Make Mine Music

The eighth film in the Disney Animated Canon and the third in the packaged era is a little-known film called Make Mine Music. It is the first Disney package film to not include a classic Disney character and the second film of the DAC to not receive any Academy Award nominations (Fantasia being the first), a trend that would stick around until Cinderella. Make Mine Music was released on April 20, 1946. This being another collection of short films there are definite hits and misses, but this one has some very solid hits.

The animation in this one is very stylized. You get classic cartoon styles, things that felt like they were pulled straight out of Fantasia, and a couple of pieces that have their own feel. You get a wide range here and it helps the entertainment value.

The music again plays a big part of the film. Not overly done, but for most of the shorts it is good balance of mood and action. The music is also wide ranging from symphonic works as well as popular music of the time. There is even a couple of sung narratives near the end of the movie.

Again, there is no overarching story which is a shame. This is the first of the package films to not attempt to tie everything together with a specific theme and would probably have benefitted from it. But there are great story elements in many of the shorts that range from comical to endearing to tragic.

After watching the film, I am surprised that it is so unknown. It is well produced and memorable. A couple of the shorts I had seen outside of this collection probably on the Disney Channel at some point. It should be noted that there is a short that is missing from the collection called The Martins and the Coys. It is a telling of the story of the Hatfields and the McCoys, but Disney no longer wants to be associated with gun wielding hillbillies.

Run Time – 75 Minutes

19th Academy Awards – 0 Nominations – 0 Wins

Disney Animated Canon so far in order of Quality

1. Dumbo 10-23-1941

2. Pinocchio 2-7-1940

3. Make Mine Music 4-20-1946

4. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 12-21-1937

5. Saludos Amigos 8-24-1942

6. Bambi 8-13-1942

7. Fantasia 11-13-1940

8. The Three Caballeros 12-21-1944