"FUNNY FACTORY: VOLUME 3 AND 4"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) STARRING Goofy Huey, Dewey & Louie Donald Duck Not Rated Studio: Disney Back to DVD Review Home |  |
Fans of the original Disney cartoon short subjects must be loving DVD. It’s a perfect match between studio and fan. On one hand, Disney can recycle old content and repackage it on DVD – a cheap cash cow for the studio. On the other hand, cartoon fans can finally get their favorite classic short subjects in a preserved format to enjoy for years to come.
The Disney company has released two new volumes of “Funny Factory,” a DVD series which features about an hour of original classic short subjects with a character theme. The first two installments included one with Mickey Mouse and the other with Donald Duck.
Volumes 3 and 4 feature Goofy and Donald with his nephews. Unlike other DVD cartoon compilations, the shorts featured on each disc hold pretty closely to the theme. Each short in Volume 3 has Goofy as a main character, and each short in Volume 4 features Donald trying to get the best of Huey, Dewey and Louie.
Goofy’s Volume 3 includes one of my favorite classic Disney cartoons – “Clock Cleaners.” In recent years, I have only seen this included in an embedded special feature on the “Alice in Wonderland” DVD, so it’s a treat to finally own in its restored format.
Other cartoons on Volume 3 include “Goofy’s Glider,” “Man’s Best Friend,” “Father’s Week End,” “Father’s Lion” and “Aquamania.” It also includes “Goofy and Wilbur,” a recycled cartoon from the recently released “The Fox and the Hound 2” DVD.
Huey, Dewey and Louie’s Volume 4 includes eight cartoon, with a total running time of 57 minutes. These cartoons include their debut in “Donald’s Nephews,” “Straight Shooters,” “Seas Scouts,” “Donald’s Off Day,” “Lion Around,” “Soup’s On,” “Don’s Fountain of Youth” and “Lucky Number.”
I grew up only having the chance to see these movies on 16mm at the local library or broadcast on the old “Disneyland” television show. I’m thrilled that my kids have a chance to watch these cartoons on demand and can enjoy the best that Disney has to offer without jumping through too many hoops.
The DVDs come with no special features. There are easter eggs hidden throughout the menus of the discs, but they only result in funny noises or special gags on screen. Unlike the first two volumes which had a game hidden in the menus, these easter eggs hold a lot less weight.
Specifications: Fullscreen (1.33:1). French language track. English subtitles for the hearing impaired.
