THE LITTLE RASCALS: Volumes 1-2, includes 8 complete unedited episodes — Volume 1: Fly My Kite/ Honkey Donkey/ Beginner's Luck/ Reunion In Rhythm — Fly My Kite: The gang loves Grandma, but her slimy son-in-law loves her mo... more »ney. When Dirty Dan tries to take away her retirement fortune, it's the kids (and Pete the Pup) to the rescue! Soon, the chase is on and Dan is caught faster than you can say "Granny get your gun"!
Honkey Donkey: Spoiled rich kid Wally just wants to have fun- so he's invited the gang and their pet mule Algebra to his mansion. Now Wally- and especially his stuffy chauffeur Barclay- are about to get some real kicks!
Beginner's Luck: Spanky's reciting Shakespeare in a talent show but he can't seem to get his lines out- because the gang's pelting him with pea-shooters! Spank's mom tries to spare him, but gets "disdressed" along the way.
Reunion In Rhythm: The grammar school is putting on a musical with all your favorite songs and stars: Darla singing "Baby Face", Spanky in "Broadway Rhythm", Alfalfa's "I'm Through With Love", even Buckwheat-the-poet reciting "Little Jack Horner". Volume 2: Hook & Ladder/ The First Round-Up/ Teacher's Beau/ Hearts Are Thumps
Hook & Ladder: No sooner does the gang start their own fire department, than they've got their own fire! Fire chief Dickie Moore, Stymie and tag-along Spanky are hot to put out the blaze- but they have to find it first.
The First Round-Up: The gang decides to go camping an they've brought everything...except their courage! Darkness falls, the fire burns out, and the ghosts and goblins (in their heads) get the best of them- even brave little Scotty and Spanky.
Teacher's Beau: The gang's teacher, Miss Jones is leaving to get married...just when they were starting to like her. But Spanky and Alfalfa have an idea to get Miss Jones "unhitched"- so they cook up a plan for her going-away party.
Hearts Are Thumps: Spanky, Alfalfa and Buckwheat have a heartfelt reaction to Valentine's Day: they start the infamous "He-Man Woman-Haters' Club". But when Alfalfa falls for the dimpled Darla, Spanky bursts his freckled friend's bubble.« less
A classic for the whole family! Has some silent black and white episodes in it.
Movie Reviews
Our Gang and racism
Nick Denife | Cleveland, Ohio United States | 09/07/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"First of all, to argue that there are no racist elements in the Our Gang comedies is nonsense. The unfortunate fact is there are, but they *must* be taken in the context of the time the shorts were made. To quote OUR GANG: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE LITTLE RASCALS by Leonard Maltin & Richard W. Bann: "Black film historian Donald Bogle, in his excellent 1973 volume TOMS, COONS, MULATTOES, MAMMIES AND BUCKS, sums up the OUR GANG comedies this way:
'The Our Gang series revolved around a group of lower-middle-class American youngsters making their way through childhood in entertaining ups and downs, ins and outs, as black and white together tried figuring out life and play. Thoughout the series the black children spoke in a dialect of the familiar "dats" and "deres" as well as the "I is's", "you is's", and "we was's". On more than one occasion, Farina was seen banqueting on a colored man's favorite dishes - fried chicken and watermelon. In these respects, the adventures and lifestyles of the black children conformed to the accepted notions and attitudes of the day. But for the most part the approach to the relationships of the black children with the whites was almost as if there were no such thing as race at all. Indeed, the charming sense of Our Gang was that all the children were buffoons, forever in scraps and scrapes, forever plagued by setbacks and sidetracks as the set out to have fun, and everyone had his turn at being outwitted.'"I can't put it better than that. There was no maliciousness meant in the content of these shorts - it was comedy and nothing else. So lighten up and deal with the past."
Childhood memories flood back!
Ronald VanLuyn, Sr. | Mechanicsville, VA United States | 10/20/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I grew up with TV (the old, fuzzy black & white kind). One of my fondest memories was of watching The Little Rascals after school. When the restored versions showed up on VHS tape, I immediately bought several, but the others soon disappeared from the store shelves. I discovered and bought this double DVD set and LOVED the restored quality of picture and sound! My childhood memories came flooding back to me, and made me hunger for more. I can only hope that the rest of the series will be released also, and soon! Any lovers of The Little Rascals will appreciate the great quality of this set. Don't be misled by earlier cheap releases of The Little Rascals DVD's. This one is THE one to get!"
ONE MORE TIME FOLKS, stop looking for a captive audience
Kenpo Mark | god bless the USA | 03/25/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"After making some major amazon purchases $500+ this week, I noticed one thing most of my purchases had in common: there was always someone posting negative reviews based on looking at all of these videos from a "racial" perspective. There are people out there who would deter you from buying "heart warming" videos like these, just because they are searching for a crusade.
This is my 2nd attempt to place a review here. I spent so much time on my 1st one, that I couldnt even attempt to go into that detail again & don't have the time. So I will be brief.
In short, these are CHARMING films, that will make you laugh and remind you of what being a kid was all about in a simpler time. This series, and something as innocent as the "Our Gang/Little Rascals" series are American popular cultural TREASURES!
***It never ceases to amaze me how some people "go out of their way" to look for racism. These people keep agitating & try to keep things stirred up. How many posts have I read this week in this vein? The black man is still oppressed by the white man. Lets' remember why we are here - - to buy videos, not rehash tired old stereotypes.
Some reviewers are looking for a platform & an audience to preach to. They do it on these reviews, and ruin this forum in the process. Something tells me they were indoctrinated into the victim mentality, and are brainwashed into believing that they cannot succeed in life. Some self proclaimed black leaders make a living doing this. Please disregard all of those rediculous posts.
TAKE MY ADVICE and buy this series YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!
"
ONE IS NOT ENOUGH
Barry Moore | La Quinta, Ca. USA | 09/19/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"If your a baby boomer, like me, then you will remember watching Our Gang and The Little Rascals on TV. Watching this brought back SO many wonderful memories that it made me hungry for many more. The images are clear and the audio is clean. I hope the next volume is not far behind."
FINALLY! But when are the other volumes coming out?
Barry Moore | 08/19/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is so wonderful to finally have! I own all of the previous release of VHS tapes, and as with them, this DVD has excellent sound and picture quality. I am REALLY UPSET, however, because Hallmark/Artisan told me via email that there were no plans to release the rest of the series on DVD. That is tragic. PLEASE RECONSIDER, HALLMARK/ARTISAN! People want to own these wonderful classic shorts on DVD."