3/5 For those nostalgic for these classic animated shorts and don't own any previous Disney animated shorts on DVD, check it out!
  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). With the first three volumes released, the fourth, fifth and sixth volumes will be released on May 12, 2009.

A lot of these short films were created in the 1920-1940's and typically featured characters that were not reoccurring (with the exception of the tortoise and the hare which appeared in a second short). 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.

Walt Disney Animation Collection Vol. 4 - The Tortoise and the Hare

The fourth volume of "The Tortoise and the Hare" includes a total of six animated shorts. Included are:

1. The Tortoise and the Hare - (8:40) A Silly Symphony animated short from 1939 featuring the popular tale of the race between the tortoise and the hare.
2. Babes in the Woods - (7:45) A Silly Symphony animated short from 1932 about two children and dwarfs who go against a wicked witch who has captured and turned children to animals.
3. The Goddess of Spring - (9:36) A Silly Symphony animation from 1934 featuring the Goddess of Spring who is captured by the Devil and with her capture has turned the world into Winter.
4. Toby Tortoise Returns - (7:32) a Silly Symphony animation from 1936 featuring another animated short starring Toby Tortoise and the Hare who are in a boxing match.
5. Paul Bunyan - (17:07) a 1958 Technicolor animated short starring the tall lumberjack Paul Bunyan.
6. The Saga of Windwagon Smith - (13:32) A 1961 Technicolor animated short featuring a Western animation about the adventures of Windwagon Smith.

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.

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.

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.

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.


3/5 The animation needs some restoration, but still a decent set
  by Alexander M. Walker (Chicago, IL USA)
Volume 4 of the Disney Classic Short Films collection has an odd problem in that the title cartoon, while undeniably classic, pales in comparison to the rest of the cartoons in the set. For adult Disney collectors the older make-up of the films on this disc won't be a problem, but for the kids it's hard to say whether or not they'll be all that enthralled with many or any of the cartoons in the fourth volume.

The Tortoise and the Hare (1935)

Kids have been told the tale of The Tortoise and the Hare for decades. The best part of this cartoon (used briefly in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) is the way the tortoise moves; as his shell moves along a perfectly straight line, his arms and feed move in a smooth motion that just looks really neat. The Tortoise and the Hare as a story has aged unbelievably well but the cartoon's quality has seen an unquestionable dip. Disney's rendition of the story goes through the formula well enough, but it's the subdued colors and poorly kept film stock that drag this title cartoon down. Seeing the picture's colors flicker and waver around the edges really takes away from the experience.

The Goddess of Spring (1934)

Disney offers us a mythological tale of sorts in The Goddess of Spring. Narrated by song, the Goddess is abducted by the lord of the underworld who makes her his bride. Seeing her sadness, the hellish lord agrees to let her go to the surface for spring. And that, my children, is why we have some seasons that aren't spring. Because spring spends half the year in hell. It's an odd message to give kids, though it's undoubtedly based on some culture's seasonal story. Again, Disney has let the age of the cartoon affect the quality - but even so it was already one of the lesser cartoons on the disc.

Babes in the Woods (1932)

Elements written by the Brothers Grimm

Taking some elements from Hansel and Gretel (and a few other Brothers Grimm tales), Babes in the Woods is a quick little romp with faeries, gnomes and woodland creatures coming to the rescue of a box and girl imperiled by a nasty witch. After the initial escape from her house, a full aerial battle ensues - it's actually kind of cool, even if the witch is oddly arrow-proof. Colorful and lively, the cartoon has such a flurry of activity that it might just keep the tykes entertained.

Toby Tortoise Returns (1936)

Directed by Wilfred Jackson, Written by Ward Kimball

The sequel outdoes the original, even if I'm still somewhat confused about the moral on this one. In a race of endurance (as in the original) the tortoise and hare pairing makes all sorts of sense. But when you shift to boxing, something is definitely lost in translation. Anyways, the rabbit finds himself up against the Rocky Marciano of turtles - if Rocky could suck his arms and head into his chest. While initially playing around with the "can't hit me I'm a turtle" sequence, eventually the cartoon becomes an onslaught of colors in a firework animation that actually impresses when you consider how nice it looks in a 1936 cartoon.

The Saga of Windwagon Smith (1961)

Directed by Charles A. Nichols, Written by Lance Nolley & Charles A. Nichols

By far my favorite cartoon in this volume, a man sails the American frontier in a Conestoga wagon with a sail and rudder. Windwagon Smith was a pioneer unlike any other; as an ex-sailor he found himself bored with the movement of live on the great rolling plains. Outfitting his wagon with traditional sailing apparatus he takes a town on a fantastic voyage into the undulating seas of grain. The concept and execution of this cartoon are top notch. Taking full advantage of the very limited and blocky animation available, The Saga of Windwagon Smith surpasses all expectations. Rex Allen narrates and plays the voice of Windwagon Smith.

Paul Bunyan (1958)

Directed by Les Clark, Written by Lance Nolley & Ted Berman

As a close second in quality to The Saga of Windwagon Smith, the legend of one of America's tall tale folk heroes gets a proper retelling. Tracing the life of our nation's most famous lumberjack from infancy to adulthood, we see him clear American wilderness of pesky trees in favor of westward expansion. Considering the current highlight put on conservationism, the Paul Bunyan story might feel recklessly out of place now, but as an animated piece of American culture Paul Bunyan is beautiful. Its animation and music are brilliant and will be enjoyed by all generations.

4/5 My 4-year-old Daughter Loves It
  by J.C. Clark
Enjoyable for both children and grown-ups to watch together. Indeed, it is helpful to watch this with your kids so you can explain some of the grown-up elements to them.

The really odd thing here, marketing-wise, is that the award-winning Paul Bunyan cartoon is easily the best and most well-known short here. I can remember enjoying it as a kid on the Sunday night Wonderful World of Walt Disney show. Now, my daughter loves Paul and Babe the Blue Ox, too. The cartoon has everything: heart, humor, pathos, and an ending that is both sad and happy. Also, the recurring theme song is wonderful.

The dog here is the Windwagon cartoon, which is artistically beautiful, but the characters and plot just doesn't hold interest. It especially suffers here, following the completely absorbing Paul Bunyan. My daughter goes away and plays with her toys when Windwagon comes on. Paul Bunyan should have been the final cartoon on this DVD.

The tortoise and the hare cartoons were both very well-done. My daughter likes the whacky humor involved and enjoys rooting for the tortoise. These cartoons, especially the boxing one, have that zany Warner Brothers feel to them.

And then there are the two cartoons which have a European "Brothers Grimm" aura and seem like they came from the Age of Napoleon: Babes in the Woods and The Goddess of Spring. To my surprise, my daughter really liked these, even though one features a Hansel and Gretel-type creepy old witch, and the other features a scary bass-voiced Devil and his demonic entourage. She likes to be scared a little bit, but these didn't scare her too much. She was really thrilled when the Goddess of Spring was allowed to return to Earth and all the animals were happy again.

It is an interesting set in that the cartoons can be divided into three categories:
1. Two tortoise and the hare cartoons.
2. Two "modern" American folklore cartoons from around 1960.
3. Two "fairy-tale" cartoons from the early 1930's. One interesting thing is these two cartoons were made in the same decade as the tortoise and hare cartoons, yet they seem much older. Obviously, cartooning technology made great strides during the Thirties.


3/5 Not all great but Paul Bunyan is a Disney Classic IMHO
  by Steven I. Ramm (Phila, PA USA)


Its been over 50 years since I've seen these shorts. Yep, saw them either in the theatre or on TV as a kid. Not all hold up well... "The Goddess of Spring" and "Babes in the Woods" were "Silly Symphonies" which were aimed at adults more than kids and feature full colorful animation. "The Tortoise and the Hare" - and its lesser-seen "Toby Tortoise Returns" were short 8 minute humorous cartoons. The prizes here are the later "Paul Bunyan" and "The Saga of Windwagon Smith", each in the later style limited animation - but beautifully colored, and each running a full 16 minutes or more.

Watching "Windwagon Smith", I'm wondering how many folks noticed a nod to the recent Bernie Madoff scandal. The town folks all invest in this big "scheme" to make money and then build an even bigger ship (the way they plan to move folks west), only to return home with their money lost.

The quality varies based on the age of the film and they were not restored (the last two didn't need any; they were fine) but they are still watchable.

For others who remember seeing these as a kid, the set is worth getting.

Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"



3/5 Turtle turtle turtle
  by Tristan
I mainly bought this for the "Toby Tortoise Returns" short. I was suprised how good it looked and how funny it was. I also enjoyed the first short that featured the Tortoise and the Hare as well.

The rest of the shorts are typical Disney shorts. Kinda boring with no redeaming characters or comedy that he hasn't done over and over again before, but the ones that feature the two I mentioned before are really fun to watch. Worth the buy.