Ernest Rister
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2001
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Just because making lists is fun...and because its that time of year again.
Ranking the Treasures Sets so Far (ev'rybody chime in with their own)
1. Disney on the Front Lines (I've written extensivley on this, and won't elaborate, suffice it to say this is one of the best DVD sets of the year, containing some of the most powerful examples of animation as a informational and propaganda tool ever released in a single setting.)
2. Tomorrowland (A celebration of some of the most unique hours of television ever produced, as people in the 50's imagine what life will be like in the decades to come. Bold, committed, serious, and whimsical, all at the same time. The second disc with Walt's visions for EPCOT are startling.)
3. The Silly Symphonies (Other cartoon series may have produced more laughs, or more endearing characters, but Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies get my vote for the greatest cartoon series of all time, because this was the experimental sandbox through which Walt's animators discovered and codified many of the principles of animation still used tofay. The set has one major flaw -- the material is not presented chronologically, robbing non-schooled audiences the thrill of seeing animation progress from "The Skeleton Dance" to the character work in "The Country Cousin" and the astonishing f/x work of "The Old Mill")
4. Mickey Mouse in Living Color Vol. I ("Lonesome Ghosts", "Mickey's Trailer", "Clock Cleaners", "The Band Concert" -- need I say more?)
5. The Complete Goofy (Disney's great physical comedian - while many of his best routines are found on the Mickey Mouse In Living Color set, only a scrooge could keep a straight face during "Goofy Gymnastics" or "Aquamania")
6. The Chronological Donald Vol. I (The funniest cartoon series of the Disney studios was built around "the Duck", and here we see many of the kinks being worked out of what would become a truly inspired cartoon series in the 40's and 50's. That is this set's only real problem - the best Duck cartoons would follow in the intervening years, and it is almost a cruel tease for the great work to come. Vol. II should be a real treat)
7. Mickey Mouse in Living Color Vol. II (An unusually strong collection of bonus features helps this disc overcome the essential dilemna of its content - namely the decline of Mickey Mouse as a box office attraction. Unfortunately, a couple of the highlights of the disc have been previously released to DVD - "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" makes it's third go-round on DVD, while "Mickey and the Beanstalk" is essentially half of the the feature release Fun and Fancy Free. Two standouts from the Walt era remain, namely "The Nifty 90's", featuring a laugh-out-loud parody of melodrama, and "The Pointer", with Fred Moore's re-design of mickey making his first public premiere. The modern Mickey cartoons ("Mickey's Christmas Carol", "The Prince and the Pauper", and "Runaway Brain", are hit and miss affairs, with "Runaway Brain" the most inspired of the lot)
8. Mickey Mouse in Black and White Vol. I (The immense historical value has an appeal all its own, and as a window onto animation in the late 20's, it is invaluable. There are stand-out works of bravura experimentation like "The Mad Doctor", one of the best Disney cartoons, and Ub Iwerks "Plane Crazy", but the real problem is that we are vewing these outside of the context of audiences in 1928, 1929, 1930, etc. In 1928, seeing a cartoon cow on screen actually appear to "Moo" was a sensational novelty. 12 years later, we would have Fantasia, making "Steamboat Willie" look, well, archaic. Still, if you have the imagination to send yourself back in time, you'll fid much to appreciate here.)
9. Behind the Scenes at the Walt Disney Studios (If you're looking for a fun, general primer on some of the principles of animation, you couldn't possibly do better than this set, which is essentially Walt Disney personally taking you on a guided tour through the history of animation and the principles of animation discovered by his artists in the 20's, 30's and even 40's. The highlight of the disc is a top-to-bottom recreation of the original vaudeville presentation of Winsor McCay's "Gertie the Dinosaur". This set is absolute nirvana for animation junkies, but for others, they will only get as much interest out of the set as they are willing to put into it. For people curious about animation as an art form, and want to learn more, this is the absolute best place to start, just as it was for Leonard Maltin and John Canemaker in the 50's, and for myself in re-runs on the Disney channel in the early 80's.)
10. Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (The episodes are solid hours of television, and Jeff York is great as always, chewing up the scenery playing Mike Fink. But the appeal of the set is probably limited to nostalgia buffs - truth be known, these short films aren't exactly Disney's finest hour. Good overview of the Crockett Craze, however, and a fun look at the history of Crockett merchandise)
11. Disneyland USA (alarmingly thin compared to the potential of what this set could have been, and some of the content is indeed cut, contrary to the stated goals of the WDT series. It seems as if the idea was to get the opening day telecast onto DVD, and then everything else was an afterthought. Very little context, very little historical information, and very few bonus features -- just a big wasted opportunity)
Ranking the Treasures Sets so Far (ev'rybody chime in with their own)
1. Disney on the Front Lines (I've written extensivley on this, and won't elaborate, suffice it to say this is one of the best DVD sets of the year, containing some of the most powerful examples of animation as a informational and propaganda tool ever released in a single setting.)
2. Tomorrowland (A celebration of some of the most unique hours of television ever produced, as people in the 50's imagine what life will be like in the decades to come. Bold, committed, serious, and whimsical, all at the same time. The second disc with Walt's visions for EPCOT are startling.)
3. The Silly Symphonies (Other cartoon series may have produced more laughs, or more endearing characters, but Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies get my vote for the greatest cartoon series of all time, because this was the experimental sandbox through which Walt's animators discovered and codified many of the principles of animation still used tofay. The set has one major flaw -- the material is not presented chronologically, robbing non-schooled audiences the thrill of seeing animation progress from "The Skeleton Dance" to the character work in "The Country Cousin" and the astonishing f/x work of "The Old Mill")
4. Mickey Mouse in Living Color Vol. I ("Lonesome Ghosts", "Mickey's Trailer", "Clock Cleaners", "The Band Concert" -- need I say more?)
5. The Complete Goofy (Disney's great physical comedian - while many of his best routines are found on the Mickey Mouse In Living Color set, only a scrooge could keep a straight face during "Goofy Gymnastics" or "Aquamania")
6. The Chronological Donald Vol. I (The funniest cartoon series of the Disney studios was built around "the Duck", and here we see many of the kinks being worked out of what would become a truly inspired cartoon series in the 40's and 50's. That is this set's only real problem - the best Duck cartoons would follow in the intervening years, and it is almost a cruel tease for the great work to come. Vol. II should be a real treat)
7. Mickey Mouse in Living Color Vol. II (An unusually strong collection of bonus features helps this disc overcome the essential dilemna of its content - namely the decline of Mickey Mouse as a box office attraction. Unfortunately, a couple of the highlights of the disc have been previously released to DVD - "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" makes it's third go-round on DVD, while "Mickey and the Beanstalk" is essentially half of the the feature release Fun and Fancy Free. Two standouts from the Walt era remain, namely "The Nifty 90's", featuring a laugh-out-loud parody of melodrama, and "The Pointer", with Fred Moore's re-design of mickey making his first public premiere. The modern Mickey cartoons ("Mickey's Christmas Carol", "The Prince and the Pauper", and "Runaway Brain", are hit and miss affairs, with "Runaway Brain" the most inspired of the lot)
8. Mickey Mouse in Black and White Vol. I (The immense historical value has an appeal all its own, and as a window onto animation in the late 20's, it is invaluable. There are stand-out works of bravura experimentation like "The Mad Doctor", one of the best Disney cartoons, and Ub Iwerks "Plane Crazy", but the real problem is that we are vewing these outside of the context of audiences in 1928, 1929, 1930, etc. In 1928, seeing a cartoon cow on screen actually appear to "Moo" was a sensational novelty. 12 years later, we would have Fantasia, making "Steamboat Willie" look, well, archaic. Still, if you have the imagination to send yourself back in time, you'll fid much to appreciate here.)
9. Behind the Scenes at the Walt Disney Studios (If you're looking for a fun, general primer on some of the principles of animation, you couldn't possibly do better than this set, which is essentially Walt Disney personally taking you on a guided tour through the history of animation and the principles of animation discovered by his artists in the 20's, 30's and even 40's. The highlight of the disc is a top-to-bottom recreation of the original vaudeville presentation of Winsor McCay's "Gertie the Dinosaur". This set is absolute nirvana for animation junkies, but for others, they will only get as much interest out of the set as they are willing to put into it. For people curious about animation as an art form, and want to learn more, this is the absolute best place to start, just as it was for Leonard Maltin and John Canemaker in the 50's, and for myself in re-runs on the Disney channel in the early 80's.)
10. Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (The episodes are solid hours of television, and Jeff York is great as always, chewing up the scenery playing Mike Fink. But the appeal of the set is probably limited to nostalgia buffs - truth be known, these short films aren't exactly Disney's finest hour. Good overview of the Crockett Craze, however, and a fun look at the history of Crockett merchandise)
11. Disneyland USA (alarmingly thin compared to the potential of what this set could have been, and some of the content is indeed cut, contrary to the stated goals of the WDT series. It seems as if the idea was to get the opening day telecast onto DVD, and then everything else was an afterthought. Very little context, very little historical information, and very few bonus features -- just a big wasted opportunity)
This is also the single most complete set to date, with all 46 toons on the 2 discs. Missing a few of the later ones, so it might be dubbed The Completeish Goofy.
