An anthology of animated vignettes set to contemporary music.An anthology of animated vignettes set to contemporary music.An anthology of animated vignettes set to contemporary music.
- Awards
- 1 win
Dennis Day
- Narrator
- (voice)
- …
Laverne Andrews
- Andrews Sisters
- (singing voice)
- (as Andrews Sisters)
Maxene Andrews
- Andrews Sisters
- (singing voice)
- (as Andrews Sisters)
Patty Andrews
- Andrews Sisters
- (singing voice)
- (as Andrews Sisters)
Freddy Martin
- Self
- (credit only)
Frances Langford
- Frances Langford
- (singing voice)
Pat Brady
- Singing cowboy
- (as Sons of the Pioneers)
Hugh Farr
- Singing cowboy
- (as Sons of the Pioneers)
Bob Nolan
- Singing cowboy
- (as Sons of the Pioneers)
Lloyd Perryman
- Singing cowboy
- (as Sons of the Pioneers)
Tim Spencer
- Singing cowboy
- (as Sons of the Pioneers)
Ginger Dinning
- Dinning Sisters
- (singing voice)
- (as The Dinning Sisters)
Jean Dinning
- Dinning Sisters
- (singing voice)
- (as The Dinning Sisters)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBecause of the controversy about cowboys smoking, the "Pecos Bill" segment was heavily edited for release on DVD. In the original film, Bill is seen smoking a cigarette in several sequences. The cigarette was edited out in each case, resulting in the removal of almost the entire tornado sequence and some odd hand and mouth movements for Bill throughout. These scenes have since been restored in a recent American Blu-ray release.
- GoofsAt the end of Pecos Bill (1948), when Pecos and Widowmaker go back to live with the coyotes, it's seen that Pecos has removed his clothes and left them in a pile in the desert and Widowmaker has removed his horseshoes. However, Widowmaker lost his horseshoes earlier in the cartoon when he was bucking around when Slue-Foot Sue was riding him and a cowboy was seen being hit in the head by the horseshoes.
- Quotes
[introduction to "Blame It On the Samba"]
Master of Ceremonies: The intoxicating rhythm of the samba. A talented miss serves a musical cocktail with a true Latin American fling. So if three boisterous birds of a feather fall under the influence of this torrid tropical tempo, don't blame them, blame it on the rhythm of the samba.
- Alternate versionsThe November 2021 Blu-ray (a Disney Movie Club exclusive) contains the unaltered Pecos Bill segment, along with the original RKO logo and mono soundtrack. This version is also available on Disney+.
- ConnectionsEdited into Contrast in Rhythm (1955)
- SoundtracksMelody Time
Written by George David Weiss (as George Weiss) and Bennie Benjamin
Performed by Buddy Clark
Featured review
Seven short Disney animations, done in a similar style to "Fantasia" but not as successful as that film.
During the '40s many of the animated films released by the Disney studios were compilation-style movies. By that, I mean that instead of telling one story over the course of 80 or so minutes, the films were made up of a series of short animated stories linked together. The most successful example of this approach was "Fantasia" (which was linked together by pieces of classical music), but nowadays many people are not aware that the studio made several films of this kind. "The Three Caballeros", "Make Music Mine", "Saludos Amigos", "Fun and Fancy Free" and "Melody Time" are some of the other examples.
Melody Time is split into seven sections. "Once Upon A Wintertime" deals with a loving couple who go ice-skating on a frozen river; "Bumble Boogie" deals with a bee which is pursued by a variety of living musical instruments to the accompaniment of Rimsky Korsakov's Flight Of The Bumblebee; "Johnny Appleseed" retells an old American legend about a pioneer who struck out west and planted the first apple forests; "Little Toot" deals with a mischievous young tugboat which redeems itself by saving a liner in a storm; "Trees" is a short poetic sequence in which the title tells you all you need to know; "Blame It On The Samba" is a simple dance sequence starring Donald Duck; and "Pecos Bill", which begins with real-life actors (among them Bobby Driscoll) talking around a desert campfire, and proceeds to relate the animated story of the titular Wild West character who was raised by coyotes and got into various wacky adventures.
Generally-speaking, I find the longer sequences the best. The opening sequence, "Wintertime", is excellent, with just the right touch of comedy and excitement. "Little Toot" is excellent too - arguably the best episode in the film in fact. And "Pecos Bill" is thoroughly entertaining and has some laugh-out-loud moments. Of the longer episodes, only "Johnny Appleseed" feels laboured and frankly dull. The shorter episodes are actually rather disappointing. "Bumble Boogie" has terrific musical accompaniment, but is forgettable; "Trees" is pleasant but ordinary; and "Blame It On The Samba" looks like a rejected sequence from The Three Caballeros (1947), and is by far the most irritating sequence in this film, despite the presence of the perennially popular Donald Duck. On the whole, Melody Time might only really appeal to Disney completists; it has amusing and ingenious moments though you have to wade through some dull stretches to find them.
Melody Time is split into seven sections. "Once Upon A Wintertime" deals with a loving couple who go ice-skating on a frozen river; "Bumble Boogie" deals with a bee which is pursued by a variety of living musical instruments to the accompaniment of Rimsky Korsakov's Flight Of The Bumblebee; "Johnny Appleseed" retells an old American legend about a pioneer who struck out west and planted the first apple forests; "Little Toot" deals with a mischievous young tugboat which redeems itself by saving a liner in a storm; "Trees" is a short poetic sequence in which the title tells you all you need to know; "Blame It On The Samba" is a simple dance sequence starring Donald Duck; and "Pecos Bill", which begins with real-life actors (among them Bobby Driscoll) talking around a desert campfire, and proceeds to relate the animated story of the titular Wild West character who was raised by coyotes and got into various wacky adventures.
Generally-speaking, I find the longer sequences the best. The opening sequence, "Wintertime", is excellent, with just the right touch of comedy and excitement. "Little Toot" is excellent too - arguably the best episode in the film in fact. And "Pecos Bill" is thoroughly entertaining and has some laugh-out-loud moments. Of the longer episodes, only "Johnny Appleseed" feels laboured and frankly dull. The shorter episodes are actually rather disappointing. "Bumble Boogie" has terrific musical accompaniment, but is forgettable; "Trees" is pleasant but ordinary; and "Blame It On The Samba" looks like a rejected sequence from The Three Caballeros (1947), and is by far the most irritating sequence in this film, despite the presence of the perennially popular Donald Duck. On the whole, Melody Time might only really appeal to Disney completists; it has amusing and ingenious moments though you have to wade through some dull stretches to find them.
helpful•125
- barnabyrudge
- Aug 17, 2005
- How long is Melody Time?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- All in Fun
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 15 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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