Melody Time [Blu-ray]

This is for the Disney Movie Club Blu-ray release. Ive been looking for this film on Blu-ray for some time. As soon as I saw it was available, I knew I had to get it. As stated, this is one of Disneys package films. Back in the 40s, fresh off of the end of WWII, the Disney studios found they had a number of animated films they wanted to release, but faced a problem as these films were of different lengths. Too long for shorts and too short for features, so they were packaged together and released as features. Melody Time was one of them. There is no central plot to these films other than theyre animated stories set to contemporary music. The shorts are Once upon a Wintertime, Bumble Boogie, Johnny Appleseed, Little Toot, Trees, Blame it on the Samba, and Pecos Bill. Each short is a fine example of Disney animation. Theyre all exemplary and extremely well made. Words fail trying to describe all of them. Cant say I really have a favorite. This is a great family film, but I will say that the subjects of the shorts vary greatly and not everyone may fully enjoy all of them. For example, the Wintertime and Trees segments may be boring to young kids. Theyre beautiful to watch, but not made to excite like Pecos Bill. Also, some may find the Samba piece with Donald Duck and Joe Carioca may seem out of place when placed alongside American folklore heroes like Johnny Appleseed and Pecos Bill. However, theyre all enjoyable in their own ways. In regards to Pecos Bill, I have good news for the purists. Ive read that in the past, this segment had been edited to take out images of Bill smoking and rolling cigarettes. Well, it seems that all scenes have been restored for the Blu-ray version. Also, in todays environment, some may object to some of the themes. There is the Western Expansion theme in Johnny Appleseed and the Native American interactions in Pecos Bill that some may not agree with. I personally have no qualms because I understand the sentiments during the time when this film was made. I would strongly encourage all to give the entire film a chance and you may find something you will really enjoy. Blu-ray presentation is nearly perfect. Great picture and sound with no scratches or specks to be seen. There are three bonus cartoons, Donald Applecore, Lambert the Sheepish Lion, and Casey Bats Again (which is odd seeing as how Casey At The Bat was part of Make Mine Music). Bonus cartoons arent quite as good as the feature, but still enjoyable all the same. Recommend this release for any fan of classic Disney animation.

Im most happy with the fact that the Pecos Bill segment has been properly restored. Disneys whitewashing of its history has gotten out of hand. Smoking is bad, yes, but it happened, heck, doctors were stating for years that it was completely safe. Look, its filmmaking history and we cannot judge this history by todays standards. It happened, put the disclaimers on it, and let them be seen, ugliness and all.