4/5 An Interesting Collection that Includes a "Censored 11"
  by Alejandra Vernon (Long Beach, California)
The 10 episodes on this DVD feature an assortment of animation styles from 1936 to 1959; some of them show age in loss of color, but most are in good condition. Total running time is 62 minutes.
The episodes:
1: "Wolf Wolf" (1944). Directed by Manny Davis, music by Philip Scheib. Features Mighty Mouse, lambs, and wolves. Tom Morrison was the voice of Mighty Mouse. Originally created by Izzy Klein in 1940 as a fly, the character was later transformed into a mouse called Supermouse, and became Mighty Mouse in '44. The cartoons were created for 17 years, and in this episode, a pack of wolves have their eye on a flock of lambs for dinner, so one of them dresses up as an alluring Little Bo Peep. This episode has wonderful animation, music, and a mighty big slice of early cartoon violence.

2: "The Talking Magpies" (1946). Directed by Mannie Davis, music by Philip Scheib. The debut cartoon of magpies Heckle and Jeckle, who keep farmer Al Falfa awake by bickering all night. Color is a little washed out on this one, but it has some funny bits in it.
3: "Treasure Island" (1959). 4: "The Trojan Horse" (1959). Both these episodes are well painted and tell the classic stories, with no information on who made them.

5: "Jungle Jitters" (1938). Directed by Isadore "Friz" Freleng, animated by Phil Monroe, music by Carl Stalling for the Schlesinger Studios. Features a gadget salesman trying to sell his wares in the jungle. The queen of the jungle falls in love with him and envisions him as both Clark Gable and Robert Taylor, in a cleverly drawn sequence. In 1968, United Artists banned this cartoon, along with 10 others, as being too racist for television. The ban still stands, and one can understand why. However, it is brilliantly drawn and scored, and animation aficionados will appreciate it for its artistic merits, despite its offensive material.

6: "A Mutt in a Rut" (1949). Directed by Isadore Sparber, animated by Dave Tendlar and Tom Golden, music by Winston Sharples, for Famous Studios. This is the 2nd of 2 cartoons featuring Dogface. Dogface has to adjust to a kitten who is adopted into his home, and has a scary out-of-body experience that teaches him a lesson in acceptance.
7: "A Waif's Welcome" (1936). Directed by Tom Palmer for Van Beuren Studios, this is about an orphan being taken in by a family with a brat for a son, and is a morality tale similar in many ways to "A Mutt in a Rut".

8: "Billy Mouse Akwakade" (1940). Directed by Eddie Donnelly for Terry-Toon Cartoons, this is one of the best episodes on the DVD, with a cat and dog making a pact to get the mice in the house, who are having a lot of fun in the bathtub. Excellent animation of the mice swimming in formation, just like an Esther Williams movie.
9: "Much Ado About Mutton" (1947). Directed by Isadore Sparber, animated by Al Eugster, music by Winston Sharples. Blackie the Lamb saves the day in this tale of wolves going after lambs for dinner ("Hubba hubba hubba, I'm a glutton for that mutton"). The music is terrific, and despite some color deterioration (the color palette is mostly in brown/green shades), it's one of my favorites in the collection.
10: "Cheese Burglar" (1946). Directed by Isadore Sparber, animated by Jim Tyler, Ben Solomon and William Henning, with music by Winston Sharples and Sammy Timberg. Arnold Stang is the voice of Herman. A hungry Herman must get past the cat and dog to reach the fridge. He finally hides in a bottle of wine, and all 3 end up very drunk. The color of this print is quite washed out, and I've seen better transfers in other DVD collections.


4/5 Disappointed
  by Chasville
Only one Mighty Mouse episode. Only one magpie episode, probably pre-Heckle and Jeckle. All the rest were obscure old classic style cartoons. I was on the hunt for Mighty Mouse. I expect they used Mighty Mouse in the title as a marketing gimic. The quality of the transfers was very good in most cases. The toons themselves were ok. There was a common wolf theme that kinda runs intermingled through the set. It sorta ties the beginning to the end. Similar in flavor to The Three Little Bops, trumpet jazz. Not sure how the timeline compares, if these were before, or after -- and thus inspired by.


4/5 If Beethoven was an Animator
  by David Langevin (HENDERSONVILLE, NC, US)
This collection is fun, ugraphically violent, but brutal enough that animators for todays kid's cartoons wouldn't dare attempt ventures such as these. Not only because these toons are too UN-PC for this watered down, wimp generation, but also because this vintage animation required hard work and long hours that have since been delegated to a mouse and a computer program. Hey, America, if you want to create something awesome, get some dirt on your shoes and pain in your hands. (and order this DVD on your trusy computer in the comfort of your own dysfunctional home, he he hah.

5/5 MIGHTY MOUSE / HECKLE AND JECKLE: WOLF WOLF
  by RARE_BARGAINS
LIKE DRVING INTO TOON TOWN IN ROGER RABBIT !
GREAT CLASSIC TOONS !
EPISODE LIST
1) WOLF WOLF
2) THE TALKING MAGPIES
3) TREASURE ISLAND
4) THE TROJAN HORSE
5) JUNGLR JITTERS
6) A MUTT IN A RUT
7) A WAIF'S WELCOME
8) BILLY MOUSE AKWAKADE
9) MUCH ADO ABOUT MUTTON
10) CHEESE BURGLAR

ENGLISH/FULL FRAME/COLOR/INTERACTIVE MENUS
2004 DIGIVIEW DVD
UPC # 872322001160