Rating: Summary: true love lasts a lifetime Review: well, i'm being slightly deceptive. i have not seen the whole video, sad to say, but i did grow up watching one segment in particular: johnnie fedora and alice bluebonnet. be aware that if watching this segment as an adult, you may miss a lot of the charm it truly possesses. i have sadly not seen it in many years, but a powerful emotion of love, happiness, and longing to own it flood over me when i think about it. definitely a must-see for children everywhere. i am perfectly willing to buy the entire video just for the sake of that one segment.
Rating: Summary: Disney Has Done It Again Review: When FANTASIA was released on home video in 1991, there was a clip missing (also from recent theatrical releases) becauses it was deemed offensive to today's audiences. When ALADDIN was released to home video, pressure groups insisted some lyrics of the opening song be changed from the theatrical release (of course they weren't changed on the soundtrack CD which came with the "special edition" video release). When MELODY TIME was first released to home video in 1998, the cigarette dangling from the mouth of the character Pecos Bill was edited out (evidently Disney villains can smoke, but not the hero). When THE LITTLE MERMAID was re-released to home video in 1998, the advertising said Fully Restored - but the closing credits were pushed to one side to make room for a "music video" and the song was not even the original song accompanying those end credits - this is restored?And now we have MAKE MINE MUSIC - the last of the animated Disney features to be released on home video (some had previously been released on laser disc but not video). It is difficult to believe that anything Disney released to theatres to all audiences in 1946 would be considered objectionable to today's more cynical audiences more than 50 years later - but evidently Disney thinks so. The first of the 10 musical segments that make up this film (the same format as FANTASIA) is missing! The segment is called The Martins and The Coys, performed by The King's Men (whose name has been erased from the opening credits!). This film has played several times - intact - on the Disney channel (thank God for VCRs) for almost 10 years - the last being less than one year ago. But now, evidently for the home video audience, a segment about feuding hillbillies is considered too objectionable. I like this film, and it is important to me to have it in my Disney animated features video collection. Regardless if it is your cup of tea (old 40s music), or if the DVD has good sound and pictures, I cannot recommend this film. When I buy something on home video, I expect it to be complete - regardless of Disney's devotion to what is considered PC. We can't protect anyone from the past.
Rating: Summary: Some visual highlights, but overall, a pretty poor film Review: When it was first released in theatres, this film was known around the Disney studios (and by Walt himself!) as the "three M's movie: Messy, Maudlin, and Miserable". It hasn't improved much since then, and is now even worse, having been edited for "taste". The artists at Disney were in a bit of a storytelling slump here; even the film's best moments are pretty weak. "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met" is entertaining, and the singing is marvellous, but it's really a downer of a segment. "Johnny Fedora", the tale of a lovelorn hat, and "All The Cats Join In", a sock-hop segment, pretty much round out the visual highlights of the film. It's ironic that the supplements on this disc are so excellent. "The Band Concert" is regarded as one of the finest animated shorts ever made, and "Music Land" is a Silly Symphony classic. These two shorts, together, are far better than anything else on the disc.
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