Walt Disney Treasures - Mickey Mouse in Living Color

During the mid-'30s, Mickey Mouse's fans ranged from the more than one million children who were members of the Mickey Mouse Club to Franklin Roosevelt, Mary Pickford, and the Nizam of Hyderabad; theater marquees announced "A Mickey Mouse Cartoon" with the feature titles. These wonderful shorts, many of which have never been released to the home market, remind viewers just how charming Mickey was before his popularity and role as a corporate symbol restricted his behavior. In these cartoons Mickey's personality was boyish, appealing, and slightly mischievous. The superb animation emphasizes that impish appeal. When Mickey dances with a deck of cards in "Thru the Mirror," he displays a stylish grace Fred Astaire might envy; in "Brave Little Tailor," his expressions and body language reveal his thoughts as he outwits Willie the Giant. It's virtually impossible to watch him without smiling. These shorts overflow with color and motion, and their lavish visuals pack an increased impact in an era of minimal television animation. Only Walt Disney would spend the money to animate a full deck of cards, a band flying through the air in a tornado, or a clutch of semitransparent ghosts, and only his animators could make those characters live on the screen. The prints have been lovingly restored without pumping up the color too much: the nuances of the delicate watercolor backgrounds still come through. Parents, Disney buffs, and animation fans will want this superb collection in their home libraries. Unrated: suitable for all ages. --Charles Solomon

A collection of twenty-six animated shorts in color starring everyone's favorite, Mickey Mouse, released between 1935 and 1938. Introduction by Leonard Maltin.
Cartoons: The Band Concert, Mickey's Garden, Mickey's Fire Brigade, Pluto's Judgement Day, On Ice, Mickey's Polo Team, Orphan's Picnic, Mickey's Grand Opera, Thru the Mirror, Mickey's Rival, Moving Day, Alpine Climbers, Mickey's Circus, Mickey's Elephant, The Worm Turns, Magician Mickey, Moose Hunters, Mickey's Amateurs, Hawaiian Holiday, Clock Cleaners, Lonesome Ghosts, Boat Builders, Mickey's Trailer, The Whalers, Mickey's Parrot, Brave Little Tailor.

1 Mickey steps out of the world of black and white.
These DVDs feature the first 26 color Mickey Mouse cartoons. This is a real treat for animation buffs. These are among the best cartoons ever produced. Most of these cartoons have Mickey playing "straight man", with most of the laughs going to Donald Duck, Goofy or Pluto. But there are a few cartoons with Mickey by himself, like "Thru the Mirror" and "Brave Little Tailor", which show that Mickey could still carry a cartoon by himself when he was given the right role. Highly recommended to fans of classic animation.

2 The mouse is overrated
As Leonard Maltin freely admits in the extra features, Mickey Mouse just isn't funny on his own. As a result he is always teamed with Donald, Goofy or Pluto in order to make his cartoons work. During the 30's and 40's Mickey soared and plummetted as he was soon overshadowed by the undeniably funnier Donald Duck.

In this collection of 26 Mickey shorts there is basically two different types of cartoon.

1. Mickey on his own-not that funny. Doesn't do much.
2. Mickey and his pals-Whatever they do disaster follows. And in most of these Mickey still doesn't even do much. It's strange to think that 'Orphan's Picnic' and 'The Whalers' are called Mickey Mouse shorts when he is hardly in them and Donald and Goofy eat up most of the screen time.

Hilarious these cartoons are not. But brilliantly animated and amazingly vivid (especially for stuff that's almost 70 years old) they are. The level of detail that Walt and Co. put into the cells and background is what gives them all a sense of class and sophistication few other cartoons can match.

The picture quality can range from astoundingly clear to dusty and dirty at times. As can the sound be clear as a bell to a bit chewed up in some places. Overall the quality is good though. The extras are quite good and Leonard Maltin seems to have a good knowledge of what he's talking about instead of someone just reading off cue cards.

But what really annoys me about the DVD is the fact that you have to wait though about 86 different screen before getting to the actual menu. Disney, please stop doing this!

3 Charming...In Small Doses

A beautifull and charming collection. I do have a suggestion. These shorts were all meant to be viewed individually. I think watching them all in one sitting will loose their impact. One can only watch Donald Duck falls on his head so much in one sitting. I play a short each time before I watch another DVD movie, just like the shorts were viewed in theaters. I found that I enjoyed them a lot more that way. Just a suggestion.

4 why donald duck took over
what this volume shows us, after watching the 2 eccellent black & white sets, is just why, during the 1940s, Mickey Mouse became less & less used (his cartoon shorts droped by more than 50%) & Donald Duck took over. Mickey started out as the Bart Simpson of the 20s-30s, always getting into mischief. But as he got more & more famous, Walt decided Mickey couldnt get into trouble, in other words he couldnt be funny. Thus, Donald Duck took over. Not only would Disney produce far less mickey mouse cartoons,but the ones that he HAD made, the ones that BUILT his empire, would rarely be seen again- some NEVER, until the release of these DVDs.So now they belong to posterity, not in the dusty Disney vaults, the genie is out of the bottle & nothing any concerned mother might write to Disney studios can change it again. I can remember back in the late 60's "Walt Disneys wonderfull world of color" did a episode devoted to Mickeys 40th birthday where they showed clips from the early B&W cartoons. They looked so funny! I waited & waited for a time when they would develope a show where they would show them. It happened in the early 1990s, but most were colorized, & I see now that most were heavilly edited too.
Well thank you Disney, for releasing them finally, (would you please re-release the 1st black & white DVD with a "play all" option! & you dont need to make them "limited editions",DVDs dont become valuble in the long run. As long as we can watch them, thats fine!

5 hooray!
It is so exciting to finally have all these cartoons available! I grew up watching them on the Disney Channel, but they don't show these on TV anymore, and I missed them. Also, I definitely want my kids to be able to see these classic cartoons someday. They are way better than all the weirdo cartoons out nowadays. I adore Mickey's Trailer, and all the rest are just great to have! We want more of these sets! I would love to have every single Disney cartoon ever made!

6 Mickey Mouse Treasurer collection
This is indeed a must collection for all Mickey Mouse or even Disney lovers. Why else can you get these classic and award winning cartoon nowadays. Good work and a thumbs up for Disney in releasing these nostalgia and work of arts. I bought mine here in Australia from Ezydvd. It cost less and it's not tin! Paper/cardboard made case which is as good as the tin, who cares anyway, it's the cd that you want. However, if you really want to settle for "Collector's item", then tin would sound better. but how many other collectors have the tin?? A lot. You want the classic not the tin case.

7 wired
This item is from the Walt Disney Treasures Series so those who don't know this product is a limited edition. I'll explain the good points and the bad points since most reviews just say THIS DVD IS EXCELLENT, and GREAT without even talking abuot it and most of them just list it I mean Amazon had already listed this, I'm not saying that there isn't anything to read, but their needs to be more points on this dvd to help the buyer auctuly make a descision and with more opinions the buyer will not regret his/her descicion.

Good Points-
The good thing about this dvd is that it has all the classic shorts from the first color short to 1938. The classic shorts are very rare. The shorts are detailed crisp and clean pictures nto alot of blurs. The Main Menu is easy to navigate and the shorts are entertaining and can make just about anyone laugh, trust me everyone needs to laugh once and while.

Bad Points-
The bad thing about this and all the Disney Treasures is that its limited edition. Once they're sold out you can't buy them anymore, you can't buy them. Look if they are going to release a limtied edition they could at least rerelease them without tin cans and make them avaible but with just fewer bonuses so those that just found out about this dvd can auctully purchae it if they wanted to buy it. That is basically the only bad point.

Overall
I gave this product a five stars is because it is great, even though I made it being a limited edition is a bad point. Yeah it is a bad point, but being limited edition doesn't affect how the dvd is, it doesn't affect the shorts. So this dvd deserves a five stars because it is great and the shorts are all here and Volume 2 will complete the color collection, along with this Wave four will only have 3 dvds becaause its a pattern wave one has four wave two has three and wave three has four so wave four will obviously have 3 there is something to it I do know, but I don't want to spoil it to you so later.

8 Warning about one Marketplace seller.
This is an eccellent DVD box set from Disney but as it is only available in a tin set on auction,I would like to warn buyers away from one man named Rob Haxter on rhaxter@yahoo.com.
Mr Haxter has a very belligerant and abusive attitude to those that have the "gall" to complain about his sending damaged items,so I suggest trying other sellers as I have had better dealings with them. I have had some eccellent service from other Marketplace sellers.
The bottom line is to avoid disappointment by carefully checking all the reviews on their Marketplace review sites.

9 The Beginning of the Mouse in Color!!
The Walt Disney Treasures line starts out strong in this title, Mickey Mouse in Living Color. What we get are the first 26 color Mickey cartoons, all uncut the way Walt wanted them to be seen. Disney, known for some editing for political corectness, has done it perfectly here, and collectors can now watch these shorts at their leisure. The shorts included range from 1935-1938, from The Band Concert to Brave Little Tailor. Those who grew up watching these will love the nostalgia, while those who simply remember the time Disney Channel had programming worthy of the Disney name will be delighted to see these rarely seen (until now) gems.

The shorts have been listed numerous times so I don't need to do that. But in the Disney world today, true animation is being phased out for CGI, leaving classic animation as a lost art. Animation will never have the charm that the classics do though, which is why I am glad I got my hands on a copy of this dvd. Released in Wave 1 of the Treasures series, I think it sets the standard for what DVD can be and it truly gives justice to a seemingly lost art.

The shorts have been remastered to look the best they possibly can. The colors are bright and vivid and truly give a great viewing experience. Sound-wise it is the best it will be. A lot of people express dislike of Leonard Maltin and his intros to the politically-incorrect shorts, but if it weren't for him we would not be seeing the original versions. Doing the intros was the only way Disney would give the public the uncut versions of the toons, so thumbs up for Maltin and his part in giving us the Walt Disney Treasures. Lastly, the extras included are pretty good including Mickey Mouse in Living Color featurette w/ Leonard Maltin, as well as pencil tests for a few select shorts. There are some easter eggs you will want to check out, and while I cannot remember right off where they are, you can go to dvdeastereggs.com for a listing of any easter eggs (hidden material).

Overall I say any Disney fan must own this set. This may pose a problem to some because this is the rarest and most expensive of all of the Treasures. I recommend saving your money and buying this though because it is classic Disney at its best. All of the great aforementioned material comes in a special edition tin which is really great as well. If you are fortunate to find this set, you will be glad to have full access to some of the most creative and imaginative Disney animation there is. Be prepared to pay $90+ dollars for a mint in the tin copy though. This, along with the Goofy and Donald sets, is my favorite and in my opinion worth the price I paid. Get this while you can!

10 Mickey Mouse in Living Color: A Great Collection
Walt Disney Treasures Review 2 of 11.

This review tells you where to find all the EASTER EGGS! (hidden DVD features)

Finally released on home video in their original glory is Mickey Mouse in Living Color, with the complete cartoons from 1935-1938. They are uncut, which mean yes, they are finally politcally incorect. (HOORAY!!!) Well, the set is, like the rest, in a limited numbered tin, with a postcard size lithograph of the movie poster for The Band Concert, and a program booklet, which lists the cartoons, features, and a letter from the host, Leonard Maltin.

Both disc share the same intro. On disc one we have every starring cartoon for 1935 and 1938.

1935

The Band Concert: Mickey Leads and outdoor band in a rousing rendition of William Tells Overture with Donald leading them astray with his fludte playing of Turkey in the Straw.

Mickey's Garden: Mickey and pluto protect their vegetable garden from bugs.

UNCENSORED: Bugs get drunk from Mickey's insecticide.

On Ice: On a frozen lake, Minnie looks on a Mickey Outskates Brian Boitano, along with antic of Donald, Goofy, and Pluto.

UNCENSORED: Goofy uses chewing tobacco to catch the fish.

Pluto's Judgement Day: After Mickey chastises Pluto for chasing cats, the dog has a nightmare in a feline hell on trial for his crimes.

UNCENSORED: Cats in black face sing of Pluto's misdeeds.

Mickey's Fire Brigade: Mickey Donald and Goofy try to rescue Clarabel Cow from her her burning house.

1936

Thru the Mirror: After falling asleep, Mickey dreams of actually going thru the mirror.

Mickey's Circus: Mickey and Donald are the main events of this circus for orphans

UNCENSORED: Donald Brandishes a rifle against his out-of-control seal act.

Mickey's Elephant: Mickey receives as a gift Bobo the Elephant, a playmate for Pluto, but turns out to be a disaster.

Mickey's Grand Opera: Mickey is the orchestra leader in an opera starring Clara Cluck and Donald Duck.

Mickey's Polo Team: Mickey's team of cartoon characters play polo against a team of famous Hollywood actors.

Alpine Climbers: Mickey Donald and Goofy get into trouble when they try their hand at mountain climbing.

UNCENSORED: Pluto gets drunk with a Saint Bernard.

Moving Day: Mickey and Donald enlist Goofy's aid when they are evicted from their hose by Sheriff Pete.

UNCENSORED: Pete lights a match for his cigar off of Donald's beak. Then deposits the spent match into Donald's beak.

Mickey's Rival: Miceky's romantic picnic is intterupted by Mortimer Mouse, resembling Walt.

Orphan's Picnic: Mickey and Donald take a group of orphans out for a picnic.

Bonuses on disc 1:

Pencil Tests: In 1935, there is a pencil test set. There is an intro by leonard, then you can play pencil tests for On Ice, Mickey's Fire Brigade, and Pluto's Judgement Day. You can use the angle button to toggle between pencil and finished color.

EASTER EGG! On Mickey's head on the main menu, Walt talks about the history of Mickey.

Parade of Award Nominees: A cartoon made for the 1932, academy awards featuring the stars nominated. It was Mickey's first appearance in full color.

Then we have disc 2. Here are more cartoons from 1937 and 1938, complete and uncensored.

1937

Hawaiian Holiday: The fab five are all together on the beaches of Hawaii

Moose Hunters: Donald and Goofy try to lure a moose by dressing up as a female of the species.

The Worm Turns: Mickey shows heretofore unseen mad scientist tenedencies when he concots a potion that turns the meek against their opressors.

UNCENSORED: Dogcatcher Pete threaten's to blow Pluto's head off with a shotgun.

Magician Mickey: Mickey has to deal with a heckling Donald During his Magic Act.

UNCENSORED: Donald pulls a pistol on Mickey and stagehand Goofy.

Mickey's Amateurs: Mickey hosts and amateur contest featuring the whole gang.

UNCENSORED: Donald Pulls a Machine Gun on the audience.

Clock Cleaners: Mickey, Donald and Goofy have the perilous job of cleaning a giant, big ben typebe clock.

Lonesome Ghosts: Mickey, Donald and Goofy as... GHOSTBUSTERS!

1938

Mickey's Parrot: Mickey and Pluto mistake a parrot for an escaped convict hiding in their house

UNCENSORED: Mickey's Got a Gun

Boat Builders: Mickey and Donald and Goofy put together a do-it-yourself boat kit.

The Whalers: Mickey, Donald, and Goofy set out on the open sea to harpoon a whale

UNCENSORED: Did I mention they are out to harpoon a whale?

Mickey's Trailer: Mickey, Donald, and Goofy travel the coutnryside withe their gadget filled trailer.

Brave Little Tailor: Mickey stars in a fairy tale as the title character and sets out to kill a giant.

UNCENSORED: The giant rolls and smokes a hay cig.

Bonuses

EASTER EGG! On the main menu, go to Mickey's Head to see a cartoon made for the 1939 New York World's Fair for Nabisco called Mickey's Surprise Party.

Mickey Mouse in Living Color Featurette: Leonard Maltin returns for a brief recap of Walt's career, including clip from some black and white shorts.

Gallery: A gallery showcasing pencil art, promotional arwork, posters, and production photos.

That is the second disc of the second set of Wave 1. Continue on to see Davy Crockett.

See you there!

11 Very rare DVD plus the best out there!
If you want the classic mid and late 1930's cartoons I suggest you buy this DVD! This has lots of entertainment. You will not regret when you buy this DVD! I Highly Reccomend this DVD to The People who missed the cartoons. people, they don't show the 1930's cartoon in the disney channel anymore! so decide quick before the DVD's sell out. Why Is the DVD fifty bucks or more? good question. A: because they don't make them anymore. plus they got the best out there. hey even it is fifty bucks, do not hesitate! BUY NOW!! ITS GETTING HOT!!

12 The Orginal and the Best. Mickey is THE Mouse.
Mickey and the gang mean as much to me now as they did when I was a kid.

This dvd is the one I watch when I've had a bad day or when I'm really tired and I don't want to think!

This is perfect to have on hand when kids come over - I don't have any kids of my own - I can put this on and they will watch it and there's no super scary stuff, just good clean fun.

I love Finding Nemo and The Lion King but it scares some kids which I totally understand!

I have also found that alot of the adults usually end up having desert and coffee in the TV room cause they want to watch Mickey too.

Never underestimate the power of the mouse!

13 Disney is too mainstream....
The Mouse, I think, is the most over-rated cartoon ever created. He's nothing but a nice, one dimensional boy scott, who talks like a girl. These shows were supposed to reflect mainstream America, but I think they catter more to the rich and the establishment view of things. Which does not know what it's doing.

14 Best DVD!!!!!
I Got this DVD On Christmas 2003. Its great but out of print! It has Lots of shorts I remembered. If you want 1935-1938 Shorts, this is the DVD you want. I recommend you buy the Mickey in Living color and Silly Symphonies.

15 A Must-Buy for animation fans
This is the first set of Mickey Mouse shorts(the second one's now out, the and the third one is coming soon). And a lot of these are the best. The shorts in these are classics, fun for people of all ages, including The Brave Little Tailor, Hawaiian Holiday, Lonesome Ghosts, and Moving Day. Be careful though, both Donald and Goofy really steal the spotlight at times! There are few extras, really, but I don't matter, and I like the easter eggs in the DVDs, including an unedited version of "Mickey's Surprise Party," which was also released and edited for VHS on the video "The Spirit of Mickey." And the voice talent is great. These are the original voice-actors doing the voices of the characters. Look, no offense, I like Wayne Allwine, Tony Anselmo, Bill Farmer, and Russi Taylor, but the originals have always been the best for me. The voices are mainly Walt Disney himself as Mickey Mouse, Clarence Nash as Donald Duck, Pinto Colvig as Goofy, and Marcellite Garner as Minnie Mouse. Anyway, this DVD set is a bit harder to come by now, but if you see it, I highly recommend it, as it's an instant classic.

16 Wonderful treats
The shorts are wonderful and they can be play either in closed-captioned (CC) or subtitled but for the rest of DVD features such as introductions by Maltin, Pencil Tests and a few others they are not closed-captioned or subtitled and that was very disappointing.

17 "Mickey. I'm a Mickey mouse man."
Mickey Mouse rules. To quote the great Tracy McGrady:

"Mickey. I'm a Mickey mouse man."

And so am I.

18 Pleased with Mickey
I love these collector's editions! I'm so glad that Disney put these classics together. I actually have all 7 of these limited collector's editions and thoroughly am enjoying watching them! The Mickey Mouse in Living Color is just really fun to watch. Mickey is of course one of the "classics" and I'm so glad to have this one in my home

19 Classic Disney full of Nostalgia
This and the other DVDs that are part of the Walt Disney Treasures Collection are, as their name suggests, true treasures for any Disney fan. This two-disk set includes all of Mickey's color cartoons, between 1935 and 1938 which includes such classic shorts as "The Band Concert", "Thru the Mirror", "Lonesome Ghosts" and "The Brave Little Tailor just to name a few. Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Donald Duck, and Goofy also make appearances co-staring in many of these shorts as well. Vintage bonus features make this great DVD even better, including rarely-seen gems such as "Parade of the Award Nominees" , a short created especially for the 1934 Academy Awards Banquet, "Mickey's Surprise Party", which was created as a Nabisco advertisement for the 1939 World's Fair, and full shorts in pencil test form. All in all, this is a must-have for Disney fans and a great way to introduce the new generation to the world's favorite mouse.

20 Sheer Perfection
In my opinion, the early color cartoons of Mickey Mouse, are some of the best works by Walt Disney. This collection of many of them is amazing. The only thing I can say against it is that the DVD design is not very well done. The DVD always starts with Leonard Maltin's commentary on Mickey Mouse, and if you've seen it once, that is probably enough. It would be nice if it went directly to the cartoon. Despite that, though, this is an amazing DVD. The cartoons are great, and presented in wonderful condition.

21 A legacy for generations to come
This DVD is in my opinion the begining of the Disney era.
It is a collector's item which will always be fun to watch!
These cartoons will never age,on the contrary they will always be the real thing.
This DVD is a legacy for generations to come.

22 This Set ROCKS!
True, in this Mickey's supporting characters steal the spotlight from him in most of the shorts, some are true golden Mickey moments such as, "Mickey's Rival", "Thru The Mirror" and "Brave Little Tailor". These shorts are some of the funniest since all (except for MICKEY'S SERVICE STATION) of the Mickey Donald and Goofy shorts are here and the classic, "Pluto's Judgement Day". And there's enough extras including three pencil tests, two easter eggs, the academy awards presentation and a good intro by Leonard Maltin as well as a great featurette.

23 GREAT!
This is a great set! These shorts were the ones I'd watch the most out of all of them on the Disney channel. The best are easily the "Mickey, Donald & Goofy" team-ups. Mickey doesn't always get the spotlight in those but two are mainly all about him at least. "Thru the Mirror" an "Brave Little Tailor" are two great shorts. While the "Mickey in Black & White" set offers more of the mouse in starring roles these shorts are somewhat funnier to me. It's out of print now, so if you have it already you should consider yourself reeeeealllly lucky!

24 A good release.
These Mickey mouse cartoon are not as good as the BW Mickey toons. Mickey is teamed up with Donald,Goofy or Pluto must of the time. That's not to say these cartoons are not good. But Mickey is upstaged by these characters.

25 Awesome!
I love all these Walt Disney Treasure collections! Hopefully they will continue to churn these out so each Disney Star/Genre gets the special treatment! Chip 'N Dale anyone???

26 Mickey in color: "The Band Concert" to "Brave Little Tailor"
The Walt Disney Treasures collection of "Mickey Mouse in Living Color" offers up 26 (uncensored) cartoons shorts released between 1935 and 1938 starting with the classic "The Band Concert." This means that the worst thing you can say about this collection is that it starts with the best cartoon of the bunch. But then, just to provide a sense of symmetry, the second best offering is the equally classic "Brave Little Tailor," which is the last cartoon on the collection. Then it is just a question of determining (after careful study, of course), which of these other cartoons are your personal favorites: my choices are "Mickey's Fire Brigade" and "Mickey's Polo Team" (any cartoon that brings Charlie Chaplin and Harpo Marx together is going to meet with my high approval).

Of course there are also lots of bonus features in this two-disc collection, such as an Oscar promo "Parade of Award Nominees," pencil tests of Mickey and friends (along with initial audio tracks), and a gallery of original concept art and theater posters. There are also the traditional interview featurette with the animators and vintage television clips of Walt Disney discussing Mickey. All together there is 3 hours and 37 minutes worth of Disney fun. The most fun is watching the innovation of the Disney studio in these early days of animation. You might notice a lot of animation loops and you might be thrown by how odd the original version of Donald Duck looks (he looks "normal" by the end of these cartoons), but you will also seem some creative sequences (including some that will remind you of Salvador Dali's artwork).

"Mickey Mouse in Living Color" is a step below "Silly Symphonies," which remain the apex of the Disney cartoon shorts, but I still have a fondness for these early works and a decided preference for them over the more modern cartoons. The other entries in the original Walt Disney Treasures series offer up the complete Davy Crockett television series and the special historical broadcast of "Disneyland U.S.A." Since then there have been additional sets with, naturally, "Mickey Mouse in Black and White" along with "The Complete Goofy." As we have come to expect with the Disney features from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" to "Beauty and the Beast," Disney DVDs evince the same high standards we associate with the Walt Disney legacy.

27 Y? Because I like this DVD
As a huge fan of animation this collection of shorts is a godsend. Disney may call every one of it's releases a classic or treasure, but the label applies unquestionably here. It's very easy to be cynical about Disney but these cartoons are truly entertaining. No Tim Rice or Peabo Bryson to be seen anywhere here.

It's quite amazing to consider how much work went into these cartoons. Especially the 'storm' scene of "The Band Concert". So much is going on at once. Besides the technical skill employed there are other elements missing from other studios. These Disney cartoons have a whimsy you won't find in the wordy Warner Bros ones. This may sacrifice any type of story, but cmon, these are cartoons.

Stay alert for a certain radio broadcast, something about a chipmunk that falls on his fat little....NEWS FLASH!

Now if only they'd hurry up and release the Donald Duck set (funniest cartoon character ever, no question).

28 Classic Mouse
What can one say? Get these discs NOW they will be collectors items in the future and harder to find........
It is a pleasure to see Mickey as he was in the years before WW II, after the crude edges had been buffed off and yet before he was reduced (as r�le model to American youth) to an essentially "straight" character.
The action is great, the colours vibrant, the gags are funny.
There should be, must be a sequel to this disc as there are yet some cartoons (like "Symphony Hour"1941) which deserve the DVD collectors treatment and are not on this disc.
This disc, like the other Walt Disney Treasury DVDs is a "must have" to the animation enthusiast. The only unfortunate thing about it is that it is released in the USA only....which must be good news for the sale of Region 1 players!

29 Is Mickey Mouse the symbol for Disney?
This is a fabulous DVD! Considering that Mickey is often used as a symbol for Disney isn't it a little surprising that only 3 DVD's for him are in print/out of print? I wonder what Walt would say! I believe that the Walt Disney Treasures are only for sale in very limited quantities. So you may not be able to buy them for very long.

30 Warner Bros take note!
Boy, is this the way to do a DVD of classic cartoons. Ever since I warmed up my DVD player for the first time I've been waiting for Disney, Warner Bros. and some of the other companies to release sets of their classic short cartoons -- there have been the odd collection here or there, but this Walt Disney Treasures Edition is really the way to do it!

To keep it brief, this is simply a collection of cartoons -- all of the Mickey Mouse color cartoons up until 1938, along with some nice behind-the-scenes stuff with Leonard Maltin and a rarely-seen short made for the 1939 World's Fair that seems like an ordinary enough Mickey and Minnie cartoon at first, but has a hysterical (from my perspective) twist at the end -- product placement is nothing new, folks.

While watching these cartoons something Maltin notes in one of his sequences becomes very obvious -- Mickey Mouse may be one of the most beloved characters on Earth, but in and of himself, he's not very funny. Oh he's cute, he's likeable, but he's not FUNNY. The animators knew this and started teaming him up with funnier characters -- Donald, Goofy and even Pluto -- and together made some wonderful cartoons. "Mickey's Trailer," included in this set, is still one of my favorite cartoons of all time.

I can't wait for the Mickey Mouse black-and-white set and the Goofy set scheduled to come out this Christmas -- and let's hope Disney does a Donald Duck collection soon. Word is that Warner Bros. is currently at work on DVDs of their Looney Tunes shorts (even better than the Disney shorts, in my opinion) -- take note, guys! This is the way to do your DVDs!

31 A true masterpiece
I've just received my copy of Mickey Mouse in living color and I just can say that these cartoons are very good indeed..Not only we see Mickey but also Goofy, Pluto and Donald Duck and that only means a thing: a great fun!! Maybe today we have the tecnology but in these shorts you will find the most important thing: the soul! You can watch over and over without being tired..Also the picture is very clean, sharp and bright and the color are brilliants. Naturally the sound is monophonic but it's clean and fairly good. So order your copy today before it's too late!!

32 This is Art!
I don't like my 2 year old to watch very much television, but I'll make one exception...This DVD. It's more then TV, it's more than cartoons...It's art! And I should add, he loves it. Before he only saw Mickey as a stuffed animal or a life-size character at Disneyland. Now Mickey has come alive for my child. The quality of Walt's animation, the wonderful characters and the funny stories are timeless. As soon as one cartoon ends, my little guy will say, "one more", and I'm happy to oblige.

33 A lot of fun, now how about the older ones?
While not my favorite viewing material these cartoons do have a lot of fun stuff to watch, I might just buy my sister a copy for Christmas. You get the early color shorts and as you might imagine some are better than others. I think the Mickey through the Looking Glass story was one of the better stories, some didn't have much of Mickey but did have more of Goofy and Donald ( I don't like the early Donald).
I noticed that a few of the stories seemed to have a sort of scratchiness to them that the restoration process didn't take out, that stuff isn't bad and was probably there from the first day.
Be sure to watch the little extra bits, some of that stuff was probably done in the fifties/ early sixties for television and includes segments of the earliest Mickey B/W cartoons. I want to own a copy of them too!

34 Mickey Mouse: A Treasure
This is DVD collection is truly a treasure. I just got home the other day and opened my package to reveal this delightful gem. Disney will always have a little part of my heart - the little place for the child in all of us.

Most of the cartoons here, I am sure we've seen before. And it delights the mind when you recall these cartoons from childhood. How we all laughed when we watched pluto's butt burnt by a little charcoal (when all the while he was dreaming that he was burning in cat hell)!

My wife loves it. I will love it.. and soon-to-be-born baby will cherish it when he/she arrives.. Thanks Disney

35 Mickey Mouse lives again (in COLOR)
Everyone remembers these cartoons. They were shown on tv back in the 50's and 60's and then found a place on the Disney Channel. But catching them on reruns is nothing like owning them for yourself. This collection which has every COLOR mickey mouse cartoon up until fantasia holds quite a treat for animation fans alike.

Oddly enough these are the cartoons which marked Mickey's DOWNFALL in animation history. The story artists couldn't think up ideas for mikey mouse. He was hard to write for. He was so happy go lucky. Nothing ever went wrong for Mickey. Goffy was fun because he messed things up, and Donald was great because of his temper. But mickey was too nice to do anything with. As you watch these, you'll notice that many mickey mouse cartoons have segments more devoted towards Donald and Goofy. But every now and then Mickey SHINES with such beloved classics as "through the looking glass" and "the band concert."

These classics are great to have for a collection, yourself, or for your kids. Each one is a treasure and are enjoyable to watch.

36 Definitely Worth Owning
The kind of stuff our childhood dreams were made of! All of the loveable Disney characters including Goofy, Donald, Pluto and the rest in some of Disney's best shorts. Disney needs to pay a little more attention to quality control on a couple of selections but nothing too distracting. What we need now is more of the same!

37 Mickey is Magical! As ALways
Loved this collection of Mickey Mouse cartoons. Most of wish I wasn't even born when they were shown. Some I had seen.

The qulaity of the transfer is great. The colors rich and the stories are simple but entertaining and funny! I never knew how charming and funny Mickey Mouse realy was. Do you? Pluto, Donald and the gang (even Minnie) all have their moments. Plants, bugs, birds, bees and creatures of all kinds even come to life and help the story and the humor.

A lot of work went into putting this together. Like the Treasures for Disneyland too. Disney should do more of the Behind-The Scenes things like this. Things like going behind the scenes for the creation and development of the rides in park. Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Carribean, Space Mountain and more. Seeing the behind the scenes at Disneyland. Or the developement of Epcot or Disney/MGM.

They are all worth collecting.

38 Disney Finally Does it Right
If you enjoy classic Disney animation, you will simply love the two disc set,"Mickey Mouse in Living Color". This compilation of Mickey Mouse cartoons is an example of how great DVD can be. It is also an example of the Walt Disney Company finally releasing some of its classic animation the right way-unedited and with the original title credits and endings. Even Leonard Maltin, who does the introductions (and who clearly loves Disney animation), doesn't allow himself to get in the way.

The colors are brilliant and the pictures are sharp for the most part. I was amazed at how good these cartoons look. Remember, they are 60+ years old.

Even the price is reasonable-26 cartoons of this quality on DVD for around $[money].

If you appreciate classic Disney animation, you can't go wrong with this set.

39 A must own for all Disney and Mickey Mouse fans
The Walt Disney Treasures collection of DVDs are great for any Disney fan or family to own. For Mickey Mouse enthusiasts, this DVD set is a must own.

40 Fabulous Collection and Essential!
This is a collection of the best of the Mickey Mouse color cartoons, and is worth the price for the inclusion of "Through The Mirror" alone -- which is so incredible (and you have to keep reminding yourself it was made before computers!). Every cartoon is a gem as far as content. The transfer suffers here and there -- some of the glorious old Technicolor seems to have lost its saturation. I don't know if that's because the negatives need restoration or they used just any old print that was handy. ("Pluto's Judgement Day" -- a fantastic Dantean vision of canine/cartoon Hell -- and a favorite -- looks like it came from a 16mm print). Leonard Maltin's intros are sometimes cloying, but he is a sincere fan, and you have to remind yourself not everyone knows as much about these films as us old hands to. All in all, a brilliant and absolutely necessary compilation -- with some real surprises included!

41 A "Treasure" For Any DVD Collection
Review 1 of 4 for the "Walt Disney Treasure Series"

Mickey, the mouse that started it all, comes to life in color. These were the first 28 color cartoons featuring Mickey. Mickey Mouse was the mouse that started it all, and he made and overnight star of himself and his creator, an alter ego, Walt Disney. His first color cartoon was the minni masterpiece, "The Band Concert." This collection starts when you put in the first disc. After the "Walt Disney Treasures" preview, you are in the theater and the curtian lifts on Mickey Mouse. Leanord Maltin will be your host, and will tell you the things you will be seeing at the corner of Mickey Avenue and Dopey Drive on the Disney Studio lot. When you get to the menu, you may play all, go to 1935 or the 1936 cartoon years. You may also choose to play the Easter Egg, "Walt and Mickey" T.V. excerpted from the Disneyland Story. There is also an extra cartoon named "Parade of Award Nominees" for the 1935 Oscar ceramony. Then you may use captions, and play the introduction. The cartoons on this disc are: "The Band Concert," "Mickey's Garden," "On Ice," "Pluto's Judgement Day," "Mickey's Fire Brigade," "Thru the Mirror," "Mickey's Circus," "Mickey's Elephant," "Mickey's Grand Opera," "Mickey's Polo Team," "Alpine Climbers," "Moving Day," "Mickey's Rival," and "Orphan's Picnic." The final thing on disc one is the pencil tests for "Mickey's Fire Brigade," "On Ice," and "Pluto's Judgement Day." After that, disc two goes in. The curtains part and you see a menu featuring the play all, 1937 and 1938 cartoons, captions, gallery of art, theatrical posters, and photos, and the "Mickey In Living Color" eaturette with Leanord Maltin. The featurette discusses the mouse that started it all. There is another eater egg here. It is the cartoon shown at the 1939 World's Fair. It was a promotional film for Nabisco named "Mickey's Surprise Party." The cartoons on this disc are: "Hawaiian Holdiay, "Moose Hunters," "The Worm Turns," "Magician Mickey," "Mickey's Amateures," "Clock Cleaners,"Lonesome Ghosts," "Mickey's Parrot, "Boat Builders," "The Whalers," "Mickey's Trailer, and "The Brave Little Tailor." This set comes with a booklet. This has a letter from Leanord Maltin and a list of features and "Treasures." The final thing is a postcard size lithograph. It is a reproduction of the 1935 theatrical poster for the short "The Band Concert." All of this comes packaged in a tin case. This set is limited. There are only 150,000 copies. So get yours before it runs out. You and your children will love "Mickey Mouse in Living Color." It is a "Treasure," for any DVD collector.

42 A "Treasure" For Any DVD Collection
Review 5 of 7 for the set reviews

43 Almost Perfect
I wish I could give this great set five stars, but. . .more on that in a second. These Mickey Mouse cartoons look great on DVD! They'll never look or sound better. The menus are designed nicely as well, giving you the option to select an individual short or a "play all" feature that will play everything on the disc. A few extras would have been nice, like a documentary on how Walt Disney got started, etc. But this set's about the cartoons and the lack of extras is a minor complaint. And it isn't the reason this set gets four stars instead of five.

Personally, as excited as I am to have Disney release their shorts, I'm very disappointed in the random format they've selected. Why start out with the Mickey color shorts? Where are the black and whites with Plane Crazy and Steamboat Willy? This set covers the years 1935-1938. But guess what? There were also black and white Mickey Mouse cartoons released during those years. Will we ever see those? It just seems like it would make much more sense to release these in chronological order, starting with Plane Crazy and moving right on down the list. Disney has stated that they would eventually like to release ALL their shorts on DVD (Mickey, Donald, Goofy - all of them), so now it seems like they've already made it more confusing for consumers by taking this approach rather than a much more logical, easy to follow chronological approach.

Otherwise, this really is a terrific set and I can't see anyone who likes Disney shorts being disappointed! Let's hope for more shorts from more characters soon. If Disney lifts the long moratorium on their war propaganda shorts (especially "Der Feuhrer's Face w/ Donald Duck) and releases those as well, I'll be the first in line.

44 Nicely done
A well-done set. Some of the source material is less than stellar, though, especially The Brave Little Tailor, in which one very important sequence contains enough dirt and dust to become a genuine distraction.

I just can't say that I am all that fond of this collection. I am glad to be able to add wonderful films like The Band Concert and Lonesome Ghosts to my collection, but I found a lot of the material to be rather bland. Mickey is, to me, entirely too nice and passive to be terribly interesting.

I find myself watching for Pluto, who always makes me smile, and Donald Duck, whose great sputtering rages are by turns hilarious and disturbing. Watching Donald being tortured by a group of violent brats in The Orphans Picnic isn't exactly my idea of fun. It's enough to make you wonder whether the kids are really orphans, or if their parents just abandoned them for being ill-mannered monsters.

On the whole, I much prefer the Silly Symphonies collection.

And they can keep Leonard Maltin's introductions. They aren't especially informative, and his pop-eyed stare and gee-whiz-aren't-these-films-grrrrrreat? attitude gets rather tired after a while.

45 Great Shorts - Crappy Menus and Tired of Leonard
Its a great collection of shorts! And really great pencil test cut-togethers of three different cartoons!

BLAH! The menu's are really ignorantly layed out with a lot of the shorts not listed, but 'hidden' as icons -- so you have to search to find the short you want to watch -- Really foolish! The annoying film critic, Leonard, keeps popping up all the time too! It turns out he doesn't have much to say, but he's in front of almost every cartoon blabbering!!!!

46 Mickey Mouse Looks Great in Color!
Kids of all ages will love this DVD "collectors edition." Lots of those cartoons you remember from either the Mickey Mouse Club (on TV) or the Saturday matinee at the Strand.

My favorite is "The Band Concert," followed closely by "Lonesome Ghosts" and "Mickey's Fire Brigade." Okay, and "Mickey's Moose-Hunters" is pretty great, and "Mickey's Caravan" does make me laugh...You caught me -- I love them all!!

Leonard Maltin's intros I can do without, but Mickey is why you bought this DVD in the first place, right?? Donald and Goofy show up plenty, too, even Clarabelle Cow (in the bathtub!). One nice feature is something I didn't even know existed -- pencil tests of whole cartoons! They have pencil tests of a couple of cartoons, showing how the finished films would look, albeit without the brilliant color.

Actually, my absolute favorite cartoon on the 2-DVD set is one the public wasn't supposed to see. It was originally shown to the attendees of the Academy Awards (before TV) in 1935, and caricatures several of the major stars nominated that year. It is fabulous.

47 love these cartoons.....
but i HATE leonard maltin. he is a very annoying self-appointed "film historian" who seems to show up on way too many dvds. i'd rather have my eyes gouged out with a shrimp cocktail fork than watch him. thank goodness the dvd format allows quick forwarding through his sections, but it did ruin this (and the other) disney box sets for me.

48 masterpieces
These are some of the greatest cartoons ever. I particularly love the 1935 ones, they have the best action. THe band concert is amazing. THe bit when the tornado lifts the band up-awesome. MIckey's garden is trippy, there's a great sequence when the garden grows like a jungle. This is 30 years before haight ashbury! THen mickey's fire brigade, which is chock full of action. The cartoon starts brilliantly with the intro title burning up! On ice is another gem, still funny today. Great music as well. THe attention to detail in these cartoons is scary. THe amount of work that went into each one, the artistic creative juices and the sweat and toil. A different era. THe quality of disney shorts went down after they began making features and also the strike of 1941 , when walt disney didn't supervise everything as much as he used to. So these cartoons are from the golden age and are 'treasures'. There are some real gems in the 1936 list. Mickey's polo team is great action, with the marx bros and charlie chaplin and laurel and hardy. THru the mirror is particularly fine, almost perfection. Some great stretch animation of mickey . Moving day has donald duck filled up with gas (propane maybe) and he is propelled around the house. THen pete lights up his cigar and bang. Mickey's rival has some great action too. 1937 - clock cleaners and lonesome ghosts shine, especially clock cleaners with the goofy skyscaper routine. Incidentally, there is a part in this cartoon when donald originally says to the spring, 'says who'.... Now they have him say something completely unintelligible. A minor quibble.
1938 has brave little tailor and a rare minnie mouse appearance. The whalers has a funny bit when goofy throws cold water onto a flaccid cannon and it hardens up. They left that bit in.

Overall, it's a great set. Buy.

49 Across the centuries
My father told me how when these films were new, he and his pals would erupt with joy, and how when the theater didn't show one they chanted "What! No Mickey Mouse!"

Now, in another century, my late father's two year old grandson can enjoy them all over again.

These are art for the ages.

50 Wonderful! Please give us more Disney Treasures!
I picked up all four of these Disney Treasures collections and absolutely LOVE them! Disneyland, USA could have included much more, but the others, such as Mickey Mouse in Living Color, were WONDERFUL! This is what I'd like to see more of! Complete sets of Disney Cartoons, uncut and including Easter Eggs! I pray that we get more sets like this! Sets for Donald, Goofy, and Wartime shorts, Mickey's other cartoons, everything, no matter how controversial, that Disney has ever animated! No Mickey Mouse fan, or Disney fan, should be without this two disc set! It features Mickey's early color cartoons. Now, if you're bothered by the different look that Mickey Had in the early years, and are only comfortable with the way he looks today, this isn't for you. But if you just plain love Mickey, don't wait around! Don't hesitate to pick up all four of the currently available, limited edition, Walt Disney Treasures Collections: Disneyland, USA, Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Davy Crockett, and Silly Symphonies. And I hope we get sets like this of Duck Tales, Gummi Bears, and all those other great Disney TV shows too! And we're still waiting for unedited versions of Make Mine Music, Melody Time, and various other films that have been made PC for the whining babies of our time! I won't hold my breath for Song of the South!

51 By far the best Disney dvd release
This has to be the best of Disney's dvd releases, along with the others of the WALT DISNEY TREASURES collection.

What Disney needs to do now is release the black and white Mickey's, as they did a few years ago on laserdisc. It also wouldn't hurt to provide a supplemental disc of Disney's pre-Mickey shorts. What about Donald and Goofy? Over 400 shorts were produced by the Disney studios, lets hope we see more.

Hats off to Disney for this series.

52 One of the best
This a a great work of animation. Everyone is having a lot of fun and the artists are at their peak.The chairs dance, the radio joins in, and Mickey out-does Fred Astair, dancing on a top hat with a match for his cane.

(The software that comes with this DVD did not work on our XP computer, but alternative software from the computer manufacturer should be fine.)

53 Very good, but a few flaws...
First the good:

This is by far the best compilation of Mickey shorts available to the public to date. Disney produced 87 Mickey shorts in the 30's - by far the most prolific period of Mickey Mouse Cartoons (there were only 120 made from 1928 to 1953). 27 of these shorts are contained on this disc, which constitutes more than half of the color Mickeys made. He was already a sensation before he went to color; these shorts firmly established him as an American icon. To the animation fan, it can be argued that this disc contains some of the best cartoon "acting" of the golden age of animation. By no means should a serious fan avoid this disc.

The not so good:

These shorts have not been remastered. I'm not even sure they come from the best available print. Some of these shorts have looked better on the "Ink and Paint Club." The cartoons in this package contain flaws that some could consider unacceptable, or at least annoying - colors going out of register (albeit probably not noticeable to the casual viewer), a few sound problems (rare, but a bit annoying), dust and dirt. Watch the "Brave Little Tailor" in the scene where Mickey kills the seven flies. The amount of film debris present is alarming - it almost looks like it's snowing. Some have said that the recent remastering of Snow White has resulted in an ultra-clean presentation that takes away from the period animation. Well...this disc certainly doesn't present THAT dilemma. It's not unacceptable as the good far outweighs the bad. But I would have thought Disney to spend a bit more time on presenting the best possible versions of these pieces.

Overall:

An absolute must for the animation collector. Concerning the comments about the mastering - it's highly unlikely that Disney will remaster these shorts in another package. Grab it while it's available as this is supposedly a limited release of 150,000 copies....

54 Disney Presentation at its best!
Before Disney started changing stuff to avoid negative publicity (Pirates @ Disneyland, The cover of Mermaid, The pollin in Alladin, etc) they would go all out to please people and sell there products. This set is a great example of this. The packaging and presentation is truly unique and the quality is first class. I love the fact that none of these 4 Treasure dvds were altered from the originals. I hope Disney takes a hint from the success they will see from these dvds and start leaving things as we remember them.

We have all seen the cartoons. Old or young we know them, we have statues of them, snow globes, beanies or whatever it is you collect. These are what started the legend! The grainy, crude, sometimes hard to follow animation backed by 26 great short storys. These cartoons are classics, made when storys had to be great because visuals were new and experimantal to say the least. I didnt care to watch these as a young child because of my short attention span and visual oriented mind. I was to worried about Atari and Intellivision but now I have grown up and I love the nestalgia of the things I love. I grew up with movies like Beuty and the Beast, Alladin, etc. The visuals now are incredible! But it all starts some where. That starting point (for color) was here! I love this stuff! I cant wait to see what follows!

55 Experimental Animation History.
In a hasty response to the DVD market's longing for `uncut' versions of features, Disney has set to please. With the Gold Collection DVDs classics like Make Mine Music, Melody Time and others had scenes deleted or elements removed - such as the cigarette in the parrot's beak in The Three Amigos and Saludos Amigos.

The TREASURES COLLECTION provides pure unedited Disney folly - many of which served as experimental tests for the effects used in the following feature films they were to make. With releases like this there's hope that censored Disney material may make the shelves in the future.

In light of these movements, we all cross our fingers once more for the DVD release of `Song of the South'.

In summary, these DVDs are great for Disney collectors or those with an eye for animation history - but younger audiences may be disappointed by the lack-lustre compared with Disney's more recent Tarzan, Toy Story or even House of Mouse creations.

I personally cannot wait for December 4th!

56 A must for Disney film buffs
To be young and innocent in the golden age of animation. Even growing up later than that, you can still capture the magic of it with Mickey Mouse in Living Color. Share the animation that made innocent fun great, with your kids! I hope they release a similar Donald Duck DVD set And Goofy DVD set as well!

57 Classic Mickey
This Walt Disney Treasures volume will contain the following Mickey Mouse Shorts: The Band Concert, Mickey's Garden, Mickey's Fire Brigade, Pluto's Judgement Day, On Ice, Mickey's Polo Team, Orphan's Picnic, Mickey's Grand Opera, Thru the Mirror, Mickey's Rival, Moving Day, Alpine Climbers, Mickey's Circus, Mickey's Elephant, The Worm Turns, Magician Mickey, Moose Hunters, Mickey's Amateurs, Hawaiian Holiday, Clock Cleaners, Lonesome Ghosts, Boat Builders, Mickey's Trailer, The Whalers, Mickey's Parrot, Brave Little Tailor.

58 It All Began with a Mouse
In the words of Walt Disney, "It all began with a mouse." Always known for the best in wholesome entertainment Walt Disney's Micket Mouse in Living Color DVD presents the best that Disney has to offer. A collection of Mickey and his friends with perfect picture and great sound is perfect to watch when you want to share a special moment with your child or just watch and remember the special times you spent with Mickey when you were growing up. Even today I can't watch Mickey without remembering all the times I spent at Disneyworld with family and friends. A special DVD for everyone who has a special place in their hearts for Mickey and all the gang at Walt Disney.