Product Details

• Actors: Jimmie Dodd, Tommy Cole, Eileen Diamond, Annette Funicello, Sharon Baird
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: July 12, 2005
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0007Z9QXK
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,447 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #36 in Music > Children's Music > Disney
• Learn more about "The Best of the Original Mickey Mouse Club" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Join Annette, Bobby, Jimmie, Roy, Cheryl, Cubby and the rest of the Mouseketeers for five classic episodes from the legendary program that became the ultimate afterschool special. 1955-59/color/113 min/NR/fullscreen.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

138 of 143 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars When will Disney release what MMC fans really want to see? July 20, 2005

By J. Gunner

I was disappointed in this DVD. Once again, it shows a typical complete show which includes newsreels, various series, a Mouseketeer segment, and cartoons. I don't care about news, cartoons and just one episode of a series. I know many fans of the MMC would love to just see the Mouseketeer performing segments from seasons 1, 2, and 3. What a treat it would be to have these classic song and dance performances available. They could be released as Season One, Season Two, etc. I also know that fans would buy individual DVDs of the wonderful series such as Spin and Marty years 1, 2, and 3..The Hardy Boys, and especially the Annette series. Disney, please do this for all fans. I would buy each and every DVD you released and I believe that all true MMC fans from years ago would do the same!!

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Do your best mouseketeers in everything that you do. July 12, 2005

By Judith Molly

I want to be very kind in writing this because Jimmie was kind. I don't believe that he would feel like his former employer did their very best when putting out this DVD. Let me explain why. For one thing, I was expecting the very same visual quality that we have on "The Walt Disney Treasures The Mickey Mouse Club". It's not there. If you have that DVD set you probably know how crisp everything looks. Obviously, a great deal of clean up went on with those shows. In this DVD, all five shows, at least in my opinipn look dingy and dirty. Not at all clear. The sound quality is not nearly as good as The Walt Disney Treasures. Now, pertaining to the shows that they used, if you own the ten volume VHS set that Disney put out several years ago, you already own all five of these episodes. You would think that someone would use some creativity and go way back in the vaults and use some rarities that were not within the ten volume set. It appears to me that they just grabbed what was convenient and slapped it together. I honestly don't feel like anyone who knows and loves "The Mickey Mouse Club" put this together. I feel as though someone who knows and loves money put it together. Disney, you proved within "The Walt Disney Treasures The Mickey Mouse Club" that you can do some excellent work pertaining to putting this show on DVD. Disney, were you really trying to do your best, as you did with that set, when you put this DVD together or did you just want to make a quick buck? Disney, would Walt be proud of this? He always wanted to provide the very best for people. Disney, would Jimmie be proud of this? He was always urging us to do our very best. I really wanted to be kind when I started this review.... However, sometimes, telling the truth is the kindest thing to do because maybe it will persuade Disney to do their very best the next time. I hope that there is a next time with everything that I mentioned incorporated within it.It appears as if this thing was just slapped together and what a shame because that's not the legacy of Walt Disney nor would Jimmie Dodd approve because it shows that Disney was not doing its best. Read more ›

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Bare Bones July 16, 2005

By Robert Barker

I wasn't expecting color, so why does the back cover say this is in color? It doesn't mention black and white at all. I thought maybe they'd throw in the color version of the animated opening. Nope. The only thing in color are the obnoxious previews Disney puts on every product. Even the color cover with Walt and the Mouseketeers leads you to believe there might be some color. And yes, the prints are dingy. Each episode appears to clock in at a little over 20 minutes. Was something cut from each one? They didn't show as many commercials in the 50s, so I can't imagine they were this short. And it is inexplicable why they give air dates of the 1960s for three of the five shows. I believe it was off the air by 1959. Look, for this price I don't expect perfection. Notice the cover says Digitally Mastered, not Remastered. But you do kind of expect a little bit more out a Disney product. These barely rise above the level of kinescopes you have to view for a lot of 50s material. I didn't get the box set because I don't need that much, but this was a poor substitute. If you just want to show a youngster what the show was like, you know, the famous songs at the beginning and end, then this is for you. As for myself I'll be trading this in at a used place ASAP.

31 of 36 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars NOT THE BEST BUT STILL GOOD October 8, 2005

By Russell Kishi

I must admit, I am a Mickey Mouse Club junkie. As

soon as I noticed these reviews, good and bad, I knew

I had to see this DVD for myself. Just last Monday, it

was my privilege to attend the 50th anniversary

reunion of 10 original Mouseketeers at Disneyland, and

I was also privileged to share three passionate kisses

with my favorite Mouseketeer of all timne, Cheryl

Holdridge. The mere inclusion of the impossibly

beautiful Cheryl Holdridge on most of these shows is

worth the cost. The two complete programs from the

show's final network season are also better than

nothing, I suppose. By the third season, almost all of

the girls were beyond puberty and becoming quite

voluptuous. Doreen Tracey was a budding goddess.

Annette was Annette. Darlene Gillespie resembles the

Fox Sports wacko, Jillian Barberie.

That said, three of these episodes consist of shows

that were packaged when the Mickey Mouse Club went

into syndication, beginning in 19h2 and running

through 1964, which ironically was the year Cheryl got

married and was the last person to see Jimmie Dodd

alive as he was on the edge of death in a Hawaiian

hospital. The syndicated shows were definitely a

hodgepodge. Little or nothing has been done to improve

the video quality of these three shows. The "Circus

Day" production number bails out early, leaving me

with a very unsatisfied feeling. However, there are

some legitimate hiighlights for those who love the

Mouseketeers.... The "Anything Cah Happen Day" features

the great Firehouse Five Plus Two Dixieland band,

featuring three of Disney's "NIne Old Men" from the

feature animation department. This troupe performed

regularly at Disneyland in those days, and the energy

they bring to the show is exceptional. The production

number dates from the first season and includes

spectacular dancing from little Sharon Baird, Bobby

Burges,, Bonni Kern and Lonnie Burr. It also showcases

the first year Mouseketeers to great effect.

Also notable is the Talent Roundup Day guest, a little

girl from Chicago named Cheryl Weinberg who was half

black and half Jewish. I have always insisted that the

real value of the Mickey Mouse Club was its philosophy

of INCLUSION. The Club spotlighted many black

youngsters on Talent Roundup Day, and Cheryl Weinberg

strikes me as a little Lena Horne. She joins Ronnie

and Riley Wilson in a great tap number after singing a

solo. This performance definitely deserves to be

ranked among the show's best.

I am also grateful for the Monday show which includes

the introductory chapter of the second Hardy Boys

serial, "The Mystery of the Ghost Farm." Tim Considine

and Tommy Kirk provide commentary for the serial that

was to follow. Carole Ann Campbell as Iola Morton and

Sarah Selby as Aunt Gertrude are also p;rominently

featuredf. Carole Ann was also beginning to develop

into a real beauty. Wish we could have seen more of

this serial.

All in all, this show provides a few glimpses into

what made the show so memorable for millions of baby

boomers. The Doddisms are included at the end of each

show, and Doreen Tracey gives a wonderful performance

of one of the staple songs, "Beauty is As Beauty

Does." Doreen has also been one of my secret crushes

for decades. Read more ›