ridiculous rating

An Exercise In Nonsense

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The WWII years were not good to 'ol Walt Disney. First, a crippling strike occurred just before the war (in which he lost about a third of his animators) and then the war took a whole bunch more. Plus, apart from making military training films and a few shorts here and there, the production of full-length films ground to a complete halt. Up until this time, Disney had produced some amazingly good cartoons such as "Snow White", "Pinocchio" and "Bambi" among others. Once the war was over, the studio was a mess and they were in no shape to try to replicate their past glorious films. So, the studio worked on a wide variety of short films--intended as experimental productions and opportunities for the new animators to hone their craft. To put it bluntly, it was almost like the minor leagues of Disney--or perhaps the pre-season! Regardless, by 1946-8, they had A LOT of shorts and decided to clump them together (sometimes clumsily) and release them as full-length films, such as "Make Mine Music", "Saludos Amigos" and this film. Unfortunately, these all were wildly uneven pictures--full of very good stuff, some poor stuff and some downright awful stuff. For kids, in particular, they were second or third-rate films--often full of dull songs and varying wildly in style, content and focus.Of the collections marketed as full-length films, "Melody Time" might just be the most consistent of them. While it still is uneven and occasionally bad (Once Upon a Winter Time), it also had more good stuff--though nothing exactly great. The best of them were probably "Pecos Bill" and "Little Toot"....though I also liked "Bumble Boogie". The rest of the crop would fall somewhere between these extremes. Enjoyable but probably a film best for die-hard Disney fans or people who adore animation...REALLY adore animation. Otherwise, I anticipate some very disappointed people out there.

Disney's package movies in particular are often quite hokey and this mediocre example even lacks the usual highlights, with most parts missing dramatic punch and excitement, while the quality of the animation varies strongly.On the other hand, the shorts are all quite watchable, with the rhythmic episodes outshining the narrative ones; but nothing's really memorable and the kitsch factor becomes slightly grating after a while. Not to mention the sugar-coating of frontier life.Loved the confused bee, though.5 out of 10 howlin' coyotes

Throughout the 40's, Walt had a great problems with staff and money issues thanks to the Second World War and had to produce cheap films containing short stories. But most of them were good like "Saludos Amigos" (1943), "The Three Caballeros" (1945) and "Make Mine Music" (1946). "Fun and Fancy Free" (1947) proved that the gloss was starting to wear off but still provided good entertainment but with "Melody Time" (1948), you could tell that the studio was starting to head into trouble! I afraid this is lame, boring, clichéd, over-used and dweary. It starts yet again with Donald Duck (he's a very great character most of the time but let's just face it: back in the late 1940's he was just been over-exposed! It's now just overkill!) starting with a silly dance with will give nobody any pleasure or interest whatsoever. Then it all turns into a bunch of flat stories which tries hard to recapture the charm and the wit the Three Caballeros had but fails miserably. One or two of the shorts are worth watching but overall, they boring and same-old! No even an appearance from Jose Carioca, possibly one of Walt's best characters from the 40's could save this one! If you are a Disney enthusiast and wants to wonder all of Walt's work than this will do but for everybody else DON'T BOTHER because they is so much better other Disney films out there (like "Lady and the Tramp" and "The Sword in the Stone"). I'm sad to break it to Walt with all his financial problems at the time but this truly does suck!2/10

One thing children don't have anymore is appreciation for (or even knowledge of) legendary American heroes, whether fictional, exaggerated, or real. Public "schools" have even gotten in the habit of eradicating our Founding Fathers from American History. Here in this wondrous Walt Disney classic the Magic Paintbrush will take us back to the days of Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyon, Pecos Bill and others. I'm writing this from fond memory of having seen it 55 years ago. I remember it well. If me and the wife go to a movie this weekend, one thing is certain: If we successfully choose the very best movie at the multiplex we will have forgotten it by the next day. Hollywood simply does not make quality movies anymore. Cars? It wasn't bad; but who will remember it in 5 weeks let alone 50 years? Melody Time was Walt Disney at his low ebb. He would soon regain his reputation with Cinderella, Peter Pan and Treasure Island. Disney at his low ebb beats the pants off today's Hollywood at their very best.