Category: Cartoons & Animation - Children - Children's Video - Family - Feature Film Family
Availability: 19 December 2006
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DVD Walt Disney Treasures - More Silly Symphonies (1929-1938)
The second set of Silly Symphonies completes the series of music-themed cartoons Walt Disney began in 1929 with "The Skeleton Dance." Disney used these films to train his artists and to experiment with new techniques and visual styles. Viewers who watch the Symphonies in chronological order can see the artists' work improving at an astonishing pace. When a ring of imps dances around a fire in "Hell's Bells" (1929) the flat-looking flames move stiffly, like paper cut-outs; five years later in "The Goddess of Spring" (1934), the flames ripples and crackle, and their changing hues produce multi-colored shadows on the cavern walls. The imps in the earlier film are rubbery golliwogs who just bounce and stretch to the music; in the later film, the rounder, more dimensional devilkins perform a complicated jazz dance. "Goddess of Spring" and "Broken Toys" (1935) also represent the artists' first efforts to animate a believable female character, as they prepared for the challenges of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Many of these films were consigned to the vaults for years because of their racial imagery. In the Oscar-nominated "Mother Goose Goes Hollywood" (1938), a gaggle of Hollywood celebrities cavort to familiar nursery rhymes, but the caricatures of Stepin Fetchit and Cab Calloway are no more unflattering or mean-spirited than the ones of Katharine Hepburn, W.C. Fields, and Clark Gable. The outrageous "Cannibal Capers" (1930) and a few other shorts may embarrass viewers today, but as host Leonard Maltin observes, ignoring these film falsifies the past of animation and the United States. This important and entertaining collection will delight anyone interested in the history of the Disney Studio, animation or American popular culture. (Rated G, suitable for ages 5 and older: cartoon violence, tobacco use, ethnic stereotypes) --Charles Solomon
Review(s): DVD Walt Disney Treasures - More Silly Symphonies (1929-1938)
All the rest of the Silly Symphony cartoons
One reviewer expressed concern that all the remaining Silly Symphony cartoons would be in this DVD release. Leonard Maltin, who was involved in producing these Walt Disney Treasures DVD sets, has stated that all the remaining Silly Symphony cartoons will be in this set. Here's the list of the 38 cartoons not included in the first Silly Symphony Treasures set that should be in this set.
1. Arctic Antics (1930)
2. Autumn (1930)
3. The Bears And The Bees (1932)
4. The Bird Store (1932)
5. Birds In The Spring (1933)
6. Broken Toys (1935)
7. Bugs In Love (1932)
8. Cannibal Capers (1930)
9. The Cat's Out (Also known as The Cat's Nightmare) (1931)
10. The China Shop (1934)
11. The Clock Store (1931)
12. Cock O' The Walk (1935)
13. El Terrible Toreador (1929)
14. The Fox Hunt (1931)
15. Frolicking Fish (1930)
16. The Goddess Of Spring (1934)
17. Hell's Bells (1929)
18. King Neptune (1932)
19. Little Hiawatha (1937)
20. Merbabies (1938)
21. The Merry Dwarfs (1929)
22. Midnight In A Toy Shop (1930)
23. Monkey Melodies (1930)
24. More Kittens (1936)
25. The Moth And The Flame (1938)
26. Mother Goose Goes Hollywood (1938)
27. Night (1930)
28. The Night Before Christmas (1933)
29. Old King Cole (1933)
30. The Pied Piper (1933)
31. Playful Pan (1930)
32. Santa's Workshop (1932)
33. The Spider And The Fly ((1931)
34. Springtime (1929)
35. Summer (1930)
36. Three Blind Mouseketeers (1936)
37. Three Orphan Kittens (1935)
38. Winter (1930)
As happened in the first Treasures set of the Silly Symphony cartoons, some of the more controversial cartoons might be found only in an Easter Egg. "Who Killed Cock Robin?" is an example from the first set.
These last Silly Symphonies are among Disney's rarest, most interesting, and most entertaining cartoons. Some of them contain some fascinating experimental animation.
I very much look forward to watching these at DVD quality.
Very excited!
I'm very excited to hear that the rest of the Silly Symphonies will be coming out at the end of the year; however I am a bit concerned that not all the shorts will be included, in particular The Goddess of Spring, King Neptune, Old King Cole and the Piep Piper. Anyone know what the exact content of this Treasures set is?
Light Years Ahead of any DVD Warners does....
In recent months, newer and better DVD editions of Disney animation films have been coming on to the market and they are so much better then earlier releases. Better restored picture and sound quality and more in depth bonus features about the making of the cartoons and films.
By contrast, Warner Brothers DVDs have been getting worse and worse as seen in their Looney Tunes DVD's, which are getting cheaper and less interesting, with animation looking like it was done by geeks, and having film critics telling the same boring facts over and over again. (Bleech).
Related DVD's Walt Disney Treasures - More Silly Symphonies (1929-1938)
Around this time of year, I always check out 'Disney treasures' on the Amazon search to see what my favourite studio is treating me to for Christmas. I am not disappointed this year.
Volume 2 of The Complete Pluto was always going to happen and is most welcome. No news yet on content and extras but its fair to say that they should be up to the excellent standard of the previous volumes.
More Info about this DVD Director(s): Charles A. Nichols DVD Release Date: 19 December 2006
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More than a time-capsule treasure for Disney buffs, this two-disc set will warm the nostalgic hearts of baby boomers who eagerly looked forward to their weekly visits with "Uncle Walt" Disney. As the host of his anthology series, Disneyland (later Walt Disney Presents, then The Wonderful World of Color), Disney presented classic cartoons and original programs, but he also gave starry-eyed viewers a privileged, behind-the-scenes look inside his magic kingdom, from the construction of his magnificent theme park to animators at work. Disneyland transformed Disney into the face of Disney Studios, a pied piper, according to film historian Leonard Maltin, who introduces the features on each disc. This collection of episodes features Disney at his most avuncular.... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: 19 December 2006
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From the moment Thurl Ravenscroft intoned, "Gold doubloons and pieces of eight/ Handed down to Applegate," "The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure" became one of the best-loved serials on the The Mickey Mouse Club, second only to "The Adventures of Spin and Marty." Gifted young actors Tim Considine and Tommy Kirk make a believable pair of adolescent sleuths: Frank and Joe Hardy want to follow in the footsteps of their father, private detective Fenton Hardy. Summer vacation in the little town of Bayport seems boring until Frank and Joe run into Perry Robinson, a new kid in their neighborhood, who them leads into the search for the long-lost pirate treasure of local eccentric Silas Applegate. There's plenty of low-key daring-do, suitably sinister villains, misread clues, and wholesome... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Sidney Miller DVD Release Date: 19 December 2006
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If you've got the others, grab this set as well. Looney Tunes have never looked better.
This time around, the box set is smaller and much more efficient. The previous sets had one disc per fold-out, which left extra space on the opposite side to fill up with dumb quotes from the shorts. Now the layout is much better.
The cover art however, could've been much better. It looks so much like the first volume - why couldn't they do something different? Volume 3's cover was refreshing, volume 4's looks bland. The gloss and emboss is nice, though.
I love the black and white shorts - the sense of humour in the early 30's shorts is totally different from later years. The characters would always make objects do things they weren't supposed to - like grabbing... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Chuck Jones - Robert McKimson - Friz Freleng DVD Release Date: Released the 14 November 2006 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I know of this film only through a richly illustrated book for children, Secrets of Life, with photographs from the film by the Disney Studio. I borrowed the book several times from the library simply for its wonderful photographs of the life of bees. One sequence struck me-how bees do a 'dance' to 'tell' other bees in the hive where a good source of nectar(a field of flowers) is. According to Roy Disney the film looks better than it did when originally released. According to other reviewers the movie includes lovely time lapse photography of flowers accompanied by the classical piece, Bolero. Nature lovers, rejoice! This set also includes Perri, the life of a squirrel, which was also well received. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Paul Kenworthy Jr. - Ralph Wright - James Algar DVD Release Date: Released the 05 December 2006 Usually ships in 24 hours
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