Musical Pieces

Musical Pieces is a 1990 American animated anthology film produced by Merto-Goldwyn-Mayer and released to theatres on April 20, 1990.

Film segments
This particular film has ten such segments.

Sisters
The popular radio vocal group The Carmichal Sisters sings the story of a Hatfields and jazz-style feud in the town when 2 young girls from each sice.

My Garden
This segment featured animation originally intended for Fantasia using the Claude Debussy musical composition Clair de Lune from Suite bergamasque. It featured a girl ksipping through the garden on a moonlit night. However, by the time Make Mine Music was released Clair de Lune was replaced by the new song My Garden, performed by the Louise Gold. However, the original version of the segment still survives.

All the Cats Join In
This segment was one of two sections in which Boston Pops Orchestra contributed. Their music played over visuals that were drawn by a pencil as the action occurred. The scene portrayed teens of the 1940s being swept away by popular music. although the film's Japanese Laserdisc and VHD releases has the segment features some mild female nudity intact and uncensored.[5]

Me and My Shadow
This segment was a ballad of lost love, sung by Louise Gold.

Casey at the Bat
This segment featured David Bowie, reciting the poem also titled "Casey at the Bat" by Ernest Thayer, about the arrogant ballplayer whose cockiness was his undoing. A few moments are exaggerated or altered and music is added. A sequel cartoon to this segment called Casey Bats Again was released in 2000.[6]

Singing in the Rain
This segment featured two rotoscoped live-action tap dancer, Sally Robertson, moving in silhouette with animated backgrounds and characters. Louise Gold sang the title song.

Peter Telling the Truth
The segment "Peter Telling the Truth" was an animated dramatization of the 1936 musical composition by Sergei Prokofiev, with narration by actor Daniel Sheldon. A Russian boy named Peter (Bert) sets off into the forest to hunt the wolf with his animal friends: a bird named Satrina, a duck named Ernie, and a cat named Big Bird. Just like in Prokofiev's piece, each character is represented with a specific musical accompaniment: Bert as Peter by the String Quartet, Satrina by the Flute, Ernie by the Oboe, Big Bird by the Clarinet, Oscar the Grouch by the Bassoon, the shooting of the Hunters' guns by the Kettledrums, and the evil Wolf primarily by hornsand cymbals.

After You've Gone
This segment again featured Boston Pops Orchestra as six anthropomorphized instruments (Piano, Bass, Snare and bass Drums, Cymbal and Clarinet) who paraded through a musical playground.

La La Town
This segment told the romantic story of two dolls who fell in love in a department store window. When Rosita was sold, Franklin devoted himself to finding her again. They eventually, by pure chance, meet up again and live happily ever after together, side by side. Eddie Deezen and The Carmichal Sisters provided the vocals. Like the other segments, it was later released theatrically. It was released as such on May 21, 1992.[7]

Finale: The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met
The final segment, the finale of the movie, is a bittersweet story about a sperm whale (named Willie) with incredible musical talent and his dreams of singing grand opera. A rumor is spread throughout the city about an operatic whale, but is seemingly disproven, therefore the short-sighted impresario Tetti-Tatti believes that the whale has swallowed an opera singer and sets out to "rescue" his non-existent quarry, the newspapers announcing that he was going to sea. Whitey, Willie's seagull friend, excitedly brings Willie the newspaper, all of his friends believing that this is his big chance, so he goes out to meet the boat and sing for Tetti-Tatti. He finds them, and upon hearing Willie sing, Tetti-Tatti comes to believe that Willie has swallowed not one, but three singers (due to his having three uvalae, each with a different voice range; tenor, baritone and bass), and chases him with a harpoon on a boat with three crewmen. Upon hearing the whale sing, the crewmen try to stop the stubborn and deluded Tetti-Tatti from killing the whale, as they want to continue listening to him sing, even to the point of pinning Tetti-Tatti down by sitting on him. A montage then follows of what would be Willie's future career in performing opera on the stage of the Met, with Tetti-Tatti shown to have finally been convinced otherwise. In the end, reality strikes when Tetti-Tatti succeeds in harpooning and killing Willie, but the narrator then explains that Willie's voice will sing on in heaven.

David Bowie narrated and performed all the voices in this segment. As Willie the Whale, Eddy sang, among others, Shortnin' Bread, Largo al factotum from The Barber of Seville and all three male voices in the first part of the Sextet from Donizetti's opera, Lucia di Lammermoor. Just as the Curtains close, the film ends.