... is a tootling musical interpretation of man's life, full of sweet old songs and odd-looking creatures Mickey Mouse would never recognize
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE said (As You Like It) that man's life is divided into seven stages from infancy to infirm old age. Now, more than 300 years later, Walt Disney has spun the idea into whoop-dee-doo of comic characters, a spatterdash of Technicolor and a la-dee-dah of nostalgic melodies.
Mickey Mouse's daddy's new movie, Melody, which RKO will distribute to local theaters this summer, is the first of a new series called Adventures in Music. It is different from anything Disney has ever done before. It is the first three-dimensional cartoon film. It is inhabited by creatures who bear little resemblance to the cuddly, clown-faced relatives of Donald Duck. And it uses music to help tell the story. The combination may seem like a jigsaw puzzle wired for sound, but it isn't.
Melody is a wide-eyed, openhearted tale of man's progress from birth through school, family life and old age to death. The animals and people who skitter through it are a novel, comic blend of standard cartoon types, and characters in children's drawings and the abstract figures of modern paintings. The music is a lavender-and-old-lace-trimmed collection of melodies which symbolize the stages of life from Rock-a-Bye Baby, through the Bridal Chorus from Lohengrin, to Oh, Dem Golden Slippers. To string together the beloved old-timers, Disney's musical staff has created some new songs of their own, including the lilting The Bird and the Cricket and the Willow Tree, and a witty ditty called a Fugue for Three Gabby Dames.
Unlike Disney's 13-year-old Fantasia, Melody is not a high-brow concert in sight and sound. It's like a village band going full toot in an art gallery. It sounds good and it looks fine.
