ElMaruecan82
I'm no musical expert but I sure know about cartoons and I don't think there is one classic animated series that never used William Tell's "Overture". Walt Disney, Looney Tunes, Tex Avery, Tom and Jerry... and while we're at it, let's not forget the "Lone Ranger" intro and the infamous fast-motion orgy scene in a certain Kubrick movie.I guess there's just something universally catchy to the ears about Rossini's music that its stature was bound to be enhanced by its abundant use in Pop Culture more than its roots in the world of classical music. The reason is simple, the music was perfect for animation because once you listen to it, a rich imagery flows over your mind. Many classical piece of music evoke ideas, emotions, abstractions, the Overture might be the most visually evocative.Think about it, it starts with a sober and somber segment, then one of a pastoral serenity, after that you have the rhythmic segment, full of fury and intensity, then it concludes with the iconic march and its exhilarating finale. We see storms, horses, countryside, running, riding, sleeping, walking and It's like all the possible moods encapsulated in one piece of music. What else could surpass it as a standard of animation and inaugurate Mickey's first color appearance? And the evolution of Mickey Mouse is integral to the film's significance. We all know the "started with a mouse" story but remember it took two or three cartoons before "Steamboat Willie" would use a pre-recorded soundtrack for the first time. Without that technological advance, cartoons would never have outlived the 'cute novelty' phase. In the following years, Disney made the Silly Symphony cartoons and created his most iconic characters (practically no one today lived a childhood devoid of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto et al.The cartoons grew more and more sophisticated leading inevitably to 1933 and the first use of colors with "Flowers and Trees" and Oscar-winner "The Three Little Pigs". 1934 was the year that introduced Donald Duck in "The Wise Little Hen", in color too. But, it's not until 1935 that the iconic mouse would leave the monochrome world in his turn. But it called for a celebration and with the exception of Minnie and Pluto, the cartoon was graced by the presence of prestigious guest stars such as Clarabelle Cow, Horace Horsecollar, Goofy and Donald Duck in one of his first scene-stealing performances... and given how prominent Mickey was for once, that's saying a lot."The Band Concert"; simply said; is the greatest cartoon of all time, actually voted the third but there's no way "What's Opera Doc?" is better. "The Band Concert" has the characters, the visuals and the music, a holy trinity no decent cartoon couldn't rely on. And yes it happens to be a Mickey Mouse cartoon, where he's the star, not the foil to the supporting cast, he's leading the show and by all the Gods, he's determined to lead it till the end, no matter how many little annoyances disrupt it, a long sleeve, a bee, or that annoying "Turkey in the Straw" constantly played by a hotdog vendor named Donald Duck.The short made such an impression on me that whenever I hear the beginning of the march, I can't help having "Turkey in the Straw" sneaking into the melody and spoiling it all (or does it?). I don't know if Disney wanted "Turkey" as a reminder of the first music used in "Steamboat Willie", but maybe after seven years, he could finally pretend to higher musical levels... yet there's something irresistible in the way that little folksy song battles against the "big piece" and admirable in the way Mickey Mouse resists and is determined to play the music till the end no matter how many flutes Donald can magically get out of his hat. In other words, the show must go on!The film features many inspired moments, where the action influences the music and vice versa. When Mickey gets ice cream in his neck, his movements turn the music he's conducting to "The Streets of Cairo", the kind of gag would be later used in classics like "Magical Maestro" but the symbiosis between characters and music has never been as wonderfully embodied as in this cartoon. Other sight gags include Horace trying to hit the bee with his cymbals and a hammer, and Goofy's clarinet delicately flirting with Clarabelle's flute, a tender and a quiet moment... before the storm.And that cartoon wouldn't have been one tenth the legend it is today without its climax. "The "Storm" segments summons a hurricane that sucks everything out and forces the audience to leave, followed by the benches in another hilarious sight gag, Donald is deservedly knotted to trees while the orchestra determined to go on and on no matter what, continues playing, and what we've got is one of the greatest pieces of animation. In the beginning, the wind blown by the brass instrument made hats float in the air and turn for a moment, so you can imagine how the effect was amplified with the tornado. The players turn around and come in contact with various objects flying over the head, including a shattered house but like the Titanic band they just go on and on. And to tell you who's the boss, even when Mickey stops conducting, the hurricane stops for a while before a finale that is still today one of my favorite Disney moments. And when you know that a conductor loved so much the film he wanted it to be projected again and invited Disney to Italy, you understand how good the short is.Maybe he saw in Disney a fellow conductor, a Maestro who'd take his characters to the ultimate limit, and would never stop the show no matter the obstacles. I said in my "Fantasia" review that there was something of the Sorcere's Apprentice in Disney, i guess there's something of Disney in Mickey as a conductor in "The Band Concert".
Vimacone
Disney started producing the Silly Symphonies in the full 3-strip Technicolor in 1932, but the Mickey Mouse cartoons remained in black and white. This was because the Mickey Mouse cartoons were already so popular that Disney felt that the added cost was unnecessary. (I personally think some of the Black and White Shorts produced around this time could have benefited the use of Technicolor).Yet, in 1935 Disney decided to start producing the Mickey Mouse cartoons in Technicolor starting with The Band Concert. The use of color isn't particularly striking nor creative, but very bright. Granted, the studio was still perfecting its craft in all capacities. Mickey doesn't have any dialogue in this short, but its Donald that steals the show. Here Donald is more of a heckler and doesn't really showcase his short temper. The William Tell Overture segueing into Turkey In The Straw was a clever musical gag.This makes a milestone for Mickey Mouse. By the end of 1935, Disney stopped filming his cartoons in Black and White.
Hitchcoc
Brilliant color, wonderful animation, and tremendous characterization. Mickey is the leader of a kind of community band. Among the members are somewhat crude versions of very familiar Disney characters. Goofy, Donald, Horace Horsecollar, Clarabelle Cow and so on. Mickey is doing fine. The band is to play the "William Tell Overture." Donald Duck with his familiar sailor suit, but with a really long neck (sort of like a goose) has a flute and insists on playing "Turkey in the Straw." Mickey's rage get the better of him and he confronts the irritating duck, but has no success in squelching his awful sounds. Of course, the efforts lead to his conducting the orchestra with a sense of pandemonium. Also, when another piece called "The Storm" is to be played, an actual tornado appears and it's every animated character for himself. The result is pure joy along with an unforgettable visual memory of this piece (other than the Lone Ranger connection).
Foreverisacastironmess
In terms of the concept, final animated portrayal on the screen, and the longevity of its vibrant and joyful spirit, this iconic cartoon is amazingly well constructed. No way in heck did it ever deserve to lose against "Three Orphan Kittens" in 1935, which although that is a very cute and fun animation, just doesn't compare to this one in terms of meaning and overall worth to the history of animation. Some say it's the first cartoon ever to be in colour, but that's probably not quite accurate. Being made so long ago it's possible that it was one of the first, and in any case, it uses every last bit of colour at its disposal, with Mickey's adorably ill-fitting conductor's uniform standing out and being memorable in particular. Donald is such a rude squawking menace! Mickey's just trying to complete a rehearsal and the flute playing duck won't let him! Donald's lovably cranky shtick always worked much better when he had a nicer character to bounce it off, such as the mute but no less effective mouse in this. The first part is good, but in my opinion it truly becomes something special and takes off both figuratively and literally as the tornado hits and the band is lifted into the air and continues to play on! It takes on such a tremendously grand scale then and is incredible to watch. It's quite cacophonous, with so many precise gags all going on at once, but there's a kind of flow to it all that goes fantastically with the music, and the airborne merry-go-round band is an animated marvel to behold, what a classic! This is one of those old, funny, and very precious cartoons that everyone loved to watch in their early childhoods and I love it, it's so nostalgic and wonderful...
