Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

I don't know about you - But (for me) - When it comes to pre-CGI cartoons - It's the "Golden Age" of animation (Hollywood 1940s & 50s) that absolutely fascinates me with the incredible work and attention to detail that went into many of these Technicolour gems.Of course, it was the innovative animators at Disney Studios who were the ones at the absolute top-of-the-line in their field. And, this "Melody Time" DVD proves that beyond a shadow of a doubt.Featuring the vocal talents of such performers as Roy Rogers, The Andrews Sisters, and Bob Nolan (to name but a few) - 1948's "Melody Time" is a superb collection of 7 enjoyable, animated shorts whose stories are all told through song.Even though some of the story-lines of these cartoons may not appeal to some people - There can be no denying the absolute wonder and marvel of the fantastic animation-techniques that went into these works.3 of my favourites here are - Little Toot, Casey Bats Again, and Pecos Bill.

...but no one in the 21st century is going to recognize any of the people who did the music for "Melody Time". Dennis Day? Fred Waring? Frances Langford? And besides, the movie has some of the hokiest sketches. As for Roy Rogers, maybe he and John Wayne were seen as role models in the '40s and '50s, but can we in the 2010s truly see them as such?* So, it's not just that I'm the sort of person who prefers to watch all sorts of different movies from around the world. I prefer it if family movies have a more complex purpose than being happy-go-lucky. For example, I wouldn't call "Frozen" a masterpiece but I thought that it made a good point about accepting oneself as one is and others as they are. But more than anything I always preferred the Looney Tunes cartoons; their irreverence and grittiness starkly contrasted with Disney's cuteness.The point is that I don't recommend "Melody Time".*Read John Wayne's comment about relations between white settlers and American Indians if you want to know what I mean.

In the years following Fantasia, Disney came up with some animated films which are a collection of shorts. Melody Time is one them. It contains seven unrelated musical vignettes.1. Once Upon a Winter Time: A lovey-dovey young couple go ice-skating and there they have a cutesy misunderstanding but make up cutesy-ly in the end. As though this doesn't ooze enough icky cuteness, there is a rabbit couple imitating the human couple. A poor beginning.2. Bumble Boogie: The movie starts getting good. This is Disney's take on Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee" and a very interesting one too. If anything it ends too soon.3. Johnny Appleseed: A romanticized story of Johnny Appleseed, a real- life, pioneer apple-cultivator, this short has some of the best animation in any Disney movie. 4. Little Toot: The good run continues with the story of a naughty little tugboat who eventually learns to be responsible.5. Trees: A short, totally forgettable song on how trees shelter animals and birds.6. Blame it on the Samba: Donald Duck and Jose Carioca dance to some Samba music played on piano by Ethel. It has some interesting animation but nothing special.7. Pecos Bill: This is the longest feature and has a live-action sequence. It tells the tale of the folklore hero, Pecos Bill and it is really enjoyable.Watch the better shorts separately rather than the entire movie.

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.