Review(s): DVD The Best of the Original Mickey Mouse Club
NOT THE BEST BUT STILL GOOD
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 goddess.
Annette was Annette. Darlene Gillespie resembles the
Fox Sports wacko, Jillian Barberie.
That said, three of these episodes consist of shows
that were packaged when the Mickey Mouse Club went
into syndication, beginning in 19h2 and running
through 1964, which ironically was the year Cheryl got
married and was the last person to see Jimmie Dodd
alive as he was on the edge of death in a Hawaiian
hospital. The syndicated shows were definitely a
hodgepodge. Little or nothing has been done to improve
the video quality of these three shows. The "Circus
Day" production number bails out early, leaving me
with a very unsatisfied feeling. However, there are
some legitimate hiighlights for those who love the
Mouseketeers. The "Anything Cah Happen Day" features
the great Firehouse Five Plus Two Dixieland band,
featuring three of Disney's "NIne Old Men" from the
feature animation department. This troupe performed
regularly at Disneyland in those days, and the energy
they bring to the show is exceptional. The production
number dates from the first season and includes
spectacular dancing from little Sharon Baird, Bobby
Burges,, Bonni Kern and Lonnie Burr. It also showcases
the first year Mouseketeers to great effect.
Also notable is the Talent Roundup Day guest, a little
girl from Chicago named Cheryl Weinberg who was half
black and half Jewish. I have always insisted that the
real value of the Mickey Mouse Club was its philosophy
of INCLUSION. The Club spotlighted many black
youngsters on Talent Roundup Day, and Cheryl Weinberg
strikes me as a little Lena Horne. She joins Ronnie
and Riley Wilson in a great tap number after singing a
solo. This performance definitely deserves to be
ranked among the show's best.
I am also grateful for the Monday show which includes
the introductory chapter of the second Hardy Boys
serial, "The Mystery of the Ghost Farm." Tim Considine
and Tommy Kirk provide commentary for the serial that
was to follow. Carole Ann Campbell as Iola Morton and
Sarah Selby as Aunt Gertrude are also p;rominently
featuredf. Carole Ann was also beginning to develop
into a real beauty. Wish we could have seen more of
this serial.
All in all, this show provides a few glimpses into
what made the show so memorable for millions of baby
boomers. The Doddisms are included at the end of each
show, and Doreen Tracey gives a wonderful performance
of one of the staple songs, "Beauty is As Beauty
Does." Doreen has also been one of my secret crushes
for decades.
You can't go home again
Some children's shows age well and retain their charm ("Stingray" and "Thunderbirds" with their careful attention to detail, "Gumby" with its surrealism, "Davey and Goliath" with its classic moral lessons). I was looking forward to the Mickey Mouse Club on DVD as I had fond memories of watching it every afternoon after school. This has not aged well. "Spin and Marty" and "The Hardy Boys" serials are still enjoyable (they were both serialized on this program). The rest of this resembles an endless talent show put on at your local public school by some local kids. It isn't very entertaining. It gets tedious quickly. It moves very slowly. The production numbers were expensive by children's show standards in the fifties but they look cheap and tacky by today's standards. Dull. I used my fast forward button a great deal on this one.
....YOU'RE AS WELCOME AS CAN BE!!
This DVD is worth watching after having not seen any in 30-40 years, but it could have been a bit more than 5 shows, and earlier than '64 would have been better.
Related DVD's The Best of the Original Mickey Mouse Club
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... More Info about this DVD Director(s): R.G. Springsteen - Sidney Miller DVD Release Date: Released the 07 December 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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On a recent trip to Disneyland, I purchased a DVD with the 50th anniversay artwork on the front, thinking it was history of the park. Boy was I wrong. Do not buy the park DVD, instead wait for this one. The one currently selling at the park is nothing more than the travel video Diseny sends out as a promotional for the park. The DVD advertised as COMING SOON here is more along the lines of what I thought I was getting. Let's hope this DVD actually makes a debut sometime soon. How much longer can they hold out? More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: 01 January 2010
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I was hoping for a great collection of vintage and rare Mickey Mouse cartoons. That's not what I got. Steam Boat Willy was shown with a large black boarder surrounding the cartoon. I assume it was so the entire frame could be seen. Cartoons two and three were complete rare sound films. However the remaining cartoons were not original prints. The openings were created electronically. The cartoons were very enjoyable but don't expect a collection of all original prints. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Ub Iwerks - Walt Disney DVD Release Date: Released the 12 July 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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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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