Walt Disney Treasures - Disney Rarities - Celebrated Shorts, 1920s - 1960s
by Bill Justice, Charles A. Nichols, Clyde Geronimi, Dick Rickard, Hamilton Luske
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DVD details
Actor: Hugh Harman, Rudolf Ising, Ub Iwerks, Virginia Davis, Walt DisneyDirector: Bill Justice, Charles A. Nichols, Clyde Geronimi, Dick Rickard, Hamilton Luske
Brand: Disney
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 326 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-12-06
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Disney
Product features:
- This extraordinary volume of rare Disney magic showcases some fascinating characters never before seen together. From Walt's earliest work in the 1920s to some of his most sophisticated shorts of the 1950s and '60s, he captured the imaginations of millions plus two Academy Award(R) wins and eight nominations all included in this volume. Among the gems is Walt's first hit cartoon series
DVD Reviews of Walt Disney Treasures - Disney Rarities - Celebrated Shorts, 1920s - 1960s
DVD Review: Disney Specials Are Very Special, INDEED!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Exact information on the contents of this DVD set has not yet been released. The shorts "Lambert, the Sheepish Lion", "Ben and Me", and "Freewayphobia 1 & 2" are only EXPECTED to be on the set - but not official yet.
This set has been described in various websites as mainly containing Disney's "one-shot" cartoons. Disney called these one-shots "Specials", which generally replaced the earlier Silly Symphony cartoons. Generally, these cartoons did not star the regular Disney cartoon characters, such as Mickey, Donald, Goofy, etc.
The original silent Alice Comedies cartoons never interested me personally. I never found them that entertaining. However, they are interesting historically in seeing what Walt's animators did before Mickey Mouse. The Alice shorts on this DVD will probably be taken from the selection that was shown on the Disney Channel a few years ago.
The following are the Specials shorts from the 1930s through the 1960s. There have been several wonderful Specials from the 1970s to the present, but hopefully they will see DVD release in future Treasures sets.
1938
Ferdinand The Bull - A huge, but peaceful, bull only wants to sit quietly under his tree and sniff the flowers. He is carted away to the bull ring when he is mistaken for a ferocious bull. He disappoints the crowd when he just sits and smells a flower bouquet and refuses to fight. Ferdinand is returned home, where he happily returns to his peaceful life. A marvelous cartoon with excellent animation, based on a wonderful children's book.
1943
Education For Death - This wartime short was a propaganda short about the making of a German child into a Nazi soldier. Since this short was on the On The Front Lines DVD set, I would be surprised to see it on this Disney Rarities DVD set.
Reason And Emotion - This wartime short was a propaganda short about letting reason keep emotions under control and dealing with wartime rumors. This short was also on the On The Front Lines DVD set, so I would be surprised to see it on this Disney Rarities DVD set.
Chicken Little - Foxey Loxey convinces Chicken Little and the rest of the farmyard poulty that the sky is falling. Everyone rushes to the "safety" of the fox's cave, where they are definitely not safe. Although this short was on the On The Front Lines DVD set, it is an entertaining short and may be on the Disney Rarities DVD set.
1944
The Pelican and the Snipe - Sterling Holloway (voice of numerous Disney characters, especially Winnie The Pooh) narrates how Vidi, the snipe, spends his nights keeping his "sleep-flying" friend Monte, the pelican, safe from harm where they live - on top of a lighthouse near Montevideo, Uruguay.
1950
The Brave Engineer - Casey Jones is determined to get his train to the station on time, in spite of numerous midadventures - including a flood, train robbers, and a head-on collision with another train.
Morris, The Midget Moose - Morris is laughed at and scorned by the whole moose herd because he is so small, although he has a full-sized set of antlers. He meets another outcast moose, Balsam, who is huge but has a puny set of antlers. The two team up together to become the leaders of the herd.
1952
Lambert, The Sheepish Lion - A stork (voiced by Sterling Holloway) delivers a lion cub to a flock of sheep by mistake. Lambert is bullied by the other lambs because he's different and mild, but grows up to realize his power as a lion and defends the flock from a wolf. Nominated for an Academy Award.
Susie, The Little Blue Coupe - Susie is bought by a man who takes good care of her. But, years later, her owner trades her in due to needed expensive repairs. Her life as a used car is miserable, with an uncaring owner and a series of unhappy experiences. She is wrecked and abandoned in a junkyard. An eager teenaged boy buys her and converts her into a hot rod - she is "like new" again and is happy with her new owner.
The Little House - The little house begins life happily in the country but "progress" soon surrounds it with the big city buildings. A caring family has it moved back into the country and the little house is happy once more. Based on a popular children's book.
1953
Adventures In Music: Melody (also known as just "Melody") - Professor Owl teaches his class about music melody.
Football Now and Then - A boy and his grandfather argue about which football team would win - while watching a team from the early days of football play a modern team on television.
Ben and Me - Amos, a poor little church mouse, comes to live with Ben Franklin. With the help of Amos' suggestions, Ben invents the Franklin Stove and bifocals, discovers electricity, and inspires the opening words of the Declaration of Independence. I have always loved this short - it is VERY SPECIAL INDEED!!! Narrated by Sterling Holloway, it was nominated for an Oscar.
Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom - Professor Owl illustrates the development of musical instruments from caveman days to modern times. This short won the Academy Award for Best Cartoon. It was the first cartoon filmed in CinemaScope.
1954
Pigs Is Pigs - Flannery is a train station master, who goes strictly by the book. When he disagrees with a customer about whether guinea pigs are pets or livestock (like real pigs), he telegrams the main office and awaits their decision on the dispute. In the meantime, the guinea pigs are reproducing so quickly that the station is overrun with guinea pigs. This is one of my favorites of all cartoons, not just Disney cartoons. It is hilariously funny and very inventive. The story is told in a very creative rhyming sing-song fashion. It was nominated for an Academy Award. It was based on a 1905 book by Ellis Parker Butler.
Casey Bats Again - Casey is dismayed that he has only daughters, since he wants sons to follow in his footsteps as baseball players. Eventually, his nine daughters grow up to become a female baseball team, which wins the championship despite his interference.
Social Lion - A lion, feared by all in the wilds of Africa, learns that no one fears him after he is captured and then escapes in the big city. No one recognizes that he is a lion until a saleman dresses him up as a human. Then everyone sees that he is a lion and are terrified. The lion ends up in the zoo, scaring all the zoo visitors. This is a very funny, silly cartoon.
1956
Hooked Bear - Humphrey the Bear clashes with Ranger J. Audubon Woodlore when Humphrey tries to fish like the humans and the ranger tells him to fish like a bear. Humphrey continually fails in his efforts to fish until the fishing season ends and Humphrey has to run for his life when hunting season begins. There are numerous funny scenes in this cartoon. I have always loved the cartoons that Humphrey appeared in. Except for one other cartoon, most of the cartoons count as Donald Duck cartoons and should appear in the later Chronological Donald Duck Treasures set when it gets to the years 1953 through 1955.
Jack and Old Mac - This experimental cartoon tells two different stories, with two jazz sequences and limited animation. The nursery rhyme "This Is The House That Jack Built" has the characters animated as the shape of the names - for example: the dog is made by the letters d, o, g. Old MacDonald plays the piano while the farmyard animals, playing different instruments, jive to a jam session in an updated vrsion of Old MacDonald Had A Band, instead of "A Farm". I love this short for its uniqueness and weirdness. The short is fun and fascinating to me.
In The Bag - After the tourists have left trash everywhere in the park as the visiting season eands, Ranger J. Audubon Woodlore creates a fake game to trick the park bears to clean up the mess. Poor Humphrey the Bear is stuck with cleaning the entire mess and continually has bad luck trying to get rid of the trash. The cartoon contains a very catchy "In The Bag" song, part of which goes "pick up the paper, put it in the bag, bump, bump" with the bears bumping each others bottoms as they dance. This is a very funny cartoon that also succeeds in making you sorry for Humphrey because he is unfairly stuck with trying to clean up all the trash.
A Cowboy Needs A Horse - A little boy dreams of such western adventures as battling Indians, capturing a bandit, and rescuing a fair damsel. The song "A Cowboy Needs A Horse" is a very catchy tune.
1957
The Story Of Anyburg, U.S.A. - Automobiles are put on trial for breaking traffic laws, but are declared "not guilty" - since it is the people who drive them who must admit their guilt and promise to drive safely.
The Truth About Mother Goose - The historical background behind the stories is told of three popular nursery rhymes - Little Jack Horner; Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary; and London Bridge. A very entertaining short with ingenious gags, nice background art, and a catchy jazz score. Nominated for an Academy Award.
1958
Paul Bunyan - The folk tale of the gigantic Paul Bunyan is told from when he was a baby to adult times. I enjoy the drama and the humor in the short, with animation in a simple, clear style.
1959
Eyes In Outer Space - The future of satellites' ability to forecast and control the weather is explored. While mainly educational in nature, there is some nice animation and a fun section about how "folk sayings" predicted the weather. Various reference books differ on whether this is considered a "Special" short, so it may not be included in this DVD set.
Noah's Ark - The biblical story of Noah and his ark is told, with the use stop-motion animation. This short used variety store items (pipe cleaners, thimbles, thread spools, etc.) to build the humans and animals - resulting in a very unusual look to the characters. It was nomiated for an Academy Award.
1960
Goliath II - Goliath II is a child elephant who is only 5 inches tall, to the shame of his father Goliath, a giant among elephants. Goliath II deals with several problems due to his size and the herd continually has to save him and avoid stepping on him. He finally becomes a hero to the herd by battling and defeating a mouse. This is one of my favorite cartoons. At about twice the length of a regular cartoon, this short has the time for both drama and humor - giving you time to care for Goliath II and his troubles. It was nominated for an Academy Award.
1961
The Saga Of Windwagon Smith - Captain Smith has rigged a Conestoga prairie wagon with sails and tiller like a ship and sails into a small western town and falls in love with the mayor's daughter Molly. The townspeople see this new type of wagon as a way to get rich hauling large volumes of freight by building a huge, super windwagon - only to see a tornado carry the wagon off with the captain and Molly aboard. An interesting cartoon with some funny scenes.
1962
A Symposium On Popular Songs - Ludwig Von Drake lectures all about popular music, introducing several songs illustrated with stop-motion animation using paper cut-outs and household items. It was nominated for an Academy Award and has several fun and interesting scenes.
1967
Scrooge McDuck and Money - Scrooge lectures his nephews on the history of money, and how to budget and invest wisely.
While mainly an educational cartoon, it is very entertaining. The short combines live-action with animation.
1969
It's Tough To Be A Bird - The birds' never-ending fight for survival is humorously told, especially the struggle between birds and man. This is one of my favorites of the Specials shorts. It includes a hilarious song by Ruth Buzzi "When The Buzzards Return To Hinckley Ridge". It also includes some cutting-edge very non-Disney type humor in modern avant-garde animation styles. It won the Academy Award as Best Short Subject.
That covers the Specials, which have been said to be the contents on this DVD set. The two Goofy Freewayphobia shorts might also be included, although they are not technically Specials. The classic 1959 educational Donald Duck short on mathematics "Donald In Mathmagic Land" has also been strongly rumored to be included in this DVD set.
If all (or most) of the above is indeed included in this Disney Rarities DVD set, it will be a very special DVD collection and among the best DVD bargains of all time. I personally anticipate having this DVD set more than the other three Treasures sets being released at the same time.
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