BUMBLE BOOGIE (Melody Time, 1946)

MELODY TIME (1948): Once Upon A Wintertime

In 1948, even Disney felt the inclination towards a more modern look, apparent in this digitally recreated B/G art from the "Once Upon A Wintertime" segment in MELODY TIME.

More PECOS BILL (Melody Time)

Here's another set of background art from PECOS BILL.

I am hitting the road - back on the concert circuit, headed for Florida.

I'm not absolutely sure of internet accessibility (or time available) so we'll have at least a brief hiatus. I will take my laptop, and there's always artwork with me, so I'll try to get a few posts in while I'm traveling.

I'll be back in Los Angeles April 16, so we'll definitely be up and running then.

'Til then, Happy Trails!

PECOS BILL (Melody Time)

PECOS BILL combined great elements: country music, the Old West and Disney's cartoon style.

The first image (above) is a digitally created pan.

The desert landscapes are amazing. Here, early morning skies ablaze with pink, and the blue skies that follow:


Of course there's an old west town, seen from afar, and on Main Street too:


Disney even shows us the creation of the painted desert!


You can almost feel the heat of the desert sun in these B/Gs:


And finally, in a completely different style, this nifty spotlight B/G (a recurring motif in Disney's 40s films):

TREES part two from MELODY TIME

From "TREES," a long shot, closer with lighting and color shifts, and a recreated pan of... a tree.

TREES from MELODY TIME

Color me sentimental and old-fashioned... but this segment moves me very deeply. The classic Joyce Kilmer poem TREES received a beautiful musical setting by composer Oscar Rasbach. From that, Disney's version received an orchestration which was incredibly lush, with a storm segment added in the middle. The final touch was beautiful vocals by "Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians." Probably most blog readers are too young to even recognize that name. But as a very small child in the 60s, my parents took me to a Fred Waring concert. Mr. Waring was a great vocal conductor, and "the Pennsylvanians" were his singers, his choir.

Rarely will you hear a choir sing with such intensity, nuance and feeling. Nearly every word receives special phrasing.

These images are from the background art in TREES by Mssr's Disney and Waring.

In a world where much of what passes for "music" is angry, lacking in melody, and colorless, TREES is refreshing in its unbridled nostalgia.

Once upon a time, listeners actually embraced beautiful words and melodies, thrilled to lush harmonies, and music and art strived to move the heart.

It was a simpler time. And that, I think, was a very good thing.

Bumble Boogie from MELODY TIME

Here is the title card and two very stylish B/Gs from the BUMBLE BOOGIE sequence in MELODY TIME. Terrific, eh?

BLAME IT ON THE SAMBA

These recreated backgrounds are from MELODY TIME (1948).

The first two are unmistakably Mary Blair. The music-staff-themed B/G is a very different style.

Great stuff!