Melody Time

Donald’s final appearance in a Disney Animated Canon film is Melody Time. The fifth movie in the Packaged Era made me think that creating these had become systematic at this point.

Once again, the movie is a mixed bag of shows. The detail in them is very good for the most part. Some very pretty visuals in Trees and lots of typical cartoon pieces. It involves another short with Donald and Jose, but this time they don’t play much of a role. The short is mostly a woman singing and playing an organ.

This one unfortunately does not have any standout shorts. Everything in this movie is mediocre. No great stories, no great animation, no outstanding music, it is all just bland. Even the Samba part just blends in with Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros.

There is an odd fascination with Disney using lightning as a weapon. It happens in Little Toot and has been used many times up through the first ten movies. It is typically done to great effect with use of percussion symbols but watching them back to back it starts to feel repetitive.

Fun and Fancy Free was on the verge of being great while this one is on the verge of being terrible.

Run Time – 75 Minutes

21st Academy Awards – 0 Nominations – 0 Wins

Disney Animated Canon so far in order of Quality

1. Dumbo 10-23-1941

2. Pinocchio 2-7-1940

3. Make Mine Music 4-20-1946

4. Fun and Fancy Free 9-27-1947

5. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 12-21-1937

6. Saludos Amigos 8-24-1942

7. Melody Time 5-27-1948

8. Bambi 8-13-1942

9. Fantasia 11-13-1940

10. The Three Caballeros 12-21-1944