Line #17 WesternAnimation/AdventuresInMusicDuology


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/music_and_melody_8805.jpg]]
2
3	->''That's where the music comes from!''
4
5	Two interesting short subjects made during the late years of UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation (or the beginning years of UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfAnimation, depending on one's point of view), the ''Adventures In Music'' duology -- ''Melody'' and ''Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom'' -- are two popular 1953 shorts in the WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts lineup. While they feature none of the standard Disney cast, they are noteworthy for three reasons:
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7	# ''Melody'' was the very first cartoon to take advantage of 3D glasses.
8	# ''Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom'' was the very first cartoon short subject to take advantage of the then-new widescreen [[WidescreenShot CinemaScope]] process (Disney's first feature film to use it was ''WesternAnimation/LadyAndTheTramp'', however).
9	# Both have very stylized animation, obviously riding off the sharp, flat [[Creator/ColumbiaCartoons UPA]] fashion of the 1950s.
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11	Both shorts are well remembered for their catchy music and their striking layout and character design. However, Creator/WaltDisney himself disliked the animation of the shorts. Allegedly, they were both made by Creator/WardKimball while Disney himself was off in Europe. After Disney won an [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Oscar]] for ''Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom'', he went up to Kimball and told him, "No more of this UPA crap." (Note that Walt was suspicious of artsy people like the UPA, many of whose artists had been involved in a [[UsefulNotes/TVStrikes 1941 strike]] at his studio.)
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13	Both shorts are included on the ''WesternAnimation/Fantasia2000'' DVD, as well as the ''Walt Disney Treasures: Disney Rarities'' DVD set. And of course, they had a second life providing shell material for the long-running ''WesternAnimation/DisneySingAlongSongs'' videos.
14	----
15	!!These cartoons provide examples of:
16	* AnthropomorphicAnimal: The primary cast are anthropomorphic birds, dressed in human clothes and just as capable of using their wings as arms as they are of using them to fly.
17	* BerserkButton: Do not interrupt Professor Owl's lessons.
18	* BigNo:
19	-->'''Professor Owl:''' Today we're gonna study about...\
20	'''Comics bird:''' Ancient history?\
21	'''Suzy Sparrow:''' Love and mystery?\
22	'''Penelope Pinfeather:''' Mathematics?\
23	'''Sporty birds:''' Acrobatics?\
24	'''Boy bird:''' Readin'?\
25	'''Girl bird:''' Spellin'?\
26	'''Bertie Birdbrain:''' Storytellin'?\
27	'''Professor Owl:''' NO! NO! NO!
28	** Also in ''Melody'':
29	-->'''Professor Owl''': The subject for today is melody!
30	-->'''Bertie Birdbrain''': A malady? Like when you get sick?
31	-->'''Professor Owl''': NO!
32	* BigShutUp: In ''Melody'', Professor Owl yells at the chatty housewives to be quiet.
33	* {{Bookworm}}: Penelope Pinfeather, complete with glasses. Near the end of ''Melody'', she angrily comments about how we never...
34	--> ♫ No, we never, ever sing about braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaains! ♫
35	* DemotedToExtra: Students who had more prominent roles in ''Melody'', such as Penelope Pinfeather, Suzy Sparrow, and the Canary Sisters, have greatly diminished roles in ''Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom''.
36	* DisneyAcidSequence: The ending of ''Melody''.
37	* DunceCap: Bertie Birdbrain wears one of these. Professor Owl knocks it over his head in both of the shorts.
38	* FatAndSkinny: The "Plunk" caveman is accompanied by a short fat one who plays with a bow after his original bow is transformed into a hybrid of a harp and a violin.
39	* FirstGrayHair: One of the "Steps of Life" in ''Melody'' involves a middle-aged man plucking a gray hair from the top of his head.
40	* LateForSchool: The opening of ''Toot...'' begins with Professor Owl hurriedly flying over to the schoolhouse and crashing into his desk, accompanied by a drumroll and cymbal crash. (This is also the iconic opening shot in the theme for ''WesternAnimation/DisneySingAlongSongs''.)
41	* LimitedAnimation: In both shorts, most character motion is achieved by only having their limbs move but keeping their bodies rigid, even if they are flipping upside-down. This was in emulation of what UPA was doing with their shorts, and Walt was none too keen about this, and essentially punished Kimball by demoting him back to animator. (Although, he was later put in charge of directing the Tomorrowland episodes of ''Disneyland'' and some of the animated sequences on ''Wonderful World of Color''.)
42	* LohengrinAndMendelssohn: In the "Steps of Life" sequence in ''Melody'': "Here comes the bride..." ('''Bertie Birdbrain''': And there goes the groom!")
43	* MickeyMousing: The "Steps of Life" sequence is accompanied by several traditional songs, including "Rock-a-Bye Baby", "The Alphabet Song", "Far Above Cayuga's Waters", "Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes", "The Wedding Chorale" ("Here comes the bride... and there goes the groom") "Home Sweet Home", "HappyBirthdayToYou", "Silver Threads Among the Gold", "The Old Grey Mare", "Auld Lang Syne", and "Oh Dem Golden Slippers".
44	* NeverSayDie: The eventual death of a human being at the end of the "Steps of Life" sequence in ''Melody'' is referred to as "[going] to our great reward".
45	* OffscreenCrash: Happens to a Roman charioteer with a ridiculously long trumpet in the "Toot" segment, leading to the discovery that the shape of the trumpet doesn't affect its sound.
46	* TheOwlKnowingOne: If your cartoon features a classroom of anthropomorphic birds, what other bird would you have as the wisdom-dispensing teacher but an owl?
47	* RhymesOnADime: Professor Owl often teaches his lesson using rhymes, a trait carried over to his portrayal in the Disney Sing-Along Songs series.
48	* RunningGag:
49	** Professor Owl seems to always hit Bertie Birdbrain on the head with his pointer stick whenever excited or angry, covering his dunce cap over his whole body in the process.
50	** The strings breaking during the "Plunk" section of ''Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom'', usually destroying the musicians' headwear in the process.
51	* TheRuntAtTheEnd: The last character to sit down in ''Melody'' is smaller than the rest.
52	* SameSexTriplets: The Canary Sisters, who often sing jazzy close harmonies together in the style of the Andrews Sisters and other girl trios.
53	* SimpletonVoice: Bertie Birdbrain, the dunce bird.
54	* SpellingSong: Complete with placards, though they are held up in reverse order:
55	--> ♫ M-E-L-O-D-Y Melody! The subject for today will be a mel-o-dy! ♫
56	* SupermodelStrut: Suzy Sparrow walks this way in ''Melody'' when going up to the chalkboard to sing "Lemon Drop Moon".
57	* TalkingAnimal: The primary cast of the shorts comprises talking and singing birds.
58	* TeachersPet: Suzy Sparrow.
59	* TheVamp: Suzy Sparrow is the prettiest girl in the class with a husky voice, and the Professor even bats his eyes at her when calling her name during attendance.
60	* VocalDissonance: TheRuntAtTheEnd in ''Melody'' is a bass, whereas the rest are sopranos and tenors.
61	* WalkLikeAnEgyptian: The Egyptians and Professor Owl do this to Toot's tune in ''Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom''.
62	* YouDontLookLikeYou: In ''Toot...'', both Suzy Sparrow and Penelope Pinfeather were recolored. Suzy, who was mainly yellow in ''Melody'' was recolored pink. Penelope, who was a lighter shade of yellow, was recolored a golden shade of yellow.

Context WesternAnimation / AdventuresInMusicDuology