"Classic Cartoon Favorites"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: **** (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) STARRING Mickey Mouse Donald Duck Goofy Chip ‘n’ Dale Not Rated Studio: Disney Back to DVD Review Home |
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The Disney vault has opened up and is offering a four volume set of classic cartoon favorites of the Mouse House’s most memorable characters. Each volume is sold separately and features a different star. Volume 1 features the top Disney star Mickey Mouse. Volume 2 features Donald Duck. Volume 3 features Goofy. And Volume 4 features Chip ‘n’ Dale.
Each DVD contains approximately an hour of classic cartoons from the early days in Disney land. They are presented with few bells and whistles and focus solely on the characters that this studio made famous.
The Mickey Mouse DVD gives a nice retrospective look at the little mouse and how he has chanced. Some of the cartoons feature Mickey in his earlier stages where you didn’t see the whites of his eyes. And there are a few of the more modern mouse. Oddly enough, these episodes sometimes feature more of the other characters simply because Mickey is such a good natured soul that he can’t hold a cartoon himself as the sap the way Donald and Goofy can.
Volume 2 focuses on the always irritable Donald Duck. These cartoons have the most energy because of their star. Donald is one of the best characters to put in the victim role, which makes his cartoons some of the funnier of the bunch.
Still, I have to put Volume 3, starring Goofy, as my favorite. This mainly comes from the fact that it’s a great chance to see some of the early Goofy cartoons in his “how to” mode. The classic cartoon “The Art of Skiing” is one of the best Disney ever made and paved the way to having Goofy as the demo man for every sport played in the nation.
Volume 4 seems a little out of place simply because Chip ‘n’ Dale are more supporting characters than star performers in the Disney repertoire. And in some ways, Volume 4 is just an extension of Volume 2 because Donald Duck tends to be the favorite foil to these little chipmunks. Still, their cartoons are as entertaining as the others.
There’s a special bonus trick you can play with Chip ‘n’ Dale. Make a point to turn on the subtitles for the Chip ‘n’ Dale cartoons, and you’ll actually have a chance to catch what they say to each other. Although you can usually figure it out by what they are doing, what they actually say often makes no sense. Rather, these are pre-recorded bits that were used throughout the cartoons.
The Disney Classic Cartoon Favorites can be a lot of fun. It’s a great look at the older cartoons in their sometimes politically incorrect glory. But it still makes a great set of discs to buy... at least for the kids.
Specifications: Fullscreen (1.33:1). English subtitles for the hearing impaired.
