Product Description
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This fascinating volume features some of Walt's most unique
animated triumphs. Included are several of Walt's "The Alice
Comedies," a pioneering series of early short films that combined
live-action and animation. These wonderful, lesser-known unique
films pre-date much of the work that would make him world-famous.
"Alice's Wonderland" is one of Walt's very first films. Fans will
enjoy the unique animation of "Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom,"
which won an Academy Award(r) (Best Short Subject (Cartoon) 1953)
and was the first cartoon produced in Cinema. This short
film established a completely new animation style for the Studio.
DISNEY RARITIES, CELEBRATED SHORTS 1920s-1960s showcases a large
collection of Walt's outstanding animated shorts that fans may
not be aware of. Bonus features include: "Alice's Cartoon World"
in which Leonard Maltin discusses Disney's historic "Alice"
shorts with Virginia Davis who played the original Alice when she
was 4-years old; "From Kansas City to Hollywood" - a timeline of
Walt's silent era; "A Feather In His Collar" a rarely seen short
supporting the Community Chest; audio commentary for "A Symposium
On Popular Songs" by composer Richard Sherman, and still frame
galleries. Introductions by Leonard Maltin.
CONTENTS
* Alice's Wonderland * Ben and Me
* Alice Gets in Dutch * Football, Now and Then
* Alice's Wild West Show * Toot, Whistle, Plunk & Boom
* Alice in the Jungle * Pigs Is Pigs
* Alice's Egg * Social Lion
* Alice's Mysterious Mystery * A Cowboy Needs a Horse
* Alice the Whaler * Hooked Bear
* Ferdinand the Bull * In the Bag
* Chicken Little * Jack and Old Mac
* The Pelican and the Snipe * The Story of Anyburg, U.S.A.
* The Truth about Mother Goose * The Brave Engineer
* Paul Bunyan * Morris, the Midget Moose
* Noah's Ark * Lambert, the Sheepish Lion
* Goliath II * The Little House
* The Saga of Windwagon Smith * Adventures in Music: Melody
* A Symposium on Popular Songs
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Disney Rarities lives up to its title: It's been impossible to
see many of these shorts for decades. Walt Disney bankrupted his
fledgling Laugh-O-Gram studio making "Alice's Wonderland," but
the short earned Disney his first national distribution contract.
Films featuring animated characters in live-action settings were
common during the silent era; Disney reversed the situation,
placing a live actress (Virginia Davis) in a cartoon world. The
"Alice" series ran from 1923-1926, and several girls played the
title role. These silent films have been handsomely restored and
given upbeat musical tracks by Alex Rannie.
The O-winners "Ferdinand the Bull" (1938) and "Toot,
Whistle, Plunk and Boom" (1953) rank as genuine classics, and
have been unavailable for far too long. The wartime cautionary
tale "Chicken Little" (1943) displays more imagination than the
2005 feature adaptation of the same story. "The Truth About
Mother Goose" (1957) reflects the influence of ing Beauty
(1959), which was in production then; the elephants in "Goliath
II" (1960) anticipate the ones in The Jungle Book (1967).
"Noah's Ark" (1959), Disney's first stop-motion film, features
cleverly designed animals made from pencils, erasers, corks,
pipecleaners, and other found objects, but the obstrusive '50s
songs quickly cloy. Many of the films from the '50s and early
'60s ("Pigs Is Pigs," "A Cowboy Needs a Horse," "Paul Bunyan" )
reflect the look of the UPA Studio. The characters are flatter,
simpler, and more angular; the backgrounds, more stylized.
Although Disney had dominated the cartoon short during the '30s,
the studio largely shifted to feature and television production
during the '40s and '50s. Disney Rarities is a set fans and
students of animation will want to own. (Unrated, suitable for
all ages: cartoon violence, use, ethnic stereotypes)
--Charles Solomon