The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad

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This film is the last of the Package Era films and falls slap bang into the middle of the ones that I have been able to review here in terms of quality.

I really enjoy both of the classic stories that the two halves of this movie tell- and strangely enough, they do seem to go together really well. They are linked as they are both based on classic literature, but at the same time the more light-hearted nature of the Wind in the Willows balances out the darker storyline of Ichabod Crane.

I also really like the music, especially the Headless Horseman song. It just has a really fun tune- but the other songs range from ok (the songs in Ichabod Crane) to a bit irritating (We’re Merrily on Our Way to Nowhere). The animation is also generally decent- but the Headless Horseman sequence at the end of the Ichabod Crane section particularly stands out. Something about the background and the way in which the animation builds up the atmosphere is effectively eerie, making for a really tense scene overall.

The Headless Horseman is a great villain generally, even with his short amount of screen time- he has a great design and it works really well with the atmosphere of the scene, allowing him to be scary without even uttering a single line of dialogue.

As you can probably tell from this rather unbalanced review, the Ichabod Crane segment is the better of the two. The Wind in the Willows story is perfectly entertaining, but the Disney version doesn’t do anything particularly notable or special with it.

Generally, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad is an enjoyable film that is a good end to this era of Disney Animation.

Rating

Good guys: I wouldn’t really call Ichabod Crane a good guy, but Toad is a great protagonist in any film he’s in, so overall the good guys get 6/10

Bad Guys: The Headless Horseman is a very effective antagonist, so the bad guys get 7/10

Animation: With the exception of the Headless Horseman scene, none of the animation is particularly special, so it gets a 5/10

Music: The songs are pretty mixed on the whole, but the Headless Horseman song brings the film’s music up to a 5/10

Plot: Both storylines are classics and as a result the plot gets a 6/10

Overall score: 29/50

Next review: Cinderella

Melody Time

DISCLAIMER: This blog is not for profit. I do not claim ownership of this material- all images and footage used are property of their respective companies unless stated otherwise.

                                                     

Like Make Mine Music, Melody Time is made of several entertaining stories, all of which make for an ok film overall. In addition, for the most part, all of the shorts are very well animated. However, the way in which some shorts attempt to blend animation with live action can feel very odd and out of place in this particular film.

On the other hand, there are some creative choices that pay off with the animation. For example, there are some interesting uses of colours in the first short, Once Upon A Wintertime and I enjoyed the surrealism of Bumble Boogie and Blame it On the Samba. But some of the shorts do go on for a bit too long. For example, the aforementioned Once Upon A Wintertime feels like it just keeps going and going and going, with the drama levels going out of control, to a level that is at odds with the rest of the short’s atmosphere.

The music is fairly enjoyable- obviously, the tunes are not amazing, but they are ok. This assessment is also accurate for the characters- for the most part, the protagonists of each short are pretty bland, but they are at least bearable to watch.

And that pretty much sums up Melody Time. It’s sort of generic, but still vaguely enjoyable and with some pretty good music. 

Rating

Good guys: Somewhat likeable, but not particularly memorable, the good guys get a 4/10

Bad guys: The film doesn’t really have any bad guys, with the possible exception of a certain animal in Pecos Bill, so the score for Bad Guys is 5/10

Animation: There are some nice colours and interesting creative choices presented, so the animation gets a 5/10

Music: There are some good tunes in there, although there is nothing incredible, so the music gets a 6/10

Plot: Each of the shorts has a pretty decent story to it, although certain shorts do go on for a bit too long, so on the whole the plot gets a 5/10

Overall rating: 25/50

Next review: The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad

Make Mine Music

DISCLAIMER: This blog is not for profit. I do not claim ownership of this material- all images and footage used are property of their respective companies unless stated otherwise.

                                              

This film feels very very bitty and for a good reason. It’s the first on my list that fits into the ‘package era’, where the Second World War brought lower budgets and a smaller animation team. As a result of this, the Disney ‘movies’ released at the time were actually a collection of shorts ‘packaged’ as one feature.

Overall, each of the shorts is enjoyable in it’s own way. For example, the shorts ‘Blue Bayou’ and ‘Two Silhouettes’ have some lovely animation, although the latter’s use of Rotoscoping does look a bit odd at times. On the whole, the animation for the rest of the shorts is pretty decent, with some nice colours and great character designs. This is especially true in the more comedic shorts, such as the baseball themed ‘Casey at the Bat’. But there is nothing too special happening animation wise in any of the others, especially considering that this is a studio that had already produced Bambi and Pinocchio, albeit with a much larger budget and within a different context.

The best short in the set is probably ‘The Whale Who Wanted To Sing At The Met’. Without spoiling anything, this is a beautiful, beautiful story told in just the right way. Most of the other shorts also have fairly entertaining plotlines.

The music is pretty fun and tells the stories of each short effectively. It really shines the most when it is more narrative based, as opposed to just being background music.  

Overall, all of the shorts are well animated and entertaining on their own and make for a pretty decent whole.

Rating

Good guys: Most of the shorts have likable characters, with Willie the Whale being particularly sweet, so the movie gets 5/10 for good guys.     

Bad guys: The only real villain in the film is the Wolf in ‘Peter and the Wolf’- he is somewhat threatening, but I feel like something about his design could have been a bit scarier, so the Bad Guys get another 5/10

Animation: Pretty in some shorts and decent in others, but nothing too special on the whole, the animation gets a 5/10

Music: The music tells the narratives of several shorts very well, in spite of being somewhat forgettable at times, so the music gets a 6/10

Plot: Most of the stories are interesting enough and Willie the Whale’s story is enough to bring the score for Plot up to 7/10

Overall rating: 28/50

Next review: Melody Time