Melody Time (1948)

Review by All Movie Guide
The opening of Melody Time promises "something for everyone," and that's the main problem with this amiable descendant of the much more effective and ambitious Fantasia. By trying to please too many people, it ends up being less satisfying than if it had aimed at one target audience and tried to please that audience wholeheartedly. As is usually the case with anthology films of this sort, there are highs and lows. But while the "lows" are not too low here, neither are the "highs" particularly high. No one segment stands out as a "must see," although all are agreeable and entertaining. The best realized of the lot are probably the "Johnny Appleseed" and "Pecos Bill" segments, the latter notable for finding the folks at Disney behaving more like the animators at Warner Brothers. Weakest is the opening segment, which traffics in the kind cloying faux-nostalgia that weakens a number of other Disney efforts. The "Bumble Boogie" episode is also strong, if too short, and features some very imaginative animation involving piano keys that turn into flower petals and snakes, among other things. Animation throughout is smooth and assured, and if it never is groundbreaking, it still allows the animators to work in some styles that are atypical for the studio. Vocal talent is good throughout, with welcome contributions from the Andrews Sisters and Dennis Day and an odd but intriguing contribution from Ethel Smith. No classic, but quite enjoyable. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide