Walt Disney Treasures - Silly Symphonies

Walt Disney Treasures - Silly Symphonies
by Ben Sharpsteen, Burt Gillett, David Hand, Graham Heid, Jack Cutting

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DVD Reviews of Walt Disney Treasures - Silly Symphonies

DVD Review: Great SS set, but the ommissions were painfully evident
Summary: 4 Stars

It is not my intent to author a history of Disney animation. However, a few facts will lead to a greater appreciation of this set. Disney started in the 20's with a character named Alice, that later developed into Mickey Mouse. Cartoons were all in b/w, and animation not as refined as in the 30s and 40s. From 1924 through 1926, Disney produced only Alice shorts. (Now THERE would be some real TREASURES if Disney ever released these toons! They've never been released commercially!) In 1927 and 28, Disney changed his primary character to Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit. These have also never been released. As 1929 drew to a close, other studios began releasing musical shorts - remember that sound with image only began in 1927 - and Walt was under pressure to produce a new product for theaters. One with color and sound. The Silly Symphony was born. Essentially, that's what Silly Symphonies are. They are a cartoon story to a musical soundtrack with almost no dialogue or verbal exchange.

The first Silly Symphonies were composed of simple themes - in fact, there were a set produced that dealt only with the seasons: Springtime and Summer came out in 1930, Fall and Winter came out in 1931. Other titles were Arctic Antics, Frolicking Fish and Monkey Melodies. The animation was nice, but the themes were simple. In 1931 as audiences tired of these simple themes, Disney had to produce something new again, so began the fairy tale editions of Silly Symphonies. Some of these ended up being the studio's best work! By the mid 30's Disney was also doing purely artistic shorts which were somewhat abstract, culminating in a short, not on the DVD, (ouch!) called Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, about musical instruments coming to life in a totally Salvador Dali-like surreal backdrop.

The Disney Treasures DVD focuses on several academy award winners (such as The Old Mill) and the fairy tale/story based Silly Symphonies. Many of Disney's finest efforts are included, such as the Tortoise and the Hare, The Grasshopper and the Ants, Three Little Pigs, 1929's Skeleton Dance, Flowers and Trees, Woodland Cafe, Music Land, and Disney's most lavish Symphony, Wynken Blynken and Nod. The color is great, the sound equally impressive. Many of these shorts were previously released on Disney's VHS line called "Limited Editions Gold" series 1 and 2 in the late 80's. (each series was 6 tapes). In fact, that line contains many SS shorts not on the DVD. However, the DVD does have some 35 different SS shorts on it. Many have introductions by the host of the series, Leonard Maltin. (Note! Many also have intros by Walt Disney - but they are hidden as Easter Eggs! You'll have to search for those Easter Eggs to get Walt's commentary!)

All in all, this is a wonderful package for SS fans, with a nice selection of the Silly Symphony shorts (35 shorts are on the DVD, 36 are not) with subjects to please adults and children alike, gorgeous color and sound, and very attractive packaging. Plus you get a little 6x8 "card" of collectible poster art in the box. If you love 30's animation and especially Disney's, you can't go wrong with this set of DVDs.

(Now, I HAVE to mention one thing. Although the selections on the DVDs are great, I wish they would have made this a 4 disk set, and put ALL 71 SS shorts on DVD at one time. There are some shorts that truly deserved to be on this DVD set, such as The Moth and the Flame, the four "Seasons" shorts, Three Blind Mouseketeers (a precursor to the Mickey Mouse Club!), Goddess of Spring, and certainly Toot, Whistle at el. I guess these are being held for Volume II at some point, but it would have been nice to not have quite as much commentary from Leonard, and more of the shorts instead. No offense Leonard.)

All in all, I give this effort 4 out of 5 stars. Get this DVD, you won't regret it and you'll enjoy it for years!

Description of Walt Disney Treasures - Silly Symphonies