Make Mine Music

Make Mine Music is a 1946 animated movie, produced by Walt Disney Productions and first released to movie theaters by RKO Radio Pictures on August 15, 1946. The 8th animated movie in the Disney animated movie canon, the movie stars Nelson Eddy, Dinah Shore, Benny Goodman, and The Andrews Sisters.
Segments
The movie is made of ten parts, or segments.
The Martins and the Coys features popular radio vocal group, King's Men singing the story of a Hatfields and McCoys-style feud in the mountains broken up when two young people from each side fall in love. This segment was later cut from the film's video release due to comic gunplay.
Blue Bayou features animation originally intended for Fantasia using the Debussy musical composition Clair de Lune.
All the Cats Join In is one of two segments to which Benny Goodman contributed. An innovative shot in which a pencil draws the action as it is happening, and in which 1940s teens are swept away by popular music.
Without You is a ballad of lost love, sung by Andy Russell.
Casey at the Bat features Jerry Colonna, reciting the famous poem about the arrogant ballplayer whose cockiness was his undoing.
Two Silhouettes features two live-action ballet dancers, David Lichine and Tania Riabouchinskaya, moving in silhouette with animated backgrounds and characters. Dinah Shore sings the title song.
Peter and the Wolf features Sterling Holloway narrating an adaptation of Prokofiev's composition about a little boy who goes hunting for a wolf, with each of the characters being thematically represented by a member of an orchestra (violins, flute, etc.).
After You've Gone again features Benny Goodman and his orchestra as four anthropomorphized instruments parade through a musical playground.
Johnnie Fedora and Alice Blue Bonnett tells the romantic story of two hats who fall in love in a department store window. When Alice is sold, Johnny tries to find her. The Andrews Sisters provide the voices.
The Whale Who Wanted To Sing At the Met is the story about a Sperm Whale, named Willie, with great musical talent and his dreams of singing Grand Opera. However, the producer of the theater, Tetti-Tatti, thinks Willie swallowed an opera singer, and Tetti-Tatti chases Willie with a harpoon (a spear used to on whales). In the end, Willie is killed, but the narrator tells the viewers that Willie sings on in heaven. Nelson Eddy performed all the voices in this segment.
Production
During World War II, much of Walt Disney's staff was drafted into the United States Army, and those that were still there were called upon by the U.S. government to make training and propaganda films. As a result, the studio was littered with unfinished story ideas. In order to keep the movie division alive during this difficult time, the studio released four package films including this one, made up of various unrelated segments set to music.
Cast
Release
To date, Make Mine Music is the only movie in the Disney animated features canon not to gain a Region 4 and Region 2 DVD release. Its only home video release was on DVD on June 6, 2000 under the Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection title.
Worldwide release dates
Brazil: April 26, 1946
Argentina: July 19, 1946
Mexico: July 25, 1946
U.K.: September 16, 1946
Australia: February 13, 1947
Sweden: April 4, 1949
France: September 14, 1949
Netherlands: October 13, 1949
Belgium: October 13, 1949
Italy: December 16, 1949
Hong Kong: December 21, 1950
Austria: October 19, 1951
Philippines: January 3, 1952
Finland: April 18, 1952
Denmark: June 2, 1952
Argentina in Chile: December 16, 1955
Lebanon: November 7, 1974
Estonia: May 3, 1994
Rereleased
June 23, 1961
October 14, 1966
January 23, 1970
June 16, 1978
July 13, 1984
June 14, 1991
March 29, 1996
Reception
Make Mine Music ended up being a slight disappointment itself, particularly from Walt Disney's point of view. It was not well received by the critics either. Years later, the segments were individually released as short subjects or used in various Disney television programs.
The movie was entered into the 1946 Cannes Film Festival.