[.ca] Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse In Living Color - ...

They are consistent...:
... at Disney's, because if they are proud of the crap they're making now, they're right to be ashamed of what their predecessors did. But, I'm not quite sure which is worse: cutting like they did for "Saludos Amigosos", or, like they're doing now, marring the DVDs with a new "Politikally Korrekt" feature (which doesn't even get a disabling option in the menu for people with a fully working and correct mind). If the nerds who 'think' (although the word is not very appropriate for the activity of the messy thing between their ears) that even the past should be adjusted to their nonsensical view of the present, why don't they destroy all evidence of that "shameful past": books, movies, magazines, and even people remembering this past; so, although some 20 years late, they would give a good start to George Orwell 1984's world. I never got much consideration before for Leonard Maltin as a film critic (he's too much of an Hollywood enforcer for that). And this new kind of performance he's doing for Disney won't help improving my opinion.

Maltin has to go!:
Once again, Disney has put together an impressive collection of cartoons; in this case, a wonderful assortment of Mickey Mouse cartoons. (Plus a lot of behind the scenes stuff, and a few easter eggs.) But Leonard Maltin's commentary hits an all time low on this DVD set. To begin with, he explains to us how these shorts aren't really as good as Mickey's earlier work,(leaving us to wonder why we've just invested our money in them!), but, some of them are kind of cute, so we may actually enjoy them. Then, he jumps back on the old political correctness bandwagon and feels obligated to explain to us (very often!) how these cartoons are not PC by modern standards, but that, rather than 'putting them on the shelf' (lest someone be ... gasp! ... offended) we should watch them and appreciate how times have changed, and how much more sensitive and understanding we are today. (Yeah ... like contemporary movies NEVER contain stereogypes ...) The commentary before "Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip" (in which he explains that Disney didn't MEAN to be bigoted and prejudiced when he had Mickey disguise himself as an Indian and say "How!") is bad enough -- but when he came on before "The Nifty Nineties" to tell us all that the scene where Minnie and Mickey attend a vaudville show is not PC by modern standards (because it contains comic references to drinking -- and we all know that drunkeness is not funny), but we should just try and accept it in the spirit in which it was intended --I was ready to throw something at the screen. Maltin occassionally has some interesting things to say, but I'm far more offended by his belief that viewers are too stupid to understand that humor changes with the times and that life was different 60+ years ago than I could ever be by the fact that a cartoon might contain a bit of ethnic/racial stereotyping. Buy the set, but when Maltin comes on the screen, take a bathroom break.

Great conclusion to Mickey's color career:
Mickey Mouse in Living Color Vol. 2 is a great dvd package. Included are some very entertaining shorts and featurettes, many of which I had forgotten until I just viewed them again. In my opinion, I prefer the shorts on Vol.1, but it is nice to finally have the whole collection to enjoy forever. A lot of people have complained here that Leonard Maltin's introductions to some of the shorts are annoying and unnecessary. I agree to an extent, that they can get repetitive. But Maltin was a major player in getting this great material released to the public in all of its uncensored glory. It does seem rediculous that we need to put shorts like "Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip" into perspective when Mickey dresses like an indian, because it was all done in fun and not meant to offend. Personally, I think that anyone who gets offended by a cartoon has bigger issues to deal with in their lives. We live in such a politically correct world though, that if he did not do this we may not be able to see the original versions. So you should thank Maltin for working so hard to get these to us. Okay, as far as the content goes, it is great and each has its own charm. Highlights for me were "Mr. Mouse Takes A Trip", "The Little Whirlwind", "Orphan's Benefit"(Donald steals the show again), "Mickey and the Seal", and "Mickey's Christmas Carol(my new holiday favorite. Of course that only is the tip of the iceberg. Others are included that were already available, like "Sorcerer's Apprentice" and "Mickey and the Beanstalk" that are nice to have in a complete set. Extras are plenty on this volume as well.Included are the following: "Mickey's Cartoon Comeback" "The Voice Behind the Mouse"---The evolution of Mickey's voice Mickey Mouse Club Titles in Color---5 original openings to the show.(This will be a Treasure in the next wave by the way) "Mickey Meets the Maestro" Mouse Mania-- A very strange stop motion short that you gotta see Mickey Cartoon Physics from "Plausible Impossible" Mickey on the Camera Stand from "Tricks of Our Trade" "The Making of Mickey's Christmas Carol"--My favorite extra Publicity and Memorabilia Gallery Story and Background Art Gallery In my area this and the Donald treasure have been the biggest sellers. This has a lot of entertaining content between the shorts, featurettes and the extras, which include great behind the scenes looks at how a lot of this material was brought to the screen. The picture never has looked better and probably never will. Children and adults alike will enjoy what this set has to offer, so get your copy now before they are gone. So far I have viewed this, Donald and Tomorrowland and I would rank this #3 behind Donald(1) and Tomorrowland(2) and I am about to go through On The Front Lines. But I say I rank it third and that is not a bad thing, fans of Mickey and animation in general should appreciate this set. It is definately worthy of bearing the Walt Disney Treasures name.

Excellent!!! Also, Wave 4 announced!:
I am very happy with the Disney Treasures Wave 3 collection. It's great to finally have Mickey's Christmas Carol, Runaway Brain, and Prince and the Pauper finally available on DVD along with the other classic Mickey films. Also enjoyed On the Front Lines, Chronological Donald, and Tomorrowland. They did not let me down. It has also been announced (and I've heard from a very reliable source) that the Disney Treasures Wave 4 will most likely be released in December. They are going to be "Mickey Mouse in Black and White Vol.2","Disney's True Life Adventures","A Pluto Collection", and the one I'm excited about, "The Original Mickey Mouse Club, Season One." Anyway, thank you Disney, and keep them coming! They are worth the wait!

Complete Mickey Mouse:
Growing up as a kid in the 80s, my only real exposure to Mickey Mouse in animated form was in Mickey's Christmas Carol, and it soon became a personal favorite of mine. This DVD set finishes off the theatrical releases of Mickey Mouse, right up to his most recent film "Runaway Brain." This DVD is great as it includes scenes from Feature length films that Mickey Appeared in, such as "Sorcerer's Apprentice," from "Fantasia," and "Mickey and the Beanstalk" from "Fun and Fancy Free." Truthfully most of the shorts on this set are when Mickey was no longer the most popular animated star at Disney. In some of these cartoons he takes a supporting role to Donald and Pluto, but the full charm of these cartoons is still there. Leonard Maltin, an expert on animation and movie history, is on the disc with special features. He also appears more often then not to preface certain cartoons to let us know that they are not "Politically Correct." While other reviewers found this annoying, I would rather have the preface then have Disney keep these treasures locked in a vault. Think "Song of the South" as an example.