Release Info:
Original Air Date: August 21, 1942
DVD Release Date: March 1, 2011
Online Availability: Amazon for $26.99

Disney has the distinguished ability to say that they have made movies that children will never forget. With each Diamond Edition film that comes out, I become giddy, remembering watching the film as a child. One of my favorite films growing up, especially by Disney, was Bambi. Luckily for me, I was born a female, because for years I hated boys that enjoyed hunting season just because of this one film. That’s one of the many beautiful parts of Bambi. It teaches children the importance of the forest and all of the lives living in it. I wouldn’t go as far as saying it made me a vegetarian (because it didn’t), though I know some that went that route, but I will say that I have yet to eat venison and I’m not looking to try it anytime soon.

Now that I have children of my own I love being able to watch these movies with my kids and my nephew. The movies are still as important and exciting to me as they were when I was a child. Of course, they are even more exciting now because I can see the excitement the kids are experiencing and that makes it so much better. Knowing how my mom felt when she watched these movies with me, is an interesting, and exciting thing. It’s also nice to be able to put in a film that the whole family can enjoy. This isn’t one of those films that you can stomach for the sake of the kids. You end up actually enjoying it, which can be rare with some children’s films.

Bambi receives a top quality treatment with a beautifully restored audio and visual rendering, a plethora of bonus features, and a plot as timeless as the day it was written. I rarely say that any movie is must own, but this is a must own release. If you own the DVD I recommend selling it on Amazon and buying this combo pack. With this you will receive both the DVD and Blu-ray in a stellar set. Don’t let this one pass you buy because it will be great for the kids and when they have kids you will be pulling it out to experience the enjoyment with a new generation when the time comes.

The Bambi Plot
Bambi is a story of life, love, and loss. A doe gives birth to a young fawn that is known as Bambi. The young fawn is shown learning to become an adult. we are with him through his first steps and the first words that he speaks. We also have a chance to meet some of his friends, Thumper, a young rabbit, and Flower, a skunk that Bambi picks a name for, much to Flowers delight.

As Bambi gets older, his mother takes him into the meadow to show him the beauty of the open forest, but also to explain to him the danger that exists in the meadow. With nowhere to hide, she explains that deers in the meadow are in danger so they need to do what is necessary to protect themselves. Bambi has a chance to meet Faline, a female fawn, and his father while he is in the meadow. His father saves him from danger and explains that “man” was in the forest, which is why they had to retreat for their lives.

The complete life cycle of the seasons is shown, with the playful young animals enjoying the winter as they slide around on the ice and play in the snow. This leads to the melting of the snow, and the rebirth of Spring, though it does not come without some loss. As Bambi gets older and grows into an adult he learns that life can be hard, but it is also filled with amazing moments and beautiful, loving relationships.

Despite being a young deer, Bambi is put in a position where he has to save the love of his life, from other male suitors and eventually from man, who only sees the animals in the forest as food or a prize in a sport. As the meadow lights up in fire set by man, it is up to Bambi to save Faline so that they can live happily ever after.

Storyline/Plot: 5 out of 5 stars
Acting: 5 out of 5 stars
Replayability: 5 out of 5 stars
Directing: 5 out of 5 stars

Audio/Visual:
I am so happy that Disney was the studio to release Bambi. The reason for that is that Disney is notoriously known for providing flawless restorations for their older movies. Bambi is no exception. This movie looks absolutely gorgeous. I am not sure how they managed to take a film as old as this one and make it look brand new, but that is exactly what they did. The colors are lavish and actually pop on the screen with beautiful, rich greens in the forrest, bright flowers, and a natural earthy look where it fits in the picture. The black levels are also amazing. The detail is comparable to a movie just made, with a strong background presence and crisp lines on every element of the film. It appears that everything that the animators attempted to portray is alive and well in this feature. Also worth noting is the fact that Bambi is free of any annoying factors. You will not spot dirt, noise, or any compression problems. The only thing to see here is a beautifully restored classic animated film.

Bambi offers a DTS-HD 7.1 sound mix that delivers everything you need to enjoy this movie and more. The background sound is heard clearly and will allow you to experience the sounds of the forrest as you laugh with the main characters in the forrest. The dialogue remains clear throughout the film and the musical segments sound slightly aged, but amazing regardless of age. Other audio tracks included are the original Dolby 2.0 track and 5.1 tracks in French and Spanish. Subtitles are also available in all three languages.

Visual: 5 out of 5 stars
Audio: 5 out of 5 stars

Bonus Features:
While many special releases like this will overload you with special features, Bambi does just the opposite. Most of the special features here are worth watching and some of them are worth watching more than once. This will be a great offering for Disney lovers and huge Bambi fans alike.

Bambi: Inside Walt’s Story Meetings – For me, this stands out as one of the coolest special features in the Bambi lineup. Using the Picture-in-Picture format, you have a chance to see a recreation of the story and the meetings that Walt Disney had with his team during the production process. This featurette was made using transcripts that the filmmakers kept of the meetings. While I am not a fan of commentaries for the most part, something like this is similar, but ends up offering plenty of information you wouldn’t have received in a commentary. Included here is a selected amount of archival footage, photographs from the production, sketches and concept art, and even color tests. If you want to up the ante you can press the enter button when you are prompted and you receive a plethora of additional information. Among the more notable points of this area are classic animated shorts, anecdotes, and secret featurettes that are only found in this area.

The Making of Bambi: A Prince is Born: This six part documentary lasts for around an hour. It includes the areas of Story, Characters, Actors, Art Design, Music, and History. If there was any questions you had or things you wanted to know about Bambi chances are you will find that information here.

If you’re a fan of Interactive Galleries you will find hundreds of pictures in various sections. Included are character design sketches, production photos, visual development shots, storyboards, and background paintings.

Eight minutes of Deleted Scenes offer four deleted shots. Two of the scenes, “Two Leaves” and ” Bambi Stuck on a Reed” have not been available in any other releases. Along with the two new scenes, are two scenes that have been available on various Bambi DVD releases. Those two scenes are “Winter Grass” and “Bambi’s First Snow.”

“Twitterpated” is a song that never made it in the movie. This two minute deleted song is included along with the other special features.

Inside the Disney Archives: This nine minute segment gives you a chance to experience some of the original Bambi artwork in the Disney Vault with one of the studio animators.

Disney Second Screen: Second Screen is a new feature that allows viewers to synch up their computers or iPads to receive additional downloadable content

Disney’s Big Book of Knowledge: This one is perfect for the kids. This gives them a chance to check out the forest in more detail. The kids have a chance to meet Bambi and his friends. Some games are also available in this section.

Tricks of the Trade: This seven minute section has Walt Disney showing off the multi-plane camera and various animation techniques of the Disney animators.

The Old Mill lasts for nine minutes and includes the 1937 Academy Award winning animated short “Silly Symphony”

Also included are the original theatrical trailer, Disney View (this allows you to fill the black spaces on your television screen with artwork) and a variety of sneak peeks for such movies as Winnie the Pooh, Bambi 2, Tangled, The Lion King, and Tinker Bell and the Mysterious Winter Woods.

Bonus Features: 5 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line:
Classic Disney movies are considered must own films. This is what it really comes down to. They are must own because the films are generally fabulous and the modern treatment that Disney gives them is nothing short of fabulous. Bambi looks and sounds amazing. This is as close to a modern-looking movie as something can be that was made decades ago. Most importantly, Bambi is one of those ageless tales that breeze through the generational gaps. Parents will enjoy this with their children and in many cases this will be a movie that grandkids could enjoy with their grandparents. While you likely own Bambi in other formats, you owe it to yourself to pick this up in Bluray. It will be well worth the money spent.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Blu-Ray Review, Bambi, Two-Disc, Diamond Edition, Blu-ray/DVD Combo, Disney, Classic, Animation, Disney Movie, Thumper, Flower

Release Info:
Theatrical Release Dates: January 6, 1942 and December 31, 1999
DVD Release Date: November 30, 2010
Online Availability: Amazon for $27.99

I grew up loving the sounds of classical music. Not many parents introduce their children to vibrant, concert quality music these days. I saw Fantasia many times when I was a kid. I owned the VHS of it in the clam-shell case. I now own the Blu-Ray and DVD thanks to this review. When we typically think of Disney movies, Fantasia is usually not the first movie that comes to mind. These days, it seems to be one of the under-appreciated gems that Walt Disney held near and dear to his own heart. People are not used to animation with no sound. There are no sound effects or dialogue. There is only music, and that is the way this film was intended to be. As an audience member, the goal is to sit back and enjoy the beautiful, harmonic melodies, as you watch the stories each piece is telling unfold before your very eyes.

Ashtyn, my girlfriend, had never seen Fantasia. Like most people she dismissed it as a silly, frivolous piece of Disney art. Oh, she had no doubt it was good, but she was certain it was not exactly her cup of tea. Things changed after she watched it. The film is framed around Mickey Mouse’s comeback in “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, which has to be the highlight of the film. Though filmmakers, and Disney himself, used the same tender, loving care to make all the other Fantasia segments, this one stands out, as it is the very best. Mickey Mouse shines as only he can and oh what a comeback he made! Ash was surprised by how much she truly ended up liking Fantasia far more than she thought she would. There is something endearing about this film, and the music, under the direction of Leopold Stokowski, is absolutely brilliant.

I had never seen Fantasia 2000 before receiving it for review. I believe it is a worthy sequel to Fantasia. It follows the same kind of formula with animated features set to classical music. It also has introductions by famous people. I really enjoyed seeing the amazing violinist, Itzhak Perlman, as well as musical legends like Quincy Jones and Bette Midler in this. These are true music enthusiasts, who have the chance to share their love of music through these orchestrations by James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

I implore parents to give these two films a chance and to introduce their children to classical music, through Fantasia and Fantasia 2000. There is nothing like enjoying the sweet sound of music as performed by an orchestra, and these films present such music in a fun and imaginative way. Walt Disney wanted to breathe new life into his beloved Mickey Mouse. As new characters developed, Mickey was pushed to the side, but Walt had faith his little mouse would find a way to reconnect with his audience. As Mickey brought life into Fantasia, all of the characters of these two films bring fantastical interpretations to both new orchestrations and old ones that had been around for years. While this may not be the Disney film you watch over and over with your kids, it needs to be the one you DO watch with them to inspire them to be creative, open and imaginative.

The Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 Plots
The original film was shown back in the 1940s. At that time, the Philadelphia Orchestra performed the pieces, as they were conducted by Leopold Stokowski. Fantasia is set up to feature nine different animation segments interspersed with live-action introductions and visions of an orchestra playing. The orchestra on screen is not the one actually making the lovely music, though. It is made up of local musicians from the L.A. area and those involved with this film project in other ways. Stokowski does serve as the conductor and can be seen on screen, especially during the melodic opening of the film.

The segments for Fantasia include “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”, “Night on Bald Mountain”/”Ave Maria”, “Nutcracker Suite”, “The Rite of Spring”, “Intermission”/”Meet the Soundtrack”, “The Pastoral Symphony” and “Dance of the Hours”. The film features music from composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach (his “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor” was adapted for a complete orchestra), Tchaikovsky (“Nutcracker Suite”), Igor Stravinsky (“The Rite of Spring”), Ludwig van Beethoven (“The Pastoral Symphony”) and Franz Schubert (“Ave Maria”), amongst others.

Each musical sequence tells its own animated story. For example, “Dance of the Hours” by Amilcare Ponchielli features Madame Upanova and her dancing ostriches in the morning, Hyacinth Hippo and her dancing servants for the daytime, Elephanchine and her bubble-blowing elephant troupe for the evening and Ben Ali Gator and his troop of dancing alligators for the night. When all of the characters meet, chaos ensues until they realize they all have the same goal. Together they dance, though there is definitely a surprise ending.

The most famous piece in Fantasia is “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”. Set to the music of Paul Dukas, and based on the poem “Der Zauberlehrling” by Goethe, it tells the story of a lazy sorcerer’s apprentice, as portrayed by Mickey Mouse. He is the apprentice of Yen Sid, and as he is taking a rest, the apprentice uses a magical hat he saw Yen Sid use previously, to attempt to get his chores done more quickly (and without him having to do the work). Unfortunately, the apprentice does not yet have his powers under control, so he ends up making a bigger mess. As he floods the tower, each effort to get it under control causes more damage. Finally, Yen Sid must discover what his young apprentice has been up to, and qualm the rushing waters, before more damage occurs. This is the hallmark of Fantasia and it also appears in Fantasia 2000 due to its popularity and recognizability.

Speaking of Fantasia 2000, this sequel features celebrities in the live-action sequences. The aforementioned stars are joined by the likes of Penn and Teller, Angela Lansbury and Steve Martin. The music that is featured in Fantasia 2000 includes “Symphony No. 5 in C minor-I. Allegro con brio” by Ludwig Von Beethoven, “Rhapsody in Blue” by George Gershwin, “Pines of Rome” by Ottorino Respighi, “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” by Paul Dukas, “Pomp and Circumstance – Marches 1, 2, 3 and 4″ by Edward Elgars, “Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major-I. Allegro” by Dmitri Shostakovich and “Firebird Suite” by Igor Stravinsky. The animations for these segments offer animated, flying humpback whales, people in Depression-Era New York City, the story of a soldier, a flock of flamingos doing slapstick comedy, Donald Duck on Noah’s Ark, and a forest sprite and elk.

Fantasia 2000 features an animation style incredibly similar to that in Fantasia. You can tell the artists took care in making the two films look like they were sequels. From the opening sequences, which feature splashes of liquid color reminiscent of the water splashing around during “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” to the anthropomorphic nature of the animals that pepper throughout the various segments, these movies are interlinked by more than just their lack of dialogue and classical music motifs.

Both of these films contain segments with abstract art and animation. In Fantasia, the opening sequence features various degrees of light and darkness that play with the shadows that are created by the conductor and members of the symphony orchestra, due to changes in lighting. In Fantasia 2000, the opening sequence features abstract patterns. The patterns play with the ideas of light and darkness, and feature shapes within the patterns that resemble bats and butterflies within the light and dark. These shapes change, though they resemble various kinds of butterflies and bats, depending on the scene, with the first appearing as splashes along the sky and clouds.

Storyline/Plot: 5 out of 5 stars
Replayability: 5 out of 5 stars
Directing: 5 out of 5 stars

Audio/Visual:
These newly restored films look brilliant in Blu-Ray. First, let’s start with Fantasia. The Fantasia Blu-Ray is really what matters in this set, though there is a DVD in it, which is of decent quality. The Blu-Ray features 1080p, HD video at a 1.33:1 aspect ratio. it looks absolutely amazing. For its age, you’d be hard-pressed to find a quality as good as this one. I did not notice any major visual errors that would denigrate my viewing pleasure. Likewise, the more modern Fantasia 2000 looks exceptionally good. Since it is newer, more could be done to make this film explode from the screen in an array of colors. It is presented at a 1.78:1 aspect ratio in 1080p HD. Disney does wonders when it comes to film restoration and you can truly see the care put into restoring these two films for Blu-Ray.

The audio for the Fantasia Blu-Ray is as awesome as the video quality. The prime track is English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Everything sounds amazing. The restoration of this track has brought Fantasia to life in new and astounding ways. This truly sounds like a party in your ears. With a soundtrack driven film like Fantasia, a strong audio track is a necessity and this one succeeds on all levels. The disc also features 5.1 DEHT French and Spanish language tracks and English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles. Fantasia 2000 features an English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. I did not think a track could get any better than the one in Fantasia, but this one does. This Blu-Ray also features 5.1 DEHT French and Spanish language tracks and English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles. Both tracks are explosive, vibrant, and all-encompassing in their sound.

Visual: 5 out of 5 stars
Audio: 5 out of 5 stars

Bonus Features:
In true Disney fashion, this four-disc set for Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 are full of bonus features. We’ll get started right away and list what is offered for each film.

Fantasia

On the DVD

Audio Commentary: There is a commentary with Brian Sibley, who is a Disney Historian. I found this commentary to be absolutely fascinating.

Disney Family Museum: This is a five minute mini-feature where Diane Disney-Miller, the daughter of Walt, shows viewers around the new Disney Family Museum, which is located in San Francisco. The reason this is included is because the museum features an extensive Fantasia exhibit. Within this museum is the famed Schultheis notebook, which contains production notes for the film. It was found recently in the walls of a convent.

On the Blu-Ray

The aforementioned features are also included on the Blu-Ray version of Fantasia. There are also the following, additional features.

Disney View: This is really another visual mode for the film. It is presented at a 16×9 aspect ratio and features original artwork by a Disney artist to accompany this new design mode.

The Shultheis Notebook: A Disney Treasure: This is an actual feature that is just shy of 15 minutes in length. It explores, more in depth, the infamous Shultheis Notebook. The notebook was created by one of Fantasia‘s special effects crew members, Herman Schultheis. It offers extensive production notes that reveal many of the special effects secrets used in the film. This is significant because many of these effects had baffled animators when trying to replicate their creation, in modern day animation features until finding Schultheis’ technical guide.

Audio Commentaries: There is a commentary with executive producer Roy E. Disney, conductor James Levine, animation historian, John Canemaker, and the film restoration manager Scott McQueen and one hosted by John Canemaker, which features interviews and story note recreations by Walt Disney.

Finally, there are a selection of Art Galleries and Screensavers that feature pictures in HD and Blu-Ray interactivity.

Fantasia 2000

On the DVD

‘Musicana’ – Walt’s Inspiration for a Sequel: This featurette is ten minutes in length. Walt always intended to have a Fantasia sequel. This looks at the artwork created for that, which was to be named Musicana. The goal for this project from the 70s was to explore different cultures using classical music. John Lasseter was even working on a feature with Walt called “The Emperor and the Nightingale”. This featurette explores why this sequel never was made.

On The Blu-Ray

Besides the feature on the DVD, the Blu-Ray contains:

‘Dali & Disney: A Date With Destino’: This is an extensive featurette that is over 80 minutes in length. It is a documentary that looks at the relationship Walt Disney had with Salvador Dali. It also looks at why it took so long for the Destino short to see the light of day. This featurette is chock full of Disney-fun and information.

Destino: The highly-anticipated short that is around seven minutes in length. This is the legacy of Walt Disney and Salvador Dali.

Disney’s Virtual Vault A feature of BD-Live that offers original DVD Bonus Features that were a part of the Legacy Collection.

Audio Commentaries: There is a commentary with executive producer Roy E. Disney, conductor James Levine, and producer Don Ernst and one with the directors and art directors of the various segments.

Bonus Features: 5 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line:
Now is the time to teach your children about the joys of classical music. The colorful, artistic nature of Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 makes these movies stand out amongst a plethora of standard animation features produced by Disney. Walt Disney and the artists behind these films believed they had attained artistic achievements for the development of the Fantasia films and I tend to agree. These will probably not be films you and your children watch daily, but they are must-haves to add to your Disney collection. You need to own these films because they are truly artistic masterpieces you and your family will cherish for decades to come.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Fantasia, Fantasia 2000, Blu-Ray DVD Combo, Blu-Ray Review, Disney, Mickey Mouse, Classic Disney, Family movie, animated

Release Info:
DVD Release Date: June 22, 2010
Online Availability: Amazon for $24.49

I like cartoons, but I’m not in love with most of the Warner Bros. cartoons. That probably sounds wrong, so let me clarify this statement a little bit. I enjoy watching WB, old school cartoons like Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, but I don’t go ga-ga for them like some people I know. Watching these cartoons is a fun way to shoot the breeze, but I’m not going to freak out if I do not see another Tom and Jerry cartoon again. I will live and the world will go on turning.

In contrast, my kid is nutso for these old cartoons, especially Tom and Jerry. This dynamic, cat and mouse duo are his favorites next to the Chronological Donald cartoons. He is so in love with these cartoons that the minute we get the DVDs he wants to watch them. He will drop everything, especially his homework, to see the same hijinks Tom and Jerry have been pulling far before he or I were born. Thus, we own pretty much every Tom and Jerry DVD set Warner Bros. has put out. We have the Spotlight Collections, the Volume DVDs, the movies, the new incarnations of the cartoon…you name it.

You have to understand my son is a teen, but he also has Aspergers. He has a major problem with re-watching shows, cartoons or movies he has already seen, with a few exceptions. There are certain movies he will watch over and over to the point where his mother and I could go our entire lives without seeing these films again and be happy. He did this with Chicago (and he sang along – knowing every word of the movie and the songs). He did this with I Am Sam. As much as I’ve heard, “Why are we watching this? I’ve already seen it,” I must confess, he has never said this about Tom and Jerry. Like the aformentioned films, he could watch these cartoons over and over with nary a complaint.

What he does not realize, because he is oblivious to censorship, is that some of the shorts in this set have been altered for content. Kids need to understand, as much as adults, about the tawdry history of blackface and how prejudice was ever present in everything, back in the day, including cartoons. What better way to teach them then through cartoons? I watch television with the kids and if something like this comes on we discuss it with them. I do not think it is fair to try and erase this part of history. We can’t pretend everything was hunky-dory and let them think that racism did not exist in the land of imagination and animation. They will eventually grow up and learn the truth; the cartoons of their childhood were a lie.

WB saw the err of their ways in past releases when they reissued DVDs with the shorts in their original format. SO…it boggles the mind why they would turn around and release this set with the edited versions of “The Milky Waif” and “The Little Orphan” and the redubbed version of “The Lonesome Mouse.” It makes no sense. I know many adult fans will be disappointed that these shorts are not in their original form. Besides, my son is a teen. This set isn’t geared towards the little ones. If it was, then maybe the censorship was justified, but it’s not.

Tom and Jerry Deluxe Anniversary Collection Episode Synopsis’
The Tom and Jerry Deluxe Anniversary Collection set is spread across two discs. The first disc features 20 shorts, and the second features a hodge podge of Tom and Jerry memories throughout the years.

Here is a list of what is offered on each disc.

DISC ONE
Oscar Winners and Classics

“Puss Gets the Boot” – The very first short to feature Tom and Jerry. At this time, they were known as Jinx and Jasper. Jasper tries to eat Jinx, but only succeeds in making Mammy Two Shoes mad enough to evict him.

“The Midnight Snack” – Tom interrupts Jerry as he sneaks around the kitchen getting some cheese, his midnight snack. Luckily, Jerry has some tricks up his sleeve.

“Dog Trouble” – Tom antagonizes Jerry, causing him to run in his hole. Jerry escapes after thwarting Tom, but things get interesting when Spike, the bulldog, enters the picture.

“Fraidy Cat” – After listening to the “Witching Hour” on the radio, Tom is very scared by the story being told. Jerry uses this to his advantage to antagonize Tom.

“Puss ‘N Toots” – When Mammy Two Shoes gets a girl cat to watch after, Tom falls in love. He tries to impress her by doing magic tricks with Jerry as his pawn, but, as always, Jerry gets the best of him.

“The Lonesome Mouse” – Jerry gets rid of Tom by causing trouble that Mammy Two Shoes blames on the cat. After a few hours of peace, he realizes things aren’t fun with Tom not around, so he sets out on a quest to frighten Mammy into letting Tom back in.

“Yankee Doodle Mouse” – Jerry heads into his “Cat Raid Shelter” aka mouse hole, where he has plenty of ammunition to take on a pursuing Tom. The two go to “war” and Jerry is set to take on the cat.

“Mouse Trouble” – Frustrated in his failed quest to catch Jerry, Tom finds a book on how to catch mice. He follows the techniques in the book to attempt to catch Jerry and hilarity ensues.

“Mouse in Manhattan” – Jerry leaves the country to head off to live in New York City. However, city life is quite different than life in the country. He begins to realize he might not have it so bad, after all.

“Quiet Please!” – Spike wants to take a nap, but Tom chasing Jerry keeps him wide awake. While Tom is content to try to let him sleep while still pursuing Jerry, Jerry likes seeing Tom chased by Spike.

“The Milky Waif” – When baby Nibbles is left on Jerry’s door, he has no choice but to take care of the little mouse. However, Nibbles is always hungry, so Jerry must find a way to get him lots of milk and protect him from Tom.

“The Cat Concerto” – Tom is playing a piano concerto and he awakens Jerry, who is asleep inside the piano. Jerry sets out to have Tom make a fool of himself, as a result.

“The Little Orphan” – The always hungry Nibbles returns to celebrate Thanksgiving with Jerry. Again, Jerry must find him food, and avoid Tom while doing so. Of course, both are put out by Nibbles’ voracious appetite.

“Saturday Evening Puss” – When Mammy Two Shoes heads out to her Lucky Seven Saturday Night Bridge Club meeting, Tom invites Butch, Lightning and Topsy over for a party/jazz jam session. Unfortunately, Jerry is trying to sleep and he’s not very happy about this loud party.

“The Two Mouseketeers” – Jerry and Nibbles are the two mousketeers. They decide to swipe food from an extravagantly set table, for the King’s Mouseketeers banquet. When Tom has been ordered to guard the banquet food, the two must find a way to eat and run.

“Johann Mouse” – Jerry takes on the part of Johann Mouse, the mouse living in the house of Johann Strauss. Johann Mouse loves music so much and when he dances, he is chased by Johann Strauss’ cat, played by Tom.

“Touché, Pussy Cat” – Nibbles has been renamed Tuffy and all he wants to do is become a Mousketeer. It will take quite a bit for him to convince Jerry he deserves to be a mousketeer, especially since he is an excessive talker.

“That’s My Mommy” – When Quacker, a baby duck, wanders away from his mother’s nest, in his egg, and ends up beneath Tom before hatching, he believes Tom is his Mommy because he is the first thing Quacker sees.

“The Egg and Jerry” – Jerry becomes the Mommy this time, when a baby Woodpecker egg rolls into his mousehole after falling out of its nest. When the baby woodpecker hatches, it latches onto Jerry.

“Tops With Pops” – Spike is sleeping with his little son Tyke. When Tom keeps waking the little guy up as he chases Jerry, Spike takes out his anger on the cat.

DVD TWO
Through the Years

“Anchor’s Aweigh Excerpt” -Watch Jerry Dance with Gene Kelly

“Dangerous When Wet Excerpt” – Esther Williams takes a dip with Tom and Jerry

“Pent-house Mouse” – The first short by Chuck Jones, Tom is living it up in a penthouse. Jerry is starving. He is trying to find food at a construction site. When he is lifted up on a steel beam and is transported to Tom’s patio the chase ensues!

“The Cat Above and the Mouse Below” – Another Chuck Jones short where Jerry performs on stage as Signor Thomasino Catti-Cazzaza Baritone. He is singing “Figaro” and it awakens Jerry who is asleep beneath the stage of the opera house. Unable to doze with all the racket, he seeks revenge.

“The Cat’s Me-Ouch” – This is another cartoon by Chuck Jones. Jerry gets a big surprise when he orders a bulldog and it turns out to be smaller than him. The idea was to have the bulldog attack Tom for Jerry, but with him smaller than Jerry it seems impossible.

“Karate Guard” – This is the last Tom and Jerry short written and directed by Joseph Barbera. The short has Tom trying to sleep as Jerry practices karate loudly. Jerry must face his fear and take on Tom as a karate master, which Tom finds hilarious.

“Cosmic Cat and Meteor Mouse” – From the New Tom and Jerry Show, Tom and Jerry are trying to watch their favorite TV show, Cosmic Cat and Meteor Mouse. The noise from the television disturbs a sleeping Spike who is intent on turning off the set, while Tom and Jerry fight to watch their show.

“Jerry’s Country Cousin” – From The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show, Jerry has an identical cousin who comes from the country to stay with him. His cousin is a lot stronger, but Tom isn’t expecting to be outmaneuvered by Jerry’s country cousin.

“Flippin’ Fido” – From The Tom and Jerry Kids Show, Little Tom is chasing Little Jerry, who is, of course, antagonizing Tom. The chase is interrupted by Fido, who wants Tom, so Tom must find a way to distract Fido, with Frisbees!

“A Game of Mouse and Cat” – From Tom and Jerry Tales, this short features an alternative universe where the mice chase the cats. Jerry is ordered to get rid of Tom, when he has the chance to live out his fantasy.

Storyline/Plot: 4 out of 5 stars
Replayability: 5 out of 5 stars
Acting: 4 out of 5 stars
Directing: 4 out of 5 stars

Audio/Visual:
The quality changes from short to short. Obviously, cartoons from 2005 are going to look better than those from the 40s and 50s. This quality ranges from pretty good to wow this is old and looks like it. While most of the shorts are presented in standard format with a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, a few are widescreen at 1.85:1. This does not make them great though. Really, T&J need a good clean up job done to truly do these shorts justice and it’s just not here yet.

The audio is, as expected, a Dolby Digital mono track in English. A Spanish mono track is also included. These shorts sound good, but nothing like the 5.1 mixes we hear today. The audio isn’t horrible, but it isn’t spectacular either. There are no major audio flaws, but it isn’t as dynamic as it could be. Subtitles in English and French are also present.

Visual: 3 out of 5 stars
Audio: 3 out of 5 stars

Bonus Features:
The big bonus is a short documentary. It is not quite 20 minutes in length. Called “Much Ado About Tom and Jerry,” this feature goes over how Tom and Jerry got started, the history of the cartoon and how it has changed throughout the years. It contains interviews with Hanna and Barbera and is featured on Disc 1.

This is the only bonus save for some trailers for other cartoons.

Bonus Features: 2 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line:
The Tom and Jerry Deluxe Anniversary Collection is a great collection IF you do not already own any of the Tom and Jerry sets that Warner Bros has released, in the past. Some of these episodes are already included so it’s the same ol, same ol. That is not to say the shorts are bad, but who really wants more than one DVD with the same eps on them? Further, who wants episodes with these shorts that have been censored? If you own some of the T&J DVDs, you will want to compare them to the list of shorts in this set before buying this. If your kid goes bonkers for Tom and Jerry like mine does, Tom and Jerry Deluxe Anniversary Collection is a nice collection to own. I just recommend proceeding with caution before buying, because most of these episodes we’ve seen before in other Tom and Jerry DVD releases.

Overall Rating: 3.57 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: DVD Review, Tom and Jerry Deluxe Anniversary Collection, Cartoon, Warner Brothers, DVD, Tom and Jerry, cat and mouse, Kids, Family

Release Info:
Episodes Original Air Date: January 28, 1975-March 19, 1979
DVD Release Date: June 1, 2010
Online Availability: Amazon for $21.99

Everyone in our house loves the Peanuts gang. Three generations have grown up with Charles Schulz and his beloved Peanuts gang. Ashtyn’s mom watched the specials in the 60s when she was a teenager. Ash and I both grew up watching the specials. CT and Lil B have also grown up with several more specials to watch since the time when Ash was born in the 70s and I was born in 1980. All of us have warm, fuzzy places in our hearts for Peanuts.

CT has to be the biggest Peanuts nut of all. So, he was the first to rip open the plastic on our copy of Peanuts: 1970′s Collection Vol. 2 and pop it into our DVD player. What ensued was a plethora of Peanuts excitement and fun. I must admit that these are not our favorite Peanuts specials nor are they the best Schulz had to offer, but each one is enjoyable enough that fans of the Peanuts, especially kids, will be into what’s available on this disc.

The thing that is so enjoyable about Peanuts is that all people can relate to Charlie Brown. He’s an empathetic character that is likable, despite his lack of success, by those of nearly any age. Pictures of Charles Schulz reveal a striking similarity in appearance (it’s the face) to his anti-hero, Charlie Brown. Those aren’t the only similarities between Schulz and Brown, though the two clearly differ in their level of success (Brown always seems to fail, while Schulz is, clearly, one of the most, if not the most, influential cartoonists of the 20th century).

We own many of the WB Charlie Brown DVD sets. If you are like us, then you need to know that mos of these specials have already been released on DVD in other sets. In fact, only one of these specials is a brand new, never before seen on DVD special. That is the only drawback to this Volume Collection. It seems almost silly to get an entire DVD set for one special out of six, so make sure you don’t already own these specials before purchasing this set.

ThePeanuts 1970′s Collection Vol. 2 Show Synopsis’
There are six Peanuts specials included in this Peanuts: 1970′s Collection Vol. 2 set. Here is information on what is included.

Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown
Original Air Date: 28 January 1975
Valentine’s Day is always unsuccessful for Charlie Brown, who just wants to receive Valentines, especially from the Little Red Haired Girl (who was, coincidentally, based on a real life woman Charles Schulz fell in love with and had his own heart broken over). Charlie Brown waits each day at his mailbox, but to no avail, he gets no Valentines waiting for him. At school, everyone gets Valentines but good ol’ Chuck. He was expecting enough to fill a briefcase. Linus is in love with his teacher, Miss Othmar, and he decides to buy her chocolate, but things don’t go as planned when he learns how crushes on teachers turn out. Finally, Snoopy harasses Lucy in typical Snoopy fashion, at the puppet show he holds.

You’re A Good Sport, Charlie Brown
Original Air Date: 28 October 1975
Charlie Brown never gives up. This special proves this. Fans of motocross get their fill of racing excitement as Charlie and the gang go to the races. Snoopy starts thing off when he takes on an automatic tennis ball dispenser, he also dukes it out with an unseen tennis player. Sally wants to play tennis with Linus, but when big kids have occupied all the courts, she volunteers his “clobbering” services to try and get a free court. In the meantime, Peppermint Patty informs the gang about a motocross race, where the winner gets tickets to the Pro Bowl. Linus convinces Charlie Brown (who gets a broken down bike) to enter, but with Snoopy and Patty in the competition, the unlucky Charlie has little chance of doing anything more than making a fool of himself.

It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown
Original Air Date: 16 March 1976
This is one of the more goofy specials, by Schulz, but that doesn’t make it bad. In fact, Arbor Day is one of the more enjoyable Peanuts specials. To make the world a better, more beautiful place, the gang decides to plant a garden. Their location for the garden, Charlie Brown’s baseball field. is upsetting to Charlie, who has a game with Peppermint Patty’s team on the field. Hilarity ensues as they try to play the game around the sea of tree blooming throughout the field.

It’s Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown
Original Air Date: 24 October 1977
Linus and Charlie Brown are a part of the Homecoming Court as the escorts of the queen. The queen turns out to be Heather, the little red haired girl, on whom Charlie Brown has a crush. When Charlie Brown learns that he is going to be Heather’s main escort and he has to partake in the Homecoming tradition, which involves kissing her on the cheek before they dance, he isn’t sure he’s the right man for the job. This special features typical football antics between Lucy and Charlie Brown (as he plays kicker on the football team).

*This special features a few lines that have been altered from the original broadcast, due to a high influx of viewer complaints. The lines altered involve excessively pessimistic dialogue by Peppermint Patty about Charlie Brown.

What A Nightmare, Charlie Brown!
Original Air Date: 23 February 1978
Snoopy is living it up in a great life with Charlie Brown, which Charlie points out to him. After indulging a little too heartily in the pleasures of his life, Snoopy awakens to find himself a part of a dog mushing team in Alaska. His master is harsh and unfeeling and all the luxuries that Snoopy is allowed to partake in at Charlie’s house are no longer allowed. As Snoopy finds himself in his worst nightmare he begins to understand just how good he really has it. What A Nightmare, Charlie Brown! makes its debut on DVD in this set.

You’re The Greatest, Charlie Brown
Original Air Date: 19 March 1979
Charlie Brown’s family is not going on vacation like they planned, so he must find something else to do this summer. He decides to enter the Junior Olympics at his school. His late entry means he must enter the only open event, the decathlon, which is also the hardest event. With very little athletic coordination, Charlie Brown’s persistence is the only thing to get him through competition with the likes of Freddie Fabulous and Snoopy.

Storyline/Plot: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Replayability: 4 out of 5 stars
Acting: 3 out of 5 stars
Directing: 4 out of 5 stars

Audio/Visual:
All of the specials have been digitally remastered and look great despite being presented in their original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Warner Bros cleaned many of these up in past releases, so they aren’t really new to those who own previous versions of these specials from Warner. That being said, the quality for animated films made in the 70s is fantastic. The black levels are solid, which is important since they highlight and outline all of the animations. These specials have been enhanced so their colors are refreshingly bright. No matter when Warner enhanced the visual quality of these specials does not really matter. It just matters that they look spectacular.

The specials in this set all sound great. They aren’t amazing or as dynamic as cartoons of today, but that is because they all feature English Dolby Digital Mono tracks, typical for the time in which these specials initially aired. Still, the sound did come in loud and clear with no volume toggling necessary, so there are very few complaints from me. Spanish, Portuguese and Japanese Mono tracks are also available. This set of specials features subtitles in English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Portuguese and Thai.

Visual: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Audio: 3 out of 5 stars

Bonus Features:
Like every other Charlie Brown/Peanuts DVD we’ve reviewed, Peanuts: 1970′s Collection Vol. 2 features just one bonus. It is a brand new featurette. The featurette is a little under 20 minutes in length and is called “You’re Groovy, Charlie Brown: A Look at Peanuts in the 1970s.” This is a retrospective, as those who witnessed Peanuts history being made first hand reflect on their experience. Those reflecting include Jean Schulz, Charles’ widow, Craig Schulz, his son, Lee Mendelson (a producer) and Alexis Farjado (cartoonist), amongst others. This is a fun and entertaining listen, as all of the new featurettes made for these DVDs seem to be.

…BUT…sadly that is all that is here.

Bonus Features: 3 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line:
The bottom line for Peanuts: 1970′s Collection Vol. 2 is simple. If you own these specials in other sets, consider whether the addition of one previously released special (What a Nightmare) is worth it. Otherwise, if you do not own these specials, this set is worth it. The specials contained on Peanuts: 1970′s Collection Vol. 2 look excellent and honestly, who does not like Peanuts? This set is recommended.

Overall Rating: 3.57 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Peanuts, Charles Schulz, Be My Valentine, It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown, It’s Your First Kiss, What a Nightmare, You’re the Greatest, Peanuts: 1970s Collection, Volume 2, DVD Review, Snoopy, Kids, Family, Television, TV Specials

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: May 1, 1991
DVD Release Date: April 7, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $17.99

It’s time for another adventure with the lovable Peanuts gang. This time, the entire plot focuses on Snoopy. It’s all about how Snoopy came to be and how Charlie Brown came to own him. The story is rather sweet, as it looks back at Snoopy’s birth at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. I had not seen this Peanuts special before, but it’s quickly becoming a part of my collection.

Charles M. Schulz was more than just an animator. He took the Peanuts comic strip from the papers and books and brought the characters to life on screen. I grew up watching Peanuts specials. I love the characters in the Peanuts series, but most of all I love Snoopy. I don’t think there is a kid or adult in the United States, if not the developed world who doesn’t know who Charlie Brown and his dog Snoopy are.

While I really love the title episode on the Peanuts: Snoopy’s Reunion DVD, I could give or take the second episode, “It’s Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown.” This special seemed disjointed and just kind of thrown together. It didn’t really follow a particular story or have a purpose other than to show Snoopy dancing as the Flashbeagle. The dancing is funny, but this episode was not really engaging otherwise. Kids may like it more than adults, but it won’t be something I’ll watch over and over again.

Peanuts and Snoopy are such a major part of my childhood. I loved the Peanuts gang. My teenage son has long been a Charlie Brown fan and now my four year old nephew is getting into the Peanuts craze. Even my mom loves the Peanuts’ stories and watches them with her grandchildren. This is truly a DVD the whole family is going to enjoy and that’s why Charlie Brown and Snoopy are so loved by families around the world.

The Peanuts: Snoopy’s Reunion Plot
The primary episode on this DVD is “Snoopy’s Reunion,” which premiered in 1991. At the beginning you see the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. It’s located right outside the city in a quiet, rural location. A new litter of puppies has just been born. Snoopy is one of a large litter of Beagles born to Missy (his mom). They all share a unique gift for music, and are raised in a loving, caring environment.

When the puppies are old enough, they are sold, one by one. Snoopy is the first go. He is taken to the home of Lila, who was his first owner. One by one, all of the other puppies are sold. His siblings include Spike, Andy, Olaf, Marbles, Belle, Molly and Rover. After the puppies are gone Missy is sad, but is comforted by the thought of her pups going to good homes.

A short time later, Lila returns Snoopy to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. Her apartment building has a new rule. No dogs can live there. She is very sad, but knows the Farmer in charge of the farm will find Snoopy a good home. Around the same time, Charlie Brown decides he is going to get a puppy. He and Linus take the bus out to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. As Charlie Brown is negotiating a price (with his piggy bank) Linus is snooping around. He learns that Lila once owned Snoopy, but brought him back.

Some years pass and Snoopy is sad. Charlie Brown decides to have a reunion because his sadness is caused by the fact that he misses his brothers and sisters. He sends all of Snoopy’s siblings a letter inviting them to his house and they come from all over the country to visit their brother Snoopy, instruments in hand. The only thing left to do is to return to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm where their lives began.

The second story on this DVD is called “It’s Flashbeagle, Charlie Brown.” It debuted in 1984 and is a humorous spin on the popular 80s movie, Flashdance starring Jennifer Beals. After winning against Peppermint Patty’s football game, Snoopy heads out to celebrate that evening. As he’s out, he transforms into Flashbeagle. Think Jennifer Beals in Flashdance meets Olivia Newton-John in “Physical” in Snoopy form and you have Flashbeagle.

The next day, Peppermint Patty shows how inept she is in school. She falls asleep, gets her hair caught in her binder and other maladies. The only class she’s good at is gym. She sings a song similar sounding to “Hey Mickey” (in some parts) by Toni Basil about getting in shape and how much better she is at gym then all the other Peanuts human characters.

The Browns (Charlie and Sally) host a party. Sally tries to get Linus to dance. The kids pay Simon Says (Lucy Says). Snoopy siphons punch from drinks via a straw and Pig Pen leads the whole gang in a dance based hoe down. Charlie Brown is disappointed in Snoopy. He reprimands him and this leads to the big dance number “Flashbeagle” based on the song “Maniac” from Flashdance. This Peanuts special is kind of disjointed and the story flip flops everywhere, but it is fun to see Snoopy dancing as the Flashbeagle, even if this isn’t the best special out there.

Storyline/Plot: 4 out of 5 stars
Replayability: 5 out of 5 stars
Acting: 5 out of 5 stars
Directing: 5 out of 5 stars

Audio/Visual:
Snoopy’s Reunion easily takes you back to the classic cartoons that so many know and love. These cartoons may not be flashy, with CGI and modern technology, but they get the job done and in many ways end up looking as good, if not better than some of the other specials out there. As you might expect, Reunion is sporting a 1.33:1 aspect ratio in a fullscreen setting. The colors are acceptable and given the age of the original product I have to say that I was quite impressed with the remastered outcome. There were not too many instances of dirt, grain, or compression errors. In fact, I don’t recall anything that was truly distracting when it came to the video transfer of this DVD.

Warner Bros. takes their audio options seriously, as seen in this short collection of Snoopy movies. You receive the standard audio, which comes in English Dolby Digital Mono. There is also a Mono track in Japanese. Subtitles are available in English, French, Japanese, Korean, and Thai. Despite the lower end audio transfer, things here sounded good. Volume toggling was not necessary and the dialogue always remained easy to hear. There really is little to complain about in either the audio or video transfers.

Visual: 4 out of 5 stars
Audio: 4 out of 5 stars

Bonus Features:
There are a few bonuses that come with Snoopy’s Reunion. One of the bonuses is supposed to be “Flashbeagle” though considering the fact that this is really only a one episode special, I hate to consider that a bonus. If I did consider it a bonus, it would make the DVD seem rather sad. At some point Warner should consider making a larger set rather than remastering all of the classic specials and putting them on one DVD for each special.

Since “Flashbeagle” cannot really be considered a special feature that only leaves “Together Again: The Peanuts Voice Cast Reunion.” This featurette details the reunion of The Peanuts voice cast at the 2008 Comic Con. While this would have been amazing to see first hand, the featurette offers you a chance to see the gang all together after all these years. It’s an interesting featurette overall though it would have been nice to have a little more for Peanuts fans to sink their teeth into.

Bonus Features: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line:
If you like the Peanuts gang and their series of specials, the Peanuts: Snoopy’s Reunion DVD is a great edition to your collection. This story focuses on Snoopy and his siblings, all of whom were born at the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm. You will enjoy this touching family story, and you should like to watch the Peanut style version of Flashdance at least once. The quality of this DVD and the stories presented on it make Peanuts: Snoopy’s Reunion worth the purchase. This DVD is recommended.

Overall Rating: 4.21 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Snoopy’s Reunion, Peanuts, Charles M. Schulz, Snoopy, Charlie Brown, DVD, review, Warner Home Video, Cartoon, Family

Rotoscoping

Transitions of Pinocchio

Honest John

Pinocchio’s Lie

A Real Boy

The Wish

Technorati Tags: Pinocchio, Special Edition, 70th Anniversary Edition, Clips

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: August 29, 1964
DVD Release Date: January 27, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $19.99

“Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down…”

Mary Poppins was a childhood classic by the time I was born. I’ve seen this movie hundreds of times. I owned the VHS of it and I loved it. I used to imagine Mary Poppins was my nanny and we were riding down banisters and jumping into pictures. You don’t know how many stairwells I tried to ride down in my youth thanks to this movie.

If only I had a nanny who could make my toys come to life so they helped me clean up or who gave me medicine that tasted delicious. I would have loved to have a nanny to sing me to sleep. Jane and Michael Banks were two, pretty lucky kids to have Mary Poppins in their life. I didn’t even have a nanny, which sucked because a nanny, especially like Mary Poppins, would have been pretty cool.

It’s hard to believe that this year marks the 45th anniversary for Mary Poppins. It seems fitting that Disney has released this DVD. It’s allowed me to upgrade from my worn out VHS to a long lasting DVD. Now, as a parent, I can enjoy this movie with the kids. They had never seen Mary Poppins before, so it was a treat to introduce them to a movie that was such an integral part of my childhood.

Julie Andrews is splendid in this movie. It made me fall in love with her as an actress. She’s young, beautiful, has a gorgeous voice and her acting is impeccable. She is complimented by a fine supporting cast, which includes Dick Van Dyke as the entertaining Bert and David Tomlinson as the formidable Mr. Banks. Of course, the children, Jane and Michael are played quite well by Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber. The acting placed together with an enchanting, timeless story and the magic of Disney make for an excellent movie worthy of being watched over and over again.

The Mary Poppins (45th Anniversary Special Edition) Plot
You get but a fluttery vision of Mary Poppins, floating in the clouds before descending down into the streets of London, England. The year is 1910. The first character we actually see is Bert (Dick Van Dyke). With his cockney accent and his friendly disposition, it’s hard to put out this artistic individual. He’s a one man band with instruments attached to his body. As he plays for the crowd, he makes up a song that has parts personalized about each person in his audience.

As a storm starts to blow in, the crowd scatters, some of them deposit coins in his hat. After everyone has left, Bert talks directly to the camera, breaking the fourth wall, in the process. He wants to tell the story of Cherry Tree Lane, in particular, that of number 17 Cherry Tree Lane. After leading us down the street, we meet the crazily incorrigible Admiral Boom (Reginald Owen). He believes he’s still on his war ship and shoots his cannon off every day at the same time, sending his neighbors’ houses into disarray.

Next door is Number 17. It’s the home of the Banks. They are very wealthy, but have problems. Mr. Banks (David Tomlinson) is quite grumpy all the time. He is aloof with the children and even with his wife. Of course, he doesn’t know much about the fact that his wife is a woman’s suffragist, fighting for the right of the woman to vote. Of course, Mrs. Banks (Glynis Johns) is also kind of a ditz.

There is chaos inside the house when we arrive. Katie Nanna (Elsa Lanchester), the children’s nanny, is packed up and ready to leave. She’s at her wits end. She’s lost the children and can’t handle them. While Mrs. Banks, Ellen (Hermione Baddeley), the maid, and Mrs. Brill (Reta Shaw), the cook, try to beg Katie Nanna to stay, she refuses to care for the children any further. Mrs. Banks is sure Mr. Banks will be furious, but Katie Nanna still doesn’t care. She’s had enough of the Banks and their children.

Mr. Banks is initially cheerful when he comes home, but his mood dampens when he learns Michael and Jane are missing. They are brought home by a constable, just as he is calling the police. He’s also disturbed that Katie Nanna has quit. He has Ellen take care of the children and get them ready for bed and he has Mrs. Banks write the letter he dictates to the newspaper looking for a new nanny. He wants someone strict and harsh.

The children come down to wish him good night. They too have written a letter for a nanny. After they go to bed, it’s torn up and put in the fire by Mr. Banks. The next day, a huge line is around the home and down the street waiting for Mr. Banks to interview them for the job. As the wind blows, all of them disappear, leaving only Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) at the door. She enters and has the letter from Jane and Michael. Mr. Banks is so perplexed considering he tore it up, so she hires herself for the job.

The children are excited to meet their new nanny. Though she can be cross and strict, she teaches them about responsibility by having fun and going on adventures. The two receive the love and attention they so long for from their parents, especially their father, and Mary Poppins works her magic, to transform the home into something less troubled, as she improves the children’s lives.

This is the movie that taught us how to say/sing “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious…” What is more awesome than that?!

Storyline/Plot: 5 out of 5 stars
Replayability: 5 out of 5 stars
Acting: 5 out of 5 stars
Directing: 5 out of 5 stars

Audio/Visual:
Mary Poppins looks better than ever in this 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The picture quality here is nothing to complain about. It doesn’t look brand new, but for something 45 years old it certainly is in a league all it’s own. The colors come through beautifully, the level of detail is some of the best I have seen in a Poppins DVD, and there are few instances of blur, grain, or compression problems. You would be hard pressed to find any major problems. You might find a few here, but nothing worth balking about, in any case.

The same can be said for the Dolby Digital 5.1 track that is included. The 5.1 track sounds just fine. Naturally the music offers moments when the track just shines, but the dialogue is crisp and easy to hear, as well. The sound effects are fun in that lighthearted way that Poppins is presented as. The surround sound is going to be overworked, but when you factor in age and lack of truly unpleasant elements, there isn’t much to complain about. Along with the 5.1 track there are Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks in English, French, and Spanish. The audio options are completed with subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.

Visual: 4 out of 5 stars
Audio: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Bonus Features:
The first disc includes a small variety of special features in addition to the main feature film. Some of these special features have been included with previous releases of Poppins so in the end, the importance of owning this disc will likely depend on whether or not the new special features need to be part of your DVD library.

On the first disc, Disney Song Selection is available. The funny thing about this is that you can choose from eight of the songs in the movie and you can view the lyrics on the screen while they play. I am not sure why all of the songs in the movie weren’t included. This was never mentioned. After this, there is a commentary that was available on the 2004 release of Poppins. The commentary includes a number of people though it was filmed in chunks and then pieced together. The chunks include Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews, Karen Dotrice and Richard Sherman, and Robert Sherman on his own. The groups were pieced together to make an interesting commentary. Naturally Van Dyke and Andrews are the most entertaining, but some good information is passed along by everyone. If you’ve never heard this it should be quite entertaining if you’re a fan.

If you want a little something extra to go with your commentary you can add in “Poppins Pop Up Fun Facts.” Just like Pop Up Video, there are trivia bites that appear on screen as the movie plays and the commentary goes on. If you have the 2004 release you already have these so they will not appear to be anything new, but again, if you haven’t seem them you should enjoy watching them.

Previews are also included on this disc for Pinocchio: Platinum Edition, Up, Space Buddies, The Secret of the Magic Gourd, Monsters, Inc., Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Bolt, Oliver & Company: 20th Anniversary Edition, and Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure.

The second disc has a section known as, Disney on Broadway. A 48 minute featurette, “Mary Poppins: From Page to Stage” kicks things off. This is a more technical feature that deals with what it is like to develop a project and take it all the way to a theatrical musical. You will hear from a variety of people including, musicians, the producers, and some of the actors. How much you like this will just depend. There are some moments that are quite good and others that feel a bit technical and bland.

“Step in Time” lasts for just seven minutes and includes the sequence that occurs on Broadway. This is introduced by the composer. The nice part of this is that it gives you that Broadway feel right from your living room.

“Bob Crowley’s Design Gallery” is a series of galleries. You can view the Costumes in 33 pictures, the Set Designs in six pictures, Concept Art in 13 pictures, and 16 Set Model pictures. An introduction by Crowley is also included.

This section is rounded out by an MP3 file that has a seven minute track of the Broadway cast singing “Step in Time.”

Next up, you can what “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious: The Making of Mary Poppins.” A wide variety is covered here in nearly an hour. Van Dyke hosts and everyone that you could possibly want to be included here is here. There are plenty of good stories to be heard and lots of information to go around.

“The Movie Magic of Mary Poppins” is one of the more kid-friendly offerings available on the set. The feature looks at some of the special effects that occur in the film.

“The Gala World Premiere” puts together some footage of the red carpet arrivals for the premiere of Poppins. A variety of people are in this including all of the important players in the film.

“Dick Van Dyke Make-Up Test” is a short screen test of the actor in makeup.

Also included are some of the original trailers and a few television spots. A variety of Still Galleries are also available here. “A Magical Musical Reunion” includes Sherman, Andrews, and Van Dyke and deals with the music of the film and the excitement they feel about the songs. This is followed up by “A Musical Journey with Richard Sherman.” Sherman takes us on a tour of the film’s settings and gives plenty of information and behind the scenes information in the process. A deleted song, “Chimpanzoo” finished things off in this area.

Rounding out the bonuses is “The Cat That Looked at a King.” In this animated short, Andrews plays a woman that takes two children into a chalk drawing. It’s a cute feature that tells of a cat that challenges a King in a battle of wits.

Bonus Features: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line:
Mary Poppins was one of my favorite movies growing up. Today, I have had the pleasure of sharing this movie with my own kids thanks to this 45 Anniversary Special Edition release. If you didn’t purchase the 2004 release, you’ll want to pick up a copy of this anniversary edition of Mary Poppins. If you have purchased the 2004 release, it might not be worth the upgrade considering the quality of the movie is only slightly better and many of the bonuses are recycled. If you don’t own Mary Poppins, pick it up now. You owe it to yourself (and your kids) to own this magnificent film. Mary Poppins, in its DVD form, is highly recommended.

Overall Rating: 4.57 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Mary Poppins, Family Movie, Classic, Magic, Musical, Disney, DVD Review, Nanny, Walt Disney, Home Video

Movie Info:

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: November 18, 1988
DVD Release Date: February 3, 2008
Online Availability: Amazon for $24.99

“Why should I worry?
Why should I care?
I may not have a dime
But I got street savoire faire…“

If you combine the 80s, one of my favorite movies growing up, and an all star cast that includes Billy Joel, Bette Midler, Cheech Marin, Richard Mulligan, Roscoe Lee Browne,Dom DeLuise, Frank Welker, Robert Loggia and Joey Lawrence…what do you get? Why Oliver & Company, of course! I’m a proud child of the 80s. Born in 1980, I was just the perfect age to enjoy this film when it was first released in November of 1988.

I’m almost certain I saw this movie in the theaters. From there, I wore my Oliver & Company VHS out. Disney hit a home run by combining music, animation and a child friendly story with a classic like Dickens’ Oliver Twist. Of course, as a kid, you wonder if Charles Dickens was inspired by the movie Oliver & Company, until you’re old enough to understand that his Oliver, Oliver Twist came first. Seriously, I must like the book (and subsequent movies, musicals, etc.) because when it came time to name my shih tzu, Ashtyn and I chose to name him Oliver Twist. We’re both fans of Dickens’ Oliver and the cute, cuddly tabby kitten in Oliver & Company, also named Oliver.

All the personal mumbo jumbo aside, Oliver & Company was one of my very favorite Disney movies growing up. Next to Lady and the Tramp and The Fox and the Hound, I’m unable to choose my very favorite Disney movie. These were the movies I grew up loving and though I love other Disney flicks like The Lion King and older classics like Snow White, I’ll always have a soft spot for Oliver & Company. This was back when Disney rocked every kids’ world with each subsequent film they released. Today, it seems like some of their movies are a bit hit or miss.

I could go on and on about my love for Oliver & Company. Seriously though, if you have kids or if you don’t doesn’t really matter. Oliver & Company is an awesome movie. It’s fun, lighthearted and family friendly. It reminds me of my childhood and waves of nostalgia rolled over me while watching this. It’s time to introduce a new generation to the Disney many of us from the 70s and 80s remember growing up with and watching. The release of Oliver & Company in it’s 20th Anniversary Edition is something I’d been looking forward to for quite a few months.

The Oliver and Company Plot
Oliver and Company is an animated adaptation of the book, Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. This is a cool, 80s version of the story starring cats and dogs in lieu of people. The coolest cat (no pun intended) on the block is actually a dog named Dodger (Billy Joel) and he takes in a young, homeless kitten named Oliver who is voiced by a young Joey Lawrence.

Oliver and Company begins in a crummy part of New York in the 1980s. Oliver is the cutest cat in a box full of kittens that is being sold. He also seems to be the runt of the litter, so he’s the last one to sell. Finally, the person selling just plans to give him away for free. He ends up falling out of his cardboard box when it breaks due to a rainstorm. After an exciting stroll down the street and hiding on a car wheel to sleep, Oliver runs into Dodger, a stray dog who he helps steal hot dogs from a street vendor. Dodger takes the dogs and runs without giving Oliver his share.

Oliver follows Dodger back to his home where a group of rag tag orphaned dogs live. The home is run by a thief by the name of Fagan (Dom DeLuise). Dodger isn’t all bad as he shares the food treats he stole with Oliver with his group of friends. There is the Chihuahua, Tito (Cheech Marin) known best for his line, “If this is torture chain me to the wall!”, the Great Dane, Einstein (Richard Mulligan), the Bulldog, Frankie (Roscoe Lee Browne) and the Saluki, Rita (Sheryl Lee Ralph). Dodger recounts a horrific tale to describe how he got his meal, but when Oliver shows up they know he’s lying. Rita instantly takes a liking to the lil guy and they decide to allow him to stay around.

The dogs show off all the worthless crud they’ve stolen for Fagin. He owes money to a loan shark named Sykes (Robert Loggia). It isn’t pretty when people don’t pay Sykes. In fact, he decides to stop by to remind Fagan how much he dislikes being owned such funds. When Fagan is summoned by Sykes’ dobermans Roscoe and Desoto, the dogs stay behind to try and eat Oliver. Sykes has even worse news for Fagan. He has only three days to pay…or else.

Fagan heads into the city the next day to sell his stolen trinkets. As he is doing that, the dogs try to scam a limo driver named Winston (William Glover). He is driving Jennifer Foxworth (Natalie Gregory), a rich little girl whose parents are out of the country, at the moment. When Oliver and Tito try to steal the radio in the limo, Jenny discovers Oliver and decides to keep him. He goes from being an orphan to living in a beautiful, expensive house. The only problem is that the purebred poodle of the Foxworth’s, Georgette (Bette Midler) hates her new, feline companion.

The dogs believe that Oliver has been kidnapped and try to get him back. Oliver is happy with Jenny though. The dogs find a way to kidnap him back, and take him to Fagan’s. In the meantime, Tito finds love with Georgette, which is unfortunately quite one-sided. With Oliver gone, and a gold tag from Jenny still on him, Fagan decides to make Jenny pay a ransom to get Oliver back, so he can pay Sykes. Little does he know this wealthy little girl is about to head out into the city, alone with only her dog Georgette to save her beloved kitten, Oliver.

Storyline/Plot: 5 out of 5 stars
Replayability: 5 out of 5 stars
Acting: 5 out of 5 stars
Directing: 5 out of 5 stars

Audio/Visual:
Oliver is sporting a 1.66:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer, though it has a problem or two to report. It appears to be of similar quality ti the 2002 release. While nothing is wrong with that (it’s passable), it would have been nice to see a remastered version that was free of grain and compression errors. The problems here are small, but they are noticeable and that’s a shame as Oliver is an excellent movie. It seems that Disney would have tried harder to make this a more exciting venture for their fans. Hopefully, when this is released on Blu-ray they will go out of their way to make the quality shine.

The music and audio is handled by a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, which sounds similar to what was available on the 2002 release. It wasn’t like upgrading the audio would have been necessary as the audio sounds fine. It sticks to the front a little more than it should, though the sound is robust during the scenes containing city streets and musical numbers. In addition to English Dolby Digital 5.1, there are also Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks in both Spanish and French.

Visual: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Audio: 4 out of 5 stars

Bonus Features:
If you have the 2002 release it is going to be hard to recommend purchasing this one, especially when it comes to the bonus section. There is only one new bonus between the two discs and it’s a game. As you may know, DVD games are usually not the most advanced or enthralling undertakings. Still it is available and for what it’s worth some kids should enjoy it.

“Oliver’s Big City Challenge” is one of the better DVD games I have come across. It includes seven levels and gives you a chance to utilize the main gang in the movie as you go through each level. Kids should be able to breeze through most of the levels without a problem. The only downside is when you win there is no reward of any kind, other than an end to the game.

A small sing-along section includes the songs “Why Should I Worry” and “Streets of Gold.” However, it’s important to mention that the songs, “Streets” in particular, does not include all of the song verses. It’s sad that there was a lack of a more complete sing along section because as a fan of the movie, I had higher hopes, but this should be fine for younger children who just want to sing with the show.

Backstage Disney offers a good amount of material, though if you own the 2002 release none of this is going to be that new to you. In “The Making of Oliver & Company” you receive a semi-promotional look at what it took to make this amazing film. Things like the debut of Billy Joel’s voice acting career is brought up, as well as the use of computer graphics, which were newer at the time this movie was made.

A tiny featurette is found in, “Disney’s Animated Animals,” which is too short to offer anything of real purpose. The real gem in the bunch in this section seems to be the Oliver and Company Scrapbook. This section includes a number of storyboard drawings along with character design and other shots. It is incredibly interesting to look at art and scenes that were made for the movie but then tossed aside, only to not be included. This section is wrapped up with the theatrical trailer and the short, “Puss Cafe,” which serves to be quite amusing.

The Publicity Materials section includes a few items worth looking at if you have not seem them. These include both a trailer that’s a minute and a half, long with a 30 second television spot. A longer trailer is also available that was used for the films re-release. This is the better of the two trailers in this section as it shows off the musical charms of the movie. Finally, “Return of a Classic” offers two minutes worth of information on Disney re-releases of gems such as Oliver.

The “Fun Film Facts” offers some text information and trivia. There isn’t much here that you can’t find on the Internet, but it puts it all in a neat and easy format, so you won’t have to go hunting for it if you’re interested.

“Lend a Paw” is the bonus sections second included short and it allows you to watch Pluto rescuing a cat from an icy demise. To bad for Pluto,  as the kitty ends up moving in on his territory soon after. I’ve seen the shorts and classic cartoons on other discs before, but they are still funny. It just would have been nice to see something new here.

Finally, you recieve a handful of previews for Pixar’s Up, Pinocchio: Platinum Edition, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Air Bud: Special Edition, and Space Buddies. Additional previews can be found in the sneak peek section where you will find some trailers for My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Tigger & Pooh and a Musical Too, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, Bolt, Imagination Movers and the Blu-ray presentation of Monsters, Inc.

Bonus Features: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line:
I loved Oliver and Company when I was little and I still love it today. This is a movie I feel comfortable sharing with my kids and I enjoy watching it with them, too. Too often these days I’m just not into those shows and movies kids are watching. Oliver and Company is a classic. If you don’t own it you should. If you own the 2002 special edition of Oliver and Company, you may not want to upgrade as there isn’t much difference in the two releases. Still, Oliver and Company – 20th Anniversary Edition is highly recommended.

Overall Rating: 4.43 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Oliver and Company, Oliver & Company, Disney, Home Video, DVD Review, 20th Anniversary Edition, Billy Joel, Dodger, Animation, Movie, Kids, Family

Release Info:
Original Release Date: October 28, 1975
DVD Release Date: January 27, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $14.99

I’ve quite enjoyed how Warner Home Video has released a new Charlie Brown DVD every few months. Charlie Brown is huge in my house. My son, CT, has loved Charlie Brown since he was only 2-3 years old. As a teenager now, he still loves the Peanuts gang. Now that my nephew Lil B is old enough to appreciate Charlie Brown and the gang, he too loves the Peanuts DVDs we’ve been receiving for review.

Of course, the Charlie Brown love extends as far back as my brother and I, to the 1970s and 1980s, when many of these specials were first being released. I was born in 1978, so I grew up with Peanuts on television and in my local newspaper. I read the comics in the paper every Sunday and I made sure to catch the specials every time they aired on television. Snoopy has always been one of my favorite cartoon characters.

When I was sent You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown, I knew what to expect content wise. I’ve seen this special before though neither my son or my nephew had. I sat the boys down and we watched this together as a family. While the boys enjoyed this DVD immensely, they both stated this wasn’t their favorite Peanuts special. Lil B loves the Peanuts Christmas specials while CT loves The special about the Great Pumpkin. Still, they were more than willing to watch this DVD again and again.

All of the Peanuts specials are great for children. They have great messages, are funny, and deal with issues that all kids can relate to while watching. They also entertain the entire family. Snoopy is just a scream. As he interacts with the humans and with Woodstock your kids can delight in the pleasure of watching this one of a kind dog. I always wanted a dog like Snoopy. Instead I got a beast of a dog name Chucky (named after Child’s Play — and with good reason). I don’t think they make dogs as cool as Snoopy. He’s pretty much one of a kind.

The You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown Plot
You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown is one of the less familiar Peanuts television specials. I’ve only seen it a few times and my son, a huge Charlie Brown and Peanuts fan, had never seen it at all. It’s nice that Warner is putting out some of the lesser known Peanuts specials on DVD, so we can add them to our collection with the more popular options like “Great Pumpkin”, “Easter Beagle” and a “Peanuts Christmas.”

You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown is about sports, as you might have guessed. It starts with Snoopy on a tennis court. All starts out well when he uses a button to dispense balls from an automatic ball machine, but when the machine malfunctions, going out of control, the balls start hitting him, as Snoopy whines for help. At the same tennis court, Sally and Linus plan to play. Unfortunately, all the courts are full with big kids. When Sally tells the big kids to share the courts or Linus will beat them up, Linus runs away.

In the meantime, Snoopy is playing a fast paced game of tennis. He tries his hardest, but his opponent is too hard to beat. They go back and forth with Snoopy catching up, but always a step behind. In the end, Snoopy loses and we find out his opponent is actually Woodstock. The scene shifts to Charlie Brown. He’s playing football with Linus and Lucy is trying to get him to place kick so she can pull the ball out on him. Peppermint Patty soon arrives on her new motorbike. She invites everyone to the Motocross tournament. Linus is convinced he can train Charlie Brown to win this Motocross event.

Linus and Charlie Brown pool their money together, to purchase a motorbike. It’s a poor quality bike, but it’s all they can afford. Both take great pride in their purchase. By now, it is time for the race. Patty is sure she’ll win, but she has stiff competition with “The Masked Marvel” aka Snoopy in the race. When Charlie Brown and Snoopy wipe out right away, they are taken to the vet and the hospital though the ambulance switches them around. When Charlie Brown escapes from the vets, he takes Snoopy from the hospital back to the race. With no helmet, Linus gives Charlie Brown a pumpkin to wear on his head, and the race continues until the best man wins!

There is a second episode included on this DVD. This episode is You’re the Greatest, Charlie Brown. This was done in 1979 and it was the last Peanuts special to air in the 1970s. This special is also about sports, which is why it was included on the Good Sport DVD. While both of these episodes are around 30 years old, they have held up amazingly well!

In the summertime, Charlie Brown’s family chooses not to go on vacation. Instead, he decides to enter the Junior Olympics on his school’s team. The only event he can enter is the decathlon. Charlie Brown knows this is going to be a lot of hard work, so Peppermint Patty decides to train him. The training is rigorous and Charlie isn’t exactly the best athlete out there. Peppermint Patty continues to encourage him, but she also has Marcy join the team so that their school has a hope of winning.

The day of the decathlon comes. The competition is stiff. Besides Marcie, Charlie has to take on Freddie Fabulous, the defending champ of this event from a school called Fremont, and a mysterious student from the Ace Obedience School, “The Masked Marvel” who is really Snoopy in disguise. Patty and the rest of the gang are sure that Charlie is destined to lose. When he does better than they expect, they begin to rethink the way they’ve been treating him and how they view Charlie Brown.

Storyline/Plot: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Replayability: 5 out of 5 stars
Acting: 5 out of 5 stars
Directing: 5 out of 5 stars

Audio/Visual:
You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown is shown in the original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. For the most part things really do look good here. There are some occasional specks and there are some moments when you can see that this is just not something brand new. However, it never looks truly old. Kids will love it. There are plenty of bright colors and the detail is fairly defined. It could have been cleaned up a little bit, but all in all it’s not looking too bad. It’s obviously been remastered and though it could look a little better, there isn’t much to complain about.

Dolby Digital Mono is normally nothing to brag about, but it sounds just fine for Charlie Brown. It’s a children’s cartoon so it doesn’t need to be stellar audio. It just needs to be easy to hear and understand. The music sounds fabulous and the dialogue is crystal clear, so there is really nothing to complain about. Tracks are also included in Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese. Subtitles are available in Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Thai.

Visual: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Audio: 4 out of 5 stars

Bonus Features:
The main special feature here, assuming you don’t count the second episode, is a twelve minute featurette called, “Dust Yourself Off and Pick Yourself Up, Charlie Brown.” It is both fun and interesting to hear from Schulz’s son, the now man (then boy) that had a hobby that inspired the Good Sport show in the first place. Some historians weigh in and an author is heard from as well. Some previews are also offered, but other than that not much is here.

Bonus Features: 1.5 out of 5 stars

Bottom Line:
Everyone in our house loves the Peanuts gang. Whether your child loves Charlie Brown and the gang or not you should pick this up for them. You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown might be a great way to introduce less familiar children to the Peanuts series of television specials. The lessons about perseverance and good sportsmanship are important for kids to learn and for its age, the quality of this DVD is excellent. On the whole, You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown comes highly recommended.

Overall Rating: 4.21 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown, Peanuts, Warner Bros, Warner Home Video, DVD, Review, Family, Lucy, Linus, Charles M. Schultz, Snoopy, Woodstock

Paying the Piper (Mickey Mouse Club bonus)

Trouble Shooter (Chronological Donald bonus)

Disc 1 Intro (Dr. Syn bonus)

Herse Pierce (Dr. Syn bonus)

Don’s Fountain of Youth (Chronological Donald film)

Technorati Tags: The Mickey Mouse Club Presents: Annette, The Chronological Donald: Volume Four, Dr. Syn: The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, Disney Treasures Wave VII, November 11, 2008