On 08 Jan 97, Kit Ballantyne wrote to John Giannini:
 ->> Melody time was a 1946 Disney picture much like Fantasia, except it
 ->> drew upon popular music and ballads for it's musical selections,
First let me apologize.  Melody Time was a 1949 Disney movie.  What I was 
referring to was Make Mine Music - the 1946 picture.
 KB> Have you ever SEEN this movie? I have two copies - one unedited and
 KB> one from the Disney Channel that is slightly cut up. It is nothing
 KB> like Fantasia.
According to Leonard Maltin, Fantasia was not received well when it came out. 
Both Make Mine Music and Melody Time did better at the box office than 
Fantasia did - at least up until the late 60's when Fantasia became a 
pop-culture favorite.  Also, Make Mine Music and Melody Time were simply put 
together better in terms of the rhythm and pace of the movies.  Melody Time 
was considered the best of the Disney ominbus movies because on it's third 
try, the studio perfected the pace and timing variables needed to make the 
movie more enjoyable overall.  These opinions were expressed in Leonard 
Maltin's excellent book "The Disney Films", which is considered THE 
definitive work on Disney films for the public.  And I have to say I agree 
with Maltin's appraisals.
 KB>  Most of Melody Time is taken up with telling
 KB> folk-tales and stories WITH  narration. Fantasia doesn't have any
 KB> narration durring the musical pieces. Melody Time does. This is
 KB> simply a collection of unrelated cartoons released as a feature.
Read Maltin's 6 page essay on Melody Time in the aforementioned book, then 
tell me what you think...
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