Review(s): DVD Walt Disney Treasures - Mickey Mouse Club
Why? Because We Like You
When the Mickey Mouse Club aired in 1955, the New York Times predicted it would never last. But in 1955, an estimated 10 million kids tuned in, and at it's peak, Disney sold 26,000 pairs of mouse ears weekly. As reviewers have noted, this DVD is not the best of the MM Club. Instead of rating episodes, Disney went for historical value. Here's the first week of hour long shows. The talent line up went like this: Monday: Fun with Music Day; Tuesday: Guest Star Day; Wednesday: Anything Can Happen Day; Thursday: Circus Day; Friday: Talent Round-Up Day.
The best of the extras include Leonard Maltin's intros ( a staple on all Disney Treasures DVDs) and a reunion with the Mousketeers. As many people are beginning to realize, Disney's live action productions were second only to his animation. No, this isn't the best of the club run (Another video has been released with the "best" on it). But it is a trip back down memory lane to when TV was a new fantasyland, and a dreamer named Disney put kids on the stage and turned it upside down.
Walt Disney Treasures - Mickey Mouse Club
I bought the DVD to review so my friends and I could do a skit for a 50's fundraiser. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed viewing all the original programs on the DVD's. It certainly took me back to my childhood. I will cherish this for many years to come. I was not disappointed at all.
Bringing back memories
If you want to see the start of a glorious run in living black-and-white, I don't think you can do better than this time capsule treasure. Highly recommended!
Related DVD's Walt Disney Treasures - Mickey Mouse Club
By the time "The Barn Dance" (1928), the fourth Mickey Mouse short and the oldest film on this collection, was released, Mickey was well on his way to cartoon stardom. The viewer can see how quickly the Disney animators improved between "The Barn Dance" and "Mickey's Kangaroo" (1935, his last black-and-white film). The characters are so rubbery in "Barn Dance," that when Mickey steps on Minnie's foot, her leg stretches out on the floor. Mickey and Minnie look noticeably more solid by "Mickey's Mechanical Man" (1933). "Playful Pluto" (1934) offers the landmark sequence of Pluto trying to escape from sheet of fly paper: one of the first instances where an animated character actually seemed to think and react to his environment believably. But it's Pluto who gets the laughs--Mickey is... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 07 December 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Mickey's pal Pluto developed from the pair of bloodhounds in "The Chain Gang" (1930). Walt Disney liked animator Norm Ferguson's handling of the dogs' expressions, so the artists continued to work with the character. Ferguson's breakthrough animation of the flypaper sequence in "Playful Pluto" (1934), available on Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Black and White, Vol. 2, showed that the cartoon character could think and react to a situation through pantomime. Many cartoons follow the pattern of "Playful Pluto": the ochre dog tries to cope with either a recalcitrant object--skates in "On Ice," an inflatable rubber horse in "Beach Picnic"--or a cute but troublesome animal: a seal in "Pluto's Playmate," a gopher in "Canine Caddy" and the title character in "Pluto and the... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 07 December 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I must admit, I am a Mickey Mouse Club junkie. As
soon as I noticed these reviews, good and bad, I knew
I had to see this DVD for myself. Just last Monday, it
was my privilege to attend the 50th anniversary
reunion of 10 original Mouseketeers at Disneyland, and
I was also privileged to share three passionate kisses
with my favorite Mouseketeer of all timne, Cheryl
Holdridge. The mere inclusion of the impossibly
beautiful Cheryl Holdridge on most of these shows is
worth the cost. The two complete programs from the
show's final network season are also better than
nothing, I suppose. By the third season, almost all of
the girls were beyond puberty and becoming quite
voluptuous. Doreen Tracey was a budding... More Info about this DVD Director(s): R.G. Springsteen - Sidney Miller DVD Release Date: Released the 12 July 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Disney Rarities lives up to its title: It's been impossible to see many of these shorts for decades. Walt Disney bankrupted his fledgling Laugh-O-Gram studio making "Alice's Wonderland," but the short earned Disney his first national distribution contract. Films featuring animated characters in live-action settings were common during the silent era; Disney reversed the situation, placing a live actress (Virginia Davis) in a cartoon world. The "Alice" series ran from 1923-1926, and several girls played the title role. These silent films have been handsomely restored and given upbeat musical tracks by Alex Rannie.
The Oscar-winners "Ferdinand the Bull" (1938) and "Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom" (1953) rank as genuine classics, and have been unavailable for far too long. The... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 06 December 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I really want them to release the "Annette" series. That was my favorite. Also, wouldn't mind seeing Darlene Gillespie's series, "Corky and White Shadow." More Info about this DVD Director(s): William Beaudine DVD Release Date: 06 December 2005
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