Product Details

• Actors: Robert Benchley, Frances Gifford, Buddy Pepper, Nana Bryant, Claud Allister
• Directors: Alfred L. Werker, Hamilton Luske, Jack Cutting, Jack Kinney, Ub Iwerks
• Writers: Al Perkins
• Format: Animated, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Live, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Walt Disney Home Video
• DVD Release Date: December 3, 2002
• Run Time: 240 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00006II6P
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,148 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #13 in

  Movies & TV > Kids & Family > Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment > Walt Disney Treasures

• For more information about "Walt Disney Treasures - Behind the Scenes at the Walt Disney Studio" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This item is part of The Walt Disney Treasures Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

As Walt Disney's fame grew during the 1930s, people wanted to know more about his studio and how the "Silly Symphonies" and Mickey Mouse shorts were created. Although Disney seldom allowed visitors, he periodically offered viewers peeks inside into the studio through the films in this collection. In 1937, Disney made A Trip Through the Walt Disney Studios for his distributor, RKO, to help the marketing campaign for Snow White. This in-house documentary was later reworked and released as a trailer for the studio's first feature as How Walt Disney Cartoons Are Made. In 1941, humorist Robert Benchley toured the studio and chatted with the artists in The Reluctant Dragon. But the film was released during a bitterly fought strike that belied its cheerful depiction of the studio.

During the '50s, Walt used his studio as a backdrop for several episodes of the Disneyland TV series. "The Story of the Animated Drawing" traces the history of the medium, including re-creations of Emil Reynaud's Théâtre Optique (1892-1900) and Winsor McCay's vaudeville routine with his landmark film Gertie the Dinosaur (1914). "Tricks of Our Trade," which focuses on the creation of Sleeping Beauty, shows staged footage of four of the celebrated "Nine Old Men"--Marc Davis, Milt Kahl, Frank Thomas, and Ollie Johnston--sketching. In the DVD bonus material, host Leonard Maltin traces the development of the studio facilities from a Los Angeles garage to its present location in Burbank. Maltin also chats with Disney legend Joe Grant, who cowrote the "Baby Weems" sequence in Reluctant Dragon. Recorded at the time of Grant's 94th birthday, the artist displays the sly wit that continues to inspire animators. (Unrated: Suitable for all ages: cartoon violence) --Charles Solomon

Product Description

This volume goes inside the walls of the world’s most famous magic factory for an inside tour, via several "behind-the-scenes" films and television shows.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for Disneyphiles and Animation Buffs, January 8, 2003

By	Mark Baker (Santa Clarita, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Once again, Disney is reaching into its vaults and releasing DVD collections of rarer material. This set focuses on behind the scenes footage showing the studio at work.

Disc One opens with "A Trip through the Walt Disney Studios." This was the first short of this kind Disney did. It also served as a promo to movie houses for Snow White. The optional pop-ups are interesting, and I loved getting a chance to see the first studio.

"How Walt Disney Cartoons are made" is a slight edit released to the general public to build excitement for Snow White. Both of these were included on last year's release of that movie.

The last item on the first disc is "The Reluctant Dragon." In it, Robert Benchley takes a tour while trying to find Walt to pitch a story idea. There are several fun animated sequences as well.

Disc Two is three episodes of Disneyland that break the animation process down further. This is the real meat of the set. They are a fun mix of explanation and clips from their movies and each end with a segment from Fantasia.

"The Story of the Animated Drawing" has a fascinating look at the history that lead up to Disney. I'd never realized some of what came before. This one is shown in black and white, but it still interesting to watch.

"The Plausible Impossible" focuses on story-telling in animation. It features the famous "Music in Your Soup" sequence that was cut from Snow White. This was the first time I'd seen it all the way through, and I'm shocked it was cut.

The last episode, "Tricks of Our Trade," focuses on things animators do to help them draw realistically. Not much I didn't know here, but still fun to watch.

Maybe it just takes repetition with me, but I'm finally getting a picture of how animation works, and I've watched shows like these numerous times. As always, Disney educates us in a fun manner and manages to promo some of his own projects as well.

The set is great for the collector and serious Disney fan. Leonard Maltin is an informed and enthusiastic host, as always. (I want his job!) The sound is adequate, but the picture could have used a touch up in spots. This is especially true on disc two when they are showing clips from their films. Still, it serves the purpose well. I also wish that they had included chapter breaks, especially in the 80 minute "Reluctant Dragon." But, the information is so good I don't really mind.

Any fan of animation will love getting to see how things are really done. I think I finally have a complete picture of all the work that goes into making a cartoon of any length. Well worth the money and time spent.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Walt Disney Treasures Part 5: Behind the Scenes at WDS, April 25, 2003

By A Customer

Walt Disney Treasures Review 5: Behind the Scenes at Walt Disney Studios:Leonard Maltin has done it, again. He made in myopinion one of the most interesting. This may not be the greatest quality but it is perfect. Like all the other treasures, it opens with the Walt Disney Treasure Theater and intro with Leonard Maltin. When you get to the main menu, you should start at the "How Walt Disney Cartoons are Made." Here, you could choose to view it with a informational subtitle showing history about the short made in the 30s for Snow White. Leonard Maltin Introduces it as usual. After this, head over to the crown of the collection, the 1941 feature, "The Reluctant Dragon." Introduced by Leonard Maltin, this film was a compiltation of various cartoons including the one that gave the film its name. Slid in between it all was comedy footage of Robert Benchley taking a "Detour" of the studios. He looks for Walt and gets sidetracked as he visits the sound effects stage, a recording session with the voice of Donald Duck, visiting the Multiplane Camera, paint room, sees a storyboard for the short "Baby Weems, and sees the animator's desk of Ward Kimball and watches Goofy's "How to Ride a Horse." After this movie, take a peek at the the film, "A Trip Through Walt Disney Studios." This film was created for RKO to distribute Snow White. This was remade into "How Disney Cartoons are Made" and shown to the public. It is introduced by Leonard. Finally on disc one, take a look at a few bonus features. Go look at "Behind the Boards on Baby Weems" featurette, a "Leonard Maltin's Studio Tour" featurette, and a Reluctant Dragon Gallery. Disc 2 opens with an intro by Leonard. He then gets you prepared to watch the second half, the Behind the Scenes Disneyland Shows. The first one is the pioneering "The Story of the Animated Drawing." This show is in black and white and was the first of three shows Walt would make about animation. He talks about the history of animation with a remake of "Gertie the Dinosaur," a demo of "Koko the Clown," and early animation devices. It is introduced by Leonard. Second is "The Plausible Impossible." This show is in color and came after the show seen before. Walt talked about things that would be impossible in our world, but seem Plausible in animation. It is introduced by Leonard Maltin. Finally, the third show is "Tricks of Our Trade." This one is when Walt Disney shows tricks that he and his animators used to created special effects and easier ways to animate that other studios would never be able to do. It is introduced by Leonard Maltin. Final bonus features are, "Walt Disney Studios" gallery, a "Kem Weber Gallery," and "A Trip Through Walt Disney Studios" radio program. Considering all the things in the is limited edition set show's age, this is good quality. This is worthy of ten stars for content, and five for quality. Buy it before all 250,000 run out.

Also See:

Silly Symphonies
Mickey Mouse in Living Color
Disneyland USA
Davy Crockett
Mickey Mouse in Black and White
The Complete Goofy

Was this review helpful to you?

48 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A History of the Mouse House, October 12, 2002

By	Bruce Aguilar (Hollywood, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This 2 disc DVD goes inside the walls of the world's most famous magic factory for an inside tour, via several "behind-the-scenes" films and television shows. Much of this material has been hotly anticipated by Disney fans for years as it has never been released before.

BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE WALT DISNEY STUDIO - DISC ONE
* Welcome and Introduction by Film Historian Leonard Maltin

FEATURES AND SHORTS
*A Trip Through The Walt Disney Studio (Short, 1938)
*How Walt Disney Cartoons Are Made (Short, 1939)
*The Reluctant Dragon (Feature, 1941)

DISC ONE SUPPLEMENTAL FEATURES
* Video Feature: "Leonard Maltin's Studio Tour"
For his television programs, Walt Disney often invited viewers right onto the lot at his Studio in Burbank. In this new video element, Leonard Maltin uses Walt Disney's own television programs to create a unique tour around the Disney Studio lot, from 1954 to today.
* Behind The Boards On Baby Weems
A look at this uniquely animated section of Disney's The Reluctant Dragon
* The Reluctant Dragon Gallery
* Walt Disney Studios Gallery

BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE WALT DISNEY STUDIO - DISC TWO
* Welcome and Introduction by Film Historian Leonard Maltin

TV EPISODES (47 min. each):
*The Story Of The Animated Drawing (TV Episode, 1955)
*The Plausible Impossible (TV Episode, 1956)
*Tricks of Our Trade (TV Episode, 1957)

DISC TWO SUPPLEMENTAL FEATURES
* Film Historian Leonard Maltin provides individual introductions to each feature
* Radio Program "Tour of the Disney Studio"
* Radio Program: "Tour of the Disney Studio" (1946) from the Walt Disney Productions Sound Department.
* Kem Webber Gallery: Through this thumbnail still gallery, you can see behind-the-scenes photos of the Disney Studios, as well as backstage peeks at the making of each of the films and programs featured in this compilation.