Search - Disney Animation Collection 1: Mickey & Beanstalk on DVD

ALMOST the "Best of Mickey" !

Hank Zangara | Washington DC | 06/06/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This new collection is almost the "Best of Mickey Mouse." The title film, "Mickey and the Beanstalk," (29:17) is certainly Mickey (and the Gang)'s greatest epic, skillfully combining great songs and slapstick humor into a thrilling adventure story. "The Brave Little Tailor" is an ideal second cartoon, since it is another middle ages fairy tale featuring a giant. "Thru the Mirror" is one of Mickey's more bizarre shorts. Presaging Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" by 15 years, it is included with the first two films because Mickey grows small and then large like a giant. But it also features some of the funniest and surreal gags this side of Fleischer, and a swinging big band tune! "Gulliver Mickey" a late black and white short is an inspired choice, but here the tables are turned -- it is Mickey who is the giant! I say "ALMOST the Best of" because of the final film "Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip." What is this film doing in this collection? It is a weak cartoon, and has no connection with the "theme" of this DVD. With the first 4 shorts, this disc would almost be "Best of Mickey" if they had "The Band Concert," "Clock Cleaners," or even "Sorcerer's Apprentice" for the umpteenth time, instead of "Mr. Mouse." Still, this is a great collection if you don't already own most of these shorts. For the record, "Mickey and the Beanstalk" is also available in the Disney DVD full-length feature "Fun and Fancy Free" (1947); "Brave Little Tailor" (1938) and "Thru the Mirror" (1935) are also available in the DVD tin box set "Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Living Color " (Vol. 1); and "Gulliver Mickey" (1934) is also available in the DVD tin box set "Mickey Mouse in Black and White" (Vol. 1)."

A Collection Lacking Sense

I Want to Be Bob Dylan | IL , USA | 06/19/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I love Mickey and the Beanstalk, and the Brave Little Tailor is by far my favorite Mickey cartoon of all time. However, I'd much rather see a restored, bluray release of the Mickey Cartoons tin, where things are actually remastered and restored. There are no extras, and only five cartoons. As a child, I would want Disney shorts like these (most of them were Silly Symphonies) for hours at a time. I think a bigger, more complete collection is essential for both collectors and children. Skip this and find the Mickey tin on ebay, and buy Fun and Fancy Free separately. ("The bears like to say it with a slap!")"