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). Now the seventh volume of the Walt Disney Animation Collection will be released and the theme for this volume is Christmas.
In past volumes, we saw many of the Silly Symphony shorts from the 1929-1939 featured in each volume but this time around, we have a volume featuring animation shorts released in the 80's. Also, the following shorts are much longer with most shorts in the past being around under 10 minutes, in this volume, the first two "Mickey's Christmas Carol" and "The Small One" are over 20 minutes long.
The seventh volume "Mickey's Christmas Carol" includes four shorts. Included are:
1. Mickey's Christmas Carol (25:47) This popular Disney animated cartoon is from 1983 and has been featured on several DVD's in the past. In an animated retelling of the Charles Dickens masterpiece, Scrooge McDuck plays Ebenezer Scrooge who is tight with money and puts money above everything. Even on Christmas Eve, his poor employee Bob Cratchit (Mickey Mouse) is docked pay for Christmas vacation. But its when the Ghosts of Christmas past pay a visit to Ebenezer and show him that he should have compassion for people.
2. The Small One (25:33) A popular Disney animated cartoon from 1978. A story about a boy who lives outside of Nazareth and because "The Small One", a donkey is getting too old, the boy's father tells him they must sell him. The boy who absolutely loves the Small One is crushed but tells his father that he will be responsible in selling Small One and finding him a new home. So, the boy and his donkey go to Nazareth.
3. Pluto's Christmas Tree (6:53) A 1952 Technicolor animated short. Mickey cuts down a Christmas tree which is inhabited by two chipmunks: Chip and Dale and with Mickey and Pluto decorating the tree, Pluto is disturbed in finding out that the tree has two inhabitants living there.
4. Santa's Workshop (6:18) a Silly Symphony animation from 1932 featuring Santa and his elves preparing for Christmas day.
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 this volume does come with a litho print from "Mickey's Christmas Carol".
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. Having these classic animated shorts from the past is great but also to have animation that I watched as a child during the Holidays, included on this DVD is awesome. But most importantly, now that I can share these classics with my son. These four animated shorts (and all previous volumes) are great for the families and in this volume's case, definitely worth sharing with the family during the holidays.
Of the released "Walt Disney Animation Collection" volumes, this volume is different in the fact that the past volumes featured shorts that had no dialogue (a few did but many didn't). Mainly music and sound effects but with this volume, "Mickey's Christmas Carol" and "The Small One" are two fantastic animated Disney cartoons that have a touching storyline, beautiful animation and although more recent than the Silly Symphony shorts featured on previous volumes, they are definitely Disney classics!
For those who owned the 2005 DVD release of "Walt Disney's Classic Cartoon Favorites, Vol. 09 Classic Holiday Stories (1952-1983)", may not need this volume as all animation from this DVD are included on the 2005 DVD release with the exception of "Santa's Workshop". Unless you are diehard fan, then to have that DVD with the Silly Symphony short may be worth it to you.
I know that there are some who wish these classics were digitally restored or remastered but I doubt that Disney will do that for a lot of their animated shorts for now (although they are really doing a fantastic job on the Disney feature films such as "Sleeping Beauty", "Pinocchio" and "Snow White" for the Blu-ray release).
But overall, these collections are offered for a low price and if you are a Disney fan, it's a no-brainer that this volume is definitely worth it. "Walt Disney Animation Collection Vol. 7: Classic Short Films Mickey's Chritmas Carol" is definitely recommended!
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After watching the disgustingly boring 2009 3D adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol I remembered how much I loved this Disney version and decided I had to watch it again. I'm so glad I did! 25 minutes is the perfect length for the story, and nothing could be more charming than having it star all of our favorite Disney characters! This is the only version you'll ever need of the story.Additionally I was excited about this DVD because I remembered loving "Pluto's Christmas Tree" and "The Small One". They were even better than I remembered! Pluto finds himself irked when Chip and Dale end up in the Christmas tree Mickey just cut down and The Small One is a very enchanting story about a boy who must sell his beloved donkey because he's getting too old to do chores. I must admit I cried at the end!
"Santa's Workshop" I didn't remember, but it was a fun animated journey through Santa's preparations for the big night.
Overall this is an AMAZING collection of short film. The only thing that bothered me was how cheap the main menu was. It had to have been put together on the Paint program, because it looks terrible. I'm sure this might have been done on purpose to give the deluxe edition they'll release in 10 years a better look, but it was still sad. Nonetheless I'll be watching these movies every Christmas, multiple times no doubt!
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A Christmas Story, It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Home Alone, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Elf, A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Garfield Christmas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Scrooge, Scrooged, Die Hard . . . the list is endless. There are dozens and dozens of films and TV specials that deal with the holidays. Some of good, others are just downright horrible. A few of them are considered some of the finest (Lampoon and Wonderful Life), while others are just mediocre (Jingle all the Way, The Santa Clause). But no matter what, most of these films and TV specials are always perfect for this time of year. And if you're a Disney fan, then Mickey's Christmas Carol would be the right one for you. This DVD features four films: Mickey's Christmas Carol, The Small One, Santa's Workshop, and Pluto's Christmas Tree. Christmas Carol is a half-hour adaptation of Dickens's classic story. The characters are played by Mickey, Scrooge McDuck, Pete, and more. It's what you would expect from vintage Disney: great animation, sharp writing, and some dark moments that you would NEVER see in today's Disney world. The Small One, also half-and-hour long, is by Don Bluth (of Land Before Time fame), and it tells the story of a young boy who must sell his aging donkey whom he adores very much. It's a very religious story, and some people may want to keep a box of Kleenex handy. Santa's Workshop and Pluto's Christmas Tree are both classic Disney shorts that deserve recognition, but I wish they added Toy Tinkers (starring Chip, Dale, and Donald Duck) on this DVD.Still, this is something that I can easily recommend to people of all ages. All four films (except maybe Santa's Workshop which looks a bit outdated) are excellent for the holiday season. In fact, you can see all four of them along with the other Christmas classics. You know, there are so many Christmas films and specials that I think I would lose count if I named all of them at once. Overall, these are the ones that make us feel and revel in the spirit of the holidays. Whether it's Mickey's Christmas Carol or A Charlie Brown Christmas, whether it's Miracle on 34th Street or National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, or whether it's Home Alone or A Christmas Story, you can never go wrong with "the most wonderful time of the year."
Honest reviews on Disney Animation Collection 7: Mickey's Christmas Carol (1993)
This is a wonderful version of Dicken's Christmas Carol for the whole family. Featuring Mickey, Uncle Scrooge, Donald and a host of Disney favorites. My kids loved this when they were young and now my grandaughter loves it too. This is a short film, around 20 min. There are three other Christmas themed cartoons also. One especially good one, features Mickey and Pluto searching for a Christmas tree to bring home. This was the cartoon debut of Chip and Dale.A great video for the holidays!
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This is a very charming collection of short holiday stories from Disney. Though the collection varies fairly widely in tone from one cartoon to the next, all are good and have broad appeal. Mickey's Christmas Carol (26 minutes, 1983) is an amiable re-telling of Dickens' classic that strikes just the right chord for young viewers, avoiding the typically frightening atmosphere that many adaptations maintain (think ghost of Jacob Marley and the grim reaper ghost of Christmas future). The animation is classic Disney and is gorgeous. The Small One (26 minutes, 1978) is a surprisingly sweet and low-key tale about a special diminutive donkey that finds his niche within the nativity story. It features memorable songs and genuine emotional weight that is a nice alternative to the usual madcap flavor of most cartoons. Pluto's Christmas Tree (7 minutes, 1952) is a very straightforward cartoon in the most traditional sense short, heavy on the physical humor, and good fun. It too is typical old-fashioned Disney, well-animated and lots of charm. Santa's Workshop (7 minutes, 1932) is the slightest of the bunch and while pleasant it isn't particularly memorable. It follows Santa and his helpers as they get ready for Christmas. It is the oldest of the four videos on this collection and shows every bit of its age. If you've seen Steamboat Willie then this will feel familiar, though it is in color.This is a solid collection of fun Christmas-themed stories that will appeal to kids and families of all ages. My 4 1/2 year old son enjoyed all of the videos despite how diverse they are, and I look forward to enjoying them again and again during Christmas seasons to come.
