Walt Disney Treasures: The
Chronological Donald, Volume 4: 1951-1961 (Disney DVD Treasure Tin Set)
Picture: B- Sound: B- Extras: B- Shorts: A-
After watching many
Donald Duck shorts I have one question; why does he only wear pants when he goes
swimming? Not that it matters, but
really? Anyhow, Disney has just release The Chronological Donald, Volume 4 and
this reviewer could not be more pleased.
This set features some of the best Donald Duck shorts from his animated
heyday. From 1951 to 1961, Donald Duck
was in his prime and in extreme demand; doing a balancing act between having
comedic fun and being a timeless art piece.
With Mickey being
Disney ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ role model, Donald was always Disney’s means to portray
the more negative traits that we may all possess from time to time. He is short tempered, ill mannered, and
sometimes just down right mean; but for what ever reason be still love the
intelligibly voiced duck. In this
collection we are getting to take a look into the world of Post-Wartime Donald
and Disney Studios. In the Post-War Era
Donald is once again tormented by everything and everyone under the sun; the
topics are not so serious (not that they ever were very serious) and the Donald
shorts begin to introduce a lot more Disney characters to the world. Besides being harassed by the Bears and the
Bees; Donald also found time in this animated era to find a love for
education. A perfect example of this is
in the short Donald in Mathmagic Land
(found on Disc 2) that explores math and while having fun, may even help a few
kids along the way. The set overall is
fantastic and if you own the previous Chronological Donald Sets you will
definitely see the evolution of the classic Duck here.
The shorts included on
the two discs in this Disney Treasure Collection are as follows:
Disc One
Dude Duck (1951)
Corn Chips (1951)
Test Pilot Donald
(1951)
Luck Number (1951)
Out of Scale (1951)
Be on Guard (1951)
Donald Applecore (1952)
Let’s Stick Together
(1952)
Trick-or-Treat (1952)
Don’s Fountain of Youth
(1953)
The New Neighbor (1953)
Working for Peanuts
(1953)
Canvas Back Duck (1953)
Disc Two
Donald’s Diary (1954)
Dragon Around (1954)
Grin and Bear It (1954)
The Flying Squirrel
(1954)
Grand Canyonscope
(1954)
Bearly Asleep (1955)
Beezy Bear (1955)
Up a Tree (1955)
Chips Ahoy (1956)
How to Have an Accident
in the Home (1956)
Donald in Mathmagic
Land (1959)
Donald and the Wheel
(1961)
The Litterbug (1961)
The technical features
on this new Donald Duck tin release are quite good for the features age and
there is not too much harm done by the digital restoration. Most of the picture is presented in a 1.33 X
1 full screen and certain other shorts are presented in the classic 2.55 X 1 or
2.35 X 1 CinemaScope segments that are anamorphically enhanced transfers. All of the shorts look great for their age
with bright colors, very little debris, some grain that is to be expected from
the older shorts, and a crisper image than this reviewer would have ever expected. There is an issue here and there with the
restoration efforts taking an obvious toll on certain segments; giving the
image a somewhat washed appearance at times and noticeable digital ‘scratching’
at others. The digital restoration
problems are far and few in between.
What can be said is the image quality is great for its age. The sound is a simple 2.0 track that has been
upgraded from the shorts original Mono track.
The sound is nothing special, but it gets the job done without sounding
distorted or having that background ‘hiss’ that many older cartoons are subject
too.
There are extras found
on both the first and second discs of this wonderful tin. Disc One holds an excellent commentary on the
Donald short Working for Peanuts with
Disney Archivist/Historian Leonard Maltin and Jerry Beck; who both diving into
the intricacies of the animated short in its intended 3-D version with
interesting factoids and talks about the art direction. The first Disc also holds a Story Board
“Pitch” Segment where a never before seen Donald short from 1946 is discussed
in the featurette “The Unseen Donald
Duck: Troubleshooters.” Finally on
Disc-1 there is an interesting featurette entitled “Donald Goes to Press” which reviews the years of Donald Duck Comic
Books that made him insanely popular with children and furthered his demand in
the film industry. In the “From the Vault” section there are two
‘Politically Incorrect’ shorts entitled Uncle
Donald’s Ants (1952) and Rugged Bear
(1953).
Disc-2’s extras are not
quite as interesting as those found on the first disc, but solid and insightful
nevertheless. First there are “Mickey Mouseworks Cartoons” that are
more contemporary attempts to recreate Donald at his best, but ultimately fail
to capture the charisma and charm that the original shorts had back in the
day. The is also a second commentary by
Maltin and Beck on the excellent Cinemascope Donald Short “Grand Canyonscope” that once again dives into the minuscule details
of the short that are often taken for granted as well as look at it as one
central piece of Disney immense art library.
Disc Two also features some “From
the Vault” shorts that are looked at as taboo or not “Politically Correct”
by today’s standards, but thankfully are included here anyway. As even Maltin explains, these shorts are
from a different era and whereas they can at times be offensive by today’s
standards; we can still appreciate them as art and as a means not to forget our
past. The shorts include Spare the Rod (1954), No Hunting (1955), and Accident at Work (1959). The shorts are in no way extreme or flat out
racist, but there is a definite sense of racial insensitivity AT TIMES that
would never be allowed in “children’s cartoons” today.
Overall, the extras
were amazing and masterfully done.
Maltin’s presence is something that Disney should not lose. He brings a great deal of knowledge and
magnetism to the table that push the Disney Treasure Sets to the next level.
I would highly
recommend this Disney set to anyone young or old. If you have never seen these shorts or are
looking to expose a younger generation to some classic Disney NOW is the
time. These Donald shorts are solid gold
(though they come in a silver tin) and highlight why Disney is the powerhouse
that it is. With a back catalogue of
such splendid classics Disney can never fail, we don’t need cheesy sequels are
double dip, after double dip; Disney fans across the world need to see these
classic shorts and films that have not seen the light of day for a long time.
Quack! Quack! Quack!
- Michael P. Dougherty II
