Reviews of Make Mine Music (1946) and related work

Make Mine Music (1946Moving picture, 75 minutes)

Seen in 2018.

Anthology of original musical shorts. The non-anthropomorphic pieces hold it above water.

References here: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949).

moving picture Disney animation fiction

“After You’ve Gone” (1946Moving picture, 4 minutes)

Seen in 2018.

The mixture of anthropomorphism and abstraction is awkward, but there are some nice cuts too.

moving picture entry Disney animation fiction

“All the Cats Join In” (1946Moving picture, 4 minutes)

Seen in 2018.

Very lively for Disney, with a variety of body shapes that are not simply cartoon types. It looks like the animators had fun on this one.

moving picture entry Disney animation fiction

“Blue Bayou” (1946Moving picture, 4 minutes)

Seen in 2018.

A bird wades in a bayou at night.

A mood piece drawn for Fantasia (1940) and Debussy’s “Clair de Lune”. Even with indifferent music it is beautiful, showing what the Disney animators could do with realistic animals and their multiplane rig.

moving picture entry Disney animation fiction

Two Silhouettes (1946Moving picture)

Seen in 2018.

moving picture entry Disney animation fiction

Without You (1946Moving picture)

Seen in 2018.

Abstract musical. A very nice Norman McLaren vibe.

moving picture entry Disney animation fiction

“Casey at the Bat” (1946Moving picture, 9 minutes)

Seen in 2018.

The motif of the cocky batter was familiar by this time; compare e.g. “Boulevardier from the Bronx” (1936).

moving picture entry Disney animation fiction

“Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet” (1946Moving picture, 8 minutes)

Seen in 2018.

moving picture entry Disney animation fiction

“Peter and the Wolf” (1946Moving picture, 15 minutes)

Seen in 2018.

A pre-Cold-War tribute to the then-recent Russian classic, with some Cyrillic lettering. Notice the dishonesty of letting the duck walk through the golden gate of heaven. I like the slow introduction of the instruments.

moving picture entry Disney animation fiction

“The Martins and the Coys” (1946Moving picture, 8 minutes)

Seen in 2018.

Feuding hillbillies.

Similar, for instance, to “When I Yoo Hoo” (1936), but with The Three Caballeros-era sexualization of a female body on what would become the Disney princess pattern, and she gets to kick ass.

References here: “Pecos Bill” (1948).

moving picture entry Disney animation fiction

“The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met” (1946Moving picture, 15 minutes)

Seen in 2018.

moving picture entry Disney animation fiction