Melody Time (1948)

88% of critics liked it
(8 reviews)
49% of users liked it
(3,854 ratings)

Disney was known for combining his musical cartoon shorts into interesting feature-length anthologies and Melody Time is one of the best. But for the fact that all of the featured segments have musical themes, they vary widely in musical and artistic style. Included are the exciting "Bumble Boogie,"… More Disney was known for combining his musical cartoon shorts into interesting feature-length anthologies and Melody Time is one of the best. But for the fact that all of the featured segments have musical themes, they vary widely in musical and artistic style. Included are the exciting "Bumble Boogie," with a jazzy version of Rimski-Korsakov's famed "Flight of the Bumblebee," played by Freddy Martin and His Orchestra; the legend of Johnny Appleseed, "Little Toot," the story of a courageous tug-boat narrated by the Andrews Sisters; "Trees," based on Joyce Kilmer's poem and featuring songs by Fred Waring and His Pennsylvanians; "Blame It on the Cowboys," featuring Ethel Smith kicking up her heels with Donald Duck and his Three Caballeros pal Joe Carioca, and cowboy stars Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers in a live-action/animated retelling of the legend of "Pecos Bill." ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: G, 1 hr. 15 min.
Directed By: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson
Written By: Winston Hibler, Erdman Penner
Genres: Animation, Kids & Family, Musical & Performing Arts, Classics

In Theaters: May 27, 1948 Wide
On DVD: Jun 6, 2000

Critic Reviews

, TIME Magazine
The straight technical expertism is still one of the wonders of the movie world.
Bosley Crowther, New York Times
Like healthy, imaginative children, those Disney boys are full of strange caprice. One minute they are doing something charming; the next minute they are slopping in the jam.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
This last musical compilation film from the Disney studios was also one of the best, and Disney's animators display their entire creative range.
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy
A film much more entertaining than you'd expect, even if only two of its seven sequences individually reach classic status.
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
Very colorful, very musical Disney animation near-classic.
Keith Phipps, AV Club
A charming, imaginative anthology of cartoon shorts set to music by the likes of such '40s favorites as Roy Rogers and The Andrews Sisters.

Read all 6 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Wahida K

Donald Duck is so cool
DOCTOR P

Number 5 of the Compilation Era Animation is top notch. The shorts are actually all great and while not the most memorable will still stay longer then most of the shorts of the era. Next up: Mr. Toad vs. The Headless Horsemen
Matthew Y

Melody Time is the last Fantasia-esc musical inspired animated short packaged film from Disney's odd period. The Johnny Appleseed short is solid, all the others range from pretty good to mediocre. In a nutshell I'd call it the weakest of all the packaged animated films… More
Melody Time is the last Fantasia-esc musical inspired animated short packaged film from Disney's odd period. The Johnny Appleseed short is solid, all the others range from pretty good to mediocre. In a nutshell I'd call it the weakest of all the packaged animated films from the 40's, then again I don't think there was a lot of disparity from one film to the next.
Remi L

It's Mickey and 'em, gotta love it