Make Mine Music

INTRODUCTION

During the World War II era, Walt Disney and his team of artists and animators have to find a way to rebuild box office efforts after a series of box office disasters. To make up for it, the U.S. department of State recruited them to create a series of war-training videos and a goodwill tour of South America starring Donald Duck. This results in the Anthology period, where their next six (or five, if you exclude The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad) films are more of compromised packages of completed shorts into one movie. The next film, Make Mine Music, represents that period. Even if they don't live up to the golden standards of the first five movies and the Disney classics yet to come, there is always something enjoyable about them. 

Another thing to remember by is that Walt Disney planned to re-release Fantasia every few years by adding and subtracting material each time, resulting in a concert that never ends. Unfortunately, abysmal box office returns and the war prevented it from happening. When World War II and the propaganda shorts finally came to an end and the funding for a full length animated feature are scarce, Disney ordered the shorts to be made into production into the third of the Anthology period. The result in while it doesn't live up to Fantasia, Make Mine Music is able to stand on its own as a moderately enjoyable film.

And one last thing, The original form of Make Mine Music is hard to find because of one segment removed, The Martins and the Coys. I've seen it, on YouTube. Here's the link to it in its original format (The audio in this is speed-up, so better be careful):

 

Without any further ado...

STORY/REVIEW

"The Martins and the Coys": A story about a hillbilly fued on the mountains being broken up when two sole living people on both sides fall in love, in a Romeo and Juliet way, all sung by The Kings' Men. This is the segment that was cut from the VHS and DVD because of the gunplay shown in the cartoon which not only being viewed as offensive to Southerners who are disgusted by being viewed as ignorant rednecks, but giving children the wrong idea about lethal weapons. While the short is hard to find nowadays, I find it to be more enjoyable and fast-paced than some believed. It's not everybody's cup of tea, but it's worth checking out.

"Blue Bayou": A lullabye about the mystery and beauty of the bayou scenery. One interesting thing about "Blue Bayou" is that it was intended to be released with Fantasia, but set to the music of Claude Debussy's Clair De Lune. While it's beautiful in background animation, it's perfect to put your kids to sleep.

"All the Cats Join In": Bobby-soxers dancing to the music of Benny Goodman and his Orchestra while a pencil draws the elements. Lively and enjoyable.

"Without You": A slow number sung by Andy Russell. It's dreary and boring, but it's short.

"Casey at the Bat": Ernest Lawrence Thayer's beloved baseball poem is recited to the rapid-fire stylings of Jerry Colonna. This is one of the funniest of the bunch.

"Two Silhouettes": Sung by Dinah Shore, the song is mainly two silhouettes of ballet dancers David Lichine and Tania Riabouchinskaya, all done in rotoscope animation and backgrounds, accompanied by two cherubs also in silhouettes.

"Peter and the Wolf": Sergi Prokofeiff's orchestral themes are accompanied by Sterling Holloway's narration. This is one of the best segments of the bunch, mainly due to its narrative. Fun fact: "Peter and the Wolf" was considered for Fantasia, but rejected because of two things, it's written for children and it's filled with narration, something that Walt Disney didn't want in Fantasia.

"After You're Gone": The Benny Goodman Quartet performed the song with abstract visuals telling the story.

"Johnny Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet": The Andrew Sisters sings the story about a fedora and a bluebonnet falling in love until getting separated when the bluebonnet was purchased. This kind of love story predates both Paperman and Pixar's The Blue Umbrella. It's actually charming and lovely.

"The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met": Nelson Eddy sings this bittersweet tale of Willie, a whale with remarkable operatic talent who dreams of singing in an opera house. Legend spreads through but nobody believes it. Then the short-sighted impresario Tetti-Tatti suggested that a whale has swallowed an opera singer and he sets out to sea to find and rescue the singer. Then as the arrogant impresario tries to shoot the whale with a harpoon cannon, what follows is a series of montages of Willie's future career as an opera singer. Then Tetti-Tatti succeeds in killing the whale, probably Disney's first unhappy ending. The narrator then reassures the audience that Willie's song will sing on in Heaven. This is one of the best shorts and the highlight of the film.

FINAL WORD

While the original form is becoming more obscure and hard to get, I did find Make Mine Music to be the better of the anthology films. It doesn't reach the heights of Fantasia, but it's a plentifully entertaining film with lots to like.

6.5/10