teleconman MELODY TIME is one of those movies that I could put on any time and forget about my worries. I remember watching it when I was a kid and sure I didn't pay it much attention to it. It's a cartoon film, so the only thing that mattered to me was that it's cartoons. Year's later I found a copy of it on DVD. And everyday when I'd get home I would do my homework while it played in the background. I am willing to say that this is probably my favorite Disney movie. Nothing against THE LION KING or ALADDIN, but it's just that there's a sense of emotion in this movie that's hard for me to explain. Every segment is so beautiful to look at. The music that accompanies each one is beautiful. The great thing about it is that there are like eight segments. so you get to experience eight magnificent pieces of work from animation history. My favorite segments are "Johnny Appleseed", The entire "Pecos Bill" segment, and "Trees". In that sense it sounds kind of like a nature theme that stood out to me. Which makes sense because the artwork of nature is amazing. I applaud the animators that worked on the film, there wasn't a lot of them, but they still managed to make a great Disney animated film. This is one of the best of them if not the best for me.

Barney Cremin When you think of classic Disney films, this is perhaps one that does not come to mind. Melody Time is essentially a series of shorts put together to make up a narrative feature. As you might expect, it is a hit and miss show. It's not that it's bad per-se, it's just that when the company that made this, also made Fantasia, Beauty and the Beast and Pinocchio, you can see why it doesn't hold up.As usual, the animation is superb. Animation wise, there is nothing to fault. At times, it feels like visual poetry. But sometimes, the content falls short of what could be an interesting film. The good includes 'The Legend of Johnny Appleseed', a gorgeous look at one of America's first pioneers, and 'Pecos Bill', a country and western jamboree about an impossibly adventurous cowboy. Both of these segments remind us that Disney is at their shorts best, when they are focused on folkloric tales. See Icabod and Mr Toad for further proof. However, it's not all fun and games. One segment, 'Little Toot' was so abysmal that it made me yearning for the blandness of the kids TV show, 'Tugs'. And 'Blame it on the Samba', featuring the most irritating Disney character ever committed to celluloid, The Aracuan Bird. There also seems to be this constant idea in the segment which says that the Samba music is impossible not to dance to. I know a lot has changed since 1948, but did I miss a meeting where it was agreed that this music was supposed to be intoxicating? The other segments full under the radar. 'Trees' in particular felt only about 1 minute long, which is a shame because the animation in the that is the best of the film. The original title of Melody Time was 'All is Fun'. After seeing the film, you can see why they changed the title. But it doesn't mean there is no fun to be had along the way.

OllieSuave-007 Like Fantasia, Melody Time is an anthology of animated sequences, but is not as long like the former and not as brilliant or vibrant in my opinion. It contains seven animated shorts, some with just music and some with dialog and music.You won't find much plot in this film - just a bunch of cartoon shorts set to the music of contemporary oldies and songs sung by singers from the Golden Era. The animation looks pretty washed up and the overall movie misses the rich music, dynamic and scenic animation sequences and the excitement and majesty Fantasia was able to present.While each segment wasn't very appealing, the Johnny Appleseed sequence was a little touching and the Trees segment was quite beautiful. The story of Little Toot was too "cute" but has some heroic elements, and the Blame it on the Samba sequence was quite catchy with its Latin music (and it's nice to see a familiar face, Donald Duck, star in that sequence). However, the Once Upon A Wintertime short was boring, Bumble Boogie was a little too mindless and the Pecos Bill story, while set to some good ol' American flavor, dragged the film.Overall, the film doesn't have much that would grab your attention and has that all-around lazy feel to it. It might be something that is OK for adults to watch once to pass the time, but children might not be able to sit through it.Grade D+

TheLittleSongbird Overall, I enjoyed "Melody Time" very much. It isn't as good as "Fantasia", which I consider a perfect introduction to classical music, but there are some entertaining parts. Elevated by some lovely animation, good songs and cute characters it is very pleasant to watch, even if there are segments that are better than others."Once Upon a Wintertime"(9/10)- One of my personal favourite segments from the film. I admit I knew about this one long before seeing "Melody Time" from watching my old Christmas videos. The animation is absolutely gorgeous in this segment, with a nice romantic story and a truly beautiful title song, sublimely sung by Frances Langford."Bumble Boogie"(9/10)- When I first heard of this I thought "Rimsky Korsakov jazzed up? How will that turn out?" My verdict is surprisingly entertaining, despite its scant running time and being a tad too rushed, with a cute and endearing title character, nice animation and a clever arrangement of "Flight of the Bumble Bee". I will say I don't know what Rimsky Korsakov would make of it though, he was very particular about how he liked his orchestration."Johnny Appleseed"(10/10)- My personal favourite. Very colourful visually, with some lively songs and the perfect melodious voice of Dennis Day elevated it to a greater level. Could've easily been very dull in terms of story, but the above elements made it worth seeing."Little Toot"(8/10)- I have one word for this little segment- CUTE! Little Toot himself is adorable. I loved the animation and music here, the Andrews Sisters have wonderful voices that blend beautifully together. A little too slow in places."Trees"(8/10)- Plot-less it is, but it is a visual and musical feast, and the poetic narration was lovely. If only it wasn't so short! "Blame it on the Samba"(7/10)- Sorry, this was my least favourite, despite the presence of the wonderful Donald Duck and his little green parrot buddy. Excellent music and decent animation, but the editing and pacing seemed somewhat rushed, and for some strange reason Ethel Smith left me cold."Pecos Bill"(8/10)- This is one rootin' tootin' cartoon. While starting off a little tedious and some of the characters were a bit deflated, there were however some very nice backgrounds, funny moments and a corker of a soundtrack. Not to mention the fabulous Roy Rogers, wow! Overall, uneven mix but pleasant enough. 7/10 Bethany Cox