Melody Time

Release Date: May 27, 1948

Watch Date: February 4, 2023

 

    I have said to plenty of people, plenty of times, I am not a fan of anthologies. I did not like Fantasia.

    This movie is an anthology. This movie is basically Fantasia, only some of the songs have lyrics and there’s no back and forth to an orchestra.

    I really enjoy this movie.

    Now is this possibly because our daughter adored it? Absolutely. There’s something magical about our one-and-a-half year old being unable to contain her joy at the music and stories being portrayed. She loved every second, did nothing besides dance, smile, and clap the entire time.

    Johnny Appleseed can’t help but appeal to the loyal American in Bob, it doesn’t matter where he currently lives. It’s about as traditional and close to a classic European fairytale as America gets. I think I’ve heard from somewhere that the man who became the myth did exist and was an actual documented person. I don’t know about the extremely Christian overtones, but it’s sometimes hard to separate the American from the religious, as so much of the country was founded in Christian ideals.

    I, personally, enjoy the jazzy take on ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’. I also really enjoy the story of ‘Pecos Bill’. I like a good creation myth. I like having interesting reasons for the existence of natural phenomena. Plus, I like the image of a particularly bouncy bustle shooting a woman up into space.

    But really, what I like more, is the way our daughter lit up at it. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: this marathon is about finding Disney magic. Sometimes that’s right where you would expect it, but sometimes, at least so far, it’s some place you’d never think to look. These old movies can be, and often are, overlooked, but seeing these films through our kids eyes, or Bob’s, seeing them for the first time in their lives…it’s something special a familial experience that can’t be replaced and which causes one to think about the hundreds of thousands of memories and moments that have been created by a Disney movie.

    It makes going on this adventure feel extremely worth it.