Puss In Boots [Timeless Tales]This is one of the episodes from the Timeless Tales series created by Hallmark between 1. This is for only entertainment and educational purposes. No Copyright Infringement intended. Walt Disney's Timeless Tales: Volume One DVD Review. Though it is only seven and a half months into the year, 2. Disney DVDs, the year of the animated short compilation. From the studio's first releases in January, which gave us a new Classic Cartoon Favorites line with four colorful volumes, through last month's standalone Vintage Mickey, a disc with nine noteworthy cartoons from the Mouse's black and white days, Buena Vista Home Entertainment has repackaged and recycled Disney short films from the late 1. These discs, which together comprise more than one- seventh of the 2. Disney DVD output, may highlight a particular character or theme, but they serve more or less the same purpose. That purpose is for the studio to present their vintage cartoons in new, reasonably- priced editions to appeal to families and animation fans who want hour- long samplings or, for one reason or another, have eschewed Disney's limited edition, collector- friendly Treasures line. This month, Disney unveils another new line of cartoon compilations entitled Walt Disney's Timeless Tales with two hour- long volumes. While this series is entirely new to the United States, it emulates in design a similar but non- identical "Walt Disney's Fables" line which has been available in the United Kingdom for some time now and has accrued six entries to date. The Jungle King. A reluctant lion king has his paws full trying to save his jungle kingdom in this marvelously animated, song-filled classic for the entire family! Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. This is one of the episodes from the Timeless Tales series created by Hallmark. From Bryan Hensley: This Silly Symphony was a great one. I have 2 slightly different versions of The Pied Piper on Disney DVD; Disney's Timeless Tales Volume 1. This is a list of animated short films produced by Walt Disney and Walt Disney Animation Studios from 1921 to the present. This includes films produced at the Laugh-O. Anyone looking to find a prevalent theme in the Timeless Tales line will easily recognize a trait common to the cartoons featured: they are all adapted from well- known literary/oral sources. The five short stories presented in this Volume One DVD should be mostly familiar to some degree to many children around the world. That such folktales were chosen creates an effect which distinguishes this new brand from the Classic Cartoon Favorites: the animated shorts represent some of Disney's most popular and acclaimed contributions to the animated short format. Timeless Tales: Volume One delivers a winning and even collection of early Disney shorts.. The Prince and the Pauper. That piece, an adaptation of Mark Twain's novel showcasing Mickey Mouse in the two title roles, is the odd man out when categorizing by production era, author, or running time (at 2. Nonetheless, it too provides high quality animated entertainment throughout like its fellow selected cartoons. Like Pauper, three of the remaining four shorts display personified animals. Unlike Pauper, they do not feature any of Disney's long- running and instantly- recognizable iconic characters. These four cartoons are particularly similar in look, style, and length, which is not surprising since they were released to theaters in a span of just three years (1. Disney's "Silly Symphonies" format. Furthermore, they stem from just two commonly- attributed sources, names which are readily conjured upon hearing the word "fable." From Aesop, the 6th century BC slave who is credited with so many stories woven with moral lessons, are The Tortoise and the Hare and The Grasshopper and the Ants. From the Brothers Grimm, the early 1. German siblings renowned for their collection of fairy tales, are Three Little Pigs and The Pied Piper. While this DVD is undoubtedly brand new, its contents are not at all new to DVD. Three of the four Silly Symphonies cartoons (Grasshopper, Pigs, and Tortoise) were among the 3. Walt Disney Treasures: Silly Symphonies tin. The Prince and the Pauper appeared on Disc 2 of last year's Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Volume Two set, where, unlike here, it was presented in widescreen and enhanced for 1. That set can still be ordered from Amazon and tracked down without too much difficulty. The Pied Piper, on the other hand, is making its proper debut on the format, though it did appear (in black- and- white and with much room for improvement) on an episode of "The Mickey Mouse Club" on last month's "Best Of" DVD. Even more so than the Classic Cartoon Favorites, the intended audience for the Timeless Tales series appears to be young children. This explains the family- oriented back cover write- up, the presence of a "storybook" inside the case, and the parent tips for viewing and talking with little ones which appear on the back of the enclosed insert. That's all well and fine, but these cartoons do just as fine a job at entertaining older viewers as they do at babysitting tots. In fact, the 7. 0- year- old Silly Symphonies require a bit more patience and might garner more appreciation from audience members who have lived more than a few years and maybe know a few things about animation history or at least Disney's past in the medium. With a little more effort (such as presenting widescreen cartoons in widescreen), Disney easily could have hooked in a demographic more likely to read this review, the fan of the studio's animation with only a casual leaning towards the vintage shorts. We conclude this section with a closer look at the DVD's five shorts. Three Little Pigs" (1. Two pigs build houses out of straw and sticks, respectively, which leaves them plenty of time to have fun with fiddle and fife. A third, more practical pig toils away on his house of brick in spite of his fellow porcine's mocking. When the Big Bad Wolf shows up, the straw and stick houses are no match for his potent huffing and puffing, but the brick house poses a challenge to his respiratory powers.
Timeless Tales: Volume One DVD Details. Running Time: 59 Minutes / Rating: Not Rated 1.33:1 Fullscreen, Dolby Digital Surround Sound (English, French). This Disney film was as popular as any to come before it, which enabled a lengthy marquee- topping theatrical engagement and some successful tie- in merchandise in the face of America's Great Depression, most notably the album of the pigs' catchy song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?". The short also earned Walt Disney his second Academy Award. Despite Walt's opposition to sequels and his much- quoted belief that "you can't top pigs with pigs", three follow- up shorts were made featuring the pleasantly plump protagonists: The Big Bad Wolf (1. Three Little Wolves (1. The Practical Pig (1. In 1. 94. 1, the film was even redone to support World War II efforts, with the villainous wolf transformed into a Nazi and the sturdy house's bricks becoming Canadian war bonds. Shortly thereafter, the Big Bad Wolf's brief impression of a Jewish peddler was toned down to lessen offensiveness, and this edit has remained present in most modern broadcasts and home video releases, including this one. The Tortoise and the Hare" (1. In the most famous race in all of Aesop's fables, the fast favorite Max Hare (a showoff brown bunny) squares off against a slightly off- center Toby Tortoise. While Max caters to his adoring female following, Toby chugs on with little support. The mismatched challenge proves, of course, that slow and steady does win in the end; at least that's what happens here. This cartoon also led to a sequel (1. Toby Tortoise Returns) and another Best Short Subject - Cartoons Oscar for Uncle Walt. Though it's particularly predictable and features jokes that have long since been run into the ground, one can still appreciate this spirited adaptation. The Grasshopper and the Ants" (1. There are two paths one can take: the easy life of luxury the fiddling grasshopper in this short opts for, or the toil and trouble the ants choose in stocking up food for the rough times ahead. The grasshopper seems to have a good time, playing what would become Goofy's theme song "The World Owes Me a Living", but when winter arrives, being cold and hungry isn't too much fun. The grasshopper is more like the Goof than Hopper from A Bug's Life, in part because he too is voiced by Pinto Colvig and also because he learns his lesson (as does the viewer) without looking down a bird's throat. The Pied Piper" (1. The mayor of a town overrun by rats enlists the services of a potent piper, who skillfully whisks the pests away with his magical flute. When the mayor tries to stiff the lanky chap on the bill, he gladly leads the town's children away to a toyland. This short is somewhat enchanting, albeit possessing a disturbing conclusion. Interestingly enough, the Brothers Grimm folktale supposedly has its roots in a disputable real event that occurred in 1. Germany. "The Prince and the Pauper" (1. Mickey Mouse does double duty in this featurette- length cartoon which played theatrically in front of The Rescuers Down Under. The real Mickey is the unaccented pauper, who can only dream of bountiful food and warm shelter to keep happy while braving the snowy cold with Pluto and Goofy. When he encounters the prince who looks just like him, they agree to switch places. This allows the prince, weary of constant scheduling and schooling, to go out and explore his principality amidst his future subjects and Mickey to revel in royalty. But with the King of England ill, captain of the guard Pete is plundering the people in his name. Adventure, comedy, Mark Twain's classic wit, and a dab of drama add up to one great time, making me wish that Disney's icon could enjoy similarly cinematic fare once again. VIDEO and AUDIOAll five shorts are presented in the 1. That is appropriate enough for the first four shorts, which were produced in the 1. Academy Ratio, but it's a sacrifice for The Prince and the Pauper which was animated for 1. TV dimensions here, unlike its previous DVD release in the Walt Disney Treasures line. There's a clear loss of picture width when compared side- by- side and as it probably would have been just as easy for Disney to use the digital file employed for the Treasures DVD, the pan- and- scan treatment of the disc's most substantial cartoon is disappointing. Pauper, nonetheless, looks the best out of the five, which isn't surprising since it was made more than fifty years after the rest. The Silly Symphonies previously on DVD exhibit some issues, such as shimmering and color inconsistency on Three Little Pigs, excessive grain on The Tortoise and the Hare, and occasional loss of focus on The Grasshopper and the Ants. That's not entirely unexpected based upon their age and the primitive Technicolor processes used on them.
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