DVDizzy Forum

I am a collector of the animated classic disney films. I have seen them all except for the "packaged" films. Ya know, the ones that were released in the mid to late 40s. The only reason is because I feel since it's not a whole movie and just a bunch of shorts, I won't enjoy it.

But my question is, can you please pose your honest opinions on these films...

The three Caballeros
Saludos Amigos
Make mine music
Fan and fancy free
Melody time
The adventures of Icabod Crane and Mr.Toad

Thanks everyone!

The three Caballeros
Saludos Amigos

Both are, in my book, excellent films. Especially The Three Caballeros which really goes to town on the "Looney Tunes" type humour, animation and colours. TTC is an underappreciated classic

Make mine music
Melody time

I find these rather boring. [gasp] but some of the cartoon sequences are truely classic. Everyone remembers one or more of the sequences in these films: Peter and the Wolf, Johnny Appleseed or indeed Bumble Boogie (which is a favourite of many of the forum members here!)

Sadly, both Make Mine Music and Melody time are cut in the US, Make Mine Music missing a whole sequence! Melody Time is available unedited overseas.

Fan and fancy free
The adventures of Icabod Crane and Mr.Toad

I don't care for Bongo much in Fun and Fancy Free, but Mickey and the Beanstalk is a classic. Of course, you may have this on the second Colour Mickey Mouse Treasures set. If you do, then I wouldn't recommend buying Fun and Fancy Free.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad is a favourite of Ultimate Disney webmaster Luke! and is indeed well worth getting. I especially like the Mr Toad segment, but both are done with artistry and skill. The fact that Bing Crosby and Basil Rathbone are the narrators of each segment is just icing on the cake!

I would rank them in this order... based on my personal taste:

1) Ichabod and Mr. Toad - Excellent animation, characters, and story in both segments. It's always been one of my favorites.

2) Melody Time/Make Mine Music - It's a tie for me with these two. They each have really boring shorts included in them, but it's a DVD... skip those chapters and you'll like the rest. It's unfortunated that they're edited, but they're still great. Pecos Bill, Johnny Appleseed, Casey at the Bat, Peter and the Wolf, Johnny Fedora & Alice Bluebonnet, Once Upon a Wintertime, and Willie the Operatic Whale... all great. Also, the Melody Time DVD has Lambert the Sheepish Lion as a bonus short. It doesn't bother me that these aren't whole movies... they contain some of the best shorts Disney ever made.

3) Fun & Fancy Free - I really like Bongo, but I know a lot of people think it's slow moving. It's worth it all to me for the scene with the slapping bears. Good stuff. Mickey and the Beanstalk's also a classic.

4) The Three Caballeros - Similar to Melody Time and Make Mine Music, there's some stuff that's great, and some stuff I'd rather skip through. It's likeable, though.

5) Saludos Amigos - Not my favorite, but it has its moments.

To sum up - you should get them... each has a few little gems that your Disney collection is quite incomplete without.

Well thanks everyone...i think i might get them now

Three Caballeros and Saludos Amigos - both very good and very different. Short but enjoyable and the travelogues and behind the scenes stuff on the artists is good.

Fun and Fancy Free - A real mix. Mickey and the Beanstock is excellent but I really cant stand Bongo. Slow moving and pointless.

Adventures of Ichabob and Mr. Toad - I really think Mr. Toad is among the best animation ever. Extremely well done and also Wind in the Willows is one of my favorite books. I am a fan, look at the name and avatar.

Melody Time/Make Mine Music - I echo the comments here. Some segments are excellent, some are poor on both discs.

What's with this talk about cut version of Melody Time and Make Mine Music?

What was cut.........Make Mine Music has tons of bonuses over the VHS version and the DVD version of Melody Time matches my 35mm print of the film that I have had for over 30 years. What was cut??? Explain, because I think that you are wrong about the editing of the American version of Disney films.

Make Mine Music used to have a segment called something like "The Hatfields and the McCoys," but they cut it out because of the abundant use of guns and alcohol, I suppose. Which is sad, because feudin' backwoods folk would be boring without excessive drinking and firearm use.

Melody Time no longer has the part in the Pecos Bill song when he tames the wind of the cyclone to roll himself a cigarette. I know that part's not in there anymore... they just skip straight to a repeat of the chorus instead of doing that verse. Check your old VHS version... if it's old enough, that part will still be in it.

dvdjunkie wrote:What's with this talk about cut version of Melody Time and Make Mine Music?

What was cut.........Make Mine Music has tons of bonuses over the VHS version and the DVD version of Melody Time matches my 35mm print of the film that I have had for over 30 years. What was cut??? Explain, because I think that you are wrong about the editing of the American version of Disney films.

The DVD version of Make Mine Music has had the "Rustic Ballad" sequence removed entirely. Also in the sequence "All the Cats Join in" Some digital editing has been done, to remove the breasts of one of the girls!

The DVD of Melody Time has had all scenes of Pecos Bill smoking removed or digitally altered. The UK, Australian and other European releases do not however have this cut.

From UltimateDisney.com's <b>FAQ</b> page

What Disney movies are edited for DVD?
Make Mine Music has a scene ("The Martins and the Coys") removed. Segments of Melody Time and Saludos Amigos have been edited to remove cigarettes. (The Region 2 DVD of Melody Time is unedited.) Lastly, while the Fantasia DVD releases preserve the full Roadshow cut, a few brief segments of the "Pastoral Symphony" sequence have been zoomed and digitally edited.

As for honest opinions of the lot, I'll let my reviews speak for themselves, so I'm not repeating myself:

Saludos Amigos:
http://www.ultimatedisney.com/saludos.htm

Make Mine Music:
http://www.ultimatedisney.com/makemine.html

Fun and Fancy Free:
http://www.ultimatedisney.com/funandfancy.html

Melody Time:
http://www.ultimatedisney.com/melodytime.html

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad:
http://www.ultimatedisney.com/ichabod.html

<i>Ichabod and Mr. Toad</i> is a real winner, while the rest range from genuinely entertaining as short compilations (<i>Fun and Fancy Free</i>, <i>Make Mine Music</i>) to things that are interesting to see and significant in Disney's history but have very little entertainment (or repeat) value for me (<i>The Three Caballeros</i>, <i>Saludos Amigos</i>).

What is the purpose behind removing the cigarettes? There are plenty of other Disney films with people smoking!

I agree... I think it was pointless to remove the cigarette scene from Pecos Bill. And there's no consistancy at Disney about it either. Can you imagine cutting all the Cruella scenes out of 101 Dalmations because she's smoking?! But I digress...

I think that Ichabod and Mr. Toad is the best of the package features.

Fun and Fancy Free is second for me. (Though I agree that parts of Bongo are slow, I think it's rewarding in the end.)

Make Mine Music and Melody Time are similar in feel, and each has enough good moments to warrant a viewing.

The Three Caballeros and Saludos Amigos are the only ones on this list that I really haven't been able to convince myself to buy on DVD. Even at that, they have some brilliant moments that are worth checking out.

Anyone who leans toward full length features will probably enjoy Ichabod and Toad & Fun and Fancy Free the most of the package features.

Here is another case of big brother trying to watch over us........what can we do to stop this stupid editing? I have the LaserDisc of both Melody Time and Make Mine Music and you are right about those missing scenes. And the Taiwan versions I have of those are totally unedited. Same for Fantasia.

If they are going to start censoring our movies, what good are having parents and parental control on our DVD's.

Something needs to be done about this and sooner not later. What next, they gonna make Uncle Remus white????

I've only seen three of the six, so I'll give my opinions on those films.

The Three Caballeros
Overall a good film. I'm surprised that this is the one most people hate and call "disjointed", as to me, this is the one which is the most anchored together.

Melody Time
Melody Time is basicly a 1940s pop music version of Fantasia. Apart from the Bumble Boogie sequence and the Blame it on the Samba number (both of which feel like deleted scenes from The Three Caballeros), this film is pretty dull. The Little Toot and Once Upon a Wintertime segments are depressing, Trees goes too fast, and the remaining segments seem bogged down with American pride.

Ichabod and Mr Toad
This isn't in the same league as Snow White or Pinocchio, but it still has much to offer. Most people prefer The Wind in the Willows segment, but The Legend of Sleepy Hollow comes across as the better short to me.

Here's how I rank them:

1. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad - Pretty great little feature. Both The Wind and the Willows and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow have a classic Disney feel that the other anthology features are missing. I only wish that each story could've been made into its own respective animated feature; they're that good (especially Wind in the Willows, which is almost a precursor to Alice in Wonderland in terms of comedic timing and style).

2. Fun and Fancy Free - Very nice. Bongo is simple but charming, while Mickey and the Beanstalk is the real highlight. Taken as an individual short, it stands as one of Mickey's best. The interstitials with Edgar Bergan and Charlie McCarthy are pretty funny, too.

3. The Three Caballeros - It has its ups and down. When it's down, it's simply bland. When it's up, it can be extremely entertaining. There's lots of hilarious moments in this with Donald, and the title number is excellent (and packed with great visual gags).

4. Make Mine Music/Melody Time (tie) - Like others on this board, I consider this a tie because both features are so similar in quality and feel. Each have their share of dull pieces, but also have some diamonds in the rough. Peter and the Wolf, Once Upon A Wintertime, and Johnny Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnet are most memorable segments.

4. Saludos Amigos - I really don't care for this very much at all. In fact, I'm have trouble remembering anything from this feature which is a pretty bad sign...

Oh! How can you not like Little Toot?! That's my favorite!

...and now I have that blasted song in my head!

It might be interesting to note (for people who are into the Fantasia series) that one very interesting part of Make Mine Music is that the first segment, Blue Bayou was actually a musical piece that was either cut from the original fantasia, or was being developed for another fantasia that was ultimately cancelled. All of the animation was completed, but when it was scrapped, they re-timed it and put it to a different piece of music. I can't remember what the original music is, but on the Fantasia Anthology disk, you see it put back with it's original music.

oh, an for an opinion, I much prefer Melody Time to Make Mine Music.

I agree, Icabod and Mr. Toad is a must have. It's one of my favorite DVD's. I think at some point it needs restoration. Although I don't see Disney doing that anytime soon, so pick up the current copy. It's well worth owning!


As for the others, I to am wondering if I should purchase them?
I'm sure at some point I will regardless of their ups and downs!

CUZ I WANT THEM ALL!!!

I enjoy them all. I would recommend trying to rent them first to see if you like them. To me they are great Disney movies on a different level than their more popular films but I try to recommend them to as many people as possible.

I think growing up and seeing them as a movie or in pieces helped me fall in love with them.

I agree. Seeing the movies as a young pup gives you a real sense of nostalgia for them. However, I've enjoyed most Disney movies on a different level as an adult.