Melody Time

Rating:
Summary: Sorry, but I do not agree that this is "censorship"
Review: "Melody Time," the 1948 collection of shorts that was not only the last but also the best of this type of Disney film, is not the focus point of an interesting controversy. When bringing out the video/DVD versions of this film, Disney altered the animation in the Pecos Bill segment. Originally Bill had a cigarette hanging from his lip and at one point shot a cigarette into a little kid's mouth, but those images and scene have been exorcised from the film....I have to admit I am not that upset by this [censorship]....

Now back to reviewing "Melody Time."

Here are the segments in this film: Frances Langford sings "Once Upon a Wintertime," done as a greeting card come to life. "Bumble Boogie" features a bumbleebee being chased by musical instruments and notes during a jazz version of "The Flight of the Bumblebee." Dennis Day does the voice of "Johnny Appleseed" in the story of the hero of folklore. The Andrews Sisters sing "Little Toot," about a young tugboat trying to make his father proud. "Trees" sets Joyce Kilmer's famous poem to music sung by Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians. Donald Duck teams up with Joe Carioca (from "The Three Caballeros) in "Blame It on the Samba," a giant cocktail with some interesting affects. Finally, the controversial "Pecos Bill," spung by Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers.

"Melody Time" is a solid blend of both musical and animation styles, which means it is going to be someting of a hit and miss proposition for small children, just like "Fantasia." There is always going to be a segment the kiddies want to fast-forward through to get to their favortie. "Melody Time" was never reissued, with Disney choosing instead to cut up the segments and rerelease them separately. "Trees" and "Bumble Boogie" became a short entitled "Contrasts in Rhythm" while five of the other sequences were combined with four from "Make Mine Music" in the "new" 1955 feature film "Music Land."

Rating:
Summary: It's Melody Time
Review: A good disney film, features 5 great shorts, as well as 2 other not-so-great shorts. Entertains my sisters (ages 4 and 5) even after multiple viewings. This DVD edition also comes with 3 additional shorts, all which are worth viewing more than once. The picture and sound have been restored, although the sound is still presented in it's original beautiful 2.0 mono format. This doesn't subtract from the disc though, this edition sports nice cover art, and nice stationary menus. Without a doubt, one of the best Disney DVD's yet!

Rating:
Summary: Disney history - not a family entertainment DVD!
Review: As a product of wartime material, this 'package' film (a number of bits and bobs) was not an ideal format for Disney artists, but it was a way of putting together a feature-length release at a time when wartime shortages and economic pressures made true features impractical. Although made after the war, this is a Disney money-saving effort of that time which is much lesser now. In all honesty it's ironic that something which was once money saving has been turned around by the very same company to become money-making! HOWEVER, I love Disney and would say that those interested in the progression of Disney material would benefit. It wouldn't make a great long-term entertainer for children though.

Rating:
Summary: Full marks for the flick....no marks for Disney Enterprises!
Review: Crusifixion is too lenient a punishment for our politically correct 'saviors' at Disneycorp 2000 who insist on defacing Walt's original works of art. So Pecos Bill has a cigarette dangling from his lip!! OOOOOOOOOOH.....that's gonna drive us all to the demon smoke! Messing with this classic animation is a sin! It's an outrage that would make Walt turn in his cryogenic tank. Having said that, what's left is still good enough to get a high rating from me. The Donald Duck/Jose Carrioca "Blame It On The Samba" and Roy Rogers' "Blue Shadows On The Trail" and story of "Pecos Bill" are worth the price of admission alone. The rest of the disc is the usual warm and fuzzy Disney of yore with maybe "Trees" being the least interesting. Do yourself a favor and buy it....before someone deletes it! This stuff is so wonderful that even editing by our illustrious protectors at Disney can't take away ALL of the magic.

Rating:
Summary: Melody Time Gold Collection DVD
Review: Despite what I read in other reviews at Amazon.com, I decided to buy this movie and I'm glad that I did.

Walt Disney's 10th Animated Feature is nicely paced, and you are almost never caught in a place were you want to skip chapters. While the "censoring" does seem like a wrong move, it really does not effect "Pecos Bill" unless you force yourself to notice it. True that this is tampering w/ Walt Disney's original work, but it's done and there really isn't much of a difference.

This Package Feature opens up with "Once Upon A Wintertime", a wonderfully animated piece of a couples day in a winter wonderland. "Blame It On The Samba" (Was this segment something left over from "The Three Caballeros"?), starring Donald Duck & Joe Carioca is terrific. The only part that slows things down is "The Legend Of Johnny Appleseed", it's good but a little bit too long.

Great movie, should'nt be compared to Fantasia though.

Rating:
Summary: Classic Disney!
Review: Great classic cartoons, fun for the whole family! Gotta love the old Disney stuff! Cute stories, great animation, and great music.

Rating:
Summary: EDITED DVD! Why is that not labeled?
Review: I actually CAN believe Disney would do such a thing. However, it is not fair to those of us who wish to own these DVDs for nostalgic purposes. I would like to at least see Disney take accountability for their actions and label the DVDs/videos as altered or edited. This would prevent angered consumers and RETURNS!

ANYONE know which other DVDs have been edited? please e-mail to [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: OK for adults, but may not be meant for a 90's 2 year old!
Review: I bought this for my two year old nephew who loves Mickey Mouse & his friends (none of whom do you see much of in this video.) This video may be great for adults who are looking for a blast from the past, but I ended up not giving it to my nephew and regretted buying it at all.

Rating:
Summary: What's with the editing, Disney?
Review: I bought this video as an anticipated addition to my Disney library. Having viewed it, I admit it's average fare for a 'package film' of its era. However, in reading other comments from viewers, I am very annoyed to know that what I own is a censored 'PC' version of the original film! What a disappointment, especially since it didn't hold my nephews' interest for very long anyway! It concerns me that Disney is starting to censor itself.

Rating:
Summary: Disney editing wrong and unnecessary
Review: I couldn't wait to get Melody Time on DVD; I already had a taped copy from when it ran on The Disney Channel. The animation and stories in it are great. The music and singing are great, too. And then, the disappointment set in as I learned that the DVD version of Melody Time has portions edited out. I thought that one of the potential features of the DVD format was that a viewer could select a rating (G, PG, etc.) for a program that would be suitable to the audience. Why didn't Disney produce a DVD with this option instead of editing, and thereby ruining, Melody Time? I, for one, will not purchase any more Disney DVD releases that have been wrecked in this fashion. It is wrong for Disney to do this to their lifelong fans and customers and totally unnecessary given today's technology.