For the past several years, the “Walt Disney Treasures” line has uncovered and collected some important and some overlooked gems in the hallowed Disney vaults. Aimed at collectors and Disney-philes, the Treasures line offers a blend of no-brainers such as multiple volumes of classic Mickey Mouse cartoons to behind-the-scenes compilations that explore the Disney history and mythology. All come in fancy tins and all are introduced by Leonard Maltin.
The seventh wave perfectly exemplifies this approach. Two are collections of classic cartoons, while the third explores what makes Disneyland tick. The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit collects the recently reacquired character that predates Mickey Mouse. The Chronological Donald: Volume Three is another collection of Donald Duck short cartoons. Finally, Disneyland: Secrets, Stories & Magic looks at the history of the classic theme park.
The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
It turns out there was a cartoon character from Walt Disney before Mickey Mouse. His name was Oswald and he bears a striking resemblance to a certain mouse, except with a supersized set of ears. Eight decades ago Disney lost the rights to the character and it has taken this long for the company to reacquire them.
This collection brings together 13 of the original short cartoons from 1927 and 1928. They’ve all been cleaned up as best as possible but the quality does vary as the source materials come from a variety of different places. The animation is excellent considering the age and era in which they were made. However, as a character Oswald is quite forgettable. Throughout these cartoons there’s a critical characteristic missing from Oswald: character. He seems to just do things. As a result there’s no emotional attachment to him or the cartoons. Each of the cartoons has been treated to a new musical score. There’s also several commentary tracks from film historians.
Also included is the 90-minute documentary The Hand Behind the Mouse: The Ub Iwerks Story. It’s a fascinating look behind the creation of Mickey Mouse, including the backdrop for the character, the animators ambitions, successes and failures as well as his partnership with Walt Disney. Also in this set are additional cartoons from Iwerks, including Steamboat Willie. These six shorts provide a good timeline for animation at the time and the phenomenal strides it made in a short period of time. “Oswald Comes Home” is a 14-minute look at Oswald, how Walt Disney lost the rights to the character and how Disney-owned ABC traded a sports commentator to NBC in return for the rights to the cartoons. Also included in the DVD set is a cartoon fragment, a certificate of authenticity and an Oswald button.
This DVD is limited to 120,000 copies.
The Chronological Donald: Volume Three
I don’t know if there’s been a more lovable jerk in film or television than Donald Duck. Sure he’s brash, to the point, has a temper and spits without abandon, but he’s also very loyal. Maybe it’s just because of his nifty little sailor suit that makes me feel sorry for him. Whatever the real reason is, Donald Duck is unforgettable and a worthy friendly adversary to the too-cute Mickey Mouse.
The third collection of Donald Duck cartoons in the Disney Treasures line spans the post WWII years of 1947 through 1950. The 30 cartoons in this collection show how vivid and bright the animation process had become. It also shows how far Donald came as a character from his earliest cartoons where he’d simply be a spas and freak out at Mickey and company all the time.
Also included on the two-disc set is the featurette “The Many Faces of Donald Duck,” which gives an abbreviated history of the duck’s rise to fame and what he represented. “Sculpting Donald” looks at the process of transforming two-dimensional drawings (in this case Donald Duck) into a three-dimensional reference figure. Additional features include openings to the classic “Mickey Mouse Club” show and still frame galleries.
Just 50,000 copies of this collection were produced.
Disneyland: Secrets, Stories & Magic
Rumor has it that Disneyland really is the most magical place on Earth. Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not but when I was five I thought of it as the scariest place on Earth. The dang witch had to pop out from behind the curtain on the Snow White ride. Scarred me for life, she did. Now I’m something of a wuss with my family getting a good laugh whenever someone decides to take revenge on me at a family meal and brings it up for the 1,843rd time.
Yet despite my grudge I find myself longing to go back. There’s just something about the theme park that brings out an idealized sense of childhood and immortality in most of us.
Like a tabloid cover story, Disneyland: Secrets, Stories & Magic seems to promise the inside dirt on the Magic Kingdom. To that end, you’ll be disappointed. I know I was. However informative, there’s a whole lot of Disney PR talk in the film’s main documentaries that tainted their overall informativeness for me. The DVD’s title is also the name of the primary piece of the release. It’s a new production that brings together many of the theme park’s masterminds to give a candy-coated recount of what the park was like to build and what it means to the Disney lifestyle. Similar in its “ra-ra” tone, albeit way more nostalgic, is the 1956 documentary Disneyland USA, which focuses mainly on the vision and building of the early parts of the park. This documentary also includes an informative commentary track with Leonard Maltin and “Imagineer” Tony Baxter.
“Operation Disneyland” gives an original insider’s view into how television stations were going to cover the theme park’s grand opening. Also included in this fascinating set is a trio of original episodes from “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color” that illustrate the way the park used to be as well as build up its magical appeal. “Building Walt’s Dream: Disneyland Under Construction” looks at how the park was made and is broken down into Disneyland’s many lands. There’s also an extensive photo gallery and a reproduction of original Disneyland coupons (they’re noted as reprints on the back so think twice before trying to use them today).
This DVD is limited to 50,000 copies.
