time would again be closer to Disney's more traditional cartoon shorts, rather than to the experimentation of Fantasia. Even though the Bumble Boogie segment was considered for Fantasia. This film would also feature a wide range of different performers and music, and would even include the last film performance of The Andrew Sisters, who had worked previously on Disney's Make Mine Music, and appeared along side famous comedy team Abbott and Costello, under the direction of Arthur Lubin, (Abbott and Costello's first reoccurring director) in Buck Privates, In the Navy, and Hold That Ghost. Maxine Andrews remembered this film as a very happy experience, and considered Walt Disney to be a real gentleman. She also remembered seeing the storyboards for the films as two Disney songwriters (I don't know which ones since the song they performed seems to have been only written by Allie Wrubel) played the score, and Walt would explain the short to them.
This film would be very similar to Make Mine Music, with different types of music and cartoons being featured. Again like Make Mine Music different cartoons would be handled by different directors. These directors would all be regular Disney animation directors, they would include Clyde Geronimi (Little Toot, Blame It on the Samba, Pecos Bill), Wilfred Jackson (The Legend of Johnny Appleseed), Jack Kinney (Bumble Boogie), and Hamilton Luske (Once Upon a Wintertime, Trees). Each would bring their own style, and give much variety to these shorts.
This film features some quick live action in it. Because at this time Walt was getting more interested in making a fully live action film, with no animation, which he would complete two years after this film was released, he often experimented with live action at this time. He was nervous about going completely into live action because the Disney studio was known for animation and many critics and audiences felt he had gone too far from what Disney films were known for, when the studio did Fantasia and Bambi. A live action scene features Bobby Driscoll, and Launa Patten, Disney's first reoccurring child actors, and the first actors to have a contract with the Disney studio. Also, in this quick live action scene appears Roy Rogers, Bob Nolan, and Sons of the Pioneers, all of whom would perform the song for the following cartoon. Also featured would be Roy Rogers' horse Trigger. Also, in the Blame It on the Samba cartoon, Donald Duck along with his south of the border friends, José Carioca and the Aracuan Bird, interact with a live action Ethel Smith.
After Saludos Amigos (1942) and The Three Caballeros (1944), the Disney studio planned to make a third South American themed feature film with Donald Duck. Known at the studio as the Carnival feature. That film really began production during the spring and summer of 1945. Like the previous movies, this would have been an anthology film that would have been separated into four different segments, that would essentially resemble Disney's cartoon shorts. When World War 2 came to an end, there would be no longer be a reason for such a film and the project was quietly abandoned. However, one portion of this film would reach the screen. This was Blame it on the Samba, which would become part of Melody Time.
As previously mentioned, this short would feature a live action, Ethel Smith. During the 1940's the U.S. government pushed its Good Neighbor policy by having many entertainers on both sides of the border serve as Goodwill Ambassadors and one of these was U.S. born Ethel Smith. Born in Pittsburgh (on November 22, 1902), at a young age Smith discovered Latin music and became a huge fan. In the mid-1930's she discovered the electric organ, a relatively new instrument and used it to play the Latin music she loved. By the late 1930's she was performing in Latin America. With this in mind, she became a perfect good will ambassador. In 1940 she gained an engagement at the Cassino Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro. She was so popular that she would be repeatedly held over, and she was there when the Disney studio visited Rio de Janeiro in August 1941 for the making of Saludos Amigos. While there is no definitive proof that anyone working at Disney came into contact with Ethel Smith, the Disney artists did often have meetings at the Copacabana and in December 1941 Smith sent a custom designed Christmas card to Walt and his wife Lillian. In the summer of 1944, she was in Hollywood working for MGM and performed Tico-Tico (which was a very popular song for her) for the Ester Williams movie, Bathing Beauty (1944). In late 1944, Disney artist Norm Ferguson was trying to bring together musicians for the Carnival feature, and he felt that with Ethel Smith now in Hollywood, she would be a perfect choice. The studio contacted her in early 1945. Mary Blair began working on various costume sketches for her with different costumes representing different countries. This was because it was considered to have appear in each segment and have her music connect the various segments. In February 1945 a Hammond organ was installed on the sound-effects recording stage. She recorded the Mexican song, La Parranda and the Cuban number Cachita paran pan pin. Norm Ferguson had hoped to use the Brazilian song Cavaquinho, yet the copyright status seemed a mystery. Ethel recorded various other songs as possible substitutes for Cavaquinho, but the studio was able to get the rights in May 1945. Disney lyricist Ray Gilbert would be assigned to write new English lyrics for this tune, and the result was Blame it on the Samba. Though this segment would eventually be put on a shelf when the Carnival feature was shelved as a whole, it would later see the light of day again. Ethel Smith was becoming an even bigger star due to supporting performances in live action movies and the option of Disney studio to use her services lasted up until spring 1947. In late 1946 production on the Blame it on the Samba sequence was revived.
There was a proposed version of the sequence that at least made it to the storyboard stage, that would have featured both Ethel Smith and Carmen Miranda. In that version, Donald Duck and Joe Carioca went to a theater where both artists were performing. The two crash backstage where Smith is performing and end up in Miranda's dressing room. Later both artists go on stage to perform Blame it on the Samba. Donald and Joe Carioca are still backstage, where Donald is still lovestruck by a kiss from Carmen Miranda. Joe tells Donald romantic tales of Rio and Donald's mind transports the duck to a surreal fantasy world. This lovely dream would morph into a nightmare involving matchboxes and a performance of the Bonfire Ballet. This in turn would turn into a celebration of Brazil's Festa de sao Joao Brazil festival. It is not known if this plan was from before the project was originally shelved or after. There were also plans to have all three Caballeros appear in this segment but eventually Panchito was dropped due to the sequence having nothing to do with Mexico. This is when the Aracuan Bird would be added to the action.
Some test shots for the live action filming were done on February 4, 1947. However actual live action filming was done on the week of February 10, 1947, with Ken Anderson as the live action director. A Hammond organ console was supplied by the Penny-Owsley Music Company in Los Angles. It would be mounted on a rotating platform on the studio's live action stage. Ethel would re-create her performance of this song to a recording she had made nearly two years prior.
Melody Time did fairly well at the box office, and with critics. But many were wondering when they would see a full feature length animated story, but that was just two years in the future.
Review
Again, since this film is just a series of shorts, I will review each short individually, and give them each their own grade, along with the grade for the film as a whole near the top of this page.
Once Upon a Wintertime: Entertainingly little short is helped by great design work by Mary Blair. The story and the humor are nothing special, but they are nothing bad either. However the great stylized look of this segment has quite a charm to it, and the song is quite nice. Grade:C
Bumble Boogie: Very fun cartoon. Director Jack Kinney is a master at giving cartoons an addictive energy, and he does so very well here. The imagery is fantastic in this short as well. It is quite imaginative and fun to look at as well. The music has the same energy as the cartoon and the music and imagery fit together beautifully. Grade:A
Johnny Appleseed: Great piece of Americana, that only Disney could provide. This short is quite corny, but it has a spirit that fully overcomes that. Johnny is a quite likable character, the music is great, and the imagery is great. Although the story isn't perfect, it is still quite likable, and holds all this cartoons charms perfectly. Grade:A-
Little Toot: Fun if unexceptional short. The story is one we have seen a lot of before although it is handled well here, it has still been handled better elsewhere. The animation for this short is good, but not quite up to Disney standards.While the song is not the best song it fits the short well and the Andrew Sisters perform it great. Grade:C
Trees: Although this short has really beautiful imagery, the song doesn't work, and goes by much too fast to leave the impression it should. Singing the lyrics of Joyce KIlmer's poem to classical music just does not work. It honestly comes off as a bit pretentious. The idea simply is not as artistic as the filmmakers seemed to think it would be. However the imagery is really beautiful, with much of the same majesty that made Bambi work so well. Grade: C+
Blame it on the Samba: Fantastic short with great imagery, and great energy. This is just a beautifully constructed cartoon, and is full of fantastic imagination. Also the combination of animation and live action is beautifully achieved, and along with Disney's Three Caballeros, making up some of the best combinations between animation and live action, before Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The music has a great energy as well and compliments the cartoon perfectly/ Grade: A+
Pecos Bill: It probably is partly due to my love of country music that makes me love this short so much, but there is definitely more to it than that, mainly that this is a very funny cartoon. Every joke in here works, and the more unbelievable the more funny. This contains comic exaggerations at their best. The animation is very well done and compliments the jokes beautifully. Before the short starts though we have some beautiful animation of the desert, along with a great country song. This part is worthy of the best of Fantasia, and even a quite entertaining live action introduction. As a fan of country music I have to say the music we hear here is as great as the cartoon itself. Grade: A+
Film Credits
Directors:Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Jack Kinney, Ken Anderson.
Writers: Winston Hibler, Erdman Penner, Harry Reeves, Homer Brightman, Ken Anderson, Ted Sears, Joe Rinaldi, William Cottrell, Art Scott, Jesse Marsh, Bob Moore, John Wallbridge.
Little Toot segment based off of a short story by Hardie Gramatky.
Voices: Buddy Clark (Master of Ceremonies), Dennis Day (Johnny Appleseed, Johnny's Angel, The Old Settler), Clarence Nash (Donald Duck), Pinto Colvig (Aracuan Bird)
Live Action Cast: Ethel Smith (Herself), Bob Nolan (Himself), Bobby Driscoll (Himself), Roy Rogers (Himself), Trigger, Luana Patten (Herself), The Sons of the Pioneers (Themselves)
Song Performers: Buddy Clark, Frances Langford, Freddy Martin and His Orchestra, Jack Fina, Dennis Day, The Andrews Sisters, Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians, Ethel Smith, The Dinning Sisters, Roy Rogers, Sons of the Pioneers
Producer: Walt Disney
Songwriters: George David Weiss, Bennie Benjamin, Bobby Worth, Ray Gilbert, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Jack Fina, Kim Gannon, Walter Kent, Allie Wrubel, Oscar Rasbach, Ernesto Nazareth, Eliot Daniel, Johnny Lange
Music: Eliot Daniel, Paul J. Smith
Cinematographer: Winton C. Hoch
Assistant Directors: Lou Debney, Mike Holoboff, Ted Sebern
Editors: Don Halliday, Thomas Scott
Effects Animators: George Rowley, Josh Meador, Jack Boyd, Dan MacManus
Special Effects: Ub Iwerks
Supervising Animators: Eric Larson, Ward Kimball, Milt Kahl, Ollie Johnston (as Oliver M. Johnston Jr)., John Lounsbery, Les Clark
Background Artists: Art Riley, Brice Mack, Ralph Hulett, Merle Cox, Dick Anthony
Layout Artists: Hugh Hennesy, Mac Stewart, Ken O'Connor, Lance Nolley, Al Zinnen, Bob Cormack, Don Griffith, Thor Putnam, Donald Da Gradi
Animators: Harvey Toombs, Marvin Woodward, Ed Aardal, Hal King, Cliff Norberg, Don Lusk, John Sibley, Rudy Larriva, Ken O'Brien, Bob Cannon, Judge Whitaker, Hal Ambro
Resources Used
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040580/?ref_=rvi_tt
http://www.bcdb.com/cartoon-characters/25-Melody-Time/#cartoon_writers
The Andrew Sisters: A Biography and Career Record by H. Arlo Nimmo
South of the Border With Disney by J.B. Kaufman
-Michael J. Ruhland
No comments:
Post a Comment