"A Symposium on Popular Songs" is an American English-language cartoon from 1962, so this one is already over half a century old. The name of writer Xavier Atencio is not really one you'd associate with Disney animation, but this should not discredit him, on the contrary, it shows that he was a man of many talents, especially when it comes to music. I have to write "was" sadly as he died not too long ago, but reached a really ancient age not too far away from 100. The writer Bill Justice reached an equally high age and he is very much known for some of Disney's old classics. You can find the exact titles on his profile page. But sadly their collaboration foe this 20-minute film did not result in something amazing, quite the opposite actually. It may be my bias partially because I never found Ludwig Von Drake a particularly inspired, let alone funny, character to be honest and the transition in very different animation styles from LvD's hosting and the stories he's telling is not exactly smooth either. The music... well, it could have been better, could have been worse. The Betty Boop ripoff was a bit embarrassing. I think the 50s and 60s have more to offer in terms of music than what is shown to us here. On another negative note, there are cartoons that feature the real Andrew Sisters for example, so voice acting the singers is not really the greatest idea. I am sure these ladies have tried their best, but they are not the Andrew Sisters. Reminds me of the Bye Bye Birdie scene about Ann-Margret from Mad Men. Back to this one here, it was Walt Disney's final short film nomination at the Oscars and he lost to the Hubley's that years. With nominees and winners like these, it certainly wasn't a great year for animated shorts. This one here gets a thumbs-down from me. Not recommended.
