1948- "Melody Time"

Melody Time (first released on May 27, 1948) is an animated feature produced by Walt Disney and released to theatres by RKO Radio Pictures. Made up of several sequences set to popular music and folk music, the film is, like Make Mine Music before it, the contemporary version of Fantasia, an ambitious film that proved to be a commercial disappointment upon its original theatrical release. Melody Time, while not meeting the artistic accomplishments of Fantasia, was a mildly successful film in its own right. It is the tenth animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the fifth package film following Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros, Make Mine Music, and Fun and Fancy Free.

This particular film has seven segments:
"Once Upon a Wintertime" features Frances Langford singing the title song about two romantic young lovers in December. The boy shows off for his girl, and near-tragedy and a timely rescue ensue. This short was also featured in Very Merry Christmas Songs which is part of Disney Sing Along Songs as a background movie for the song Jingle Bells.
"Bumble Boogie" is a surrealistic nightmare for a solitary bee trying to escape from a visual and musical frenzy. The music is courtesy of Freddy Martin and his orchestra (with Jack Fina playing the piano) and is a swing-jazz variation of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee", which was one of the many pieces considered for inclusion in Fantasia.
"The Legend of Johnny Appleseed" is a retelling of the story of John Chapman, who spent most of his life roaming Mid-Western America (mainly Illinois and Indiana) in the pioneer days, and planting apple trees, thus earning his famous nickname. Dennis Day narrates and provides all the voices.
"Little Toot" is based on the poem by Hardie Gramatky, in which the title protagonist, a small tugboat, wants to be just like his father Big Toot, but can't seem to stay out of trouble. The Andrews Sisters provide the vocals. Out of all the musical segments, this one is the most famous.
"Trees" is a reciting of the famous Alfred Joyce Kilmer poem by Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians with the lyrical setting seen through the seasons.
"Blame It On the Samba" has Donald Duck and José Carioca meeting with the Aracuan Bird who introduces them to the pleasures of the samba. The Dinning Sisters provide the vocals while organist Ethel Smith plays the organ.
"Pecos Bill" is the finale about the famous hero from Texas, the biggest and best cowboy that ever lived, his horse Widowmaker, and how he was brought back down to earth by a woman named Slue-Foot Sue. This retelling of the story is courtesy of Roy Rogers, Bob Nolan, and the Sons of the Pioneers to Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten. This segment was later edited on the film's NTSC video release (but not the PAL release) to remove all scenes of Bill smoking a cigarette. The entire scene with Bill rolling the smoke and lighting it with a lightning bolt was cut and all other shots of the offending cigarette hanging from his lips were digitally removed.- Information from wikipedia.org

I unfortunately was unable to find a copy of this film. I did some research though, so enjoy! (If anyone has a copy that is a friend of mine.....could I borrow it?)

1944- "The Three Caballeros"

The Three Caballeros is a 1944 animated feature film, produced by Walt Disney and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. The seventh animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, that plots an adventure through parts of Latin America, combining live-action and animation. This is the second of the Disney package films of the 1940s.
The film was produced as part of the studio's good will message for South America, but is less obviously propagandistic than others. The film again starred Donald Duck, who in the course of the film is joined by old friend José Carioca, the cigar-smoking parrot from Saludos Amigos (1942) representing Brazil, and later makes a new friend in the persona of pistol-packing rooster Panchito Pistoles, representing Mexico. The music of the Mexican part was written by Mexican composer Manuel Esperon, who wrote the score for over 540 Mexican movies in the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema. Walt Disney, after having seen his success in the Mexican movie industry, called him personally to ask him to participate in the movie. The main song for the Mexican part is "Ay Jalisco, No Te Rajes!", one of Esperon's most famous songs.
Several Latin American stars of the period appear, including singers Aurora Miranda (sister of Carmen Miranda) and Dora Luz, as well as dancer Carmen Molina.
The film is plotted as a series of self-contained segments, strung together by the device of Donald Duck opening birthday gifts from his Latin American friends.
The film premiered in Mexico City on December 21, 1944. It was released in the USA on February 3, 1945. It was re-released in the USA on April 15, 1977.
The film received two Academy Award nominations for Original Music Score and Best Sound.

I love the "Aves Raros" clip. Sterling Holloway made it again into Disney's film as the narrator for that segment. Birds are my favorite animals, so I found this entire movie really enjoyable. It also made me happy that it was centered around Donald.

The Aracuan!!!! I always laugh when I hear his little song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0yjlAZS8jU

I really love Jose's singing voice in "Baia". It is a really pretty song and I would love to have a recording of it. I also really liked the "Yaya" dance number.

"The Three Caballeros" song is only one very miniscule part of the movie. I feel that Walt Disney must have had a real appreciation for Latin American culture. He made two films based on it within the span of 3 years.

I really liked this film! Watch it if you love Donald Duck! Haha!