Make Mine Music

Release Date: April 20, 1946

Make Mine Music is similar to Fantasia in that it is a compilation of cartoons put to different music. The difference is that it is not just a single orchestra playing various classical pieces. Each cartoon in this movie is accompanied by different musicians who were well known at the time, with an emphasis on pop music instead of classical. Another difference is that there are vocals and narratives in this movie, whereas Fantasia was strictly music.

The opening scene is called Blue Bayou. This is a nice, tranquil piece sung by Ken Darby's chorus. Ken Darby worked on a number of Hollywood projects and would help with future Disney projects as well. The name Blue Bayou lives on in the name of a famous restaurant at Disneyland.

The next piece is a jazzy number called All the Cats Join In, with the music performed by Benny Goodman (a renowned American clarinetist) and his orchestra. I love the animation style of this piece. A pencil continually draws characters and set pieces throughout the entire cartoon, making the entire piece feel very alive. It is a really fun piece to watch, and the music is really catchy.

The second sequence is referred to as A Ballad in Blue and features Andy Russell singing Without You. This piece contains some neat visual effects, and a beautiful use of color. Next up we have Casey at the Bat, based on the famous poem by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. This segment was narrated by Jerry Colonna, a famous entertainer who has been involved with several Disney projects.

After this segment we have Two Silhouettes, featuring a song by Dinah Shore, a chart-topping singer in the 1940's. I love the color and backgrounds in this piece. They remind me of the style we will see in upcoming projects, such as Cinderella.

Perhaps the most famous segment of the entire movie is Peter and the Wolf. Funny enough, this popular music piece could have been presented without any vocals whatsoever. The original piece already uses specific instruments to represent different characters, and with the accompanying animation, the plot would have been perfectly clear. Instead, the studio chose to have Sterling Holloway narrate the story.

The next piece features the Goodman Quartet and portrays a handful of instruments that take on a life of their own. This is followed by a ballad sung by the Andrews Sisters, which tells the sweet story of Johnnie Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet. The final segment of the movie is The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met. This segment is performed by Nelson Eddy, the highest paid singer at the time. Eddy provided all the vocals for this piece.

Overall, the movie was well-received. The pop focus and the contemporary performers made the movie more accessible to the public. Notably, this film is not without controversy. In my review, I left out the opening segment that has not been released in the USA for several years due to its depiction of gun violence. The segment All the Cats Join In has also been edited due to some inappropriate animations. 

But aside from the controversy, the movie was a success for the studio. It brought in double what the production costs were (in comparison, Fantasia lost $15 million on its original release). While not the best work to come out of the Disney studio, Make Mine Music is a nice treasure trove of talent from its era with endearing short cartoons that are enjoyable to watch.

The Three Caballeros

Release Date: December 21, 1944 (in Mexico)

The Three Caballeros is the second movie born of Walt Disney's goodwill tour to South America. Almost thirty minutes longer than its predecessor (Saludos Amigos), The Three Caballeros is also more cohesive in its storytelling. Donald Duck receives a large package for his birthday from his friends in South America. He opens the package to find three wrapped gifts inside.

He opens the first gift to find a screen and movie projector. We get to watch two animated shorts with Donald. One features Pablo, a penguin who is tired of living in the cold and snow. The second short is about a young boy (a gauchito) and his flying donkey. Both cartoons are fun with endearing characters.

When Donald opens the second gift, he is delighted to reconnect with his friend Jose Carioca (who he met in Saludos Amigos). Together, they explore some parts of Brazil, blending live action with the animation. Last of all, Donald opens a present from Mexico, and he and Jose Carioca meet Panchito, who sings the titular song before taking Donald and Jose on a tour of Mexico, learning about traditions and culture in the country.

Of the two films born from the goodwill tour, The Three Caballeros is my personal favorite. That could be partly because I grew up watching this movie and didn't see Saludos Amigos until I was an adult. But I also like the more cohesive storytelling in this movie. I also love the music. The music is nice to listen to, and it's also fun to watch Donald become enamored with each female performer he meets.

Integrating Donald Duck with a character from Brazil and a character from Mexico throughout the whole movie helps demonstrate how all the countries of in the Americas should be. I also love the touch at the end of the movie as the words "Fin," "Fim," and "The End" appear in fireworks in the flag colors of Mexico, Brazil, and the United States. It is a simple, but effective way to show the desired unity of the American countries both north and south.

As mentioned in my review of Saludos Amigos, the goodwill tour was a success in many ways. One of the things that came out of the goodwill tour was artwork by Mary Blair. She was already a Disney employee at the time of goodwill tour, but her use of color in her art really began to emerge during the trip. Her art would go on to influence several Disney movies over the next decade.

Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros were almost a love letter to the Latin American countries that El Grupo had the opportunity to visit. They are products of their time, but certain elements of these movies are timeless. In future years, the Walt Disney Company and Pixar Animation would return to Latin America to explore more of the rich culture it could provide to animated storytelling.