(The Disneycember logo is shown, before showing clips from Make Mine Music)
Doug (vo): It's ironic that Disney decided not to do any more of the Fantasia series because, for the next couple of films, they'd be trying endlessly to try and recreate it. Make Mine Music was probably the first attempt to try and do that.
Story and review
Doug (vo): It follows sort of a similar formula to what Three Caballeros was doing, just tying together a series of shorts with a certain kind of music. Although in Three Caballeros, where they had a character, at least, tying the stories together, though loosely, this one, they just show the shorts, again, much like Fantasia. Except the music isn't classical music, it's more music that was popular at the time. In fact, some of it, if I understand correctly, was left over from Fantasia.
[The "Blue Bayou" segment is shown]
Doug (vo): The animation for "Blue Bayou" actually makes it into this one, which was originally supposed to be featured in a sequel to Fantasia, except instead of using the classical music, they used a song instead. Later, the original would be released on DVD, and it's a lot better. Make Mine Music is probably closer to what Three Caballeros was trying to be, sort of a fun series of short stories that are very loosely tied together with one theme. And this one, you guessed it, is music.
[The "Peter and the Wolf" segment, as well as the "Casey at the Bat" segment, is shown]
Doug (vo): Though some classical does make it in, for example, we do have "Peter and the Wolf", though it does have a narrator as well, but it works okay. We also have a short that really has nothing to do with music. Remember the cartoon "Mighty Casey at the Bat"? Yeah, it's from this. It's a great story and it's hilarious, but what's it have to do with music? Is talking and rhyming really the same? Well, however you want to take it, it's still great to watch. Here, the short stories work a lot better. Some just create atmosphere, others tell a full narrative, and they're all pretty solid. I can't think of any part I particularly didn't like.
[The "Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met" segment is shown]
Doug (vo): Favorite moments include Casey, again, "Peter and the Wolf". But by far, my favorite is the singing whale, with all the singing voices done by one person throughout the entire thing. That is awesome.
Policeman: [singing] Who ever heard of an operatic whale?
Woman: [singing] I don't believe it!
Cat: [singing] I don't believe it.
Doug (vo): I know a lot of people probably haven't seen this cartoon, so, uh, without giving anything away, let's just say, that sad face... [A mask with a sad face is shown] Yeah, big clue. It's another one of those bittersweet moments that probably leaves a few kids confused, but I like that. It wasn't totally sad, but it's definitely not happy either. And on top of that, you're getting some great music, and one hell of a great singer.
Final thought
Doug (vo): Modern to classic to jazz, they cover a pretty impressive gambit, and while nothing hits quite as potent as Fantasia does, it is still pretty enjoyable. This is another example of a bunch of cartoons that were taken from this movie and then chopped up into shorts, and there's a reason. They work really well. So, if you ever want to see them all together, check this movie out. It's a good one.
[The ending of the "Blue Bayou" segment is shown]