Customer Reviews

The Best of the Original Mickey Mouse Club

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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!!

Both of the MMC DVD's that have come out are not showing enough of the wonderful talents of those Mouseketeers. I don't want to see those old cartoons and old newsreels. I want to see the Mouseketeers dancing and singing. I say take those segments through the years with the Mouseketeers and compile them altogether into one nice DVD. Now that would be a treat.
I'm still waiting for the Annette Serial to come to DVD. I just bought the Spin and Marty DVD and really like it. Hope Disney does the other seasons of Spin and Marty too.
By the way Disney, when is Westard Ho The Wagons movie coming to DVD? This year is the 50th anniversary of that movie.

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.

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.

I don't know how they decided these episodes were "the best". There was only one episode that I would think qualified because it featured an introduction to a new Hardy Boys adventure. I would still buy it though because it does have a wider range of mouseketeers than the "Walt Disney Treasures Mickey Mouse Club" in which that timeframe was limited to the first week of shows when the program originally aired.

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.

I was 5 years old when the Original Mickey Mouse Club came on TV. This DVD is the sorriest excuse Best of anything I have ever seen. It takes 5 shows one each Monday through Friday, but their content is anything but the best.

I'm sure this "Best" DVD will continue to whet the appetites of all fans of the original Mickey Mouse Club. Since this won't be released until July, 2005, I can only give it a rating based on anticipation. I was exuberantly pleased with the Disney Treasury that contained the first week of the original MM Club and hope the marketing gurus will release the complete series. I'd also like to see DVDs released of the original "Spin and Marty" and "The Applegate Treasure," as well as other serials that appeared on the original MM Club show. These are classics and should be made available to the public! And yes, I'd even buy the "new" MMC shows too (70s or 80s): as they are nostalgic and classic in their own right. For Disney buffs, we can't get enough. So keep 'em coming!
Mike C. - DFW, Texas

Okay, here it is in a "nutshell." Yes the memories are there, especially for us that grew up in the 50's. No adjustment of your rooftop antenna is needed. I think the digital transfer was slightly better on the "Golden Treasures" release, however, considering that most of these shows have not been "aired" in a long time,...not bad. The original series, lasted from 1955-1958..so I don't know what the dates on the back of the case mean, unless they're copyright renewals, then somebody at Disney needs to "brush-up" on history. The Disney people should've enclosed a booklet inside containing facts, but then again, that is why it is moderately priced. All episodes contain a cartoon, with one that presents a Hardy Boys "teaser." I can only hope that Disney decides to release the rest of the T.V. series on DVD, and why not,... everybody else is jumping on the "bandwagon." For the price of memories..go for it!!

I was enormously disappointed in this DVD. I had just reached the age of 5 when they were announcing the Mickey Mouse Club show. I don't think I ever missed an episode. I loved it, (had an enormous crush on Annette--but what boy at that time didn't?) What you have here are 5 half hours shows from the last season. Sadly even Talent Roundup Day was missing the great beginning of the earlier seasons when they sang "Saddle your pony, here we go!"... Forget it... the tap-dance routine from Monday is shown instead. I can never figure why they totally screwed up Circus Day's intro scene with Mickey. I recall distinctly that Mickey was saying "Today is, ... uh... uh..." and the kids in the background shouting "Circus Day!" to which he responded "RIGHT!"... they've somehow or other dubbed it to a sequence making no sense at all, he greets the mousketeers then goes silent (while clearly still saying SOMETHING) then he shouts "Right"! Go figure! Also, the so-called "dates" for the 5 shows is completely false. I have no clue what those dates represent, but according to the menu, some are from the 60's, and the last year it showed on air was 58-59. These half-hour butcher jobs of the one hour MMC are pretty pitiful. But it's still nice to see the kids I sang and just plain enjoyed in those innocent days of the mid to late 1950's. Another disappointment was that while they had Tim Considine and Tommy Kirk INTRODUCE the NEW Hardy Boys serial (The Mystery Farm --or something akin to that)... not ONE serial show was on any of these. All you get are 5 daily 30 minute (22 minutes sans commercials) shows--none of which link together cohesively. There was Monday (not sure if it actually was Fun with Music) then Tuesday: Guest Star Day Wednesday: Anything can happen day -- Thursday -- Circus Day -- and Friday --Talent Roundup. I gave it two stars simply on the nostalgia value. As a good representation of what was a great show I would LOVE to have the complete season of-- I'd have given it a single star--and that would've been charity.