Walt Disney Animation Collection Vol. 7: Classic Short Films – Mickey’s Christmas Carol (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

September 26, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“For those who grew up with the classic Disney animated short films, the latest volume is Christmas-themed with classics such as ‘Mickey’s Christmas Carol’ and ‘Santa’s Workshop’ but also older shorts such as Pluto’s Christmas Tree’ and ‘Santa’s Workshop’. A fun, enjoyable volume to share with the family during the holidays!”

DVD TITLE: Walt Disney Animation Collection Vol. 7: Classic Short Films – Mickey’s Christmas Carol

DURATION: 64 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital Surround Sound, Aspect Ratio (1:33:1), English, French and Spanish Subtitles, Disney’s FastPlay

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: September 29, 2009

Produced by Walt Disney

Mickey’s Christmas Carol – Directed by Burny Mattinson

Mickey’s Christmas Carol is written by Burny Mattinson and Tony Marino

The Small One is based on a book by Charles Tazewell

The Small One – Directed by Don Bluth

The Small One – Written by Vance Gerry

Pluto’s Christmas Tree – Directed by Jack Hannah

Pluto’s Christmas Tree – Written by Bill Berg and Milt Schaffer

Santa’s Workshop directed by Wilfred Jackson

Featuring the Voices of:

Mickey’s Christmas Carol

Alan Young as Ebenezer Scrooge (Scrooge McDuck)

Wayne Allwine as Bob Cratchit (Mickey Mouse)

Hal Smith as Jacob Marley’s Ghost (Goofy)

Will Ryan as The Ghost of Christmas (Willie the Giant and Pete)

Eddie Carroll as The Ghost of Christmas Past (Jiminy Cricket)

Patricia Parris as Belle (Daisy Duck)

Dick Billingsley as Tiny Tim

Clarence Nash as Newphw Fred (Donald Duck)

The Lost One

Sean Marshall as the Boy

William Woodson as Tanner

Olan Soule as the Father

Hal Smith as the Auctioneer

Gordon Jump as Joseph

Vol. 7: Mickey’s Christmas Carol

Celebrate the holidays with Mickey’s Christmas Carol, a beloved classic short film that is now part of the Disney Animation Collection!

Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and many more of your favorite characters join the cast in this delightfully charming adaptation of a classic holiday tale. Ebenezer Scrooge (Scrooge McDuck) is far too greedy to understand the Christmas is the time for kindness and generosity. So, with the guidance of some wise ghosts (with Goofy and Jiminy Cricket), and the examples set by his clerk Bob Cratchit (Micky) and nephew Fred (Donald), Scrooge learns how to embrace the true spirit of the season.

Each volume in the Disney Animation Collection series is packed with classic Disney short films that will bring laughter and merriment in your family’s home. Add them all to your DVD library today!

As a child, I can easily remember my prized possession was a Walt Disney book that my father purchased for me and it featured the chronology of the early classic Walt Disney animated shorts. Some of these shorts were shown on the Disney Channel when I was younger but suffice to say, with all the new animation, a lot of these classics have probably been forgotten or have been released on VHS video.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment are now releasing a few of these shorts on DVD for the first time (some have appeared on past Disney DVD releases). Now the seventh volume of the Walt Disney Animation Collection will be released and the theme for this volume is Christmas.

In past volumes, we saw many of the Silly Symphony shorts from the 1929-1939 featured in each volume but this time around, we have a volume featuring animation shorts released in the 80′s. Also, the following shorts are much longer with most shorts in the past being around under 10 minutes, in this volume, the first two “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” and “The Small One” are over 20 minutes long.

The seventh volume “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” includes four shorts. Included are:

Mickey’s Christmas Carol - (25:47) This popular Disney animated cartoon is from 1983 and has been featured on several DVD’s in the past. In an animated retelling of the Charles Dickens masterpiece, Scrooge McDuck plays Ebenezer Scrooge who is tight with money and puts money above everything. Even on Christmas Eve, his poor employee Bob Cratchit (Mickey Mouse) is docked pay for Christmas vacation. But its when the Ghosts of Christmas past pay a visit to Ebenezer and show him that he should have compassion for people.
The Small One – (25:33) A popular Disney animated cartoon from 1978. A story about a boy who lives outside of Nazareth and because “The Small One”, a donkey is getting too old, the boy’s father tells him they must sell him. The boy who absolutely loves the Small One is crushed but tells his father that he will be responsible in selling Small One and finding him a new home. So, the boy and his donkey go to Nazareth.
Pluto’s Christmas Tree - (6:53) A 1952 Technicolor animated short. Mickey cuts down a Christmas tree which is inhabited by two chipmunks: Chip and Dale and with Mickey and Pluto decorating the tree, Pluto is disturbed in finding out that the tree has two inhabitants living there.
Santa’s Workshop - (6:18) a Silly Symphony animation from 1932 featuring Santa and his elves preparing for Christmas day.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Walt Disney Animation Collection” is featured with an aspect ratio of 1:33:1. These classics are available on DVD for the first time but its important to mention that these animated shorts have not been digitally remastered or cleaned up.

As a matter of fact, you will see a lot of the dust and scratches of the film and some of the animation look fine for being nearly 70 years old but others look grainy and a bit aged. Granted, these are not classic full featured films but I hope one of these days, many of these classics do get cleaned up or even digitally remastered.

As for the audio, audio is featured in Dolby Digital Surround Sound. I found that on my home theater system, the best selection on my receiver to view these animated shorts was to switch it to mono or (if you have this capability) select stereo for all channels.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are no special features included on this DVD. But this volume does come with a litho print from “Mickey’s Christmas Carol”.

As mentioned earlier in my review, my prized possession as a child was a Walt Disney booklet that covered the Walt Disney animated shorts in chronological order and had the opportunity to watch these classics. Having these classic animated shorts from the past is great but also to have animation that I watched as a child during the Holidays, included on this DVD is awesome. But most importantly, now that I can share these classics with my son. These four animated shorts (and all previous volumes) are great for the families and in this volume’s case, definitely worth sharing with the family during the holidays.

Of the released “Walt Disney Animation Collection” volumes, this volume is different in the fact that the past volumes featured shorts that had no dialogue (a few did but many didn’t). Mainly music and sound effects but with this volume, “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” and “The Small One” are two fantastic animated Disney cartoons that have a touching storyline, beautiful animation and although more recent than the Silly Symphony shorts featured on previous volumes, they are definitely Disney classics!

For those who owned the 2005 DVD release of “Walt Disney’s Classic Cartoon Favorites, Vol. 09 – Classic Holiday Stories (1952-1983)”, may not need this volume as all animation from this DVD are included on the 2005 DVD release with the exception of “Santa’s Workshop”. Unless you are diehard fan, then to have that DVD with the Silly Symphony short may be worth it to you.

I know that there are some who wish these classics were digitally restored or remastered but I doubt that Disney will do that for a lot of their animated shorts for now (although they are really doing a fantastic job on the Disney feature films such as “Sleeping Beauty”, “Pinocchio” and “Snow White” for the Blu-ray release).

But overall, these collections are offered for a low price and if you are a Disney fan, it’s a no-brainer that this volume is definitely worth it. “Walt Disney Animation Collection Vol. 7: Classic Short Films – Mickey’s Chritmas Carol” is definitely recommended!

Filed Under: Children's DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

Bedknobs and Broomsticks: Enchanted Musical Edition (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

August 29, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“The Disney classic ‘Bedknobs and Broomsticks’ receives a new re-release via an ‘Enchanted Musical Edition’ that contains more special features and is fully restored and remastered. If you grew up with this classic, this is definitely a DVD worth sharing with your family.”

TITLE: Bedknobs and Broomsticks: Enchanted Musical Edition

DURATION: 140 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Widescreen (1:66:1 – Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions), French Language Track, French and Spanish Subtitles

RATED: G (for General Audiences)

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: September 8, 2009

Based on the book “Bed-Knob and Broomstick” by Mary Norton

Directed by Robert Stevenson

Screenplay by Bill Walssh, Don DaGradi

Animation Sequence Written by Ralph Wright and Ted Berman

Produced by Bill Walsh

Cinematography by Frank V. Phillips

Songs by the Sherman Brothers

Edited by Cotton Warburton

Art Direction by Peter Ellenshaw, John B. Mansbridge

Set Decoration by Hal Gausman and Emile Kuri

Costume Design by Bill Thomas

Starring:

Angela Lansbury as Miss Price

David Tomlinson as Emelius Browne

Roddy McDowall as Mr. Jelk

Sam Jaffe as Bookman

John Ericson as Col. Heller

Bruce Forsyth as Swineburn

Cindy O’Callaghan as Carrie

Roy Snart as Paul

Ian Weighill as Charlie

Tessie ‘Shea as Mrs. Hobday

Arthur Gould-Porter as Capt. Greer

Experience the extraordinary animation, enchanting music and Academy Award(R)-winning special effects (1971: Best Effects, Special Visual Effects) of Disney’s beloved classic BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS — now fully restored and remastered in the Enchanted Musical Edition with dazzling new bonus features. Viewers will need to hold on tight for a magical, musical, fun-filled journey! When young Charlie, Carrie and Paul move to a small village during World War II, they discover their host, Miss Price (Angela Lansbury), is an apprentice witch! Although her early attempts at magic create hilarious results, she successfully casts a traveling spell on an ordinary bedknob, and they fly to the fantastic, animated Isle of Naboombu to find a powerful spell that will save England! All-new fun is brewing in this Enchanted Musical Edition, including “The Wizards of Special Effects” feature. Also starring David Tomlinson (MARY POPPINS) and Roddy McDowall, BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS is a heartwarming adventure viewers will love to revisit!

In 1971, the Disney musical “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” was a film that captivated audiences with its special effects, music and storyline. The film was nominated for five Academy Awards and won an award for “Best Effects, Special Visual Effects”.

Directed by Robert Stevens (“Mary Poppins”, “The Love Bug” and “Herbie Rides Again”), Stevens teamed up with award winning composers, the Sherman Brothers – Richard and Robert (who took home two Academy Awards for “Mary Poppins”), screenwriter Bill Walsh (“Mary Poppins”, “Herbie Rides Again”) and Don DaGradi (“Mary Poppins” and “The Love Bug”).

The film would feature major talents such as Angela Lansbury (“Murder, She Wrote”, “The Manchurian Candidate”, “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, “Death on the Nile” and “Gaslight”), David Tomlinson (“The Love Bug”, “Mary Poppins”), Roddy Mcdowall (“Fright Night”, “Class of 1984″, “Cleopatra”), Cindy O’Callaghan (“EastEnders”, “Triangle”, “The Bill”), Ian Weighill and Roy Snart.

The film takes place during World War II in London (1940) and three Cockney kids: Carrie (Cindy O’Callaghan), Paul (Roy Snart) and Charlie (Ian Weighill) are evacuated from the London Blitz bombings and a woman named Eglantine Price (Angela Lansbury0) who wanted to help out during the war effort is told that she is needed to host three children (who lost their family) in her home. Not thrilled by this, she reluctantly agrees as it is her duty during the war to do so.

But Miss Price is not exactly what the kids were hoping for. Quite strict by making the kids wash up and the fact that she is a vegetarian, the kids are not so thrilled that there is no meat in their meal. So, the kids decide it is probably best to run away.

But what the kids don’t know is that Miss Price is an amateur witch. While the kids are in bed, Miss Price receives a broomstick in the mail as a gift honoring her graduation to amateur witch and tries to ride the broomstick outdoors.

While trying to make their escape, the kids spot Miss Price flying around and crashing but instead of running away, Charlie decides to blackmail Miss Price that they know her secret and in order to keep her secret. Miss Price agrees but also demonstrates to Charlie to not mess with a witch and turns him into a bunny rabbit.

Meanwhile, in order to keep her being a witch as a secret, she makes one of the bedknobs (that Paul has taken and pocketed) and casts a spell. When the bed knob is attached to the bed, he can make the bed travel anywhere he tells it to.

But the first thing she needs to do is have the kids fly with her to London in order to find her teacher Dr. Emelius Browne, in order to get a spell called “substituary locomotion”. But while meeting with Emelius, it is revealed that her teacher was nothing but a conman who knows nothing about witchcraft and took actual spells and rewrote the wording. But what surprises Emelius is that Miss Price was able to use her spells. With Emelius having the original spell book, this will be the beginning of an adventure that the five will never forget.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Bedknobs and Broomsticks: Enchanted Musical Edition” is now fully restored and remastered, the film is presented in Widescreen (1:66:1) and definitely improves upon the 2001 30th Anniversary release. The film looks much clearer and more vibrant but with that being said, for those who were wondering if dust and scratches are now gone from this 2009 version, unfortunately, the dust and scratches are quite evident. Grain is evident but it’s important to note that I am a reviewer that supports grain over DNR (digital noise reduction).

I would imagine that the film print for “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” is in satisfactory shape. I would hope that any major restoration would probably come during the time the film receives its High Definition Blu-ray transfer as Disney has done with a lot of their classic animated releases (note: None of the classic live-action Disney films have been released on Blu-ray at this time) but it would be interesting to see if this is the best cleanup and remastering that can be done from the original print.

As for audio, audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound (with also a French language track). The film is primarily a dialogue and music-based film and utilizes the front and center channel of your home theater system. I chose to listen to the film with my receiver setting on stereo on each channel. But dialogue and music is quite clear and if there were any use of surround, I believe that most of it comes during the action sequences close to the end of the film. But overall, the film is dialogue and music driven and both come out nice and clear through the front channels.

Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Bedknobs and Broomsticks: Enchanted Musical Edition” comes with the following special features:

THE WIZARDS OF SPECIAL EFFECTS - (8:07) Hosted By Jennifer Stone From Disney’s “Wizards of Waverly Place”, Jennifer Stone (who plays Harper on the TV show) becomes a “Special Effects Wizard Apprentice” and learns about the academy award winning 1971 special effects in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, then compares them to the special effects magic of her current show Disney’s “Wizard’s Of Waverly Place”.
MUSIC MAGIC: The Sherman Brothers – (11:27) Take a look behind the scenes from a musical point of view of Bedknobs and Broomsticks with The Sherman Brothers, Angela Lansbury and Scott MacQueen. This featurettes explores the origins of the songs, including what was deleted and what made it into the final version of the film.
DELETED SONG – “A Step in the Right Direction” - (3:48) The original featurette with the deleted song that appeared on the 1996 LD release.
“PORTOBELLO ROAD” Recording Session – (1:10) A rare clip of David Tomlinson’s recording of the song “Portobello Road”.
Theatrical Trailers – Four “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” theatrical trailers
Dylan & Cole Sprouse – Blu-ray is Suite! - (4:45) A promotional for Disney Blu-ray

“Bedknobs and Broomsticks” is a classic Disney film that I grew up with. Although, when it comes to Disney classic musicals, “Mary Poppins” is much more memorable in terms of music, “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” captured my attention because of the special effects, the storyline and how it was able to incorporate so much. May it have a little romance, a magical storyline but also manages to incorporate a bit of war film with some action during the film’s final half. And for me, that final half hour and watching that as a child was quite remarkable.

And what is more enjoyable for me this time around is that I had the opportunity to watch this film with my six-year-old. I can remember being eight years old when the film was re-released in theaters but to watch this film with my son was actually a great experience and I would assume that other parents who grew up with this film are doing the same. And of course, for that new generation of Disney fans, the tie-in with this film and Disney’s current popular supernatural TV series “Wizards of Waverly Place” on the DVD is another incentive for parents to purchase this latest release.

“Bedknobs and Broomsticks: Enchanted Musical Edition” contains only one version of this movie and it is the extended version (not the shorter cut featured in the theater), so for those who were hoping for both, maybe in the future for the Blu-ray release.

For those who own the 30th Anniversary edition on DVD (2001) and are wondering if they should double dip on this latest release and if it is worth it? The additional bonus footage may be worth it to some viewers but duration-wise, it’s not a lot. Also, I would imagine that if a 40th Anniversary edition was released on Blu-ray, we may see it in 2011.

But the film is indeed a classic and for those who grew up with this film and have never purchased it on DVD before may definitely want to give “Bedknobs and Broomsticks: Enchanted Musical Edition” a chance!

Filed Under: Children's DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

PRINCESS PROTECTION PROGRAM: ROYAL B.F.F. EXTENDED EDITION (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

June 19, 2009 by Dennis Amith · 1 Comment

“Real life BFF’s and Disney Channel starlets Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place) and Demi Lovato (Camp Rock) unite in this enjoyable family film! Heartwarming, humorous and fun!”

DVD TITLE: PRINCESS PROTECTION PROGRAM: ROYAL B.F.F. EXTENDED EDITION

DURATION: 89 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Widescreen (1:78:1), enhanced for 16×9 televisions, French and Spanish subtitles

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: G

RELEASE DATE: June 30, 2009

Directed by Allison Liddi

Based on a story by Annie DeYoung and David Morgasen

Screenplay by Annie DeYoung

Executive Producer: Douglas Sloan

Produced by Danielle Weinstock

Music by John Van Tongeren

Director of Photography: David A. Makin

Editing by Mark Conte

Casting by Barbie Block and Sally Stiner

Production Design by Bill Eigenbrodt

Art Direction by Alex Fuller

Set Decoration by Monica Monserrate

Costume Design by Amy Stofsky

Starring:

Selena Gomez as Carter Mason/Princess Mason

Demi Lovato as Rosalinda/Rosie

Molly Hagan as The Director

Tom Verica as Mason

Jamie Chung as Chelsea

Nicholas Braun as Ed

Kevin G. Schmidt as Bull

Dale Dickey as Helen

Samantha Droke as Brooke

Robert Adamson as Donnie

Johnny Ray as General Magnus Kane

Talia Rothenberg as Margaret

Sully Diaz as Sophia

Get ready for a hilarious and heartwarming royal reality check in Princess Protection Program, the new smash-hit Disney Channel Original Movie starring Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place) and Demi Lovato (Sonny With a Chance!) Plus, this Royal B.F.F. Extended Edition DVD features an insider’s look at the realities and responsibilities of being a real-life princess, and lets you listen in as real-life best friends Selena and Demi dish about their lives on and off the set.

The worlds of royalty and roughing-it collide when the lovely Rosalinda (Lovato) enters the Princess Protection Program and moves in with her new “cousin” Carter (Gomez), a total tomboy. In an unexpected role reversal, “Rosie” learns how to act like an everyday girl and Carter finds her own inner princess. Once they discover what they have in common, they prove that best friends really are forever!

On June 30th, the televised movie “PRINCESS PROTECTION PROGRAM” (which airs on the Disney Channel on June 26th) brings together real-life BFF’s Selena Gomez (“Wizards of Waverly Place”) and Demi Lovato (“Camp Rock”) together in a film directed by Allison Liddi (has directed for TV shows such as “Bones”, “Friday Night Lights”, “Gossip Girl”, “Chuck” and “Grey’s Anatomy”) and a screenplay by Annie DeYoung (writer for “Prince William”, “The Facts of Life Reunion” and “The Ron Clark Story”).

Joining both Gomez and Lovato are Tom Verica (“Flags of Our Fathers”, “The Nine” and “American Dreams”), actress Jamie Chung (“Samurai Girl”, “Greek” and “Days of Our Lives”) and Molly Hagan (“Unfabulous”).

The film revolves around two girls from two different countries and very different upbringing.

Carter Mason (Selena Gomez) works at a bait shop in Louisiana with her father (Tom Verica) who is also employed as an agent of the Princess Protection Program. For Carter, she is often treated badly because she doesn’t sport the expensive clothes and the lifestyle of Chelsea (Jamie Chung) and her friends. She likes Donnie (Robert Adamson) but he never recognizes her.

The other girl is Rosalinda (Demi Lovato) who is about to become the queen of Costa Luna. But since the death of her father, there has been an uprising and General Magnus Kane has staged a coup and takes over Costa Luna. Sophia’s mother knows that General Kane can’t take power as long as her daughter is alive and fortunately, she has the help of the Princess Protection Program to watch her daughter.

The program is funded by the royalty to protect the princess throughout the world and Carter Mason’s father who works for the program is ordered to take Princess Rosalinda and bring her to an undisclosed location. As long as Rosalinda is alive and well, General Kane will be unable to hurt her mother or take control of Costa Luna.

But life is tough for both teenage girls. Carter dislikes girls who act like a “princess” and think they deserve attention and Rosalinda, is having difficulties fitting in because she is a princess. And to make things more challenging, Carter’s father wants her to attend the local high school and Carter to help her achieve this normal life and not draw any suspicion that she is a real life princess.

But when all the guys start diverting their attention to Rosalinda and the high school students start thinking Rosalinda is very cool, Carter becomes jealous. But Rosalinda does what she can to make her relationship better with Carter but plans keep backfiring. Will these two girls with different lifestyles ever get along? And will Rosalinda ever be able to return to Costa Luna and free her mother and the people of the country?

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“PRINCESS PROTECTION PROGRAM” is featured in Widescreen (1:78:1) and is enhanced for 16×9 televisions. As for audio, audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound (and also includes French and Spanish language tracks). The film is primarily a dialog and music-driven film. Dialog can be heard clearly.

Subtitles are featured in French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“PRINCESS PROTECTION PROGRAM” features the following special features:

Royal & Loyal BFF’s - (7:36) A featurette about how Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato are real life BFF’s and how they brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the set. Interviews with the talents in the film about their experience working on the film and more!
A Royal Reality - (5:01) A real life princess, India Oxenberg (Daughter of Catherine Oxenberg and step daughter of Casper Van Dien. Her grandmother is Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia.) and also an actress in California, talks about her experience as a princess and the gowns and responsibilities they have and how today’s princess don’t exactly live in fairytale castles in the modern world. Featuring interviews with cast and crew about the roles of a princess.
“One and the Same” Music Video – (3:05) A catchy rock music video featuring both Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato.

Both Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato have a good chemistry with each other and the fact the two are best friends (and have known each other since they were children) and are comfortable being around with each other, their enthusiasm can be seen onscreen. In fact, all the talent seemed to have gelled quite well (according to the talents, because there was only a handful of them, they were all able to hang out and have fun offscreen and onscreen) onscreen and everything seems to work.

Personally, these two young actresses do a great job. For one, I’m proud to see two actresses with Latino heritage in starring roles in a film and most of all, to finally seeing these two stars working together. Personally, I find it absolutely awesome that Disney has been giving people of different ethnicities the opportunity to have major lead roles in their films and “PRINCESS PROTECTION PROGRAM” is no different.

Overall, “PRINCESS PROTECTION PROGRAM” is enjoyable, very safe for children and an enjoyable film for the whole family. If you are a fan of both Gomez or Lovato or both, definitely check this film out!

Filed Under: Children's DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

Walt Disney Animation Collection Vol. 1-3 (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

May 17, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“For those who grew up with the classic Disney animated short films, the release of ‘Walt Disney Animation Collection’ on DVD is a long time coming. Also, found in these v0lumes are classic Mickey Mouse animated shorts such as the 1934 “Gulliver Mickey”, the 1938 short “Brave Little Tailor”, the 1947 “Mickey and the Beanstalk” but also the 1990 animated short ‘The Prince and the Pauper’. Overall, an enjoyable collection of classic animated shorts from yesteryear worth checking out!”

DVD TITLE: Walt Disney Animation Collection Vol. 1 (Mickey and the Beanstalk), Vol. 2 (Three Little Pigs) and Vol. 3 (The Prince and the Pauper)

DURATION: Vol. 1: 69 Minutes, Vol. 5: 62 Minutes, Vol. 3: 54 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital Surround Sound, Aspect Ratio (1:33:1), English, French and Spanish Subtitles, Disney’s FastPlay

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: May 19, 2009

Produced by Walt Disney

Vol. 1: Mickey and the Beanstalk

Embark on magical adventures in this Disney Animation Collection DVD, part of an exciting series of classic Disney short films! Favorite Disney characters star in Mickey And The Beanstalk, the imaginative telling of a beloved storybook tale. Based on the timeless adventures of “Jack and the Beanstalk,” Mickey, Donald and Goofy climb a fantastic beanstalk up into the sky to a place where everything is huge – the food, the castle and the fearsome giant named Willy who guards a beautiful golden harp. Will Mickey and his friends outwit the giant and make safely back home?

Vol. 2 – Three Little Pigs

Experience a unique telling of one of your favorite storybook tales in this Disney Animation Collection DVD, part of an adventure-filled series of classic Disney short films! Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf? “Not I!” answer the first two brothers as they build their new homes – one made of straw and the other of sticks. But when the wolf huffs and puffs and blows down their houses, the brothers seek protection in the third pig’s house, very wisely made of bricks. Will the three little pigs finally be safe once and for all?

Vol. 3 – The Prince and the Pauper

The legendary tale of The Prince And The Pauper gets a magical Disney makeover in this adventure-filled Disney Animation Collection DVD, part of a series of beloved classic short films! In a faraway kingdom, two boys who look exactly alike meet by chance and decide to switch places: a pauper named Mickey, who dreams about a life of luxury, and the Crown Prince, who wishes he could be as free as his subjects. Each boy faces extraordinary challenges in his new role, and together they must figure out how to save the kingdom from an evil Captain who wants the throne for himself!

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment are now releasing a few of these shorts on DVD for the first time (some have appeared on past Disney DVD releases). The first three volumes were released on DVD on April 7, 2009.

A lot of these short films were created between the 1920-1940′s and typically featured characters that were not reoccurring. Some were released under the “Silly Symphony” moniker of animated shorts released between 1929-1939 which rarely featured any character dialogue but focused more on the animation accompanied by music and a singing vocal track. Disney has continued to produce shorts today and while the majority of the short animated films are from the 1930′s through the 1950′s, volume 3 features an animated short (“The Prince & the Pauper) from 1990.

Of the six volumes that have been released from the “Walt Disney Animation Collection”, for people looking specifically for Mickey Mouse classic animated shorts, you will be able to find them through volume 1 and 3.

Here are the episode listings and brief summaries for volumes 1-3:

Walt Disney Animation Collection Vol. 1 – Mickey and the Beanstalk

The first volume of the Walt Disney Animation Collection featuring “Mickey and the Beanstalk” includes a total of five animated shorts. All five which feature Mickey and popular Disney characters. Included are:

Mickey and the Beanstalk - (29:27) An animated short from 1947 featuring cameos from popular Disney films, the story focuses on Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck. The three are poor and are very hungry. Mickey sells their cow but instead of getting money to buy more food, he buys three beans. The beans then grow to a tremendous height that their home is taken to another land where food is plenty and are larger than them. But what they realize is that they are in the land that a giant inhabits.
The Brave Little Tailor – (9:00) A Technicolor animated short from 1938 about a giant who has threatened towns but Mickey brags about killing seven flies with one swat, the townspeople accidentally believes that Mickey killed seven giants and now, Mickey is expected to protect the town from the giant.
Thru the Mirror - (8:57) A Technicolor animation from 1936 featuring Mickey Mouse who has been reading a story of “Alice in Wonderland”, when he falls asleep, he finds himself in Wonderland.
Gulliver Mickey - (7:55) A black and white animated short from 1934 featuring Mickey and a group of orphans. He reads them a story of “Gulliver” and we see Mickey in the story as Gulliver.
Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip – (17:07) a 1940 Technicolor animated short featuring Mickey and Pluto. Mickey wants to go on vacation from Burbank to Pomona by train but Pete won’t let him come aboard with his dog. So, Mickey tries to find a way to hide Pluto in the train from Pete.

Walt Disney Animation Collection Vol. 2.: Three Little Pigs

The second volume of the Walt Disney Animation Collection featuring “Three Little Pigs” contains a total of seven animated shorts. This volume features a good number of episodes of animals that are under the threat of a wolf. Included are:

Three Little Pigs - (8:51) A 1933 Silly Symphony animated short about the classic story of the “Three Little Pigs” who live in their own homes but a big bad wolf who wants to eat the pigs starts blowing the homes of two of the pigs down. Will the third pig’s home be strong enough to prevent the wolf from getting to them?
The Big Bad Wolf – (9:30) A 1934 Silly Symphony animated short features the return of the three little pigs in a new story that involves Red Riding Hood who comes to visit her grandmother (featuring the wolf in disguise). Will the pigs be able to protect Red Riding Hood from the big bad wolf?
Three Little Wolves - (9:30) A 1936 Silly Symphony short featuring the three little pigs and the big bad wolf, who is training his three children how to go after the pigs. Directed by David Hand.
Lambert the Sheepish Lion – (8:26) A 1952 animated short about a stork who mistakenly delivers Lambert, a lion to a flock of sheep. The mother accepts Lambert as one of her own and raises it like a sheep but as Lambert grows up, he feels he may be different from the others. Directed by Jack Hannah and written by Bill Peet and Ralph Wright.
Chicken Little - (8:56) A Technicolor animated short from 1943, Foxy Loxy wants to eat chicken for dinner and convinces Chicken Little that the sky is falling. When he spreads the news to the chickens, the information proves to be false. But when Chicken Little sees the cloud actually falling, the chickens are reluctant to believe him. Foxy Loxy goes after the chickens.
Three Blind Mouseketeers – (8:53) A 1936 Silly Symphony short about three blind mice who are musketeers. Their nemesis a cat sets many traps in order to catch the mice. Directed by David Hand.
Elmer Elephant – (8:43) A Silly Symphony 1936 animated short about Elmer the Elephant who attends the birthday part of his friend Tilly Tiger. But all the animals at the party make fun of Elmer’s trunk. When a fire breaks out in Tilly’s treehouse, Elmer may become the hero who can save the day. Directed by Wilfred Jackson and written by Earl Hurd. Based on a story by Bianca Majolie.

Walt Disney Animation Collection Vol. 3: The Prince & the Pauper

The “Walt Disney Animation Collection” third volume “The Prince and the Pauper” features a total of six animated shorts. Included are:

The Prince and the Pauper - (25:32) This Disney animated short from 1990 about a pauper and a crown prince who look exactly alike. The two decide to switch identities and experience each other’s life. The pauper as a prince learning about his reponsibilities and the prince as a pauper learning how his Royal Captain of the Guard has been taking advantage of his power. Directed by George Scribner and screenplay by Gerrit and Sam Graham.
The Pied Piper - (7:37) A Silly Symphony animated short from 1933. The people of Hamelin has their town being overrun by rats. They will offer gold to anyone who can get rid of the rats and a piper takes on the job. Directed by Wilfred Jackson and based on a poem by Robert Browning.
Old King Cole - (7:33) A 1933 Silly Symphony animated short featuring a party thrown by Old King Cole and invited are all the Mother Goose characters. Directed by David Hand.
Ye Olden Days – (8:25) A 1933 black and white Disney animated short about Princess Minnie who is arranged to marry Prince Goofy. Minnie refuses to marry him, so her father, the king locks her in the tower. Minstrel Mickey then tries to rescue her. Directed by Burt Gillet.
A Knight for the Day – (7:06) A 1946 Disney animated short featuring Goofy as Cedric who has the opportunity to become a knight for a day. Featuring a story directed by Jack Hannah and written by Bill Peet.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“The Prince and the Pauper” fares the best of the three volumes as this animated short was created in 1990.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are no special features included on this DVD. But each volume does come with a free collectible litho print typically of the characters from the main featured story.

As mentioned earlier in my review, my prized possession as a child was a Walt Disney booklet that covered the Walt Disney animated shorts in chronological order and had the opportunity to watch these classics. Now as an adult with children, a lot of the animation from Walt Disney that my child sees is the latest in CG animation.

But I wanted him to sit and watch these animated shorts with me and sure enough, he enjoyed them. These animated shorts, the majority of them are simple and have no dialogue. Just music and sound effects (there were a few especially all from vol. 6 that have dialogue) but nevertheless, are simple and easy to understand.

For fans of classic Walt Disney animation and you pretty much have moved on away from your VHS copies, the “Walt Disney Animation Collection” is a great collection of your classic Disney animated shorts on DVD.

Many people who have purchased the “Walt Disney Treasures” DVD box sets from 2001, “Walt Disney’s Timeless Tales” from 2005 or the “Walt Disney’s It’s a Small World of Fun!” DVD release from 2007 probably may not need any of these shorts as quite a number of them have appeared on DVD already.

But a few of the short films that are featured on the six volumes of “Walt Disney Animation Collection” have not been released on DVD until now.

Overall, It all comes down to your preference to the classic animated shorts from long ago and whether or not you owned previous releases. For those who haven’t owned the previous Disney DVD shorts or box sets, now is a good time to start because a lot of the past releases have been discontinued.

Otherwise, if you are a person who already owns the previous DVD releases that contain these shorts, unfortunately, these animated shorts offer nothing new and are not digitally remastered. There may be a few titles on these DVD’s that have not been released before on prior Walt Disney DVD’s but it all comes down to your preference and if these episodes are worth having on DVD.

Again, it’s important to note that volume 1 and volume 3 feature animated shorts featuring Mickey Mouse or a well-known Disney animated character. So, if you are specifically looking for Mickey Mouse animated shorts, you will find it on those two volumes.

But if you are a parent or grandparent who wants to show your children or grandchildren the Walt Disney animation that you grew up with or a person who has never seen these shorts and have been curious about them, then definitely give “Walt Disney Animation Collection” a chance.

Filed Under: Children's DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

Walt Disney Animation Collection Vol. 4-6 (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

May 11, 2009 by Dennis Amith · 2 Comments

“For those who grew up with the classic Disney animated short films, the release of ‘Walt Disney Animation Collection’ on DVD is a long time coming. Classic Disney shorts such as ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’ (1935), ‘The Wind and the Willows’ (1949), ‘The Reluctant Dragon’ (1941) and many other timeless classics can be enjoyed by those who grew up with the animation and also a new generation who have never seen them before. “

DVD TITLE: Walt Disney Animation Collection Vol. 4 (The Tortoise and the Hare), Vol. 5 (Wind and the Willows) and Vol. 6 (The Reluctant Dragon)

DURATION: Vol. 4: 65 Minutes, Vol. 5: 78 Minutes, Vol. 6: 62 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital Surround Sound, Aspect Ratio (1:33:1), English, French and Spanish Subtitles, Disney’s FastPlay

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: May 12, 2009

Produced by Walt Disney

Vol. 4: The Tortoise and the Hare

Walt Disney’s Academy Award®-winning adaptation of The Tortoise And The Hare (1934; Short Subject – Cartoons) is now part of the Disney Animation Collection series on DVD! Join the excitement as unlikely competitors Max Hare and Toby Tortoise challenge each other to a foot race. Max is so confident he will win, he takes time out to flirt with some cute bunnies, show off his skills in other sports and break for a nap. But when he hears the crowd roar for Toby, who has slowly and steadily kept to the course, Max must make a last-minute dash for victory. Will the
ever-persistent Toby beat him across the finish line?

Vol. 5 – Wind in the Willows

Experience the magic of Wind In The Willows in this extraordinary adaptation – now part of the Disney Animation Collection series of beloved classic short films. Join the adventures along the riverbanks as one of the most enchanting storybooks of all time comes to life with classic Disney animation. Mr. J. Thaddeus Toad has got himself into a bit of trouble – from buying fancy new cars and dealing with some weaselly weasels! Now his beloved home, Toad Manor, is at risk of being lost. It will take the help of his dear friends Ratty, Moley and Angus McBadger, and a promise to change his ways, for Mr. Toad.

Vol. 6 – The Reluctant Dragon

The Reluctant Dragon, a clever and entertaining short film, is now part of the Disney Animation Collection! This lighthearted story follows the adventures of a brave young boy who, emboldened by tales of brave knights, decides to pursue the horrible dragon that is terrifying the villagers. But what he discovers is a surprisingly friendly dragon that is more interested in reciting poetry and making music than devouring fair damsels. Will the boy be able to stop the local hero before he challenges the dragon to a fiery battle?

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment are now releasing a few of these shorts on DVD for the first time (some have appeared on past Disney DVD releases). With the first three volumes released, the fourth, fifth and sixth volumes will be released on May 12, 2009.

A lot of these short films were created in the 1920-1940′s and typically featured characters that were not reoccurring (with the exception of the tortoise and the hare which appeared in a second short). Some were released under the “Silly Symphony” moniker of animated shorts released between 1929-1939 which rarely featured any character dialogue but focused more on the animation accompanied by music and a singing vocal track.

Here are the episode listings and brief summaries for volumes 4-6:

Walt Disney Animation Collection Vol. 4 – The Tortoise and the Hare

The fourth volume of “The Tortoise and the Hare” includes a total of six animated shorts. Included are:

The Tortoise and the Hare - (8:40) A Silly Symphony animated short from 1939 featuring the popular tale of the race between the tortoise and the hare.
Babes in the Woods – (7:45) A Silly Symphony animated short from 1932 about two children and dwarfs who go against a wicked witch who has captured and turned children to animals.
The Goddess of Spring - (9:36) A Silly Symphony animation from 1934 featuring the Goddess of Spring who is captured by the Devil and with her capture has turned the world into Winter.
Toby Tortoise Returns - (7:32) a Silly Symphony animation from 1936 featuring another animated short starring Toby Tortoise and the Hare who are in a boxing match.
Paul Bunyan – (17:07) a 1958 Technicolor animated short starring the tall lumberjack Paul Bunyan.
The Saga of Windwagon Smith - (13:32) A 1961 Technicolor animated short featuring a Western animation about the adventures of Windwagon Smith.

Walt Disney Animation Collection Vol. 5: Wind in the Willows

The fifth volume of “Wind in the Willows” contains a total of six animated shorts. Included are:

Wind in the Willows - (34:21) A 1949 Technicolor animated short which is over a half our long compared to the other shorts that are ten minutes long. In this short, Mr. J. Thaddeus Toad has gotten in trouble after buying fancy cars and dealing with bad company and now he risks losing his home. His friends Ratty, Moley and Angus MacBadger try to help him and hopefully change him along the way.
The Ugly Duckling – (9:02) A 1938 Technicolor animated short based on the popular story of the “The Ugly Duckling”. A duck egg hatches late and unlike the other chicks which are yellow, this one is white. And the family rids itself of the white duck and the white duck is now left alone. Will anyone come to appreciate this duck?
The Grasshopper and the Ants - (8:27) A 1934 Silly Symphony short that was featured on the “a bug’s life” 2-Disc DVD Collection in 2003 and is featured in the fifth volume of the “Walt Disney Animation Collection”. A grasshopper who likes to play his violin but ends up getting stuck in the middle of bad weather and during the bad weather, he is rescued by a colony of ants.
The Golden Touch – (10:06) A 1935 Silly Symphony short about the greedy King Midas who has the golden touch and all he wants is gold and will learn an important lesson of how gold is not all that’s important in this world. This is one of the few “Silly Symphony” shorts that have actual dialogue.
The Robber Kitten - (7:50) A 1935 Silly Symphony short about a kitten named Butch who wants to be a thief, he encounters a real thief named Dirty Bill and wants to be his sidekick but learns an important lesson that crime doesn’t pay.
The Wise Little Hen – (7:44) A 1934 Silly Symphony short that introduced the Walt Disney character Donald Duck. A hen wants Donald Duck and a pig to help her plant some corn but the two pretend they are sick. So, the hen decides to temp the two by cooking corn dishes in hopes they would help her plant her corn.

Walt Disney Animation Collection Vol. 6: The Reluctant Dragon

The “Walt Disney Animation Collection” sixth volume features the least amount of shorts than previous volumes but each short featured in this volume is a bit longer in duration than most Walt Disney shorts. Also, unlike the older and shorter animated shorts, these shorts included in vol. 6 contain dialogue.

The Reluctant Dragon - (20:38) This Technicolor 1994 animated short features a boy who is friends with a dragon. He finds out that the knight Sir Giles from his village has been sent to kill the dragon and that he should prepare to fight. But the dragon is reluctant to fight and prefers to read poetry and train birds to sing.
Ferdinand the Bull - (7:59) A technicolor animated short from 1938 about a little bull in Spain named Ferdinand who prefers to be alone and be amongst the flowers in the pasture and not be with the other bulls. As he grew older, because he got stung by a bee, he is featured in a public bullfight in which he must fight a matador but once in front of the public, is unable to fight and instead enjoys the flowers around him.
Goliath II - (15:07) A 1960 animated short about Goliath II, a tiny elephant that is not appreciated by his father because of his small stature. His mother protects him though, especially from a tiger named Raja who wants to eat Goliath II. Goliath II tends to get himself into trouble and is often rescued and scolded by his mother. Will Goliath II ever earn the respect from his father and the elephant herd?
Johnny Appleseed – (18:41) A 1948 animated short about the legendary Johnny Appleseed who traveled the West with the American pioneers and planted apple seeds during his travel. Based on the true adventures of John Chapman who traveled the wilderness planting thousands of apple trees.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are no special features included on this DVD. But each volume does come with a free collectible litho print.

As mentioned earlier in my review, my prized possession as a child was a Walt Disney booklet that covered the Walt Disney animated shorts in chronological order and had the opportunity to watch these classics. Now as an adult with children, a lot of the animation from Walt Disney that my child sees is the latest in CG animation.

But a few of the short films that are featured on the six volumes of “Walt Disney Animation Collection” have not been released on DVD until now.

Filed Under: Children's DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

April 4, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“’An entertaining family film featuring Pooh, Tigger, Darby and gang! Enjoyable with its catchy music but also a DVD that is fun and educational! Definitely recommended!”

DVD TITLE: Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too

DURATION: 60 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Widescreen (1:78:1), French and Spanish Language Tracks

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: N/A

RELEASE DATE: April 7, 2009

Jim Cummings (Winnie-the-Pooh, Beaver and Tigger)

Chloe Moretz (voice of Darby)

Dee Bradley Baker (voice of Buster)

Ken Sansom (voice of Rabbit)

Travis Oates (voice of Piglet)

Max Burkholder (voice of Roo)

Oliver Dillon (voice of Lumpy)

Peter Cullen (voice of Eeyore)

Kath Soucie (voice of Kanga)

Tara Strong (voice of Porcupine)

Mark Hamill (voice of Turtle)

Strike up the bond with Pooh, Tigger, Darby and all your favorite friends in a spectacular full-length movie featuring seven original songs.

It’s a perfect day for a picnic, and you’re invited! To thank Rabbit for planning this delightful event, his pals appoint him Mayor. But Rabbit has a lot to learn about what it takes to keep everyone in the Hundred Acre Wood one big, happy family! Join the excitement as Pooh and the gang share laughter, surprises and the joys of friendship. Bursting with fun, beloved characters and unforgettable new music, this instant family classic is sure to be the biggest showstopper ever!

An entertaining family film featuring Pooh, Tigger, Darby and gang! A film with fun music but also a DVD that is enjoyable and educational! Definitely recommended!

“Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too” is the second film based on the popular Walt Disney 3D animated television series “My Friends Tigger & Pooh” shown during the Disney Channel’s Playhouse Disney block.

Welcome to the Hundred Acre Wood picnic. Everyone from Pooh, Tigger, Rabbit, Eeyore, Piglet and the gang and also Darby and her dog Buster are having a great time at the picnic.

The group is so happy with Rabbit accomplishing much with the organization and planning of the picnic that he unanimously is appointed the Mayor.

But things quickly change in Hundred Acre Wood as Rabbit takes the job of Mayor to the point where each animal has a schedule that they must follow including dozens upon dozens of rules they must follow.

For example, Tigger who loves to bounce, can’t bounce until a certain time. Characters have to sleep at a certain time and people must do everything that the Rabbit has set in their schedule.

But this quickly starts to annoy everyone and sure enough, Tigger is the first to rebel and thus to settle things, Rabbit and Tigger divide the Hundred Acre Wood with a white line. Those that stay in the side of the Rabbit must follow his rules, while those who live on the side of Tigger must follow their rules. But to make things worse, each animal must choose a side of who they want to follow, and thus the problems at Hundred Acre Wood start to increase.

“Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too” is an enjoyable film featuring songs that are exactly like a musical and are quite fun to sing a long too.

To make things much more enjoyable on DVD, there are three ways to watch the film. Alone by itself, Sing-Along version in which the film becomes like karaoke during the musical segments and then there is “active play” which people can learn from the film by two ways. Interactive with a remote or a narrated active version which requires no remote but the film changes during certain scenes where it becomes an educational-based film in which the viewer needs to figure out the answer to a question.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too” is a fun 3D animated film which is presented in Widescreen (1:78:1) and mtches the style of animation featured on the Disney Playhouse TV series “My Friends Tigger & Pooh”. The animation is colorful and cute and quite adorable for children and families.

The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and with the film being a musical, the songs are in a musical style of format and sound quite good on your front/central channel speakers. In fact, the music comes alive during the musical.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too” comes with few special features:

Rabbit’s “Think Think Think Theatre” Game – The game is a CG based game hosted by Rabbit. This game allows a child to select a song using the DVD remote control and selecting a background image in which the viewer can use the remote to paint the background correctly and add additional props.
Playing Modes – Aside from watching the film standalone or with the “Sing Along”, you can also selected “ACTIVE PLAY” which a child can watch the film but participate in the action without any assistance from an adult or the operation of a remote. For “INTERACTIVE PLAY”, this requires a remote and a child can interact with the program.
Music & More – Sing Along with the Movie – The ability to watch the film with the karaoke subtitles during the musical. The colors light up during each word sung.
Kenny Loggins Music Video “Underneat the Same Sky” – A music video featuring Kenny Loggins and as someone who grew up with Kenny Loggins, the guy looks and sounds fantastic as he did back in the 70′s and 80′s.

Like many parents, for so many decades, we grew up with Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger. And for our children now, they are growing up with a 3D animated version of the characters and with DVD technology, this entertaining film/musical gets a humongous thumbs up for its educational use of “ACTIVE PLAY” and “INTERACTIVE PLAY” in order to get the children involved.

When watching this film with our child, my wife and I thought the songs were so catchy and fun and granted it helps that the DVD does include the “Sing Along” to make things much more fun and enjoyable, it’s really hard to go wrong with this DVD.

If I had to nitpick of what I wish was on the DVD, I suppose that with the seven original songs, similar to what Disney has done with their “High School Musical” releases, having a song breakdown in the special features, so parents can automatically select those songs immediately.

But that’s having to nitpick, because really, there’s nothing bad about this DVD, it’s actually a wonderful children’s film and fun musical that is educational and most of all, enjoyable for both children and their parents.

Overall, “Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too” is a DVD that I highly recommend for parents to purchase for their children.

Filed Under: Children's DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

HANDY MANNY – MANNY’S GREEN TEAM (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

March 26, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“’Join Handy Manny and his talking tools as they solve obstacles for their clients and with the upcoming Earth Day, these five episodes are geared towards the environment. Enjoyable and fun for the entire family and educational as well!”

DVD TITLE: HANDY MANNY – MANNY’S GREEN TEAM

DURATION: 58 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital, NTSC, Dolby Digital, Full Scren (1:33:1), Spanish Language Track

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: TV Y

RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2009

Created by Roger Bollen, Marilyn Sadler and Rick Gitelson

Theme song performed by Los Lobos

Wilmer Valderrama (voice of Manny)

Carlos Alazraqui (voice of Felipe “The Phillips Screwdriver”)

Dee Bradley Baker (voice of Turner “The Screwdriver”)

Nika Futterman (voice of Squeeze “The Pliers”)

Tom Kenny (voice of Mr. Lopart)

Fred Stoller (voice of Rusty “The Wrench”)

Nancy Truman (voice of Kelly)

Kath Soucie (voice of Dusty “The Saw”)

Shelley Morrison (voice of Mrs. Portillo)

Robby D. Bruce (voice of Quinn)

With a winning mix of imagination and cooperation, Manny’s Green Team will inspire your whole family to pitch in, roll up your sleeves, and “go green”.

Team up with Manny and his talking tools as they protect an endangered nest of baby turtles. Watch them tackle a tricky chandelier repair with an inventive combination of light and mirrors. Then, find out how solar power works when Manny uses the sun to make a motorized sign move. Share a ton of good green fun as you discover an amazing world of natural wonders and much more!

You break it, we fix it!

Welcome to the world of Sheetrock Hills where Manny Garcia, a bilingual Latino handyman helps save his city (from breaking down) with making repairs with his team of talking tools. The children’s CG animated series is created by Roger Bollen, Marilyn Sadler and producer Rick Gitelson (known for writing/producing for animated shows such as “Rugrats”, “LazyTown” and “Dragon Tales”) and is shown on Playhouse Disney.

With the upcoming celebration for Earth Day on April 22nd, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment is releasing a special Handy Manny DVD titled “MANNY’S GREEN TEAM” with five episodes that revolve around using good sense for green consumption of energy, such as using solar power and more.

“Handy Manny” focuses on the following characters:

Manual “Manny Garcia – Voice acting by “That 70′s Show” actor Wilmer Valderrama. Manny is half Puerto Rican and half Mexican. He is the repairman that many people call if they are in need of a talented and trustworthy repairman.

Kelly – Voice acting by Nancy Truman. The owner of the hardware store that Manny goes to get his materials.

Mr. Lopart – Voice acting by Tom Kenny. The owner of the candy store next door Manny’s workshop. Never listens to Manny and gets himself into trouble.

Mrs. Portillo – Voice acting by “Will & Grace” actress Shelley Morrison. A grandmother and resident of Sheetrock Hills who calls Manny for help from time to time.

Mayor Rosa – The mayor of Sheetrock Hills.

Manny’s talking tools:

Accompanying Manny to his jobs are his tools such as:

Felipe “The Phillips Screwdriver” – The tool who suggests ideas that can make problems worse. Considers himself important but also the Spanish translator of the tool group.

Turner “The Flat Screwdriver” – The grumpy tool who is always at odds with Felipe.

Stretch “The Tape Measure” - Loves to measure things and loves to count.

Squeeze “The Pliers” - Impatient and always ready to fix things.

Pat “The Hammer” – The funny and talkative person of the group, also not too smart one in the group.

Dusty “The Handsaw” – Always gives good advice and enjoys cutting wood.

Rusty “The Monkey Wrench” – Always worrying and is often scared.

Fllicker “The Flashlight” – Speaks Spanish and speaks very little English.

Episodes:

As for the episodes on the DVD, these have not been featured on television and are new on DVD:

Saving the Turtles – Jackie of the park calls and the mayor has a request for Manny to create a bike path for the upcoming Sheetrock Festival “Ride Your Bike” Day. But before he creates a bridge, Manny, the tools and Jackie see that turtles are burying their eggs where the bike path is going to be. This poses a problem and Manny needs to have the turtles in his consideration for building a bike path but also to not harm the trees nearby. How will Manny build a bike path?
Manny Goes Solar - Mr. Kumar from the China shop calls Manny to find out if he can put up a new sign for his store. Mr. Kumar wants a moving sign but there are no electrical connections to power a motor that helps the sign move up and down. But Manny finds another alternative way to make the sign move without the use of electricity.
Science Fair - Senor Lopez, the science teacher of Sheetrock Elementary School calls Manny to fix the air conditioning for a room where people will be coming into for the science fair. Due to a mishap caused by the tools, the science project for the children’s are destroyed. But both Senor Lopez and Manny teach the children that a lot of ideas come from accidents and perhaps the accident can lead to something much better. Will Manny and the kids finish their work before the science fair begins?
Light Work - Mrs. Portillo calls Manny when they are about to close their shop for the day. Her chandelier has come down from the ceiling and may fall. Manny goes to help fix the chandelier but since they need to turn off the power because of electricity work, they have no light to help Manny see what he’s working on. But Manny and his tools come up with an idea to get lighting into the work area.
Bloomin’ Tools – Jackie calls Manny because her window shutters in her new home is not opening. But when Mandy opens the shutters, there is nothing but a brick wall. So, using some creative ideas, Manny comes up with an idea to help her utilize the window.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“HANDY MANNY” is featured in full screen with an aspect ratio of 1:33:1. The animation is 3D and colorful.

As for audio, audio is presented in English via Dolby Digital Sound and comes with a Spanish Language track.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“HANDY MANNY” comes with a game and helfpul tips on becoming part of the green team:

Livin’ La Vida Verde (Recycle Game) – The game has you explore Manny’s workshop and you can find objects and learn which can be reused and recycled.
Manny’s Green Checklist – This feature utilizes your DVD-Rom of your PC or Mac and you can read about seven green tips. This is more of a page that is viewed on your web browser and not interactive.

With Earth Day coming up, it’s a good time for the release of “HANDY MANNY – MANNY’S GREEN TEAM”. Each episode is fun for the children and your children will definitely learn some tips about the environment and various things that can be used to save energy. If anything, the animated series is created to be fun and enjoyable but also to be educational.

Each episode featured on this DVD is safe for children and there is nothing harmless. The overall concept of the series is about Manny and his talking tools of finding a way to fix a problem that a client has called in and in this case, coming up with creative ways to become successful and overcome any challenges that Manny has to face.

Will everyone enjoy this animated series? Granted the series may skew towards young boys, especially those who want to build and get to know the various tools. But because the show is structured with male and female characters, young girls can enjoy the series as well.

Overall, parents who want to share some green tips and also educate their children about protecting the planet, the concept of “green” or even the upcoming “Earth Day”, the release of “HANDY MANNY – MANNY’S GREEN TEAM” is a fun and enjoyable way to educate your child. Definitely check this video out!

Filed Under: Children's DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK! EARTH (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

March 26, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“’Schoolhouse Rock!’ makes its return just in time for Earth Day (on April 22nd) and educating children on recycling, protecting the Earth via the ocean, the rainforest and more! ‘Schoolhouse Rock! Earth’ makes a wonderful educational tool for parents or teachers wanting to educate their children through music about taking care of the planet.”

DVD TITLE: ABC’S SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK! EARTH

DURATION: 50 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital, NTSC, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, French Language Track, Widescreen 1:66:1 – Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions, Disney’s FastPlay

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: G

RELEASE DATE: March 31, 2009

“School House Rock” created by Tom Yohe and George Newall

Based on an idea by David McCall

Director of Photography: Phil Kimmelman

Producer: Radford Stone

Musical Director: Bob Dorough

Executive Producer: George Newall

Taking care of the environment rocks! The original creators of the classic ABC TV series Schoolhouse Rock have put heart and musical soul into 13 songs that educate and celebrate what makes our planet so great!

Schoolhouse Rock! Earth features all-new songs and animation plus appearances by iconic characters interplanet Janet and Mr. Morton. These fun and high-energy songs will teach a new generation of fans all about recycling, biodiversity, solar energy and more. The beloved voices that sang timeless classics such as “I’m Just a Bill” and “Conjunction Junction” are back to sing again in these all-new tunes!

Think green and do your part to rock the Earth! It’s the only Earth We’ve Got!

“Schoolhouse Rock!’ makes its return just in time for Earth Day (on April 22nd) and educating children on recycling, protecting the Earth via the ocean, the rainforest and more! “Schoolhouse Rock! Earth” makes a wonderful educational tool for parents or teachers wanting to educate their children through music about taking care of the planet.

Back in the early 70′s, an animated series known as “Schoolhouse Rock!” captured the attention of young Americans as it was seen on television but it became very instrumental in helping people learn about mathematics, grammar and science.

The animation was from an idea based by David McCall who knew his son was having problems with multiplication tables, but his son was able to know the lyrics to the popular songs of that time. So, what if children remembered the lyrics to songs that were educational. McCall eventually created animated versions ofthe songs and they were sold to ABC for their Saturday morning lineup and for 12 years the animation was shown on television. With the regular broadcasts ending in 2001.

There have been a few new songs dealing with money and politics, especially for the release of the 30th Anniversary DVD collection of “School House Rock”. And in March 2009, children will get to learn the latest “Schoolhouse Rock!” music as this time, the theme goes Green with the release of “Schoolhouse Rock! Earth” to celebrate Earth Day (April 22nd).

The creators of the original series have created new songs bringing back characters such as Interplanet Janet and Mr. Morton.

The DVD features eleven original songs with new contemporary animation which helps children learn about global warming from a polar bear’s point of view, carbon footprints from an animated Sasquatch, the importance of tropical rain forests, benefits of solar and wind power and other important “green” concepts.

The songs featured on this DVD are:

Report from the North Pole
The Little Things We Do
The Trash Can Band
You Oughta Be Savin’ Water
The Rainforest
Save the Ocean
FatCat Blue: The Clean Rivers Song
A Tiny Urban Zoo
Solar Power to the People
Windy and the Windmills
Don’t Be a Carbon Sasquatch

The DVD also contains an extra video titled “The Three R’s” by “Hannah Montana” star Mitchell Musso and the original classic version of “The Energy Blues”.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

The video is presented in widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1:66:1 (enhanced for 16×9 televisions) and features hand drawn animations. Simple and similar style to the classic “Schoolhouse Rock!” animations from the past. Animation that are line drawings with no major shading or detail. Simplified animation.

As for the audio, audio is presented in English via Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound and a French language track. The music comes clear via your front channel speakers and no problems with audio.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Unfortunately, there are no special features.

The main drive for the “Schoolhouse Rock!” animations is to help educate children and help them remember songs and hopefully they will do well in their homework. I can tell you that growing up with “Schoolhouse Rock!”, songs such as “Conjunction Junction”, “Naughty Number Nine”, “Electricity, Electricity”, “I’m Just a Bill” and “The Preamble” were big songs and actually did help me in quizzes for school because I remembered these songs and stuck in my head.

Now as an adult, I watched these videos with my 6-year-old son and there are songs that really stuck in our heads such as “Save the Ocean”. In fact, I’ve caught him singing the song and many other songs featured on the DVD and thus I know the intention of children being educated through music and learning about ecology and protecting the Earth does work with their viewing of “SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK! EARTH”.

With Earth Day coming up on April 22nd, it’s definitely good timing for the release of this DVD and I can see parents and teachers utilizing the DVD to help educate children about protecting the ocean, the rainforest and learning about recycling, solar power and windpower as well.

For parents and those of us who grew up with the original, this newer DVD keeps the original feeling intact, especially since the creators of the original are involved in the making of this version. Also, a similar style of singing (well, of course, a bit modernized as some parts have a bit of rapping) as the original. But the music is catchy, stays in your mind and you’ll find yourself singing along with your children.

“SCHOOLHOUSE ROCK! EARTH” is a very good educational tool for children and safe songs for children and their families to learn and sing along to.

Filed Under: Children's DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

Lilo & Stitch: 2-DISC BIG WAVE EDITION (a J!-ENT DVD REVIEW)

March 22, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“”Lilo & Stitch’ is a heartwarming, moving and beautifully animated Walt Disney film that gets the ultimate treatment for DVD release with this 2-Disc Big Wave Edition. Both discs are packed with many special features. Fans of the film will not be disappointed.”

DVD TITLE: Lilo & Stitch: 2-DISC BIG WAVE EDITION

DURATION: 85 Minutes for film, 125 minutes for documentary

DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, French and Spanish Language Tracks and Subtitles, Aspect Ratio (1:66:1) – Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions.

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainent

RATED: PG

RELEASE DATE: March 24, 2009

Directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders

Written by Chris Sanders

Produced by Clark Spencer and Lisa M. Poole

Original Music by Alan Silvestri and Michael Tavera

Film Editing by Darren T. Homes

Art Direction by Ric Sluiter

Starring:

Daveigh Chase (voice of Lilo)

Chris Sanders (voice of Stitch)

Tia Carrere (voice of Nani)

David Ogden Stiers (voice of Jumba)

Kevin McDonald (voice of Pleakley)

Ving Rhames (voice of Cobra Bubbles)

Zoe Caldwell (voice of Grand Councilwoman)

Jason Scott Lee (voice of David Kawena)

Amy Hill (voice of Mrs. Hasagawa)

Get ready for the wildly original story about an independent little girl named Lilo and her adopted alien “puppy,” the mischievous Stitch, a runaway genetic experiment from a faraway planet. After crashlanding on Earth, Stitch wreaks havoc on the Hawaiian Islands, but he also learns about loyalty, friendship and ‘ohana, the Hawaiian tradition of family.

Now, catch the wave of fun and adventure in this 2-Disc Big Wave Edition jam packed with games and awesome bonus features that take you and your family behind the scenes of the movie! Experience Lilo & Stitch like never before in this 2-Disc Big Wave Edition. There’s excitement and entertainment for every member of your ‘ohana!

A heartwarming, moving and beautifuly animated Walt Disney film get its special DVD treatment in a brand new 2-Disc Big Wave Edition.

In 2002, Walt Disney’s 42nd animated feature from the Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida studio would become a commercial success with over $35 million in its first weekend and eventually would make over $273 million worldwide. Since 2002, the animated film has received several direct-to-video film releases and even a cartoon series.

With the original DVD release back in 2002, in 2003 a 2-disc DVD release was announced but was delayed. Fans of the film have waited for the 2-disc version for years and the question many who own the original DVD may be asking, is this 2-disc release worth it?

If you are a big fan of the animated film, then the answer is a resounding…YES!!!

So, what is “Lilo & Stitch” all about?

Well, the film kicks off with a trial headed by the Grand Councilwoman (voice by Zoe Caldwell). A mad scientist named Dr. Jumba (voice by David Ogden Stiers) is being held for creating illegal genetic experiments. One major experiment known as 626 is wild, destructive and has terrible manners. Because he is nearly indestructible and has extreme strength levels (let alone a terrible instinct to kill), Jumba is sent to prison while 626 is sentenced to a deserted asteroid.

Captain Gantu is sent to send 626 to his prison but 626 manages to escape in a spacecraft and manages to escape to the island of Hawaii on the Planet Earth. With 626 now in a planet that he could literally destroy, the Grand Councilwoman sends a one-eyed alien named Pleakley (voice by Kevin McDonald) and the assistance of Dr. Jumba to bring 626 back.

Meanwhile in Hawaii, we are introduced to a young girl named Lilo (voice by Daveigh Chase). A troubled child who is trying to learn to hula but gets in big trouble by biting and hitting one of the girls in the hula class. Her older sister Nani (voice by Tia Carrere) is sent to pick her up but Lilo heads back home and locks all the doors. For Nani, this is the wrong time for Lilo to do this because a social worker will be arriving to see if Lilo is living in hospitable situations at the home. While trying to get into the house, a very buff social worker named Cobra Bubbles (voice by Ving Rhames) sees that the home is not exactly hospitable and he gives Nani a warning that he will be back.

We learn that at the home of Nani and Lilo, things have not been easy since their parents were recently killed in a car accident. Nani is now forced to raise her young sister and work jobs to keep the family intact. But Nani realizes that her sister has suffered from no parents at the home and that she is having to stay at home by herself. So, she decides that Lilo can have a pet at the local animal shelter.

As for 626, he gets run over by a truck and taken to the animal shelter. Not knowing what kind of animal, everyone seems to think he is some type of dog and sure enough, when Lilo is given the opportunity to select a dog she wants to bring home, she selects 626 who she immediately names him “Stitch”.

Things are tough with Stitch, his bad manners and he doesn’t listen to Lilo. He breaks things and he loves destruction. In fact, he builds a makeshift San Francisco with Lilo’s books and toys and pretends he’s terrorizing the city but Lilo who thinks he’s a trouble dog, like she’s a troubled girl bonds with him. He reads to him the story of “The Ugly Duckling” and teaches him about family. While Lilo and Nani try to teach Stitch some good manners, Pleakely and Jumba find ways to capture Stitch.

Stitch realizes that Jumba is there and tries to avoid them. One day at the restaurant that Nani works along with her good friend David (voice by Jason Scott Lee), Pleakely and Jumba cause some trouble for Stitch and Stitch immediately attacks them. Of course, the restaurant owner is displeased that Nani’s dog caused troubles and thus fires her from the spot.

This raises the red flag for Cobra Bubbles who goes to their home and gives Nani an ultimatum. She has three days to find a job and to make sure that dog changes his behavior or else she will lose Lilo.

Nani finds it may be easier to get rid of Stitch but Lilo reminds her about what their father taught them about “ohana” and family. Nobody gets left behind. So, Nani will do what she can to get a new job and Lilo can keep Stitch.

So, in a nutshell, “Lilo & Stitch” is a film about keeping the family together but also Stitch trying to avoid capture from Jumba and Pleakely. To make things worse, because the two are not succeeding in capturing Stitch (626), the Grand Councilwoman sends Captain Gantu to capture Stitch immediately.

“Lilo & Stitch” was definitely an animated film that was very different than any previous Walt Disney film. The film utilized the island of Hawaii as the main area for this film and thus, you get the beaches, the surf, the traditional Hawaiian clothing and music. Definitely gives the film a pretty cool vibe. But it’s also different that the main child character Lilo, has her faults. She’s a good girl at heart but because she has suffered a traumatic experience with her parent’s death and having to stay at home alone and the family not having much money, she tends to rebel amongst the other girls that she wants to think as their friends but in reality, they don’t want to be around her.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Lilo & Stitch” is a beautiful, animated film that takes place in Hawaii. So, this animated film definitely showcases a variety of colors of the island and the Hawaiian clothing and lush lands and beautiful beach. Personally, I would love to see a Blu-ray Disc treatment of this film because it’s a type of film that would benefit in 1080p. But overall, the picture quality of the DVD is vibrant with colors and the animation had a distinct character designs and overall, beautiful to look at.

The video is presented with an aspect ratio of (1:66:1) and is enhanced for 16×9 televisions.

As for the audio, audio is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and also includes French and Spanish language tracks. The audio utilizes the rear channels during the action segments and also musically, the music plays a big part in the film. Although not a musical but a dialogue-based film, overall, “Lilo & Stitch” utilizes the speaker channels with the front channel showcasing the dialogue and musical tracks with the rear channels utilizing various background sounds, ambient sounds and also booms and crashes during the action scenes.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

This is where the 2-Disc Big Wave Edition of “Lilo & Stitch” shines. There are tons of special features on disc 1 and a length documentary and deleted/edited scenes in disc 2. Included are:

Disc 1:

Audio Commentary - Commentary featuring producer Clark Spencer and directors/writers Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. A very informative commentary as Sanders and DeBlois talked about how there were some major changes from the original storyline and the final cut. Discussions of going to Hawaii, meeting with talent like Tia Carrere and how Hawaiian music came to play in the film and also the ending flight chase scenes and how it was changed due to 9/11. A lot of informative tid-bits on the creation of the film. Cool commentary!
Deleted Scenes - This featurette features how the storyboard artists and artists teaching the viewer how to draw Po and each member of the Furious Five via sketching the characters one-by-one. For example, with Po, the artist would start off with two circles and explain by detail of drawing the rest of the body and features. Each segment varies in time but most are around 6 minutes long. Very informative.
Your “Ohana” Music Video featuring the Hawaiian Chorus - A two minute music video featuring segments from the film and the Hawaiian Chorus singing “Ohana”.
Lilo & Stitch Island Adventure Games - An adventure game narrated by David and people can play three “Lilo & Stitch” games which include Gecko Race, Hamsterviel’s Coconut Shell Game and Hamsterviel’s Experiment Match Game.
A Stitch in Time: Follow Stitch through the Disney Years - This three minute featurette showcases classic Disney films and how Stitch was in those films and how Stitch has shaken things up at Disney by trying to be part of the classic Walt Disney films but unfortunately he wasn’t up to par for parts in those films and didn’t make the final cut.
“I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You” music video performed by A-Teens - A short music video of a cover of the popular Elvis Presley song sung by A-Teens.
Create Your Own Alien Experiment Game – A quiz based video game using your DVD remote.
DisneyPedia: Hawaii – The Islands of Aloha: Explore the Hawaiian Islands - A featurette which Nani and Lilo explain what Hawaii is and the various islands and information on Molokai, Lana’i, Oahu, Kauai and Maui. Selecting an island showcases a video of the island featuring information on luau’s, pineapples and whales in the warm waters, Captain Cook, King Kamehameha and more.
Hula Lesson - A three minute featurette on how to learn hula.
Burning Love – Behind the Scenes with Wynonna – Nearly two minutes long, a behind-the-scenes look at Wynonna Judd recording “Burning Love”.
Animating the Hula – A three minute featurette and Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois wanting to get the hula dances correctly in the animation, so they filmed the hula dancers and then their art department using the video to make sure they get the action and timing of the hula dance correctly by viewing the video.
“Inter-Stitch-ials” Theatrical Trailers – Fun trailers for “Lilo & Stitch” but how Stitch was integrated in commercials utilizing “Beauty & the Beast”, “Aladdin”, “The Little Mermaid” and “The Lion King”.

Disc 2:

Documentary – Around 2 hours and five minutes long is a documentary from the beginning in 1997 (planning stages) up to the end of premiering at Cannes Film Festival and it’s nationwide premiere in 2002. This documentary was great! Many interviews with the producer Clark Spencer, directors/writers Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, Disney Chairman Roy E. Disney, Disney President Tom Schumaker, Executive Vice President Pam Coats, Animating Supervisor Alex Kundershchmidt, Visual Effects Supervisor Joe Giland, the voice talent, crew behind-the-scenes and much more. Years of footage of what took place during the planning stages of “Lilo & Stitch”, recording audio, animating, changing scenes because of what transpired in 9/11, marketing including the “Lilo & Stitch” toys, the McDonalds Happy Meals toys and more.
Documentary Footnotes: Aside from the documentary and deleted/early version scenes, the documentary footnotes includes more bonus footage such as scene that Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois worked on for “Mulan” titled “Mulan’s Decision”, Walking is Falling: Joe Grant in Conversation with Dean DeBlois, Chris’ Pitch Book, Chris’ Photo Gallery, Treatise on Stich, Andreas Deja’s sketches of Lilo, Fishing with Ric, Ric Slutter Interviews Maurice Noble, Dumbo: The Train Arrives, Chalk Talk: Alex Kupershmidt on Stitch, Chalk Talk: Andreas Deja on Lilo, The Sanders Style book and the Disney “Lilo & Stitch” trailers.
Deleted Scenes and Early Version Scenes – There were considerable amount of changes during “Lilo & Stitch” from its original treatment to the final cut. The deleted scenes include the airplane through the city scene which was scrapped due to the events that happened on 9/11 and thus the crew changing the chase scene to two space crafts in air. The following deleted scenes are featured: Stitch’s Trail, Gantu’s Challenge, The Untimely Death of Pudge the Fish, Bedtime Story, The 747 Sequence and three early version scenes: Model Citizen- Mayhem on the Beach, Jumba Attacks and The 747 Sequence with Stitch’s Gang.

“Lilo and Stitch” was a wonderful animated film and who can’t deny the cuteness and the wit of the latest duo from Disney, Hawaiian girl Lilo and her little alien pet Stitch. These two characters are so unlike any Disney characters with Lilo who comes from literally a broken home, her older sister Nani trying to make ends meet as the guardian of Lilo after the death of their parents and just to watch how their life has been personally affected. Stitch is unlike any Disney character that we have seen. He is quite mischievous and eats his snot, how crazy is that?

The character of Lilo is full of vitality but because her parents are deceased and having to stay at home while her sister works and the family not exactly having a lot of money, she wants to fit in with the other girls but it just doesn’t happen that easily.

And the relationship between Lilo & Stitch was just enjoyable to watch. Stitch brings joy into her life despite being a bit troublesome, but Lilo is somewhat similar and thus starts to grow up now that she has the responsibility of taking care of her pet. As for Stitch, being raised to be this weapon of destruction, he learns from Lilo that being part of a family is very important and like the story of “Ugly Duckling”, Lilo embraces him with open arms and he learns how relationships mean to him. Love rather than destruction.

Combined with a beautiful, colorful and lush setting of Hawaii, the art and animation department did a great job capturing Hawaii all the way up to the movements of the hulu dancing. Overall, this film was just fun to watch and it’s also great to watch this film again and watching a Disney animated film that were hand drawn using CGI but a film not entirely 3D which many of the animated Disney films are of late.

When “Lilo & Stitch” was released into theaters, I have to admit that I was very happy because America would get a second animated film from Disney that would feature a lead and supporting character that is Asian. “Mulan” was fun but it was a period film taking place during the Chinese Dynasty, “Lilo & Stich” on the other hand, this is an entirely different animated film with it’s own style thanks to the characters and the overall setting. This is just an enjoyably fun and entertaining film.

The documentary included on disc 2 was just amazing to watch because you literally see how directors/writers Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois really gave their all for this film. It’s rare to catch these lengthy documentaries in a Walt Disney DVD release and I don’t think I have ever watched a documentary over 2 hours long in a DVD or Blu-ray release for an animated film. But nevertheless, really good insight on the creative process and those who want to get involved in the animated film industry will definitely enjoy this documentary and what they can learn from it.

As for the release of the “2-Disc Big Wave Edition”, it’s literally the cherry on top of the cake. I was just amazed by the sheer amount of special features included. Disc 1 is pretty much packed with bonus features but to know there was more footage ala the documentary and deleted scenes on disc 2, I was impressed. Disney definitely went all out for this release.

It’s quite interesting how this 2-Disc DVD release was announced back in 2003 but finally made its way to DVD seven years later and with that being said, this is one of those films that you can only hope that Disney releases on Blu-ray because if this animated film looks and sounds good on DVD, I can imagine how awesome it would look in high definition.

All in all, there really is nothing negative I can say about this “Lilo & Stitch: 2-Disc Big Wave Edition” release. It’s an awesome film in which Disney went all out in making sure fans get the ultimate DVD release and this release doesn’t disappoint at all. The only thing that can be better is a high definition release but for now, this DVD release definitely gets an A+.

“Lilo & Stitch: 2-Disc Big Wave Edition” is highly recommended!

Filed Under: Children's DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

RETURN FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

March 7, 2009 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

“The sequel to Disney’s 1975 sci-fi film ‘ESCAPE FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN’, ‘RETURN FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN’ features more action, more special effects and a film starring two of Hollywood’s legendary talents. A Disney sci-fi classic that is just as entertaining now, as it was back in 1978.”

DVD TITLE: RETURN FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN

DURATION: 94 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: NTSC, Color, English, French and Spanish Subtitles, English, French and Spanish Language Tracks

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: G

RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2009

Directed by John Hough

Based on characters by: Alexander Key

Screenplay by: Malcolm Marmorstein

Produced by Ron Miller and Jerome Courtland

Music by Lalo Schifrin

Starring:

Bette Davis as Letha

Christopher Lee as Victor

Ike Eisenmann as Tony Malone

Kim Richards as Tia Malone

Jack Soo as Mr. Yokomoto

Anthony James as Sickle

Richard Bakalyan as Eddie

Christian Juttner as Dazzler

Brad Savage as Muscles

Poindexter Yothers as Crusher

Jeffrey Jacquet as Rocky

Stu Gilliam as Dolan

In this thrilling sequel to Disney’s “ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN”, automobiles mysteriously fly and humans float in thin air as sinister masterminds Christopher Lee and Bette Davis unleash a diabolical plan. The entire city of Los Angeles teeters on the brink of nuclear disaster when teh greedy criminals manipulate a young boy’s supernatural powers for their own devious gain. But the youth’s sister and streetwise band of tyrants join forces in a desperate attempt to save the city from destruction.

The classic Walt Disney sci-fi film “RETURN FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN” (1978) is released on DVD to help celebrate the theatrical release of “RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN” (the third ‘WITCH MOUNTAIN’ film which can be considered a new storyline or a re-imagining of the first film).

“RETURN FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN” is the long awaited sequel to “ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN” (1975) and continue to be a family sci-fi film to utilize the latest special effects at that time and bring back popular British director John Hough and popular teen talents Ike Iesenmann and Kim Richards to reprise their role as the alien human brother and sister team who have supernatural abilities.

“RETURN FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN” focuses on the return of Tony and Tia to the planet Earth. The two haven’t been back in several years, so they get the opportunity to have some rest and relaxation.

Meanwhile, a mad scientist named Victor (Christopher Lee) and Letha (Bette Davis) talk about how they should be making money. Letha was once a very rich woman but funded Victor’s laboratory in order manipulate people and control them. Victor decides to put Letha’s nephew Sickle (Anthony James) to a test by using a remote control device in which Victor talks on it and the person will follow his instructions. His first instruction is to have Sickle climb up a tall building and walk on the rooftop ledge and seeing how the remote control device is actually working on him.

Meanwhile, as Tony and Tia are being driven in their cab, the cab loses fuel prompting the taxi cab driver to get gas. While left alone, Tia’s premonitions start kicking in to full gear as she senses a man who will fall to his death from falling from a building.

Knowing that they one would have to wait for the driver, Tony goes to find this man and warn him. Sickle ends up falling from the rooftop but before he can go splat on the pavement, Tony uses his supernatural abilities to have him suspended in air and eventually help him down.

Victor sees that Tony is quite special and thus Victor and Letha inject John with a tranquilizer and kidnaps him.

Tia is scared that she has lost contact with Tony and goes to look for him. She ends up losing him and while trying to look around the area, she sees four kids being chased by a bunch of thugs. She eventually uses her power to save the four kids named Dazzler (Christian Juttner), Muscles (Brad Savage), Crusher (Poindexter Yothers) and Rocky (Jeffrey Jacquet).

The four are trying to be tough kids who want to start their own gang but also hide from their truant officer Mr. Yokomoto (Jack Soo) who wants them back at school.

With no place to go and not knowing the Los Angeles area, the kids decide to help Tia. Meanwhile, Tony has been thoroughly brainwashed by Victor and is now being controlled by him by the remote device.

With Tony revealing his power to the bad guys, now they want to exploit his power to give them leverage and possibly help them steal anything from gold to possible plutonium.

Meanwhile, Tia tries to search for her brother everywhere and when she does find him, she is pitted against her brother in a battle of their super powers. Will she be able to save her brother from being a pawn of Victor and Letha?

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“RETURN FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN” includes several special features. Many which were included in the 2003 DVD release but there is one special feature that is exclusive to the 2009 DVD release. Included are:

ALL NEW Pop-Up Fun Facts – For those who want to watch the film with fun facts popping up on the bottom of the screen.
Making the Return Trip - A pretty lengthy featurette with interviews with director John Hough, Ike Eisenmann, Kim Richards and the other children from the film. The discussion was how they all came together again, the popularity of the first film and how Ike and Kim, unlike the first film where they worked closely together, this time they didn’t. But what is most interesting was to hear how the guys had a crush on Kim Richards.
The Gang’s Back in Town – A reunion of the gang Christian Juttner (Dazzler), Brad Savage (Muscles) and Poindexter Yothers (Crusher) who talk about having fun on the set, having a crush on Kim Richards and how the film was one of the best experiences of their lives.
Disney Kids with Powers - A short music video of various clips of children in Disney films that have powers.
“The Eyes Have It” - An animated short featuring Donald Duck and Pluto, as Donald learns hypnotism and his test subject is Pluto.
Lost Treasure: Christopher Lee: The Lost Interview - An interview with Christopher Lee done back in 1978 with a Spanish television network. Lee talks about working on the film and his experience for a Disney film. Subtitled in English.
1978 Disney Studio Album - A short musical featurette featuring stills from all films that were shown in 1978.
Audio Commentary - Commentary by John Hough, Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by “RETURN FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN”. Mainly because you have legendary actress Betty Davis and Christopher Lee (known for his work in the past with the Vampire and Fu Manchu films and presently with his work as Count Dooku in the “Star Wars” films) . But it was great to see them out of their typical film element and playing a humorous duo, Letha obsessed with money and Victor obsessed with the power and prestige he can get from utilizing Tony for his own twisted means.

But many people wanted a sequel and this time, the series would managed to capture an action film with an a chase scene and even more special features than the first film. Definitely something you wouldn’t imagine seeing in a family film but John Hough wanted to make sure the film was different from the first and if he could, make it even better.

One thing that I liked was that both Tony and Tina are nearly at the same level in their powers. In the first film, it seemed like the only way Tony could use his powers was playing a harmonica. But glad they didn’t do that for this film.

I enjoyed the first film for its cat and mouse type of storyline, it was a pure film that is fun for the family and kids. With “RETURN FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN”, because more special effects were used and more action scenes, it was interesting to see both Tony and Tia separated but most of all, watching them go against each other utilizing their supernatural abilities.

Speaking of special effects, the first film utilized a cat and a bear. “RETURN FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN” utilized Albert the goat and it’s amazing how trainers were able to get a goat to walk through the middle on top of several cars. Very impressive.

Now, for those who own the 2003 DVD release of “RETURN TO WITCH MOUNTAIN”, you may not need this DVD because there really is no major addition in terms of special features but for those who are looking forward to watching Dwayne Johnson in “RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN” in 2009 and have never watched the original films or its been too long since you have last seen it, then definitely pick up both classic Witch Mountain films. They’re both fun and enjoyable in their own separate way.

As for “RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN”, both “ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN” and “RETURN FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN” both come with a free ticket coupon (attached to the slipcase cover) to download a certificate (ticket) in order to watch the latest film at a participating theater for free.

Overall, “RETURN TO WITCH MOUNTAIN” is a fun and enjoyable film and despite being nearly 35 years old, it’s a film that families can watch with their children now and still be entertained.

Definitely a Disney classic worth having in your DVD library.

Filed Under: Children's DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews