Disney Animation Collection Vol. 1, 2 & 3 - DVD Review

"The Animation Collection" elements highlight more cartoons that have a delegated space with Disney perspective most of which were done in the 60s and 70s.Animation Collection Vol. 1 This disc is headlined by "Mickey & The Beanstalk" which has Mickey, Donald and Goofy heading into the fairy tale. They are out of food and Donald goes mental trying to find his chi. Mickey buys some magic beans which is unlike his logical self. The giant they find at the top of the stalk is a bit attention starved. They want him to turn to a fly but he thinks they might like a pink bunny instead. It turns out that Ludwig Von Drake thinks it is all a Figment Of Imagination which became a ride at Epcot. There are a couple more cartoons on the disc mostly interrelating with the same theme. The first one is "Brave Little Tailor" which has Mickey killing 7 flies with one stone and then the king thinking he is the big man on campus. The king howeve offers Minnie's hand and you can't go wrong with that. Mickey just needs to keep the giant from smoking. Minnie lays a bunch of kisses on the mouse. "Thru The Mirror" is the famous "Through The Looking Glass" cartoon that has Mickey dancing with cards. Trippy. "Gulliver Mickey" has the Mouse telling stories to his nephews where he is shipwrecked and playss around with the small inhabitants of the isle that try to capture him. Mickey is good-hearted so he lets the little people have their run until he has to take out a giant spider. "Mr Mouse Takes A Trip" is the only cartoon that doesn't run on the same theme. It is simply about Mickey and Pluto going from Burbank to Pomona. A little bit of "Polar Express" imagery to be sure. In terms of trailers, one theatrical and one DVD stand out. The theatrical is "The Princess & The Frog", the John Lesseter's led return to 2D animation. This is footage I had not seen at Showest. It is a good teaser and shows the humor of films like "Aladdin". The DVD release coming soon is "The Black Cauldron" which is one of the darker Disney titles and one of my favorites along with "The Rescuers". The giant is still in the room.Animation Collection Vol. 2 This disc is headlined by a couple "Three Little Pigs" cartoons including the title one which just follows the basic element of the story with little fanfare. The second cartoon which riffs on the Red Riding Hood story fares a little better because of the humor. However it is "Three Little Wolves" that is the best because it is the most daring. The small wolves trap the pigs and bring them back to cook them and chop them up. It is very clear what they are doing. The Brick Pig actually is working on a Wolf Pacifier. It is a neat device. However oddly enough the LP that Walt Disney Records put out sounds a little more mythical. "Lambert The Sheepish Lion" is the best cartoon on this disc because of its humor and heart. The timing of the acting of Lambert and the Wolf is great and shows uber character skill which is missing from some of the animation today. "Chicken Little" by comparison as a cartoon has little bite to it. It would have more interesting to do it modern for the day in the 40s with some references.  However the end with its dark overtones shows that the Disney was testing new storytelling techniques. "Three Blind Musketeers" has the mice myth placed on its ear but within a set location structure where the cat seems to have the power of a monarch. "Elmer Elephant" is a cartoon I have seen many times and perfectly pushes the element of the underdog. Watching the flames pull off pieces of wood in small sections shows the attention to detail and paradox that was always maintained. Like the previous disc in terms of the Sneak Peaks, "Black Cauldron" on DVD and "The Princess & The Frog" in Theaters create a nice one/two punch of great materialAnimation Collection Vol. 3 This disc is headlined by "The Prince & The Pauper" which continues to very much imbue the Disney characters of Goofy, Mickey and especially Donald with a new sense of life. It is also great to see the Weasals specifically using alot of the comedy later employed in "Roger Rabbit". Some of the animation gets a little more dark but the sense of a style more akin to a Errol Flynn/Douglas Fairbanks adventure picture comes to mind. It serves the story quite well with our characters as there is a sense of dynamic fluidity that was sometimes missing from Disney Animation no matter how beautiful it is drawn. The other cartoons on the disc try to stay true to a more fairy tale setting. "The Pied Piper" seems to have more of a 40s mentality. The story is simple in that the Piper takes the rats out then the townspeople refuse to pay him so he then takes their kids off to Candyland. A little bit of a lead bottom though. Old King Cole has the fairy tale critter coming alive in a book with a little bit more 40s mentality as before. There is a lyricism to it but not as much edge as some of the other cartoons of that time. "Ye Olden Days" is an early Disney cartoon when Goofy was still called Dippy Dawg. The hijinks are more spot on with the frequency in part sparred on by the early Popeye cartoons as well. There is an energy that flows and makes it exciting despite the basic nature of the animation. The last cartoon "Knight For A Day" is one of those cool reflexive Goofy cartoons where he does something he wouldn't do. It shows you the exact way to do it and then Goof screws it up. It was the mid 20th Century cartoon version of "Jackass" but with its morals and values in good standing. Of the cartoons, "Pauper" is the best one on the disc. Like the previous disc, both "Black Cauldron" (on DVD) and "Princess & The Frog" (In Theaters) excites."The Animation Collection Vol. 1-3" shows a diversity of cartoons grouped together in similar elements. A couple stand outs include "Prince & The Pauper", "Lambert The Sheepish Lion", "Three Little Wolves" and "Through The Mirror" but the collection very much gives you a great taste while not overwhelming you with too many titles at once.