Make Mine Music (1946)

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Make Mine Music Movie Review

Make Mine Music is a 1946 animated anthology film which is Disney’s 8th animated feature. It’s an okay, but mostly very uneven effort.

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“You see, Willie’s singing was a miracle,

and people aren’t used to miracles“

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It is better than its, some would call it a sequel ‘Melody Time’, but it has a number of flaws nevertheless. It consists of ten segments which is way too much. It should have had a smaller number of longer segments and it would have been much more entertaining and memorable that way.

The first segment is called The Martins and the Coys and it was panned by critics due to its violence which is silly, but having in mind the era the film was made in and the prejudice towards animated films that still continues to this day, it is quite understandable. This segment is probably one of the more entertaining of the bunch, but it’s nothing special either. I found the premise good, but the execution left a lot to be desired.

The next segment Blue Bayou is the segment which is the most influenced by ‘Fantasia’, along with the next one. It is artistic and beautifully animated, if too short a piece. It’s very forgettable, but the use of the color blue is admittedly gorgeous here.

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All the Cats Join In depicts everyday lives of 1940s teens and it is the most modern piece in the film. Although way too contemporary and thus dated nowadays, I found it an interesting departure for Disney at the time and overall one of the better segments here. Rhapsody in Blue, a segment from ‘Fantasia 2000’, seems to borrow directly and heavily from this one, both in style and in character depictions.

Without You has a nice ballad and beautiful animation, but it is also extremely short, clocking in at nearly 4 minutes, but it will put children to sleep nevertheless. It seems strange to have this decidedly slower segment after the previous faster narrative.

Casey at the Bat is one of the longest and most boring parts of the film and although it will appeal to baseball fans and those who seek comedy in the film, it is forgettable and annoying for pretty much everybody else. It’s one of the most iconic parts of the film, but in my opinion, as someone who dislikes baseball, it’s rather overrated and annoying.

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Two Silhouettes, like Blue Bayou and Without You has pretty imagery, animation and music, but it is very slow and also very short, similar to the two mentioned.

Peter and the Wolf is, along with Whale and Fedora, the only attempt at clear narrative and it is probably the most memorable and recognizable part in Make Mine Music, the one which both adults and children can appreciate. It has solid character design and interesting story, but what ruins it is the awful narrator who speaks all the time and finds the need to explain everything that is happening on the screen, thus making you wonder who was the target audience for this part – slow people or very small children.

Just like Pedro in ‘Saludos Amigos’, this segment is seriously undercut because of that narration. But still, I really liked the characters, the animation and particularly the action. It’s the most entertaining segment for sure.

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After You’ve Gone is a forgettable experience, one that is overly short and not that well-animated, similar to the first couple of shorts in ‘Fantasia’, which are of course the weakest.

Johnnie Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet is a romantic story of two hats in love, the idea Pixar stole shamelessly for their ‘Blue Umbrella’ short. This piece, when you forget its ludicrous plot, is quite entertaining and charming and it is one of the best segments overall. Very romantic and sweet.

The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met is the last segment of the film and the one which is a classic and, regardless to say, the best of the bunch. It tells a story of a whale with incredible musical talent and his dreams of singing Grand Opera. Although it is the longest short, it is nonetheless the best of all thanks to its truly phenomenal ending which is also a great finale for a whole film. The line“You see, Willie’s singing was a miracle, and people aren’t used to miracles” is incredibly poignant and underrated, and the whole symphony and heaven part in the end is a great finale and the best part of the whole package film. Such a wonderful story.

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Now, the biggest flaw in this package film is definitely the coherence and continuity which is evidently not present. Never mind the stories that are not connected at all, but the way they are organized. They go from serious, artistic, ‘Fantasia’-like segments and jump to comedic and childish ones and that is a huge flaw. They perhaps did it to maintain an interest in the film, but the structure seems chaotic in the end. The animation in Make Mine Music is a step down from the ‘Three Caballeros’, there are no interesting new characters at display here and none of the segments, except the last one, is really memorable and that is why it is, along with its sequel, the worst of the package films.

Make Mine Music is a highly uneven package film. It has way too many segments at ten and most are either forgettable or too short. Peter and the Wolf is obviously one of the highlights, Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet is sweetly romantic and The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met is an absolute classic and such a wonderful story. But the rest are all uninspired and overly contemporary stories which lack memorable characters and animation.

My Rating – 3

It was quite rare to find all of these more obscure package movies to watch anywhere just until recently, but thankfully Make Mine Music and all the other package films are now available on Amazon for a terrific price, so completing your Disney collection has never been easier than it is now.