+++
author = ["authors/jenna.md"]
date = "2014-11-11T09:00:00-05:00"
lastmod = "2015-04-13T23:22:00-04:00"
primary_image = "https://res.cloudinary.com/schmopera/image/upload/v1545409169/media/webhook-uploads/1428981660844/Willie-720x528.jpg.jpg"
publishDate = "2014-11-11T09:00:00-05:00"
related_articles = ["articles/schmopera-is-one.md"]
short_description = "So, in 1946 Walt Disney produced an anthology of animated short films, called Make Mine Music. There are ten film segments, almost all of them set to music; there&#039;s an animation of Prokofiev&#039;s Peter and the Wolf, and the artists involved include Benny Goodman and the Andrews Sisters. "
slug = "when-disney-made-a-cartoon-about-an-opera-singing-whale"
title = "When Disney made a cartoon about an opera-singing whale"

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So, in 1946 Walt Disney produced an anthology of animated short films, called _[Make Mine Music](http://movies.disney.com/make-mine-music)_. There are ten film segments, almost all of them set to music; there's an animation of Prokofiev's _Peter and the Wolf_, and the artists involved include [Benny Goodman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Goodman) and the [Andrews Sisters](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Andrews_Sisters). But _Make Mine Music_ caught my attention because of the last film segment, called _The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met_. It's about a whale who... yeah. Opera lovers will enjoy Willy the Whale's rendition of "Largo al factotum", Canio's aria from _Pagliacci_, and his Lucia Sextet, the parts sung by individual bits of Willy's uvulae. It's narrated by [Nelson Eddy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Eddy), and he's also the sole voice behind all the singing (including a wicked falsetto for the ladies). It's delightful, and you can watch it [here](http://www.cornel1801.com/disney/Make-Mine-Music-1946/film9.html).