Summaries

Synopsis

An anthology film, featuring stories with different character casts. The first story is called "The Martins and the Coys", and features a family feud between the eponymous hillbilly families. The feud starts when the drunken grandfather of the Coy family steals some eggs from the Martins' hen-house. The two families start shooting at each other, and eventually most members of each family are killed by firearm. Their souls arrive in two neighboring clouds, and witness the fates of their surviving kin.

At last there is a sole survivor from each family: Grace Martin and Henry Coy. Grace is a pretty young woman, and Henry is a handsome young man. They are prepared to shoot each other, but instead fall in love at first sight. They quickly marry, and have a dance party at Possum Track School. But the story does not end there. The young couple have fierce domestic disputes, and physically fight each other regularly. Much to the joy of the souls of their kinsmen, as the feud continues in a new form.

The second segment is called "Blue Bayou", and features a moonlit night in the Everglades. Two egrets wander around a bayou and encounter each other. They fly together in the sky, having found companionship.

The third segment is called "All the Cats Join In". It features teenage hep-cats of the 1940s, It start with a teenage boy using a jukebox. He phones a teenage girl and asks her to join him. She takes a shower to prepare for her night out. As she puts on make-up, her younger sister imitates her. Her boyfriend arrives with his jalopy, and she joins him in the car. They pick up some friends as they head to the malt shop. When they all arrive, they dance together. An employee prepares meals for them. They have a great time.

The fourth segment is called "Without You". It features a ballad about loneliness and lost love. It features impressionistic images. The images include a withered tree and a starry sky.

The fifth segment is called "Casey at the Bat", and features an adaptation of the eponymous poem. It is set in 1902, in the fictional city of Mudville. It features a baseball game, where Mudville's team is behind in the score. Two of Mudville's worst players perform better than expected. But it is Casey, Mudville's star player, who is expected to win the game for his team.

The overconfident Casey does not swing at the first two pitches, both called strikes. On the last pitch, the overconfident Casey strikes out swinging. The game is lost for Mudville, and a rain starts. Casey is the sole person left in the baseball field, crying in the rain. He then gets angry, and repeatedly tries to hit the ball with his bat. He misses out every time.

The sixth segment is called "Two Silhouettes". It features rotoscoped live-action ballet dancers, moving in silhouette. The dancers are accompanied by two putti, also in silhouette.

The seventh segment is called "Peter and the Wolf", and features an adaptation of the eponymous fairy tale. The tale begins on a snow-filled landscape, with a wild wolf searching for prey. Peter, a young boy, wants to capture the wolf. He is armed only with a toy gun. His grandfather catches him and reprimands him. When the grandfather falls asleep, Peter reclaims his weapon and sneaks out.

Peter is joined by his animal friends, Sasha the Bird, Sonia the duck, and Ivan the cat. The party of would-be-hunters soon encounters the wolf. The toy gun proves to be useless as a weapon. The wolf hunts down Sonia, and returns with feathers in his mouth. Peter mourns Sonia's apparent death.

An angry Sasha attacks the wolf in retaliation. The wolf counterattacks, but misses him. While the wolf is preoccupied, Ivan ties up the wolf's tail. The wolf struggles with Peter, who is holding the rope attached to the tail. He overpowers Peter, but then a trio of adult hunters (Misha, Yasha, and Vladimir), enter the scene. By the time the hunters try to rescue Peter, the boy has already managed to capture the wolf.

The hunters help transport the captured wolf to a nearby village. Peter is given a hero's welcome, but Sasha still mourns for Sonia. But Sonia emerges from her hiding place, alive after all. The two head to the village to join the celebration.

The eight segment is called "After You've Gone". It features anthropomorphic music instruments.

The ninth segment is called "Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet", featuring the love story of two anthropomorphic hats. The two meet each other while on display in the window of a department store. Alice is sold, and the two sorrowfully part ways. When Johnnie is sold as well, he spends his time looking for his lost love. They meet by chance again.

Johnnie escapes his owner's head in an attempt to reunite with Alice. He is lost in the street, but found by a homeless man. Johhnie has a new owner. Said owner is soon involved in a bar fight, and arrested by the police. Johnnie is lost in the street again.

Months later, Johnnie is picked up by an iceman. He cuts two holes in Johnnie and uses him as a hat for one of his horses. On the horse beside him, Johnnie is happy to see Alice. She has become a horse's hat as well. The reunited lovers never part again. They live in their horses' stable.

The tenth and final segment is called "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met". It concern an anthropomorphic sperm whale, called Willie, whose incredible singing voice makes him a subject of newspaper headlines. As biologists argue concerning the whale, Professor Tetti Tatti, an impresario, tries to find a solution. After studying the Biblical tale of Jonah, the professor concludes that Willie has swallowed an opera singer. He sets out to rescue the non-existent opera singer. There is much publicity about him.

A seagull misunderstands a news report, and thinks that the Professor wants to recruit Willie as a singer. He tells Willie, who starts dreaming of a professional singing career. He approaches the professor, who harpoons him. Willie dies, but the narrator ascertains that he sings on in heaven.Followed by a vision of Willie as an angel in heaven. The film ends.