Amazon.com video review:
All nine of Disney's first collection of animated classics on DVD are
included in
this set. Some of the nine titles include bonus features, and the DVD format will provide
optimum sound and picture quality for the young and old collector alike.
The crown jewels are Pinocchio and The Little Mermaid. The
former celebrates its 60th anniversary with a brand new print, while the latter
is the 1989 film that revitalized Disney's animation wing and brought new
audiences to the art form. Both offer Oscar-winning songs. Two of the
popular classics from the '60s are represented with 101 Dalmatians and The Jungle Book, which was the
last
animated feature that Walt Disney directly worked on and which saved the
animation department when it was a box-office hit in 1967. Hercules and Mulan make great strides
in the look of animation. The mythical figures of the former are based on
the radical designs of Gerald Scarfe, and the latter makes bold advancements
in computer animation in the refreshingly unknown legend of a Chinese girl.
The collection rounds out with Lady and the Tramp in a
grand widescreen format, the charming Peter Pan that hardly
shows its age, and 1998's The Lion King II: Simba's
Pride, a made-for-video sequel. Although the sequel is entertaining,
it's
frustrating to note the original The Lion King has been kept out of
circulation completely for a few years (as Disney does with many classics),
gearing towards a grand future release into theaters. --Doug Thomas
Amazon.com Essentials:
From the moment that Prince Eric's ship emerged from the fog
in the opening credits it was apparent that Disney had somehow,
suddenly recaptured that "magic" that had been dormant for thirty
years. In the tale of a headstrong young mermaid who yearns to "spend
a day, warm on the sand," Ariel trades her voice to Ursula, the Sea
Witch (classically voiced by Pat Carroll), for a pair of legs. Ariel
can only succeed if she receives true love's kiss in a few day's time
and she needs all the help she can from a singing crab named
Sebastian, a loudmouth seagull, and a flounder. The lyrics and music
by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken are top form: witty and relevant, and
they advance the story (go on, hum a few bars of "Under the
Sea"). Mermaid put animation back on the studio's "to do" list
and was responsible for ushering Beauty and the
Beast to theaters. A modern Disney classic. --Keith
Simanton
Amazon.com Essentials:
From the moment that Prince Eric's ship emerged from the fog
in the opening credits it was apparent that Disney had somehow,
suddenly recaptured that "magic" that had been dormant for thirty
years. In the tale of a headstrong young mermaid who yearns to "spend
a day, warm on the sand," Ariel trades her voice to Ursula, the Sea
Witch (classically voiced by Pat Carroll), for a pair of legs. Ariel
can only succeed if she receives true love's kiss in a few day's time
and she needs all the help she can from a singing crab named
Sebastian, a loudmouth seagull, and a flounder. The lyrics and music
by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken are top form: witty and relevant, and
they advance the story (go on, hum a few bars of "Under the
Sea"). Mermaid put animation back on the studio's "to do" list
and was responsible for ushering Beauty and the
Beast to theaters. A modern Disney classic. --Keith
Simanton
