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The holiday season is upon us once again, and we're all searching for just the right present for a family member, relative, or friend. This season, Disney has again provided us with a wide selection of DVDs to pick from or ask for. As usual, some discs are well worth the money, and others can be easily skipped and the savings applied to much better titles. So, where to start? Well, let's get started with a fabulous new DVD series that'll suck the money out of your pockets, and then we'll move on to the others that are a bit less clear cut.
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Walt Disney's Legacy Collection Volume 1: Wonders of the World (169 min)
Disc 1:
Introduction By Roy Disney (1:40)
White Wilderness (72:21)
Water Birds (30:39)
Beaver Valley (31:55)
Prowler Of The Everglades (31:56)
Disc 2:
Mysteries Of The Deep (23:55)
Wonders Of The Water Worlds (49:32)
The Crisler Story (18:49)
Backstage With Roy Disney At Disney's Animal Kingdom: Birds (8:50)
Tribute To James Algar (2:57)
Filmmakers' Journal (22:27)
Collectors' Corner (3:02)
Original Theatrical Trailers (6:14)
Walt Disney's Legacy Collection Volume 2: Lands of Exploration (169 min)
Disc 1:
Introduction By Roy Disney (2:08)
The Living Desert (69:18)
The Vanishing Prairie (70:46)
Seal Island (26:46)
Disc 2:
Islands Of The Sea (28:20)
Natures Strangest Creatures (15:46)
Prairie (22:50)
Behind The True-Life Cameras (24:24)
Backstage With Roy Disney At Disney's Animal Kingdom: Desert Insects (3:32)
Backstage With Roy Disney At Disney's Animal Kingdom: Snakes (5:12)
Filmmakers' Journal (36:39)
Collectors' Corner (3:15)
Trailers & Promos (14:59)
Walt Disney's Legacy Collection Volume 3: Creatures of the Wild (204 min)
Disc 1:
Introduction By Roy Disney (2:03)
The African Lion (72:21)
Jungle Cat (70:01)
Bear Country (32:47)
Disc 2:
Olympic Elk (26:33)
Cameras In Africa (19:36)
The Yellowstone Story (17:20)
Tribute To The Milottes (17:34)
Backstage With Roy Disney At Disney's Animal Kingdom: Elephants (3:09)
Backstage With Roy Disney At Disney's Animal Kingdom: Cheetah Medical Exam (11:37)
Filmmakers' Journal (29:46)
Collectors' Corner (3:09)
Trailers & Promos (10:30)
Walt Disney's Legacy Collection Volume 4: Nature's Mysteries (146 min)
Disc 1:
Introduction By Roy Disney (1:59)
Secrets of Life (69:59)
Perri (74:29)
Disc 2:
Nature's Half Acre (32:36)
Searching For Nature's Mysteries (48:29)
Adventures In Wildwood Heart (49:25)
Backstage With Roy Disney At Disney's Animal Kingdom: Butterflies (7:21)
Tribute to Winston Hibler (15:29)
Filmmakers' Journal (35:00)
Collectors' Corner (7:57)
Original Theatrical Trailers (6:24)
The Movies and the Goodies
So, now that you have read all the stuff that appears on these four 2-disc editions, there really is not much more to say than, "Wow." At least that is all I came up with after going through each of these discs. This is one serious collection that the whole family can enjoy, and there is plenty of stuff for the collectors and amateur Disney historians in the crowd.
When I first mentioned what these discs were about, my three young sons (8, 5, and 2 years old) were a bit wary of watching more nature films. We already watch these kinds of shows on Animal Planet, but I told them these were different: these are the groundbreaking films that started the whole "nature-as-entertainment" genre. Then, I put in Secrets of Life, and they were mesmerized for the entire 70 minutes. There is just something about Walt's formula of amazing life-action animal footage, an interesting story to tell, and perfect music that makes these films timeless classics.
What makes this initial release of the Walt Disney Legacy Collection particularly special is that all 13 original True-Life Adventures films (8 of them won Academy Awards) are now available along with a whole bunch of behind-the-scenes and Walt Disney TV series footage from the Disney archives. My personal favorites are Secrets of Life, The Living Desert, and Bear Country, and I was happy so see that my boys are enjoying these movies as much as I do. The breadth of topics in these movies is enough that there should be something for everyone in the family, and I am sure as we get through some of the movies we did not get to yet, everyone's favorite will be different. There is so much to like and enjoy about these.
The first disc of each set features an introduction by Roy E. Disney, one of the original filmmakers, and much like Leonard Maltin with the Walt Disney Treasures sets, Roy sets the tone and place where these movies fit into the history of the company. The rest of Disc 1 simply contains the feature films.
Disc 2 jumps right into the bonus goodies, and across these four sets, there is some really cool stuff. All four sets contain some common topics, such as the "Backstage with Roy Disney at Disney's Animal Kingdom," "Filmmakers' Journal," "Collectors' Corner," and the theatrical trailers and promotional material. The actual material for each of these topics on each disc is different, but it is directly related to the movies in the set.
The "Backstage" featurettes follow Roy through several interesting, humorous, and educational experiences throughout Animal Kingdom. While not quite full blown ads for a visit to Walt Disney World, Roy talks to the talented animal experts in the park about everything from birds to butterflies to snakes, and they show how the park maintains them and keeps them all healthy. The "Journal" featurettes delve into the personal recollections of the filmmakers through interviews, archive footage, and clips from the movies. They are insightful glimpses into the trials, successes, and efforts that went into creating these classics. The "Collectors' Corner" featurettes are relatively short (about 2 minutes) overviews of the memorabilia that was created around the movies. For example, the movie Perri, a fictionalized story about a real squirrel, had a number of books, records, etc. created as part of its promotion, and some of those are shown and discussed by Disney archivists. Finally, the trailers are pretty self explanatory, but it is interesting to see how these films were promoted versus how movies are promoted today.
In addition to those common topics, each set contains a host of other Disney live-action animal shorts, such as Mysteries of the Deep, Nature's Strangest Creatures, and Islands of the Sea, and behind-the-scenes featurettes and tributes. All of these shorts are interesting, educational, and entertaining, and everything works together perfectly to provide a wonderful viewing experience. The behind-the-scenes material certainly makes you appreciate the incredible lengths that the filmmakers went to in the late 1940s and 1950s to capture this footage, and it is even more impressive to see how well these still hold up against modern animal documentaries. It is a real treat to finally have all this on DVD.
On top of all this, we also get several pieces and full episodes of Walt Disney's Disneyland and Wonderful World of Color TV shows. In some cases, such as Cameras In Africa, you get the opening with Walt and the short in black and white, and the second half of that episode was Bear Country, which is already available in color on the disc. Then, there are full episodes, such as Adventures in Wildwood Heart, the location that Perri was filmed. These are a treat to have on disc, and they too add to the wonderful overall experience that you get watching these.
The Video, Audio, and Interface
You may be wondering how a bunch of 16 mm film from the late 1940s looks some 50 or so years later, and I have to say, I was pretty darn impressed. All the feature films have been completely digitally restored, and if you remember seeing these movies on TV in years gone by, you'll hardly recognize them. The colors are solid and look good for being from the original 16 mm negatives, but the best part is that virtually all the scratches, dust, and signs of age have been carefully removed. The movies now look alive and fresh, and it helps to erase the feel of age that usually distracts younger viewers. The bonus material, however, does not benefit from this treatment, and many of them look their age. While the material is certainly cool enough for parents to enjoy, the children may grow a bit tired of it faster than the features. In the end, it sure makes you appreciate how clean the features look.
The rest of the presentation package is pretty straightforward and met my expectations. The primary audio on all the discs is a simple mono soundtrack, but given the age of the source material, the transfers are completely suitable for their intended purpose. Likewise, the interface is simple but perfectly themed and acceptable. It features animated transitions and audio cues, and the menus are easy to navigate. Overall, it is a nice package that presents these classic movies in the best way I have ever seen them.
The Final Evaluation
Each set by itself is not only a fantastic piece of Disney history but also great family entertainment, and when pooled together as a collection, these four sets make an absolutely amazing and comprehensive compilation of entertaining, educational, and historic filmmaking. As these are the first four titles in the Walt Disney Legacy Collection, they set a high mark for future titles, such as Destino, The Adventures of "Oswald," and the one I have personally been waiting for quite a while, Disneyland: Secrets, Stories, & Magic. For everyone from hardcore Disney buffs to naturalists to young children that just love to watch animals, these four sets offer a unique opportunity to satisfy their desires, and these sets, or at least one of them, should be added to your video library.
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Disc 1:
Commentary by screenwriters Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio
Bloopers of the Caribbean
Disc 2:
Charting the Return: A preproduction diary
According to Plan: hour-long production documentary
Captain Jack: From Head to Toe
Mastering the Blade
Meet Davy Jones: Anatomy of a Legend
Creating the Kraken
Dead Men Tell New Tales: Re-Imagineering the Attraction
Fly on the Set: The Bone Cage
Jerry Bruckheimer: A Producer's Photo Diary
Pirates on Main Street: The Dead Man's Chest Premiere
Technical Aspects
English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
French (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1)
Closed Captioned
French and Spanish Subtitled
The Movie
Once again, our very own Alex Stroup has provided an accurate and concise review of Dead Man's Chest , so I'm not going to rehash something that I agree with rather wholeheartedly. I quite enjoyed the first movie, but as Alex mentioned, there is just a lot of flaws to this movie. In fact, this sequel has one of the highest, "Huh?" factors I have seen in the recent past. Sure, it has some entertaining spots and moments, but when it ended after the particularly long feeling 150 minutes, I just remember thinking to myself, "OK, soooooo, now what?"
However, given that this movie ranks as the number 3 movie of all time, based on international gross ticket sales, a lot of people have apparently forgiven the flaws and found this movie quite enjoyable. So, if you are one of those that loved the movie, I'm sure you will be putting this on your wish list.
The Goodies
This two-disc set has a whole bunch of cool goodies that, personally, I found far more interesting to watch than the movie itself. On the first disc, there is an audio commentary with the writers, Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, which aids in figuring out where this wandering film came from and where it could have gone. There is also a mildly funny set of bloopers, but I found it to be more hype than humor.
Disc 2 contains the bulk of the goodies, and I found most of them interesting and worth spending some time with. The Davy Jones featurette looks at the acting and computer work behind Jack Sparrow's squid-headed nemesis, and it is pretty funny to see all these actors running around in grey sweat suits with ping-pong balls attached to them instead of actors with elaborate makeup. Times have certainly changed, and this is a great look at how it is done. The other featurette I found particularly interesting is the "Dead Men Tell New Tales: Re-Imagineering the Attraction." This 13-minute short shows how Disney Imagineers took the original, classic Disneyland attraction and developed a plan to introduce Jack Sparrow and other "iconic movie features" to the cast of mischievous animatronics in the attraction. All in all, the collection of goodies is very good, and fans will definitely enjoy them.
The Video, Audio, and Interface
This is quite simply an excellent presentation of this film. The bright scenes are colorful and saturated, and the dark scenes have plenty of depth and texture. The audio is also very good, and this set will look and sound good on everything from a laptop to a big screen home theater.
The Final Evaluation
If you enjoyed the movie, this set is what you will want to add to your home theater collection. If you like the first movie more than this sequel, then rent this one just to watch the bonus stuff. They do not really make the feature better or shorter, but the goodies do provide much more interest beyond the movie. However, as my wife said, if you want a good family pirate movie, there is always Princess Bride.
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Goodies
Archery Trivia Challenge
Rescue Maid Marian Game
Alternate Ending Storyboards
"Ye Olden Days" Mickey Mouse Animated Short
Technical Aspects
English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
French and Spanish Language Tracks
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.75:1)
Closed Captioned
French and Spanish Subtitled
I'm sure all of you are familiar with this movie, and if you already have the 2000 DVD release, there really is not a lot to encourage you to upgrade. The new digital transfer is cleaner and a bit more vibrant, but unless you watch this one a lot, there are no goodies or bonus features that add value to this disc. If you don't already own it though, it would make a good addition to your library if you can get it at a reasonable price.
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Technical Aspects
English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
French Language Tracks
Full-Screen (1.33:1)
Closed Captioned
These two discs are follow-up volumes to the first two discs starring Mickey and Donald. These two new discs contain several of the Goofy shorts and Donald shorts highlighting Huey, Dewey, and Louie. If you are a collector, the Walt Disney Treasures discs are the best way to collect these and other classic shorts, and these discs are primarily intended for folks less interested in collecting animated shorts and more interested in having a few highlight shorts around to fill some time. The audio and video transfers are adequate, and the lack of bonus material is not a surprise. Depending on what you look for in your family library, these may be a nice addition.
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Goodies
None
Technical Aspects
English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
French Language Tracks
Full-Screen (1.33:1)
Closed Captioned
The phrase, "No, don't touch it! It's concentrated evil!" from Time Bandits comes to mind when I think about this disc. My recommendation is to just avoid buying this stuff, and if your children like it, well, you can record it on a worn out VHS tape with the tracking off, and they wouldn't know the difference. That is the simple truth about this one. If your Holiday DVD library needs Mickey Mouse, try the Classic Cartoon Favorites Volume 8 – Holiday Celebration with Mickey & Pals and Volume 9 – Classic Holiday Stories, instead. There is much better holiday fare out there, so save the money and use it on something else.
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