The entrance to Pete’s Silly Sideshow in the Magic Kingdom’s
Storybook Circus features a cutout of Pete, beckoning to the masses to come and
visit his attractions. While Pete isn’t a full-fledged barker here, he is
leaning upon a rather curious calliope. The Melody Time Brass Horn Band,
featuring Toot, Whistle, Plunk, Boom, harkens back to a day in Disney animation
when music was the story.
Melody Time Brass Horn Band, also noted as the Melody Time
Brass Horn Band Co. on the calliope, obviously refers to the 1948 anthology
feature, Melody Time. Melody Time was made up of seven shorts: Once Upon a
Wintertime, Bumble Boogie, Johnny Appleseed, Little Toot, Trees, Blame it on
the Samba, and Pecos Bill. The package film was not as wildly popular as some
of those that had come before it, but still had some incredible segments. Blame
it on the Samba, which may have felt more at home with either Saludos Amigos or
The Three Caballeros, includes some incredible special effects. Johnny
Appleseed and Pecos Bill both feature beloved heroes who have become Disney
staples in the years since. Meanwhile Bumble Boogie highlights some surreal
animation, a possible side effect to the abandoned Destino project that would
have brought together Disney and Salvador Dali.
Toot, Whistle, Plunk, Boom, on the other hand, tell their
own story. The tale comes from the 1953 self-titled short, Toot, Whistle,
Plunk, and Boom. Professor Owl is illuminating his class on the origins of
musical sound, the four basic sounds that are the basis for all music, Toot,
Whistle, Plunk, and Boom. These basic sounds evolve before our eyes into basic
and then more advanced instruments, culminating in a full orchestra filled with
toots and whistles, plunks and booms! Shown through a stylized form of
animation, rather than a realistic form, and filmed in CineScope. Disney had
drawn sharp criticisms for using the stylized animation for several years,
which the critics considered to have slid into the realm of the obsolete. The
critics were silenced by Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom, which would go on to
win the Best Animated Short Academy Award that year.
Storybook Circus has found many ways to pay respect to the
animated features and shorts of old. The calliope in front of Pete’s Silly
Sideshow is just one of this nods, and reminds us that music can be just as
powerful in animation as the ability to draw a character audiences relate to.
1 comment:
This is the first time I've seen attention focused on this detail -- I'm geeking out right now. I haven't set foot in Storybook Circus yet, and it's already one of my favorite lands in any park.
Funny how one prop that doesn't even feature any visible characters can connect to so many great memories.
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