Movie Info
Movie Name: Make Mine Music
Studio: Walt Disney Productions
Genre(s): Animated/Musical/Family
Release Date(s): August 15, 1946
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
The tears of a whale
Music and art come together in Make Mine Music. The movie is composed of short sketches all set to music. The most famous of these sketches probably is Peter and the Wolf which has been played and released as an individual short.
Make Mine Music was Walt Disney’s eighth animated feature in their Walt Disney Animated Classics series and is one of Disney’s wartime films. The movie followed The Three Caballeros in 1944 and was followed by another collection film Fun and Fancy Free in 1947. The movie originally contained ten different sketches but “The Martins and the Coys” was removed from the collection for video and DVD release because it contained a lot of unnecessary gunfire.
A breakdown of each segment:
The Martins and Coys
“The Martins and the Coys”
Features the music of the King’s Men and presents a Hatfields and McCoy’s style of fight between two families. The families kill each other out except the only surviving members who marry (and of course feud). It is too bad that the story is removed because it is one of the better segments in the movie. It has a story and is kind of fun. I think the single shot fired in “The Whale that Wanted to Sing at the Met” was worse than any gunfire here.
Blue Bayou
“Blue Bayou”
Blue Bayou is set to “Blue Bayou” performed by the Ken Darby Singers and was originally meant for Fantasia with “Clair de Lune” as the music. It is a simple music over a swamp scene.
All the Cats Joined In
“All the Cats Join In”
Benny Goodman helps with the segment which involves kids going out for a dance and fun. The art is has the pictures being drawn and coming to life as the story procedes.
Without You
“Without You”
Andy Rooney sings the title song for this segment and the segment just contains images of lost love.
Casey at the Bat
“Casey at the Bat”
Jerry Colonna narrates a version of Ernest Thayer’s poem and shows how Casey’s ego overpowers his ability. The art and story is pretty fun and when compared to “Without You” it is nice to have a straight narrative and that it might be needed to keep kids’ wandering minds.
Two Silhouettes
“Two Silhouettes”
The segment has Dinah Shore singing “Two Silhouettes” and illustrated shadows of live action ballet dancers. Like “Without You” it doesn’t have much narrative and I can’t imagine that younger viewers would be interested.
Peter and the Wolf
“Peter and the Wolf”
“Peter and the Wolf” is the best story in Make Mine Music and based on Sergei Prokofiev’s composition. Sterling Holloway (of Winnie the Pooh fame) plays the narrator for the story. It has a nice combination of art and classic music that many will recognize (including the Wolf music used for A Christmas Story). The art is clever and the story is fun…it really helps send home the idea of each instrument representing a character.
After You’re Gone
“After You’ve Gone”
Benny Goodman again provides the music for instruments on parade. The instruments juggle and play. The segment is short and quick.
Johnny Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet
“Johnny Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet”
This is a fun little number sung by the Andrews Sisters. It is the story of a fedora that falls in love with a bonnet in the store window only to have her to be purchased and taken away. The fedora is also purchased and spends its time in search of the bonnet only to reunited with her on a pair of ice carriage horses. The story is fun, and the song also tells a nice story.
The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met
“The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met”
A sperm whale shows its talent for opera but the world refuses to believe it. Nelson Eddy narrates and sings the story of the whale, and it ends pretty tragically. While the whale ends up trying to impress the talent scout (who believes the whale swallowed opera singers) and the scout kills him to free the singers…It is kind of sad and I was surprised it when that far (especially since The Martins and Coys was taken out for violence).
Make Mine Music is very uneven…It is an improvement from the rather boring The Three Caballeros, but still, there is a lot of dead time. I can’t imagine other than the narrative segments of the movie that kids would enjoy it. It feels like Fantasia-lite and not as well done. Opposed to Fantasia, the movie feels quite dated by picking more popular music. If you are a fan of Disney, check it out, and “Peter and the Wolf”, “Johnny Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet”, and “The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met” are worth the admission.
