rhythm

three recreated longer pans from BUMBLE BOOGIE, part of disney’s MELODY TIME, released may 1948.

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apples

more from disney’s MELODY TIME, 1948. following 2 recreated pan backgrounds from JOHNNY APPLESEED, style design by MARY BLAIR.

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wild west

two more recreated backgrounds from PECOS BILL, the last segment of disney’s 1948 MELODY TIME.

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coyotes

before the short PECOS BILL in disney’s 1948 MELODY TIME starts, there is some inbetween panning over the nightly desert with a country music piece ‘blue shadows’. I am not a big fan of that kind of music, but the backgrounds, all in several multiplane layers, are nice. unfortunately for the DVD filmtransfer they used a very experienced specialist who screwed everything up. the whole part is too dark and again very talented color-corrected. the multi-layered pan itself was pretty complicated to recreate, in some areas I even had to re-paint some bits and pieces, but the wrong colors and the dark transfer made it worse. it really was some w o r k ! I know, it doesn’t show.

© disney enterprises, inc

pecos bill

PECOS BILL is part of disney’s MELODY TIME as well. I prefer to watch my old vhs version because for the release in the mid-nineties the film has been drastically changed. it must have been a nightmare to remove the cigarette from every shot with pecos bill. and he was animated with it through every scene in the short. I stopped smoking many years ago and I think this action doesn’t hold back any kid from starting that bad habit. besides that the color corrected DVD version is a disaster. why do all these color-‘technicians’ constantly have to add their own color ideas. night is always blue! and in case a sequence is not colorful enough, that can be changed! anyway, I corrected the two recreated pans as well. the way they were planned.

© disney enterprises, inc

more bumble boogie

there are so many details I only could see after the complete backgrounds were recreated. there is so much faszinating animation happening, the camera moves so fast and everything is so perfect synchronized to the music that you are just stunned watching this short. it is another jewel.

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a bee

MELODY TIME was the last one of the musical short compilations and in my opinion it is the best. released aug. 1942 it presented ONCE UPON A WINTERTIME, JOHNNY APPLESEED and PECOS BILL together with TREES, BLAME IT ON THE SAMBA, LITTLE TOOT and – BUMBLE BOOGIE, a jazz interpretation of THE FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLE BEE with FREDDIE MARTIN and his orchestra. the background styling was done by MARY BLAIR. following are two recreated pan-BG’s from that short.

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