2/5 Mickey Mouse never got much respect...and that includes from me
  by Michael Giltz
The first of 3 volumes of Disney animation contains Mickey starring in a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk along with four other shorts. Disney is the king of feature-length animation and won all the Oscars in sight for many years when it came to shorts, but they're remembered far less fondly than Merrie Melodies, Bugs Bunny, the Fleischer work and just about any other artist creating shorts. It's not wholly fair -- despite being far less anarchic, they're solid works, albeit a bit staid. It's the difference between the original Grimm fairy tales and the sanitized versions with all the scary and sexy bits taken out. Volume 2 has seven shorts, including Three Little Pigs and Volume 3 has Mickey in The Prince and the Pauper, along with four other shorts.

3/5 A Collection Lacking Sense
  by I Want to Be Bob Dylan (IL , USA)
I love Mickey and the Beanstalk, and the Brave Little Tailor is by far my favorite Mickey cartoon of all time. However, I'd much rather see a restored, bluray release of the Mickey Cartoons tin, where things are actually remastered and restored. There are no extras, and only five cartoons. As a child, I would want Disney shorts like these (most of them were Silly Symphonies) for hours at a time. I think a bigger, more complete collection is essential for both collectors and children. Skip this and find the Mickey tin on ebay, and buy Fun and Fancy Free separately. ("The bears like to say it with a slap!")

5/5 ALMOST the "Best of Mickey" !
  by Hank Zangara (Washington DC)
This new collection is almost the "Best of Mickey Mouse." The title film, "Mickey and the Beanstalk," (29:17) is certainly Mickey (and the Gang)'s greatest epic, skillfully combining great songs and slapstick humor into a thrilling adventure story. "The Brave Little Tailor" is an ideal second cartoon, since it is another middle ages fairy tale featuring a giant. "Thru the Mirror" is one of Mickey's more bizarre shorts. Presaging Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" by 15 years, it is included with the first two films because Mickey grows small and then large like a giant. But it also features some of the funniest and surreal gags this side of Fleischer, and a swinging big band tune! "Gulliver Mickey" a late black and white short is an inspired choice, but here the tables are turned -- it is Mickey who is the giant! I say "ALMOST the Best of" because of the final film "Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip." What is this film doing in this collection? It is a weak cartoon, and has no connection with the "theme" of this DVD. With the first 4 shorts, this disc would almost be "Best of Mickey" if they had "The Band Concert," "Clock Cleaners," or even "Sorcerer's Apprentice" for the umpteenth time, instead of "Mr. Mouse." Still, this is a great collection if you don't already own most of these shorts. For the record, "Mickey and the Beanstalk" is also available in the Disney DVD full-length feature "Fun and Fancy Free" (1947); "Brave Little Tailor" (1938) and "Thru the Mirror" (1935) are also available in the DVD tin box set "Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Living Color " (Vol. 1); and "Gulliver Mickey" (1934) is also available in the DVD tin box set "Mickey Mouse in Black and White" (Vol. 1).

4/5 A wonderful collection of classic animated shorts and the first volume (of the 6) features many shorts with Mickey Mouse
  by Dennis A. Amith (kndy) (California)
As a child, I can easily remember my prized possession was a Walt Disney book that my father purchased for me and it featured the chronology of the early classic Walt Disney animated shorts. Some of these shorts were shown on the Disney Channel when I was younger but suffice to say, with all the new animation, a lot of these classics have probably been forgotten or have been released on VHS video.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment are now releasing a few of these shorts on DVD for the first time (some have appeared on past Disney DVD releases). The first three volumes were released on DVD on April 7, 2009.

A lot of these short films were created between the 1920-1940's and typically featured characters that were not reoccurring. Some were released under the "Silly Symphony" moniker of animated shorts released between 1929-1939 which rarely featured any character dialogue but focused more on the animation accompanied by music and a singing vocal track. Disney has continued to produce shorts today and while the majority of the short animated films are from the 1930's through the 1950's, volume 3 features an animated short ("The Prince & the Pauper) from 1990.

Of the six volumes that have been released from the "Walt Disney Animation Collection", for people looking specifically for Mickey Mouse classic animated shorts, you will be able to find them through volume 1 and 3.

Walt Disney Animation Collection Vol. 1 - Mickey and the Beanstalk

The first volume of the Walt Disney Animation Collection featuring "Mickey and the Beanstalk" includes a total of five animated shorts. All five which feature Mickey and popular Disney characters. Included are:

1. Mickey and the Beanstalk - (29:27) An animated short from 1947 featuring cameos from popular Disney films, the story focuses on Mickey Mouse, Goofy and Donald Duck. The three are poor and are very hungry. Mickey sells their cow but instead of getting money to buy more food, he buys three beans. The beans then grow to a tremendous height that their home is taken to another land where food is plenty and are larger than them. But what they realize is that they are in the land that a giant inhabits.
2. The Brave Little Tailor - (9:00) A Technicolor animated short from 1938 about a giant who has threatened towns but Mickey brags about killing seven flies with one swat, the townspeople accidentally believes that Mickey killed seven giants and now, Mickey is expected to protect the town from the giant.
3. Thru the Mirror - (8:57) A Technicolor animation from 1936 featuring Mickey Mouse who has been reading a story of "Alice in Wonderland", when he falls asleep, he finds himself in Wonderland.
4. Gulliver Mickey - (7:55) A black and white animated short from 1934 featuring Mickey and a group of orphans. He reads them a story of "Gulliver" and we see Mickey in the story as Gulliver.
5. Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip - (17:07) a 1940 Technicolor animated short featuring Mickey and Pluto. Mickey wants to go on vacation from Burbank to Pomona by train but Pete won't let him come aboard with his dog. So, Mickey tries to find a way to hide Pluto in the train from Pete.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"Walt Disney Animation Collection" is featured with an aspect ratio of 1:33:1. These classics are available on DVD for the first time but its important to mention that these animated shorts have not been digitally remastered or cleaned up.

As a matter of fact, you will see a lot of the dust and scratches of the film and some of the animation look fine for being nearly 70 years old but others look grainy and a bit aged. Granted, these are not classic full featured films but I hope one of these days, many of these classics do get cleaned up or even digitally remastered.

As for the audio, audio is featured in Dolby Digital Surround Sound. I found that on my home theater system, the best selection on my receiver to view these animated shorts was to switch it to mono or (if you have this capability) select stereo for all channels.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are no special features included on this DVD. But each volume does come with a free collectible litho print typically of the characters from the main featured story.

JUDGMENT CALL:

As mentioned earlier in my review, my prized possession as a child was a Walt Disney booklet that covered the Walt Disney animated shorts in chronological order and had the opportunity to watch these classics. Now as an adult with children, a lot of the animation from Walt Disney that my child sees is the latest in CG animation.

But I wanted him to sit and watch these animated shorts with me and sure enough, he enjoyed them. These animated shorts, the majority of them are simple and have no dialogue. Just music and sound effects (there were a few especially all from vol. 6 that have dialogue) but nevertheless, are simple and easy to understand.

For fans of classic Walt Disney animation and you pretty much have moved on away from your VHS copies, the "Walt Disney Animation Collection" is a great collection of your classic Disney animated shorts on DVD.

Many people who have purchased the "Walt Disney Treasures" DVD box sets from 2001, "Walt Disney's Timeless Tales" from 2005 or the "Walt Disney's It's a Small World of Fun!" DVD release from 2007 probably may not need any of these shorts as quite a number of them have appeared on DVD already.

But a few of the short films that are featured on the six volumes of "Walt Disney Animation Collection" have not been released on DVD until now.

Overall, It all comes down to your preference to the classic animated shorts from long ago and whether or not you owned previous releases. For those who haven't owned the previous Disney DVD shorts or box sets, now is a good time to start because a lot of the past releases have been discontinued.

Otherwise, if you are a person who already owns the previous DVD releases that contain these shorts, unfortunately, these animated shorts offer nothing new and are not digitally remastered. There may be a few titles on these DVD's that have not been released before on prior Walt Disney DVD's but it all comes down to your preference and if these episodes are worth having on DVD.

Again, it's important to note that volume 1 and volume 3 feature animated shorts featuring Mickey Mouse or a well-known Disney animated character. So, if you are specifically looking for Mickey Mouse animated shorts, you will find it on those two volumes.

But if you are a parent or grandparent who wants to show your children or grandchildren the Walt Disney animation that you grew up with or a person who has never seen these shorts and have been curious about them, then definitely give "Walt Disney Animation Collection" a chance.


5/5 Mickey & The Beanstock
  by Bonnie J. Cook (Tigard, OR United States)
This was a great movie. Had it years ago and lost it, so was thrilled to have it come out again.