Walt Disney Treasures - Mickey Mouse in Black and White

Walt Disney Treasures - Mickey Mouse in Black and White
In these cartoons released between 1928 and 1935, Walt Disney created one of the icons of 20th-century culture. Disney's reputation was built on these early shorts, and the films shimmer with the energy of the young artists exploring the new medium of the sound cartoon. Watching the films in chronological order enables the viewer to see the remarkable progress Walt and his crew made in animation, storytelling, and acting in just seven years. The rambunctious, rubbery Mickey of "Plane Crazy" and "Steamboat Willie" quickly developed into the polished charmer of "Gulliver Mickey" and "Mickey's Orphans." More than 70 years after his debut, the black and white Mickey still displays the appeal that made him so popular during the '30s, when A Mickey Mouse Cartoon appeared on theater marquees with the feature titles, and his fans included Franklin Roosevelt, Mary Pickford, George V of England, the Nizam of Hyderabad--and the more than one million children who joined the first Mickey Mouse Club.

Although it's fun to look at the old sketches and pencil tests, the high point of the supplementary material is the discussion host Leonard Maltin conducts with Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston, the last surviving members of the justly celebrated "Nine Old Men" of Disney animation. Thomas and Johnston were nearly 90 at the time of the interview, but their enthusiasm for their work, for Mickey, and for the man who made it all possible remains undimmed. (Unrated; suitable for all ages: cartoon violence) --Charles Solomon
Customer Review: Thank you, Mr. Disney!
This DVD is great. It includes first appearances of Mickey, Pluto, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Pegleg Pete, etc. I wouldn't show these to toddlers, but these cartoons (most of them anyway) are GREAT! I'm ten years old and my eight year old brother and I love to watch them every Saturday morning instead of the junky and poorly made cartoons you find on television. I showed some of my favorite cartoons to my 12 year old cousin and even she loved them! Some of them don't have plots, but most of them are very funny and entertaining. Here's a list of cartoons and bonus features that are on these two great DVDs... (*= star. Five stars: I love it. Four stars: I like it. Three stars: It's okay, etc) Disc one: ***** Steamboat Willie Mickey and Minnie's first cartoon and one of the best. It is very funny and well done. *Gallopin' Gaucho terrible *** Plane Crazy pretty good. It's amazing that this cartoon animated by ONE PERSON in only TWO WEEKS and still looks good. I took a star off for when Mickey tried to kiss Minnie (I skip those parts) **** The Carnival Kid Pretty funny. This cartoon is the first cartoon where Mickey speaks. The first part of the cartoon is pretty funny, but the second part of the cartoon is boring. *** Mickey's Follies boring, but it does have its moments. ***** The Fire Fighters I love this cartoon. Mickey is the fire chief, and him and Horace Horsecollar try to put out a fire in an apartment building and Mickey saves Minnie from the fire. * The Chain Gang bad ***** The Gorilla mystery An extremely funny and great cartoon. (the parts where Mickey is searching Minnie's unlit house for the gorilla that has captured Minnie is eerie and black and white makes it even creepier; color would have ruined the cartoon) **** Pioneer Days Pretty good and funny. A few not-so-good things, but I just skip those. ***** The birthday party Funny. From looking at the candles on the cake, I'm sure that it must have been released on Mickey's second birthday. ***** Mickey Steps out Pretty funny. This is also the first cartoon where Pluto is Mickey's pet. *** Blue Rhythm Most of it is boring and plotless, but it does have its moments ***** Mickey cuts up A garden cartoon. A funny cartoon. **** Mickey's Orphans this was the first Mickey cartoon to be nominated for an Academy Award. I took one star off for the terrible ending ***** The duck hunt very funny. PS: no ducks, Mickeys, or Plutos were hurt in the making of this film ***** Mickey's Revue This is Goofy's first appearance, and Goofy is definitely the highlight of the cartoon. **** Mickey's Nightmare Mickey dreams he gets married to Minnie, a stork delivers a baby mouse, lots of storks come and deliver lots of baby mice, the mice destroy Mickey and Minnie's house, and Mickey wakes up from his nightmare to Pluto licking his face. ***** The whoopee party Another great Mickey Party cartoon. I also love to identify all the mistakes in the cartoon (Mickey's nose flashing from black to white for a 24th of a second, characters disappearing and repapering again, etc). ***** Touchdown Mickey I really dislike the dangerous game of football, but this is one of the funniest cartoons ever made. ***** The Klondike Kid Amusing. Disc two **** Building a Building Great, and it actually has a plot! This was the second Mickey cartoon to be nominated for an Academy Award. ***** The Mad Doctor This is the creepiest cartoon ever, and black and white makes it even more eerie. Color would have ruined this cartoon. ***** Ye Olden Days A classic ***** The Mail Pilot A great cartoon ** Mickey's gala premiere Boring. To make it even more boring, I don't recognize or know about ANY of the movie stars turned into cartoon characters for this short. Two stars is actually high praise for this stinker... * Puppy Love WARNING!!!!! DO NOT WATCH THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S AWFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!! ***** The pet store Much better than Puppy Love. Just don't let the name trick you, Pluto is NOT in this cartoon ***** Giantland The story of Jack and the Beanstalk with Mickey instead of Jack. PS: if you don't like the giant to die in the end, the giant doesn't die in the end (he falls through the earth and comes out in China)... ***** Camping Out I don't like mosquitoes, but I love this cartoon. I don't even mind that Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow get much more screen time than Mickey and Minnie ***** Gulliver Mickey This is the very opposite of Giantland; Mickey is not attacked by a giant, but by little people who are all about one inch tall! This cartoon also reveals that Mickey loves to read ***** Orphan's Benefit Minnie isn't in this cartoon, but Donald Duck is! This cartoon was the first time Donald appeared in a Mickey cartoon. ***** The Dognapper Donald and Mickey are police officers who must catch dognapper Pete * Two Gun Mickey lousy ***** Mickey's Service Station What a great finale! Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are all together, just as it should be. This is a great DVD and a must-have for Mickey lovers, Disney fans, and cartoon buffs. The films are unrestored, but that's okay, the quality is still pretty good (besides, the cartoons being unrestored show just how old the cartoons really are). The films Mickey cartoons are not only earlier than the awful Looney Tunes, but much better and much less violent. Thank you, Disney for releasing your best black and white cartoons on this great DVD set!
Customer Review: Thank you, Mr. Disney!
This DVD is great. It includes first appearances of Mickey, Pluto, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Pegleg Pete, etc. I wouldn't show these to toddlers, but these cartoons (most of them anyway) are GREAT! I'm ten years old and my eight year old brother and I love to watch them every Saturday morning instead of the junky and poorly made cartoons you find on television. I showed some of my favorite cartoons to my 12 year old cousin and even she loved them! Some of them don't have plots, but most of them are very funny and entertaining. Here's a list of cartoons and bonus features that are on these two great DVDs... (*= star. Five stars: I love it. Four stars: I like it. Three stars: It's okay, etc) Disc one: ***** Steamboat Willie Mickey and Minnie's first cartoon and one of the best. It is very funny and well done. *Gallopin' Gaucho terrible *** Plane Crazy pretty good. It's amazing that this cartoon animated by ONE PERSON in only TWO WEEKS and still looks good. I took a star off for when Mickey tried to kiss Minnie (I skip those parts) **** The Carnival Kid Pretty funny. This cartoon is the first cartoon where Mickey speaks. The first part of the cartoon is pretty funny, but the second part of the cartoon is boring. *** Mickey's Follies boring, but it does have its moments. ***** The Fire Fighters I love this cartoon. Mickey is the fire chief, and him and Horace Horsecollar try to put out a fire in an apartment building and Mickey saves Minnie from the fire. * The Chain Gang bad ***** The Gorilla mystery An extremely funny and great cartoon. (the parts where Mickey is searching Minnie's unlit house for the gorilla that has captured Minnie is eerie and black and white makes it even creepier; color would have ruined the cartoon) **** Pioneer Days Pretty good and funny. A few not-so-good things, but I just skip those. ***** The birthday party Funny. From looking at the candles on the cake, I'm sure that it must have been released on Mickey's second birthday. ***** Mickey Steps out Pretty funny. This is also the first cartoon where Pluto is Mickey's pet. *** Blue Rhythm Most of it is boring and plotless, but it does have its moments ***** Mickey cuts up A garden cartoon. A funny cartoon. **** Mickey's Orphans this was the first Mickey cartoon to be nominated for an Academy Award. I took one star off for the terrible ending ***** The duck hunt very funny. PS: no ducks, Mickeys, or Plutos were hurt in the making of this film ***** Mickey's Revue This is Goofy's first appearance, and Goofy is definitely the highlight of the cartoon. **** Mickey's Nightmare Mickey dreams he gets married to Minnie, a stork delivers a baby mouse, lots of storks come and deliver lots of baby mice, the mice destroy Mickey and Minnie's house, and Mickey wakes up from his nightmare to Pluto licking his face. ***** The whoopee party Another great Mickey Party cartoon. I also love to identify all the mistakes in the cartoon (Mickey's nose flashing from black to white for a 24th of a second, characters disappearing and repapering again, etc). ***** Touchdown Mickey I really dislike the dangerous game of football, but this is one of the funniest cartoons ever made. ***** The Klondike Kid Amusing. Disc two **** Building a Building Great, and it actually has a plot! This was the second Mickey cartoon to be nominated for an Academy Award. ***** The Mad Doctor This is the creepiest cartoon ever, and black and white makes it even more eerie. Color would have ruined this cartoon. ***** Ye Olden Days A classic ***** The Mail Pilot A great cartoon ** Mickey's gala premiere Boring. To make it even more boring, I don't recognize or know about ANY of the movie stars turned into cartoon characters for this short. Two stars is actually high praise for this stinker... * Puppy Love WARNING!!!!! DO NOT WATCH THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S AWFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!! ***** The pet store Much better than Puppy Love. Just don't let the name trick you, Pluto is NOT in this cartoon ***** Giantland The story of Jack and the Beanstalk with Mickey instead of Jack. PS: if you don't like the giant to die in the end, the giant doesn't die in the end (he falls through the earth and comes out in China)... ***** Camping Out I don't like mosquitoes, but I love this cartoon. I don't even mind that Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow get much more screen time than Mickey and Minnie ***** Gulliver Mickey This is the very opposite of Giantland; Mickey is not attacked by a giant, but by little people who are all about one inch tall! This cartoon also reveals that Mickey loves to read ***** Orphan's Benefit Mickey isn't in this cartoon, but Donald Duck is! This cartoon was the first time Donald appeared in a Mickey cartoon. ***** The Dognapper Donald and Mickey are police officers who must catch dognapper Pete * Two Gun Mickey lousy ***** Mickey's Service Station What a great finale! Mickey, Donald, and Goofy are all together, just as it should be. This is a great DVD and a must-have for Mickey lovers, Disney fans, and cartoon buffs. The films are unrestored, but that's okay, the quality is still pretty good (besides, the cartoons being unrestored show just how old the cartoons really are). The films Mickey cartoons are not only earlier than the awful Looney Tunes, but much better and much less violent. Thank you, Disney for releasing your best black and white cartoons on this great DVD set!