In 1946 the war was over, but Disney was still forced to tide things over because they hadn't had any chances to produce new material during the war years. And thus we get a string of short film collections, of which this is arguably the first. And arguably also the worst.There are some good segments. Mostly the ones with a story. All the Cats Join In is a great, brief segment with some really great jazz tunes and lively animation style. Peter and the Wolf is a classic that has since been re-released numerous times, and for a reason. The animation style is great, the story lovable and as a whole it's a tight package. The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met, the finishing segment, is also great in its own bombastic way. Personally I find it perhaps a bit unambitious, but it's a fun idea done well.There are also couple story segments that don't really grab you, like Casey at the Bat, a baseball story, and Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet, a hat love story, which are both animated well but lack a captivating storyline. And then there's The Martins and the Coys, where two hillbilly families duke it out until love enters the picture... and even then there's some roughhousing. Originally the opening segment, it has since been censored from many versions. Which is a shame, because it's easily the funniest of the segments.But then there are the music segments, which make up about half of the segments, which basically just try to copy Fantasia, but lack the right music and animation talent. Instead they're meandering, boring and overly long in every way.Make Mine Music is an interesting film to watch once, but it's not a movie I would see myself watching again. It has some good segments, though none which I'd call great, but on the average it's lacking in direction and vision.

"Make Mine Music" is another post-war feature film that is actually a compilation of shorts all packaged together--like "Fun and Fancy Free", "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad", "Saludos, Amigos" and the like. And, for the most part, these films marked a low-point in Disney history--as the great quality and artistry of their earlier full-length films (such as "Snow White", "Bambi" and "Pinocchio") and before the studio's rejuvenated late 40s and 1950s (with films such as "Cinderella" and "Peter Pan"). Much of this is probably due to the studio staff experiencing HUGE changes after WWII and a protracted union strike--and a very sizable number of animators and other artists were lost. Unlike the other features released just after the war, the shorts in "Make Mine Music" were very, very short."Blue Bayou"--Thankfully this was a very short film, as I was contemplating suicide it was so boring and dreadful. The music was somewhat like Jeanette/Nelson Eddy music and seemed very dated...and dull. 1 "All Cats Come Join In"--Benny Goodman and his orchestra provide the music and the style is a jazzy big-band sort of tune. The animation VERY simple--with characters with very non-detailed faces and backgrounds. While the music integrated well with the music and it was enjoyable, it would NEVER be confused with "Fantasia" as the look of this short was rather cheap. 3 "A Ballade in Blue"--A dull affair as a whiny guy sings about how life sucks without his beloved. Sure to make kids angry and restless. 1 "Casey At The Bat"--Probably the best and most famous of the shorts in this film. Jerry Colonna narrated the famous poem and it really came to life due to the silliness of the animation--which was reminiscent of a Goofy short. Too bad this short was so unlike the rest of the film and didn't seem to really fit the theme--which was really dull music and animation! There was only incidental music and this short forgot to be boring. 8 "Two Silhouettes"--Dinah Shore sings as silhouettes of a man and woman dance together. Frankly, if the earlier shorts didn't drive kids crazy with boredom, this one is sure to do it. Dull. 1 "Peter and the Wolf"--Oddly, this one began with a narration (Sterling Holloway--who later played Winnie the Pooh) as he explains how various instruments represent various characters in the story--then he continues to explain the story as the music plays. While I am not a huge fan of this short, it is head and shoulders better than most of them--and certainly is entertaining. Not a great film for most kids (unless they are a Frasier or Niles Crane sort of kid who adores classical or neo-classical music). But, it might also serve as a nice way to introduce kids to this sort of music. The animation of this one is noticeably better than the rest of the film and most adults should enjoy this film. 8 "After You've Gone"--The Goodman Quartet (including Benny Goodman) provide some bouncy music during which musical instruments, keyboards, fingers, etc. come to life. While kids will also surely hate this one, adults will probably find the music and animation zippy good fun. I didn't hate it. 6 "Johnny Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet"--Sung by the Andrews Sisters, this is the story about two hats that fall in love---something you DON'T see everyday! This is a pretty weird cartoon. Again, kids probably won't love this one but it was amazingly cute seeing these anthropomorphic hats. And the Andrews Sisters' music is pretty enjoyable and cute. 7 "Opera Pathetique"--This is sung by Nelson Eddy whose style of music is not to my liking although it was popular back in grand-pappy's day. The animation is much more enjoyable than most of the rest of the film but the singing is very operatic. If that's your thing, then are you in for a treat. However, if you think this sort of music is LESS enjoyable than hearing a cat being tortured, then it will be a chore to watch even with the cute animation of a gigantic singing whale. Cute but probably not everyone's cup 'o tea. 5 Overall, the film was hard to watch because it was so wildly uneven---it just frustrates the viewer to no end. Some of the shorts are very nice but many are just plain awful. Kids will most likely hate most of it and it's best you only show them a few selections. Adults will be, on the whole, more patient and willing to stick with it--particularly if they loved "Fantasia"--though the quality of "Fantasia" was almost always much higher--especially in regard to the artwork. For huge Disney-philes it's worth seeing--others might want to try renting this one instead of investing in the DVD.

MAKE MINE MUSIC is too jumbled. It's supposed to be a "mix" of the language of emotions, which is music, but it's an awkward attempt as we are treated to either boring ballet ballads or obnoxious jazz be-bop segments. I enjoyed "Blue Bayou" for its visual splendor, "Johnny Fedora & Alice Bluebonnet" for its cuteness, "Peter & The Wolf" because Sterling Holloway is the best! and "Casey At The Bat" because I also love Jerry Colonna's (sp?) voice, though "Casey" feels sad and incomplete when it ends with the ball player striking out and nothing more is said. The other segments, including the annoying singing whale, could have been axed in favor of part 2 of "Casey", which I've seen on TV years ago, about Casey having 9 daughters and coaching them as a baseball team. Walt Disney was trying to help audiences find an appreciation of different genres of music, but this mostly is a disappointment.

"Make Mine Music" is another short story combination of short stories based around music numbers like "The Three Caballeros" and "Melody Time" but this whirly and witty collection is cool to bits and I actually fond it more fun and watchable than the big cheese before "Fantasia"! This programme gives open a fun and interesting taste of swing and popular music of the late 1940's and with good, amusing short stories that should everybody watching. The best ones in my opinion is "Willie the Operatic Whale" which is kinda sad but hilarious to find a whale singing in concert and "All the Cats Join In" which isn't actually about cats, it's about teenagers dancing to swing music. It made me surprised to find out that Americans in 1946 worn basic baseballs tops and polo shirts which proves that sixty years around, it wasn't that old fashioned! This is so much cooler inspiration of Walt's music festival which you shouldn't miss! 9/10