Walt Disney's Animation Collection Volume 1: Mickey And The Beanstalk
Written by Jason Flick

May 27, 2009

Disney has come along way over the years in the animation department. We have seen love-stricken robots, to 101 spotted canines to oceanic fun under the sea. But before all these masterpieces there were the true classics of Disney’s genius. The loveable faces of Mickey, Donald and Goofy are the perhaps the most well known of all Disney culture seen the entire world around.

Well the fine folks at Disney have decided that it was time to look back into their past to bring us those fable classics such as Mickey and the Beanstalk, Gulliver Mickey, The Three Little Pigs and the Tortoise and the Hare. They bring these to you in the form of Volumes. The first 3 volumes will be released together for individual sale with future releases to come out down the road. This review will cover Walt Disney's Animation Collection Volume 1: Mickey And The Beanstalk.

While I could go over each individual film short on this disc it would make the review go a little long. So instead I will list the films and pick one or two that are my favorites. It will make for a smother process, as there is a lot of ground to cover. The film shorts are as followed:

  • Mickey and The Beanstalk
  • The Brave Little Tailor
  • Gulliver Mickey
  • Thru The Mirror
  • Mr. Mouse Takes A Trip
Of all of these films “Mickey and The Beanstalk” and “Thru The Mirror” are my personal favorites. Jack and the Beanstalk was one of my favorite tales as a kid and Disney’s rendition is quite good even after all this time. For those unfamiliar to the tale, Mickey and his two housemates Donald and Goofy are on hard times as their land is reduced to dying fields and drought. After a near death occurrence Mickey trades their cow for a box of magic beans. The fun and adventure ensues as they come across Willy the giant.

Like many of the classic tales featured in this Animation Collection, Walt Disney takes his cues from the classic story “Alice Through the Looking Glass” by Lewis Carroll for the film short “Thru the Mirror.” In this film Mickey’s goes off into his own mirror in his dreams to visit a world of animate house object such as his chair, a telephone and a pair of gloves that perform a dance number. Things wouldn’t be complete with out a battle involving playing cards in which Mickey must fend off a slew of cards and return to the real world.

Filmmaking: 9
Walt Disney Animation Collection: Classic Short Films Vol. 1 features a few of the many film shorts from the 30s and 40s. While they were all well before my time I remember them as if I’ve seen them only yesterday. The care to detail is always a Disney tradition and these films are no exception. Theses are the memories that generations past remember and cherish. Animation has come along way but we wouldn’t be where we are today with out these timeless classics.

Visuals: 8
Animation wise, the film shorts featured in this DVD are good, though they do show their age. But one must forgive the slight imperfections when we are talking about the cartoons that we all know and love. The films are presented in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio, which is to be expected for animation of that time period.

Sound: 8
Disney has some of the most memorable voice actors, narrators and musicians to their credit and that all shines through brilliantly in this wonderful collection. All of the contents of the DVD are presented in Dolby Digital Surround Sound. Both the harp’s song and the catchy little tune featured in my two favorite films sound quite good.

Value: 8
There are no special features located on the disc so don’t be expecting any in the disc’s $12 - 14 dollar price tag. What you do get is five classic film shorts from the era of some of the best cartoons to hit the TV screen. The price is just right for the amount of content and the DVD even comes with a Collectible Litho Print featuring a scene form the main feature.

Overall: 8.0
The film shorts featured in this first volume range from 1934 to 1947 highlighting some of the greatest cartoon shorts in Disney history. Each film will bring back memories of years past and young and old alike will cherish these classics, I highly recommend picking up this DVD if you’re a fan of the magic that started it all.