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Walt Disney Treasures - Disney Rarities - Celebrated Shorts, 1920s - 1960s (1953)

Don Wilson , Milt Kahl , Bill Justice , Charles A. Nichols  |  G |  DVD
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)

Price: $84.95 & FREE Shipping. Details
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Walt Disney Treasures - Disney Rarities - Celebrated Shorts, 1920s - 1960s + Make Mine Music (Disney Gold Classic Collection)
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Product Details

  • Actors: Don Wilson, Milt Kahl, Hal Smith, Ralph Wright, Laurie Main
  • Directors: Bill Justice, Charles A. Nichols, Clyde Geronimi, Dick Rickard, Hamilton Luske
  • Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
  • Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 2
  • Rated: G (General Audience)
  • Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment / Disney
  • DVD Release Date: December 6, 2005
  • Run Time: 326 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000ATQYUG
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,545 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • Learn more about "Walt Disney Treasures - Disney Rarities - Celebrated Shorts, 1920s - 1960s" on IMDb

Special Features

Alice's Cartoon World: An Interview With Virginia Davis

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Disney Rarities lives up to its title: It's been impossible to see many of these shorts for decades. Walt Disney bankrupted his fledgling Laugh-O-Gram studio making "Alice's Wonderland," but the short earned Disney his first national distribution contract. Films featuring animated characters in live-action settings were common during the silent era; Disney reversed the situation, placing a live actress (Virginia Davis) in a cartoon world. The "Alice" series ran from 1923-1926, and several girls played the title role. These silent films have been handsomely restored and given upbeat musical tracks by Alex Rannie.

The Oscar-winners "Ferdinand the Bull" (1938) and "Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom" (1953) rank as genuine classics, and have been unavailable for far too long. The wartime cautionary tale "Chicken Little" (1943) displays more imagination than the 2005 feature adaptation of the same story. "The Truth About Mother Goose" (1957) reflects the influence of Sleeping Beauty (1959), which was in production then; the elephants in "Goliath II" (1960) anticipate the ones in The Jungle Book (1967).

"Noah's Ark" (1959), Disney's first stop-motion film, features cleverly designed animals made from pencils, erasers, corks, pipecleaners, and other found objects, but the obstrusive '50s songs quickly cloy. Many of the films from the '50s and early '60s ("Pigs Is Pigs," "A Cowboy Needs a Horse," "Paul Bunyan" ) reflect the look of the UPA Studio. The characters are flatter, simpler, and more angular; the backgrounds, more stylized. Although Disney had dominated the cartoon short during the '30s, the studio largely shifted to feature and television production during the '40s and '50s. Disney Rarities is a set fans and students of animation will want to own. (Unrated, suitable for all ages: cartoon violence, tobacco use, ethnic stereotypes) --Charles Solomon

Product Description

This fascinating volume features some of Walt's most unique animated triumphs. Included are several of Walt's "The Alice Comedies," a pioneering series of early short films that combined live-action and animation. These wonderful, lesser-known unique films pre-date much of the work that would make him world-famous. "Alice's Wonderland" is one of Walt's very first films. Fans will enjoy the unique animation of "Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom," which won an Academy Award(r) (Best Short Subject (Cartoon) 1953) and was the first cartoon produced in Cinemascope. This short film established a completely new animation style for the Studio. DISNEY RARITIES, CELEBRATED SHORTS 1920s-1960s showcases a large collection of Walt's outstanding animated shorts that fans may not be aware of. Bonus features include: "Alice's Cartoon World" in which Leonard Maltin discusses Disney's historic "Alice" shorts with Virginia Davis who played the original Alice when she was 4-years old; "From Kansas City to Hollywood" - a timeline of Walt's silent era; "A Feather In His Collar" a rarely seen short supporting the Community Chest; audio commentary for "A Symposium On Popular Songs" by composer Richard Sherman, and still frame galleries. Introductions by Leonard Maltin.

CONTENTS
* Alice's Wonderland * Ben and Me
* Alice Gets in Dutch * Football, Now and Then
* Alice's Wild West Show * Toot, Whistle, Plunk & Boom
* Alice in the Jungle * Pigs Is Pigs
* Alice's Egg Plant * Social Lion
* Alice's Mysterious Mystery * A Cowboy Needs a Horse
* Alice the Whaler * Hooked Bear
* Ferdinand the Bull * In the Bag
* Chicken Little * Jack and Old Mac
* The Pelican and the Snipe * The Story of Anyburg, U.S.A.
* The Truth about Mother Goose * The Brave Engineer
* Paul Bunyan * Morris, the Midget Moose
* Noah's Ark * Lambert, the Sheepish Lion
* Goliath II * The Little House
* The Saga of Windwagon Smith * Adventures in Music: Melody
* A Symposium on Popular Songs


Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
172 of 181 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Holy cow, did they ever cheap-out on this one! May 28, 2006
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
It's not exactly a state secret that the "Disney Treasures" DVDs have been big money-makers for the company. So how do you squeeze a little extra cash out of a cash cow? Why, start throwing animated shorts onto DVD without remastering them, that's how!

Yep, the bulk of these cartoons are presented in vintage 20-year-old transfers. The images are soft and low-res, colors are frequently washed-out (I defy you to find the color tan anywhere in "Paul Bunyan"), and Cinemascope films such as "Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom" are presented in non-anamorphic widescreen. If you have a 16X9 TV, prepare yourself for a joyless experience.

The shorts themselves are largely second-tier Disney, with a few bona fide masterpieces such as "Ferdinand the Bull." Others show that when the Disney artists tackled a new field (such as UPA-style limited animation in "A Cowboy Needs a Horse," or dimensional animation in "Noah's Ark," with its fanciful found-object animals) they could do it better than just about anybody else. Kids may become a tad restless at times, but animation fans and Disney completists will be in heaven.

Bottom line: If Disney's going to call these shorts "Treasures" they should treat them as such.
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83 of 88 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fantastic Collection for the Disney Enthusiast! December 30, 2005
Format:DVD
Among the four Disney Treasures DVD sets that came out this year for Wave 5 of the popular collection, Disney Rarities, Chronological Donald Volume Two, Legendary Heroes, and Spin and Marty, I do believe this is the set I was most anticipating. "Disney Rarities: Celebrated Shorts" collects some of the most loved one-shot Disney shorts right alongside some of the most unseen! Starting all the way back with Walt's early Alice films and carrying all the way through to 1962's "A Symposium On Popular Songs," the mixed bag that is this 2-disc collection provides treat after treat of beautiful animation, charming stories and songs, and fond childhood memories! Here's what you get in this gorgeous DVD set!

Disc 1:
Alice's Wonderland (1923): The first of Walt's silent Alice Comedies that combined live-action and animation, this charming short stars the adorable little Virginia Davis and costars a young Mr. Disney himself! In it, Walt gives Alice a tour of a magical animation studio which leads to an animated dream sequence for Alice that night.
Alice's Wild West Show (1924): Probably the best of the Alice comedies I've seen, and Virginia's favorite, the live-action sequences of this are very reminiscent of the early "Little Rascals" films, and, of course, there are animated sequences as well. Alice and her friends are putting on a wild west show, but when bullies chase her costars away, Alice resorts to telling tales of her adventures with Indians and baddies.
Alice Gets In Dutch (1924): Little Alice gets the dunce cap in school one day for playing with a balloon, and when she falls asleep on her stool, she has to deal with a cartoon teacher and her living schoolbooks!
Alice's Egg Plant (1925): Sadly, Virginia Davis is replaced by Anne Shirley in this short. Also, the charming live-action sequences give way to total animation, aside from the inclusion of live-action Alice, of course. In this story, there's trouble on Alice's egg farm when a fowl Russian bird incites a strike. Luckily, Alice and her cat Julius concoct a plan!
Alice In the Jungle (1925): Virginia is back one more time for this tale of animal hi-jinks and lion fighting adventure.
Alice's Mysterious Mystery (1926): Margie Gay plays Alice in this short where she and Julius go up against an early version of Pete who is an evil dogcatcher turning his captive mutts into sausage! Yes, this is a disturbing cartoon!
Alice the Whaler (1927): Lois Hardwick plays a slightly older Alice, who sails the seas with her animal friends in a cartoon that features a potato peeling mouse in sequences seemingly identical to those in the following year's "Steamboat Willie!"
Ferdinand the Bull (1938): This cartoon is our sudden jump to color and sound (not including the music that accompanied the preceding Alice shorts). This is the Oscar winning tale of Ferdinand, a pacifist bull that just loves to sit and smell flowers, mistakenly chosen to fight in a bull ring when a bee sting makes him appear ferocious and wild! This is one of those classics you'll likely remember from your youth, and it also features caricatures of Walt and his animators.
Chicken Little (1943): No, this isn't Disney's new, computer-animated feature, this is a classic short about not believing everything you hear and read, with a twisted but very funny ending! I believe this is one of the several Academy Award nominees in this collection!
The Pelican and the Snipe (1944): And, here's another, I believe. One of the many shorts Disney did with Sterling Holloway (the original voice of Winnie the Pooh) as narrator, this is the cute wartime tale of a sleep-flying Pelican and his loyal and protective, sleep-deprived friend living together on a lighthouse in Uruguay. This was originally planned as part of "The Three Amigos" but was instead released on its own.
The Brave Engineer (1950): Here's one of my many favorites, the rousing, musical tale of Casey Jones, the brave engineer! The singing narration from Jerry Colonna and crew make this a fun-filled American adventure!
Morris, the Midget Moose (1950): Disney's Bootle Beetle characters kick-off this classic short as an elder tells two younger bugs the story of two misfit moose...meese...mooses.... whatever. One is very small, despite having full size antlers. The other is huge, but his antlers are tiny. Together, they are a powerful force!
Lambert the Sheepish Lion (1952): A favorite for Disney fans all over, this is the classic story of a lion cub mistakenly delivered to an expectant mother sheep. He is mocked and shunned by his peers, not unlike Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, but when he's all grown up, he's the only one who can keep the mean ol' wolf away!
The Little House (1952): This heartwarming classic, based on the children's book, is very similar to the oddly absent from this set "Susie, the Little Blue Coupe." It's the tale of a little house who grows old, lonely, and depressed while the world around her changes, but in the end gets cheered up by new owners, a new locale, and a new coat of paint.
Adventures In Music: Melody (1953): Originally released in 3-D (a first for an American animated film), but just as enjoyable in 2-D, this is the first of the Professor Owl shorts where he teaches his class full of young birds all about the world of music. Very enjoyable animation.
Football Now and Then (1953): Here's a fun animated short, even if you are like me and not really interested in football! Grandpa and grandson watch a televised football match pitting a modern football time with one from yesteryear!
Adventures In Music: Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom (1953): The other Oscar Winner in the bunch, here we learn the history of musical instruments in Professor Owl's class! A true classic!
Ben and Me (1953): A personal fave that is more of a featurette than a short, sure to be a hit with American history buffs that don't take it TOO seriously. This is the tale of Amos, a mouse voiced by Sterling Holloway, who is the real brains behind the legacy of Founding Father Benjamin Franklin!

Disc 2:
Pigs Is Pigs (1954): Disc 2 kicks off with an extremely enjoyable, highly fun musical romp about Flannery, a railroad station clerk whose strict adherence to the rules lands him in deep trouble when a shipment of lovestruck guinea pigs arrives.
Social Lion (1954): A lion captured on safari in Africa gets loose in the big city, but hardly anyone notices him! Very cute and funny, light social commentary short!
Hooked Bear (1956): One of the two widescreen cartoons in this set, this Humphrey the Bear short is as funny as anything the Looney Tunes ever did! In it, Humphrey does his best to outwit the fish, the tourists, and Ranger Woodlore in his attempts to load up some fish of his own!
Jack and Old Mac (1956): This imaginatively animated musical offering creatively illustrates jazzy renditions of "The House That Jack Built" and "Old MacDonald." Nicely entertaining.
In the Bag (1956): The other Humphrey the Bear widescreen cartoon in this set, this hilarious short has Ranger Woodlore scheming to use the park bears to clean up after the tourists. When the reward becomes a delicious dinner, Humphrey tries and tries but can't seem to keep his section clean! This butt-bumping extravaganza even features a cameo by Smokey the Bear!
A Cowboy Needs a Horse (1956): This captivating, musical dream shows a little boy's sleeping fantasy of being a real cowboy, battling bandits and Indians, and saving the damsel in distress. Always wanted this one in my collection!
The Story of Anyburg, USA (1957): In a humorous and twisted tale of injustice and frivolous lawsuits, this short tells the tale of a town that places the blame for automobile accidents on the automobiles themselves!
The Truth About Mother Goose (1957): This memorable old fave is one of the gems of this set! Telling the grim, true tales behind the nursery rhymes "Little Jack Horner," "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary," and "London Bridge Is Falling Down," this highly entertaining short is pretty dark for a Disney cartoon!
Paul Bunyan (1958): The bigger-than-life tale of Paul Bunyan the giant lumberjack is told here from his infancy to his retirement in a wonderful old Disney favorite!
Noah's Ark (1959): Stop-motion animation and household items are used for a change in this tale from the pages of Genesis in the Bible. Noah builds a great Ark to carry two of every animal, along with his family, through a flood that covered the entire globe in ancient times. This reasonably loyal and jazzy cartoon is great fun, though maybe it runs a tad long when it gets into some unnecessary Hippo romance subject matter. Still, very good little short!
Goliath II (1960): This Oscar nominated classic is the funny story of a tiny elephant the size of a mouse born to the biggest elephant in the herd! Little Goliath is nothing but trouble until he wins the others' respect by being the only one who can take on their greatest fear!
The Saga of Windwagon Smith (1961): Some may disagree, but I find this to be another of the best shorts in the set! Windwagon Smith is the tall tale of a sea captain with dreams of sailing over the American plains in a covered wagon that is part sailing ship! It's a very fun and imaginative tale!
A Symposium On Popular Songs (1962): And, finally, my favorite cartoon on this set, simply because who doesn't love Ludwig Von Drake, especially coupled with tons of Sherman Bros. music! Also pretty much a featurette at 19 minutes and 44 seconds in length, "A Symposium On Popular Songs" is hosted by the oddball relative of Donald Duck who takes us through the history of popular music in America, until 1962 at least. Read more ›
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72 of 88 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The Truth About What Is On Disney Rarities August 23, 2005
A Kid's Review
Format:DVD
The cartooons on Disney Rarities are Alice's Wonderland (1923),

Alice Gets in Dutch (1924), Alice's Wild West Show (1924),

Alice in the Jungle (1925), Alice's Egg Plant (1925),

Alice's Mysterious Mystery (1926), Alice the Whaler (1927),

Ferdinand the Bull (1938), Chicken Little (1943),

The Pelican and the Snipe (1944), The Brave Engineer (1950),

Morris, the Midget Moose (1950),

Lambert, the Sheepish Lion (1952), The Little House (1952),

Melody (1952), Ben and Me (1953),

Toot, Whistle, Plunk & Boom (1953), Pigs Is Pigs (1954),

Social Lion (1954), A Cowboy Needs a Horse (1956),

Hooked Bear (1956), In the Bag (1956), Jack and Old Mac (1956), The Story of Anyburg, U.S.A. (1957),

The Truth about Mother Goose (1957), Paul Bunyan (1958),

Noah's Ark (1959), Goliath II (1960),

The Saga of Windwagon Smith (1961) and

A Symposium on Popular Songs (1962). The bonus feature are Alice's Cartoon World - Leonard Maltin talks with Virginia Davis about the Alice shorts, From Kansas City to Hollywood - a timeline of Walt's silent era, A Feather in His Collar short from 1946, Audio commentary by composer Richard Sherman on A Symposium on Popular Songs and some galleries.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Great!
We are in the process of updating our movies and these are some great gems. My 6 year old loves them.
Published 29 days ago by R. E. Reneker
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Collection!
We love all of the Disney Treasures and continue to watch them to this day. I would recommend this product.
Published 2 months ago by ginger given
5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC!
Thank you so very much,

This is such an incredibly adorable collection of classic Disney! My son absolutely LOVES it!

Perfect purchase across the board.
Published 2 months ago by Frances S. Defillippo
5.0 out of 5 stars Classics viewing
These DVDs show us the quality of animation at its best. Stories that remain with you for a lifetime and I am enjoying sharing them with my children and grandchildren.
Published 3 months ago by Angela Chapman
4.0 out of 5 stars Wald disney treasures
You can't beat this one. I sat down with the grandkid to watch and it ended up with everyone "remembering when...".
Published 3 months ago by jack moskowitz
3.0 out of 5 stars What Is This?
I don't even remember purchasing this. What the heck was it? I'm sure it would have worked well if I had purchsed it though.
Published 4 months ago by Wilbur Taylor
4.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting for Disney Fans.
This is a Very Interesting DVD for Disney Fans. I remember Watching a Few of these as A Child.
Also, if you are a Fan of the 1951 Disney "Alice in Wonderland" Film... Read more
Published 5 months ago by R. Steven Terry Jr.
4.0 out of 5 stars for a great cartoons for kids
the item arrive before the time i was told it would.if you love the little short stories by walt disney.you will love this one.the most favor one is in the bag. Read more
Published 5 months ago by mccray
5.0 out of 5 stars happy memories
I rememeber watching these shorts growing up . They were always my favorite . I especially liked Ben and Me ,learning about Mother Goose ,Ferninand the bull and Paul Bunyan. Read more
Published 8 months ago by G. McManus
5.0 out of 5 stars Overall Wonderful!
After struggling with packaging issues (the new product from Amazon.com came in already scratched and dented) I was delighted with the shorts overall. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Michelle Rhodes
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