Tag Archives: mickey mouse

December 19, 2015

#7 – Donald Duck: Toy Tinkers

By Joe

“Toy Tinkers” (1949)

For the number seven entry I am cheating a little, but only a little. I spelled it out in the intro to this feature, but I am considering theatrical shorts for this feature as long as they’ve basically been adopted by television. “Toy Tinkers” starring Donald Duck falls under that umbrella as it debuted in theaters in 1949. “Toy Tinkers” came during a time when Walt Disney was moving away from the short subject to focus on feature length films and television productions. Pretty much the only character still receiving shorts was Donald Duck, who had usurped Mickey Mouse’s role as lead character for cartoons. Mickey would receive short films here and there into the fifties, but Donald was the only one receiving consistent work.

“Toy Tinkers” is very similar to a later cartoon, “Pluto’s Christmas Tree,” because both feature Chip and Dale. In this cartoon, Chip and Dale sneak into Donald’s house after seeing him chop down a Christmas tree. When they get in they decide to stay due to its warmth and abundance of nuts. Donald, not being the friendliest duck, sees the duo and decides to have some fun at their expense. He even ends up pulling a gun on them after disguising himself as Santa Claus. Chip and Dale, of course, do not take this laying down and opt to fight back. They’ve had a few battles with Donald over the years, and just like in virtually every other one, they get the better of the duck after turning his living room into a war zone.

Santa Donald: way better than Santa Claus.

“Toy Tinkers,” as the name implies, features lots of toys and gags centered around them. The tamest moments of the short feature Chip and Dale interacting with these toys in an innocent and curious way. The toys also play a vital role to the combat sequences that follow where pop guns, trains, and wind-up cars are put to use. It’s a clever little short that’s plenty charming. It doesn’t really feature much Christmas spirit, but makes up for it with its use of timeless characters. Seriously, if you can’t enjoy a Donald Duck cartoon then we can’t be friends.

“Toy Tinkers” can be found on the Chronological Donald Volume 3, a collection of Donald Duck cartoons that is long since out of print and mighty expensive on the resale market. There is a holiday DVD from about ten years ago that included it which is much easier on the wallet, “Holiday Celebration with Mickey and Pals,” if you wish to seek it out. The Disney Channel will sometimes slip it into its programming during December as well, especially if they need to fill some small gaps in programming, but you’ll have to keep your eyes peeled to find it. If you wish to make it easy on yourself, pretty much every old Disney short can be found on Youtube. Since the company isn’t actively trying to sell them, they must not care about their availability online.

3 Comments | tags: Chip and Dale, christmas cartoons, christmas specials, donald duck, jack hannah, mickey mouse, walt disney | posted in Best of Christmas - TV, Television

October 19, 2014

Essential Halloween Viewing

By Joe

When it comes to holiday themed television specials and films, Christmas leads the way with its countless amount. Coming in second is likely Halloween. Unlike Christmas, there usually isn’t some serious undercurrent to Halloween specials. It also feels less sinister when it comes to marketing, even though there’s certainly lots of money to be made off of Halloween by costume and candy suppliers. For the most part, Halloween is just fun and it’s emphasis on scares helps to distinguish it from other holidays. Like many people, I enjoy a good Halloween special whenever the season rolls around, but with so many out there it can be hard to make time for them all in what amounts to only a month. There are some modern ones out there, like the entertaining Toy Story of Terror, but for the most part I like to watch the specials I watched as a kid. Without further adieu, here’s The Nostalgia Spot’s Halloween viewing guide.

Mickey Mouse in “Lonesome Ghosts”

Here’s an oldie from way back in 1937, something that would have entertained my adolescent grandfather. Since I only discovered it a few years back, it’s not exactly something I remember from my childhood but certainly fits the theme of this blog. In this cartoon, professional ghost exterminators Mickey, Donald, and Goofy investigate paranormal activities in an old house. The twist is that the trio were hired by the ghosts themselves because no one ever enters their haunted house anymore and they’re just plain bored. Less creepy than it is humorous, it’s mostly a slapstick affair as the ghosts play tricks on their would-be exterminators. It’s an entertaining short, and one can’t help but wonder if it maybe partly inspired Ghostbuster, or at least the theme song, especially when Goofy declares, “I ain’t afraid of no ghosts!” The short has been shown on television numerous times over the years as part of Halloween specials. It was also re-released to theaters in the 1960’s and has been released on VHS and DVD as well. The easiest way to see it these days is probably youtube.

Donald Duck in “Trick or Treat”

By the late 40’s and into the 1950’s, Donald Duck was basically the only classic Disney character still receiving new short films. There just wasn’t much money in the format anymore and the budget for each short was scaled back considerably. For the 1952 short “Trick or Treat,” Disney decided to increase the budget to give Donald a proper Halloween special. It has its own theme song and the animation is quite nicely done in comparison with other shorts from around that time. In this one, Donald’s nephews Huey, Duey, and Louie are out trick or treating and come upon their uncle’s house. When the boys knock on his door and request their tricks or treats, Donald (not surprisingly) elects trick. A witch, Witch Hazel, passing by happens to see this and decides to help the boys get their treats out of Donald. Apparently, the Halloween spirit does not include the tricks portion of the ages old phrase. Hazel uses her magic on Donald and a lot of physical comedy follows. Like “Lonesome Ghosts,” this one has been released on VHS and DVD over the years either on Halloween compilations or as a bonus feature with certain films. There’s a chance it could pop up on one of the Disney channels this Halloween, but if you want to see it better head to youtube.

The Real Ghostbusters – “When Halloween Was Forever”

Samhain, the spirit of Halloween!

A cartoon that centers around four guys (and a ghost) who hunt down paranormal creatures naturally lends itself well to Halloween. Pretty much any episode could qualify for such a holiday, but the episode “When Halloween Was Forever” happens to deal with the holiday directly. This episode features the ghost Samhain, the spirit of Halloween, who decides to freeze time on Halloween night so that it lasts forever. Since Halloween is said to be derived from the Pagan holiday Samhain, it’s a nice touch to name the ghost after it. The Real Ghostbusters was a DIC production and if you’re familiar with any of their cartoons from the 80’s then you likely know what to expect out of the audio and animation. It’s standard for the era, with the soundtrack being appropriately spooky. While no episode of this cartoon can come close to matching the film it was based on, it’s actually not a bad show and time has been far kinder to it than it has the more popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Ren & Stimpy – “Haunted House”

The premise for this one is conventional, Ren and Stimpy stumble upon a creepy looking house and, in need of shelter for the night, decide to head inside. Unbeknownst to them, the house is haunted and a malicious ghost lurks inside who can’t wait to scare them. The twist here is that Ren and Stimpy are seemingly in on the joke as they break the fourth wall and end up impervious to the ghost’s efforts. This naturally frustrates the ghost, to the point that he becomes depressed and suicidal (apparently, ghosts can “die” in Ren and Stimpy’s world). Highlights of the episode include a Psycho shower-scene parody and the previously mentioned fourth-wall breaking remarks (“This looks like a good place to kill 12 minutes!”). There’s also the usual random humor found in a Ren and Stimpy short that people either find amusing or stupid. This one is unlikely to show up on television so anyone looking to watch it will either have to pick it up on DVD or turn to the internet. Be warned, the version found on the official Ren & Stimpy Volume 1 is censored with the Bloody Head Fairy bit removed completely. Apparently it was considered too gruesome after the fact.

Beavis and Butt-Head – “Bungholio: Lord of the Harvest”

Beavis and Butt-Head on a quest for candy.

Sometimes referred to as “Buttoween,” this episode features everyone’s favorite dim-witted duo as they go trick or treating in search of free candy. Since they weren’t even aware Halloween was coming until trick or treaters showed up at their house, the two do not have costumes so Butt-Head covers his head in cheese sauce (“I’m nachos.”) while Beavis wears his underwear on his head (“I’m a nad!”). Beavis eventually has too much sugar and his alter-ego, The Great Cornholio, shows itself. The two soon find themselves on a farm ripped right from a slasher film. Most of the humor comes from watching the two try and get some candy in the first part of the episode, while the second part puts the two in an obvious bad situation that they’re apparently oblivious to. The animation is pretty terrible, but anyone who has seen an episode of Beavis and Butt-Head before should already be aware of this. It’s stupid humor, but it is pretty funny. You either like it or you don’t.

South Park – “Pinkeye”

South Park is more known for its numerous Christmas specials, but early seasons often featured other holiday themed episodes. The first season episode, “Pinkeye,” remains the show’s top Halloween special. In this one, a mishap with worcestershire sauce causes a dead Kenny to turned into a zombie. Kenny, as patient zero, spreads a zombie plague all through-out South Park that a clueless doctor mistakes as a severe case of pinkeye. It’s up to Chef and the boys to put a stop to the zombie menace so they can go trick or treating and get some candy. The episode includes some notable gags such as Cartman’s mom on the cover of Crack Whore Magazine and a memorable parody of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” It also features Cartman’s attempt to find a non-offensive Halloween costume.

The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror V”

Treehouse of Horror V is best-remembered for its parody of Stephen King’s “The Shining.”

The Simpsons Halloween special, Treehouse of Horror, has become an annual tradition. With 24 to choose from, some may consider it a daunting task to select only one. As is the case with most things “Simpsons,” the earlier episodes are usually considered the better, and for me, it came down to a choice between Treehouse of Horror II and V. V is just slightly stronger and a little more horror-themed than the more sci-fi II. Treehouse of Horror V features parodies of The Shining, The Sound of Thunder, and Soylent Green. In the first segment, “The Shinning,” the Simpsons are basically dropped into the plot of its source material and includes the memorable line “No beer and no TV make Homer go something, something.” The second segment, “Time and Punishment,” puts a time-traveling toaster in Homer’s hands resulting in Homer unintentionally creating a new present time ruled by Flanders. The third segment, “Nightmare Cafeteria,” has Principal Skinner resort to cannibalism of the student body to cope with budget cuts at Springfield Elementary. If a Treehouse of Horror is able to hit on two out of three, it’s generally considered a good iteration of the venerable television special, but Treehouse of Horror V is the rare one where all three are pretty entertaining. With The Simpsons now being featured on the FXX channel, hopefully a Treehouse of Horror marathon is in the near future. The 25th version of the special is set to air tonight.

2 Comments | tags: beavis and butt-head, dic, disney, donald duck, Ghostbusters, halloween, Halloween specials, mickey mouse, mike judge, ren and stimpy, south park, the simpsons | posted in Television

July 11, 2014

The World and The Land: A Disney Comparison

By Joe

It has been a long time between posts for me. Never since I started this blog have I only made one post for an entire month, but my personal life left little time for leisure throughout the month of June. Without getting into too much detail, I spent the end of June and the start of July honeymooning in Disneyland: The Happiest Place on Earth. As a dweller of the east coast, I have been fortunate enough to vacation in Disney World several times as both a kid and adult (it’s actually where I “popped the question” to my now wife) but I had never left the east coast for the west and visited the original park, Disneyland.

Growing up, Disneyland was sold to me as the lesser Disney World. As such, I never had any desire to really see Disneyland if Disney World was better. When vacationing at Disney World, the cast members there love sharing the fact that the entire Disneyland park (and the new park, California Adventure) could fit inside the parking lot of Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. The common thing I heard from people who had been to both was that Disneyland was something to do on a weekend, while Disney World was a destination worthy of a week’s investment. Recently though I became interested in the historical aspect of Disneyland. As many know, Disneyland was the original park and its construction was orchestrated by Walt Disney himself, while Disney World was in the early planning stages when Disney passed away in 1966. And while many attractions are shared between the two resorts, Disneyland does have a few unique rides and also still has some of the older rides that have vanished from Disney World over the years. When it came time to settle on a honeymoon, going back to Disney World was certainly an option for my wife and I but we both had a desire to do something at least a little different. It seemed like the right time to hop on a plane bound for California and check out the original and see for ourselves which was best. In the end, we came to find the two were comparable, but also different enough to possess their own charm. It didn’t seem right to necessarily pit the two against each other, which is why this post is merely a comparison and not a contest. After a week (with a five day park hopper pass) at the Disneyland Resort, this is the impression it left upon me:

Size

A map of Disney World, Disneyland is said to be able to fit in the Magic Kingdom’s parking lot.

The first thing that comes to mind when comparing the two resorts is size. Disneyland started off as one theme park with Sleeping Beauty’s castle serving as the central hub for park goers looking to experience the wonder of Fantasyland, the thrill of Adventureland, and the mystique of Tomorrowland. Since 2001, California Adventure has existed opposite Disneyland on the site of the original Disneyland parking lot. Loosely inspired by Disney World’s Hollywood Studios park, California Adventure is home to Pixar and the unique Paradise Pier and Cars Land attractions. Disneyland covers approximately 160 acres with California Adventure an additional 67 acres. By comparison, Disney World’s four parks and several hotels occupy 40 square miles, with the Magic Kingdom totaling 107 acres, Hollywood Studios 135, Epcot 300, and Animal Kingdom a whopping 500 acres. There are also two water parks at Disney World and both have a Downtown Disney area but it should be clear that it’s an apples and oranges comparison when it comes to size.

The size of Disney World was the main draw for Disney as he wanted an area with limitless potential. As a result, Disney World still has tremendous room for expansion should the need or desire arrive while Disneyland is basically locked in. The added size means more room for guests and more variety, but it also means a heavier reliance on transportation. Get used to waiting in lines for a bus at Disney World, while Disneyland’s compact size means everything, including most hotels, is within walking distance. The size of each resort is both a pro and a con, and Disney World at least gives patrons multiple options for park hopping via the shuttle lines, monorail, or ferry boats (the only exception being Animal Kingdom, which is basically isolated from the other three parks). I love the variety of Disney World, but I also really loved going back and forth between Disneyland and California Adventure throughout the day, gaming the fast pass system or just trying to avoid whichever park was more crowded.

Rides and Attractions

Disneyland’s current biggest attraction: Radiator Springs Racers.

The size of both resorts is obviously of no consequence if there’s nothing worth seeing and experiencing at the parks. To make comparing the two easy, many rides are duplicated across the parks while some of the seemingly unique rides share the same technology or format as a ride at the other park.

Disneyland and The Magic Kingdom are the easiest to compare as The Magic Kingdom is essentially the sister park to Disneyland. They have the same layout and general design with a castle serving as the central hub of everything. In Disneyland, it’s Sleeping Beauty Castle while The Magic Kingdom is home to the colossal Cinderella’s Castle. Cinderella’s Castle is the representation of the size difference between the two resorts as it dwarfs Sleeping Beauty Castle. When it comes to the surrounding lands, the only major difference is the northern most land at each. In Disneyland there’s Mickey’s Toon Town while Disney World boasts a larger version of Fantasyland (and at one point in time, had its own Toon Town). Originally, many of the classic Disneyland dark rides existed at Disney World, such as Snow White’s Scary Adventure and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. These have been replaced at Disney World in favor of an additional Dumbo ride, a small Goofy coaster, and the new Seven Dwarves Mine Train, a ride unique to Disney World.

And here’s Disney World’s newest ride: The Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

The dark rides are mostly for kids. As an adult, I find myself only riding them to escape the heat. Between the two parks, the only one to really leave an impression on me is the Disneyland version of Peter Pan’s Flight which seemed faster and appeared to be kept in better shape than its Disney World counterpart. Disneyland has some unique dark rides such as the Monsters Inc. ride and Alice in Wonderland, but none are difference makers. As for the rides the two parks share, I prefer Splash Mountain at Disney World to the one at Disneyland. Disney World’s version has a bigger car and a bigger drop at the end. Disney World’s Space Mountain is a bit better, though I’m personally not a fan of the ride. A lot of people prefer Disneyland’s version of Pirates of the Caribbean, but I don’t find either ride compelling. Disneyland has a newly refurbished Big Thunder Mountain that’s noticeably smoother than Disney World’s, and therefore better. The original Tower of Terror at Disney World is a more immersive ride experience, but I actually preferred the shorter and quick to the point version at California Adventure. Disneyland also has the superior version of Buzz Lightyear thanks to the non-mounted gun, though both versions of Buzz pale in comparison to Toy Story Mania, which is the same experience at each park.

The unique rides offer the best way for the two parks to stand out. I haven’t been on the newest ride at Disney World, the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, but it does look pretty rad. A unique ride at Disneyland that I wasn’t able to experience is the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage due to an expansive refurbishment going on right now. The ride is a rebranding of the old submarine ride that also existed at Disney World and was pretty hokey, so I can’t say with any certainty that it’s a worthwhile experience. Seemingly unique rides like the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, exist at Disney World but under a different theme, in this case the DINOSAUR ride at Animal Kingdom. Of the two, I prefer Indy but the experience is pretty comparable. Another one is Epcot’s Test Track, which basically exists at Cars Land as Radiator Springs Racers. Again, if given the choice between the two, I’ll take the Disneyland version because of the fun theme though Test Track offers a bit more thrills than its counterpart and both are awesome. The two resorts also each sport their own roller coaster: California Screamin’ at California Adventure and Rock n’ Roller Coaster at Hollywood Studios. Both start off with a bang and contain sharp turns and an inverted loop. The Rock n’ Roller Coaster is indoors and features an Aerosmith theme while Screamin’ is outdoors, is longer, and overlooks the Paradise Pier area. Of the two, again I side with Disneyland as California Screamin’ offers the overall better experience. And for some reason it’s not very popular and boasts consistently short wait times. Animal Kingdom has the safari ride which is obviously an experience unique to that park. It also has the Expedition Everest ride which also does not have a Disneyland counterpart and is a pretty thrilling experience.

Both parks feature shows and fireworks displays to entertain guests when they’re not eating or enjoying the rides. Every night at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, there’s “Wishes” the fireworks show. It’s a love letter to the Disney films of old (and some new) that will stir the emotions of anyone with fond memories for such films. The outdoor spectacular “Fantasmic” at Hollywood Studios is something to be seen if you’re a kid or adult. One part water show, one part broadway, and one part fireworks, it’s probably the best thing going at either resort. Not to be outdone, Disneyland has the Magical Fireworks each night which are entertaining but not quite on the same level as “Wishes.” Disneyland also has its own version of “Fantasmic,” but without a dedicated amphitheater setting, it’s not as grand, but gets the job done. California Adventure boasts “The Wonderful World of Color” which is basically a laser water show out in front of Mickey’s Fun Wheel. It’s unique and pretty neat to experience, and the special Glow With the Show edition of the famous Mickey Ear Hat is a fun, albeit pricey, addition to the experience. It’s not quite on the same level as “Fantasmic,” but is something visitors to Disneyland should go out of their way to experience at least once.

Making its debut in 2013, Disney World’s Magic Band is the new fast pass.

One huge difference between the two resorts is the Fast Pass system. At Disneyland, patrons are able to visit kiosks throughout the parks and essentially reserve time in the future to experience a certain ride or attraction. For most rides, it means avoiding a line and returning to the attraction in an hour or so (for the mega-popular Radiator Springs Racers, it may mean returning to the ride in several hours) at no additional cost. The downside to this is that only certain rides are equipped for Fast Pass with some popular rides like The Matterhorn or Toy Story left off. The system was in place at Disney World for years until recently when Disney introduced the Magic Band and Fast Pass Plus. Basically, now park goers decide before they even enter the park what rides they want to fast pass and for when. The downside is that each person gets only three fast passes per day so if you want to experience an entire park in a day you’re going to have to wait in some uncomfortable lines. Especially if you have kids that want to go on Peter Pan, Dumbo, It’s a Small World, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, etc. On one hand, it’s convenient to be able to decide ahead of time what rides you want to go on (you can also make changes at the locations in the park or via a smart phone app), but only having three and being limited to one park per day kind of sucks. It would be nice if they added one or two more, or at least let you spread the three across parks, but I don’t know if Disney really has any incentive to do so (aside from the potential to sell more park hoppers).

Dining and Accommodations

Epcot; otherwise known as my home away from home.

Disney World, being true to its name, is expansive and boasts numerous Disney brand hotels. It’s one of the main advantages the resort has over Disneyland for The Walt Disney Company was able to control all of the land surrounding the parks. By contrast, Disneyland is literally surrounded by tons of hotels, all but three are independently owned by non-Disney corporations. For the consumer, this means some very reasonably priced rooms, but a lack of Disney flair.

Even though Disney owns nearly all of the hotels in Disney World, it is possible to stay onsite without breaking the bank. The “value” hotels are fairly priced and offer free transportation to the park via shuttle. The moderate and premium resorts will make a dent on your wallet, but offer better locations and grounds. Conversely, if you want to stay at a Disney hotel at Disneyland expect to pay, at minimum, $300 a night for a bland room. I did stay at the Disneyland Hotel, and even though I can freely admit it’s overpriced, it is a really great hotel for Disney fans. Nearly everything in the hotel room is adorned with a Mickey Mouse head and the swimming pool boasts a monorail themed water slide. Ultimately, a room usually just ends up being a place to sleep but if you want to go nuts both resorts have plenty to offer, but Disneyland on the cheap pretty much can’t be done at a Disney hotel.

While I feel both resorts compare quite favorably with one another in most areas, one they do not on is dining. As far as dining and food go, Disney World is hands-down the better experience and that’s almost entirely due to Epcot. Both resorts offer the same old stuff in the parks and at the hotels, but Epcot’s World Showcase is the only place where you can sample all kinds of different cuisine and get a stiff drink too. California Adventure offers beer, wine, and frozen margaritas, but both the wife and I found the margaritas and mixed drinks to be a little on the weak side. By contrast, even hint at Epcot’s La Hacienda that you want a little kick to your margarita and you’ll be going home in a wheelbarrow. My wife and I very much enjoyed Disneyland, but on more than one occasion we both voiced our disappointment at the lack of an Epcot.

Final Words

In the end, Disney is Disney and if you like the Disney experience you’ll love Disney World and Disneyland. It’s charming and familiar and both feature a lot of the same rides, attractions, merchandise, and so on. If you just want to go and enjoy the rides, you’ll have a blast but if you only have a day to spend there then Disneyland will let you see more. If you’re interested in the history of Disney, both parks offer very well done tours including Disneyland’s Walk in Walt’s Footsteps which takes you inside Walt Disney’s private apartment atop the Main Street firehouse. Disneyland will also provide the more casual experience, with cast members heading to and from work a common site outside the park. Disney World will go the extra mile to make you feel as if you’ve left the country and entered another world. The workers seem more devoted to maintaining the illusion at Disney World and it definitely attracts a more diverse workforce. My wife and I will never forget the dinner and waitress who served us at Be Our Guest following our engagement at Disney World. She was superb!

Because I live in the northeast, Disney World will likely be my preferred destination for a Disney vacation for as long as I live here. It’s more of a destination and it’s designed to be seen and experienced in a week as opposed to a weekend. That’s a not a slight against Disneyland, they just serve different purposes. I loved my Disneyland experience and I recommend anyone who loves Disney and has never been there to make the trip out to California. See and experience where it all started, just know you’ll probably only need a three day pass (with park hopper) as opposed to a five day one. And if you’ve never been to either resort, well then I just feel sorry for you.

Leave a comment | tags: amusement parks, animal kingdom, buena vista, california adventure, cinderella, disney world, disneyland, epcot, hollywood studios, hotels, mickey mouse, orlando, sleeping beauty, vacations, walt disney | posted in Film, General

April 21, 2014

Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (2013)

By Joe

When I was a kid Mickey Mouse was a pretty big video game star. He was always known first and foremost as the official mascot for Disney and its theme parks and for the many cartoons featuring his likeness but he was a frequent star in several video games across multiple consoles. As was often the case back then, Mickey had a different franchise for each of the major consoles. The Sega consoles featured the Illusion series while the Super Nintendo had the Magical Quest games as well as some adventure games for the NES. As the 90’s wound along Mickey started appearing in the same game on both consoles before moving onto the newer machines. Since then his appearances have been cut down, with the Epic Mickey franchise sort of representing a return for Mickey. Even though Mickey was in many games, he never did acquire the reputation of Mario or Sonic (before his reputation was ruined, anyways) and one would be hard-pressed to argue that any of his games were among the best of the era. What they were was usually entertaining and pretty solid.

Mickey was basically a B+ video game star with his hits and misses but his best franchise was probably the Illusion series which appeared on Sega consoles. Developed by Sega, these games were often featured on the Genesis and Game Gear retail boxes as signature games for the consoles. The first was Castle of Illusion and was released for the Mega Drive/Genesis in 1990 with a Game Gear and Master System version to follow in 1991. It starred Mickey as he tried to navigate his way through a castle in order to save his beloved Minnie from the witch, Mizrabel, who was basically the witch/queen from Snow White. A sequel titled Land of Illusion was released for the Game Gear and Master System in 1992 with another sequel to follow on the Genesis titled World of Illusion later that same year. World of Illusion was unique because it starred both Mickey and Donald and featured two-player simultaneous play. Its controls and visuals also represented a noticeable upgrade over the original title and its often viewed as the best of the series.

Castle of Illusion, being an early Genesis title, is somewhat crude by today’s standards. The game’s visuals were never stellar and today they’re almost downright ugly. Mickey has a very jagged, squished look and there isn’t much being animated on him. He’s very sluggish to control and the whole game has kind of a sleepy feel. Still, as an early platformer for the Genesis, it was mostly well received because there wasn’t an obvious Mario clone at the time for the Genesis. Last year Sega released a remake for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, and that’s really what this review is about.

The original game was okay looking at the time, but its grainy visuals and squished Mickey haven’t aged well.

The 2013 version of Castle of Illusion obviously features greatly enhanced visuals when compared with the original. Mickey looks pretty great and the game is an above average looking title for its respective consoles. It isn’t mind-blowing, but is pleasant. The game mostly follows the same path as the original though it does introduce a castle hub world from which Mickey can access the various levels in the game. It’s a little longer than the original, and the levels are a bit different in spots, but for the most part it’s a pretty faithful remake with better graphics. Sega opted to confine Mickey to a 2D plane when navigating the levels but the boss fights usually occur in a 3D environment, which gives them a different feel when compared to the original game. For the most part, I found the boss fights harder in this game than I did on the original cart while the actual stages might have been a tad easier, with some exceptions.

Unfortunately, Sega did not opt to address what is probably the original game’s biggest short-coming and thats the controls. Mickey is still very floaty and very slow. It took me awhile to get used to Mickey’s timing and early on I had difficulty navigating the easiest jumps as a result. Eventually I got used to it but that doesn’t mean I ever fell in love with it. And these floaty controls get to suck more this time around because Mickey has a third dimension to contend with. Easily the most frustrating point of the game for me was the candy level where Mickey has to jump across floating cookies in a milk river. I felt like I was really fighting with the game to get Mickey onto those cookies and I came close to shutting the game off, but managed to persevere. Some of the collision detection is also confounding, particularly with the game’s second boss the Jack-in-the-Box. I found his boxing glove attack was inconsistent. I basically did the same thing for each attack to avoid it, only sometimes it worked and sometimes it did not. I could never tell what was different as every time it looked like Mickey was basically jumping on top of the glove. The final boss is a little annoying too as she attacks with these ghost things that have a green aura around them making it tough to distinguish between the aura and the ghost (which is also green).

The remake mostly goes for a 2.5D approach and looks well enough for a download only release.

The remake mostly goes for a 2.5D approach and looks nice enough for a download only release.

Castle of Illusion is currently free for Playstation Plus subscribers, which is how I experienced it. My free membership expires this week hence why I didn’t shut it off as I wanted to beat it. I downloaded it mostly because it was free, but also because I had some nice memories of the original and wanted to see what Sega did with it. The original game comes with the download and I can safely say that the remake is probably the better game, though it’s also more frustrating. I can’t really recommend it unless you really loved the original game or have a Playstation Plus membership and can check it out for free. It’s a short game and I managed to beat it in an afternoon. The production values are actually pretty nice and the game’s soundtrack is actually better than I remembered (though I kind of prefer the original game’s old school score). The plot basically exists just because it has to and you’re not going to play this to see what happens to Mickey and Minnie, but I suppose that’s better than nothing. Hopefully Sega and Disney made some money off of this remake and a World of Illusion remake is in the cards. That’s a game I’d pay money to play again.

Leave a comment | tags: disney, genesis, illusion, mega drive, mickey mouse, minnie mouse, psn, sega | posted in Video Games

February 9, 2014

Mickey Mouse: In Living Color, Volume 2

By Joe

As the 1930’s came to an end and Disney transitioned into the 40’s, Mickey Mouse saw his starring roles in cartoon shorts dwindle. He was, more or less, unofficially retired by the time the decade came to a close and relegated to hosting duties on television and as the official mascot of the Disney brand. There were several factors contributing to the decreased screen-time for the world’s most famous mouse. For one, Disney had moved on to feature-length productions and was producing fewer cartoon shorts. And when Disney was producing shorts, Donald Duck was usually the star, not Mickey Mouse. As the Disney brand grew, Mickey was not surprisingly delegated as the face of the company. As such, Disney felt that Mickey needed to be a role model. While the Mickey who starred in numerous black and white shorts could be kind of mischievous and a bit of a trickster, this new Mickey needed to embody a more wholesome image. Donald Duck could be the bad boy, and as a result, the funnier of the two characters which made creating shorts for him a natural process. Donald Duck could be the hero or the villain of any cartoon he starred in, while Mickey was forced to be the straight man. Another reason why Mickey made fewer appearances in animation is because he was voiced by Walt Disney himself. As the Disney empire grew, Walt found himself too busy to voice Mickey. Eventually, he would hand over the voicing duties to sound effects man Jimmy MacDonald because of his too busy schedule.

As a result, this final set of Mickey Mouse cartoons is much shorter than its predecessors. It’s also not as good as the first Mickey Mouse: In Living Color collection, but still contains some classic material and worthwhile bonus features. Disc one includes the last of Mickey’s original run while disc two contains some of his more prominent starring roles and last theatrical short. The set captures Mickey’s twilight years, and includes material from his three most prominent voice actors: Disney, MacDonald, and Wayne Allwine. The set is, if nothing else, a nice piece of history for one of animation’s most famous characters. The animation is top-notch Disney, as one would expect, making even the lesser shorts still fun to watch.

This may be a lesser set when compared with the previous one, but there are still some classic shorts to be found on disc one. Mickey often finds himself paired with other characters, such as Pluto, Donald, and Goofy. in “Tugboat Mickey,” Mickey, Donald, and Goofy spend their time repairing an old boat and little goes right. There’s plenty of slapstick humor in the same style as other shorts that grouped this trio together. In “The Pointer,” Pluto and Mickey are out hunting and soon find themselves nose to nose with a bear. Pluto probably gets equal screen time as Mickey and arguably steals the short. This is common for Mickey though as the guest stars tend to generate the most laughs. A personal favorite of mine for nostalgic reasons is “Mickey and the Seal.” I remember watching this one as a kid and it involves Mickey being followed home from the zoo by a seal pup. They get into some humorous situations as Mickey is unaware the seal followed him which climaxes is in a very entertaining bath tub scene. There are some duds though, such as “The Nifty Nineties” and “The Simple Things.” “The Nifty Nineties” is basically a love letter to the 1890’s. It contains some nice music and pretty backgrounds, but it’s just really boring. Nothing happens. “The Simple Things” is another Mickey and Pluto short, and also the last Mickey Mouse short until the 1990’s. It’s not so bad in a vacuum, but a lot of the gags are recycled from older Mickey, Pluto and Donald cartoons and have become worn out at this point.

There are some curious inclusions amongst the cartoons as well. Namely, there are a few Pluto cartoons here that would have made more sense as part of the Pluto collections. Perhaps Disney felt it needed to include more content on this one, but “Pluto’s Party” and “Pluto’s Christmas Tree” would have been more at home on the Pluto sets, but I can’t say I’m disappointed they’re here. It’s actually more of a hindrance to the Pluto sets that they weren’t also included there. The short, “Plutopia,” included on this set actually also shows up on The Complete Pluto, Volume Two as well.

Still breathtaking more than 70 years later.

In addition to the short-form cartoons are the longer feature appearances of Mickey. Included on disc one, is “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” from Fantasia and “Mickey and the Beanstalk” from Fun and Fancy Free. These end up being about three to four times the length of a typical cartoon short, and are essential to the Mickey Mouse legacy. “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” kind of goes without saying, but for the record I will state it’s an iconic piece of American animation and possibly Mickey’s most famous appearance. “Mickey and the Beanstalk” is less known, but important because it was the unofficial passing of the torch for the voice of Mickey from Walt Disney to Jimmy MacDonald as portions of the cartoon feature Mickey voiced by Disney and portions by MacDonald. For a long time, it was thought that this was the last time Disney voiced Mickey, but it was actually revealed by MacDonald to film critic and set host Leonard Maltin that Walt reprised the role of Mickey for the intros to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse television show. Those intros, five in total, are included as a bonus feature on this set and are impossibly cool for fans of Disney and Mickey Mouse history.

The Prince and the Pauper is hardly a classic, but it’s nice to have it included all the same.

Disc two contains more special features as well as Mickey’s most recent cartoons. The long-form shorts “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” and “The Prince and the Pauper” are featured. I’ve written more than once on this blog about “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” so I won’t go into much detail here, but there’s some bonus content with some animators who worked on it which is worth checking out. It’s a neat cartoon for many reasons, but also because it’s the first time Mickey Mouse was voiced by Wayne Allwine, who would eventually go on to become the longest running voice of Mickey Mouse until his death in 2009. The cartoon also features the Uncle Scrooge character voiced by Allen Young, who would of course go on to voice Scrooge in the very successful DuckTales series. The cartoon is also the last time Donald Duck was voiced by his original voice actor, Clarence Nash, making “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” one of the most historically significant cartoons ever produced by the Disney company. “The Prince and the Pauper” is another twenty-four minute short. Coincidentally, it was released to theaters with The Rescuers Down Under while “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” was released with The Rescuers (Disney apparently likes to group its mouse characters together). It’s a fairly unremarkable short but does feature some nice animation, though its brightness contrasts it with the muted pallet of “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” in a way that kind of puts me off. It is notable for being the last time Disney used the Xerox process for its animation, a process that had been in use since 101 Dalmatians.

Runaway Brain feels like it’s mostly been forgotten, which is a shame because it’s great fun.

The last short include on the collection is, up until very recently, the last Mickey Mouse short, “Runaway Brain.” Released in 1995 along with A Goofy Movie, it features Mickey and Minnie (voiced by Allwine’s real-life wife Russi Taylor) and marks the debut of mad scientist Dr. Frankenollie (named after longtime Disney animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston), who is voiced in the short by Kelsey Grammar. The plot involves Mickey forgetting his anniversary with Minnie and trying to make up for it by volunteering for a science experiment to earn money for a Hawaiian vacation. Mickey ends up as a mindless beast and it’s a pretty entertaining cartoon short. It served as a nice way for Mickey to bow out of animation, though starting in 2013 new Mickey Mouse shorts have been in production featuring a new style and approach in terms of both look and content.

Mickey Mouse: In Living Color, Volume Two isn’t quite as good as Volume One, but there’s enough here that any Disney fan should own it. More than anything, this set is a piece of Disney history as it documents the changing look of Mickey Mouse as well as the men who gave voice to him. There’s a little bit of sadness to it as well, as Mickey quietly exited the world of animation with little fanfare or celebration. It seems like he deserved better, and it’s too bad that generations of kids have grown up without new Mickey Mouse cartoons. The most recent shorts produced actually aren’t bad, and the few I’ve seen I’ve enjoyed but it doesn’t seem like they get much attention. Disney would do well to make an effort to keep Mickey’s animation presence alive and well by celebrating his legacy more and pushing his current shorts. Kids today deserve to know Mickey Mouse as more than a theme park attraction and brand.

Mickey Mouse: In Living Color, Volume Two

Society Dog Show
The Pointer
Tugboat Mickey
Pluto’s Dream House
Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip
The Little Whirlwind
The Nifty Nineties
Orphan’s Benefit (1941)
Mickey’s Birthday Party
Symphony Hour
Mickey’s Delayed Date
Mickey Down Under
Mickey and the Seal
Plutopia
R’Coon Dawg
Pluto’s Party
Pluto’s Christmas Tree
The Simple Things
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Mickey and the Beanstalk
Mickey’s Christmas Carol
The Prince and the Pauper
Runaway Brain

2 Comments | tags: animation, clarence nash, donald duck, goofy, jimmy macdonald, mickey mouse, pluto, russi taylor, walt disney, walt disney treasures, wayne allwine | posted in Film

December 8, 2013

A Mickey Mouse Christmas

By Joe

Mickey Mouse has appeared in many Christmas themed specials and shorts over the years. I suppose that should be expected of a character who has been around for over 80 years. I don’t think he’s appeared in more Christmas specials than any other popular character (the boys in South Park actually had a nice streak going on of a Christmas special nearly every year) but he’s certainly in the discussion. Many of Mickey’s Christmas exploits took place on the big screen in the form of shorts, but have since become television staples during the Christmas season. Rather than make an individual post here and there on certain ones, I’ve decided to make one long post that hits on the ones I’m most familiar with. This list isn’t exhaustive as I’m sure there are more modern television specials that I’m not familiar with, but consider this a good start. The following list is in chronological order, starting with the earliest. They’re all available on DVD in some fashion, and the old shorts can be found on youtube as well (Disney is pretty lax with its old shorts when it comes to youtube, probably because the Treasures line of DVDs is out of print)

Mickey’s Good Deed (1932)

The original version was in black and white, but colorized versions exist today.

Mickey’s rise to fame nearly coincided with The Great Depression. As such, it’s a pretty common site to see Mickey depicted poor and penniless. In Mickey’s Good Deed, he’s a street performer looking to make a buck. As far as we know, his only possessions are his cello and Pluto. After a day of playing, Mickey and Pluto look to score some dinner and find that passer-byes have been tossing nuts and bolts into Mickey’s cup instead of coins. Down on their luck, Mickey has a mishap that leads to the destruction of his cello, while a rich pig offers to buy Pluto for his bratty kid. Mickey, of course, refuses but he soon happens upon a family of poor cats. Wanting to give them a good Christmas, Mickey reluctantly sells his dog, dresses up as Santa, and gives the cat family a nice Christmas. Pluto, meanwhile, is miserable as he’s abused by the bratty boy pig leading to the father tossing him out and spanking his kid. Pluto is able to happen upon a despondent Mickey and we get a nice, happy ending. It’s a cute little Christmas short that unfortunately is never shown on air because of one instance of perceived racist imagery. A little balloon the Santa Mickey carries appears to depict a blackface character portrait on it. This means the short is relegated to the vault section on the release Mickey Mouse In Black and White Volume 2. Despite that, it’s actually been released here and there on VHS and DVD, including a colorized version on the most recent release Holiday Celebration with Mickey and Pals.

Toy Tinkers (1949)

It’s all-out war when Chip and Dale sneak into Donald’s house.

I’m cheating here, because this is actually a Donald Duck short and does not feature Mickey, but who cares? This Christmas themed short pits Donald versus perhaps his most famous antagonists: Chip and Dale. While out chopping down a Christmas tree, the mischievous chipmunks take notice and follow Donald back to his home where they see a nice, warm environment and bowls full of nuts. The duo slip in and immediately start using the toys around the tree to transport the nuts out of there. Donald, not one for charity, takes note and a full-scale battle breaks out over the nuts with the two using pop guns and toy cannons on each other. It’s a silly, and fun short where Donald is mostly punished for his cruelty (and because it’s more fun to see Donald lose his temper) and things mostly work out for Chip and Dale. Unlike Mickey’s Good Deed, this one will pop up from time to time on the Disney channel during the holiday season. Otherwise, it can be found on some compilation releases and the Treasures release The Chronological Donald Volume 3.

Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952)

Pluto is very protective of his Christmas tree.

Despite what it’s title suggests, Pluto’s Christmas Tree is actually considered a Mickey Mouse short instead of a Pluto one, for some reason. It’s also one of the few shorts to feature Jimmy Macdonald as Mickey Mouse, as Walt found he didn’t have the time to voice the character any longer. Pluto’s Christmas Tree is actually fairly similar to Toy Tinkers. Mickey and Pluto set out to get a Christmas tree and they settle on one that happens to be occupied by Chip and Dale. Once inside the house, Chip and Dale immediately start to make themselves comfortable in the Christmas tree while Pluto takes notice. Pluto tries, in vain, to point out the chipmunks to Mickey who just sees Pluto’s antics as the usual. Eventually he can’t take it anymore and attacks the tree, finally revealing the chipmunks to Mickey who basically has the opposite reaction as Pluto. The short ends with Christmas carols, where the chipmunks take issue with Pluto’s singing voice. This is another wildly entertaining Chip and Dale story mostly full of slapstick humor. This one is really easy to get ahold of as it’s been released several times on VHS and DVD and is one of the most well-received Disney shorts.

Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)

Not a Christmas season goes by where I don’t watch this one numerous times.

Mickey’s Christmas Carol is fairly recent compared with the other shorts. It’s also quite easy to catch on television or find on DVD and was even recently rereleased on Blu Ray (along with Pluto’s Christmas Tree, among others) this year. It’s the classic Dickens’ tale with Mickey as Bob Cratchit and Minnie as his wife. Scrooge McDuck is, naturally, the film’s Scrooge while other Disney characters show up in supporting roles. As far as takes on A Christmas Carol go, this one is my favorite as it’s both funny and poignant and the inclusion of Disney characters somehow makes it more relatable. The recent re-release does make it all the more obvious that one giant Christmas release from Disney is necessary. Mickey’s Christmas Carol is also how many were first introduced to the longest running voice of Mickey Mouse, Wayne Allwine (who passed away in 2009), and also marks the final performance of the original Donald, Clarence “Ducky” Nash.

Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas (1999)

Once Upon a Christmas is far from timeless, but it is nice to see all of the Disney characters together at Christmas time once again.

Once Upon a Christmas is a traditionally animated direct-to-video collection of three shorts starring Donald, Goofy, and Mickey. It’s shown annually on television still and represents the modern Mickey Mouse and friends. The first short, titled Stuck on Christmas, stars Donald and his nephews Huey, Dewey, and Louie and is a take on the story of What if Christmas Were Every Day? In it, the three boys wish it could be Christmas every day and are then forced to deal with the consequences. It’s a bit like Groundhog Day, in that the boys need to be considerate of others and have the perfect day to undo the spell. The second short, A Very Goofy Christmas, stars Goofy and his son Max as Goofy tries to prove to Max that there is a Santa Claus after their neighbor Pete informs him there’s no such thing. The third short, Mickey and Minnie’s The Gift of the Magi, once again depicts Mickey as rather poor as both he and Minnie try to scrounge up some money to buy each other the perfect Christmas gift with both discovering the only thing that matters is having each other. The animation on all three is pretty well done and it’s kind of fun to see modernized versions of the characters. Aside from the Mickey short, the others tend to run a bit too long and run out of steam towards the end. It’s a solid Christmas special but falls short of being a classic due mostly to the pacing issues.

Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas (2004)

Another direct-to-video Christmas special, Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas is naturally the sequel to Once Upon

The CG look for the characters just doesn’t do it for me, and as you can see here, the backgrounds suffer too.

a Christmas, though the stories contain no obvious references to the previous ones. Differing itself from its predecessor, Twice Upon a Christmas is entirely computer animated and the results are something less than spectacular. The characters are mostly harmed by the transition to 3D models which makes sense considering they were never drawn for such a look to begin with. This collection also contains five shorts which does address the pacing issues from the first set. The shorts are: Belles on Ice, Christmas: Impossible, Christmas Maximus, Donald’s Gift, and Mickey’s Dog-Gone Christmas. The first one stars Minnie and Daisy as competitive figure skaters and is easily the worst of the set. There just isn’t much to it. Christmas: Impossible stars Huey, Dewey, and Louie as they sneak into Santa’s workshop to get on the nice list. It’s kind of cute, but the CG really shows its limitations as the should-be wondrous Santa’s workshop is really unimpressive looking. Christmas Maximus stars Goofy and Max, who’s now returning home for the holidays from college with his new sweetheart. It’s only slightly better than Belles on Ice but is ultimately forgettable. I also found Max’s look to be really off-putting for some reason. Donald’s Gift is a rather simple Donald tale where his grumpiness and overall bad demeanor nearly ruin Christmas for his family, but he redeems himself in the end. I’m a Donald sucker, so I was entertained by this one but it can’t hold a candle to Donald’s classic shorts. Mickey’s Dog-Gone Christmas is definitely the strongest of the collection as Pluto runs away to the North Pole after Mickey gets mad at him. There he befriends Santa’s reindeer and adopts the moniker Murray (Murray Christmas, get it?!) and even gets to fly. The reindeer characters are entertaining, and the CG look actually works for Pluto, though I still prefer the traditional look. Eventually Pluto is reunited by Santa with his depressed owner and everyone’s happy in the end. Overall, this is a weak collection and the CG makes it hard to watch. Check it out if you happen to catch it on TV, but don’t feel like you need to go out of your way to see it.

4 Comments | tags: Chip and Dale, christmas specials, clarence nash, donald duck, goofy, mickey mouse, minnie mouse, pluto, tony anselmo, walt disney, wayne allwine | posted in Film, Television

August 4, 2013

Dreaming of Kingdom Hearts 3

By Joe

UPDATE 3/8/2014: Square-Enix has posted a survey for Kingdom Hearts, and if there is something you want to see in Kingdom Hearts 3 (Gargoyles!), this is the best way to make your voice heard!

Watching Gargoyles these past few weeks has got me thinking about the upcoming PS4/Xbox One game Kingdom Hearts 3. So far, little information, aside from confirmation the title has been in development, has been released regarding the next entry in the Kingdom Hearts series. For those unaware, the Kingdom Hearts games were initially conceived as a marriage between Disney and Square’s Final Fantasy. Several games have been released in the series and, for the most part, they all follow a pattern of having the main character visit various different worlds based on classic and current Disney films. Gargoyles has got me thinking about how cool it would be to see that world brought to the series as it would seemingly lend itself well to the video game form. There was a game based on the series created for the Sega Genesis. It was a late arrival on the Genesis and while it boasted some rather slick animation it was bogged down by poor gameplay mechanics and a repetitive design. It is my understanding that the only rules for selecting worlds for Kingdom Hearts are that they be from Disney films, but not Disney owned films. This would eliminate the various Marvel films produced by Disney as well as any future Star Wars ones. It also appears to apply to Pixar films as well as so far no worlds from a Pixar film have shown up. It also excludes any worlds from Disney television, but in the case of Gargoyles, this rule could be circumvented by the existence of Gargoyles The Movie: The Heroes Awaken. It’s kind of cheating as the direct-to-video movie is just the first five episodes edited into a 90 minute film but lets not get too technical.

Using my own memory, and with help from Wikipedia, I’ve come up with the below list of Disney films to appear as worlds in the Kingdom Hearts series:

Sleeping Beauty
The Little Mermaid
Aladdin
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Winnie the Pooh
Peter Pan
Hercules
Tarzan
Pinocchio
The Lion King
Steamboat Willie
Pirates of the Caribbean
Alice in Wonderland
Cinderella
Snow White
Beauty and the Beast
Mulan
Tron
Lilo & Stitch
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Three Musketeers
Fantasia

This list may not be exhaustive, and does contain some unusual selections. “Steamboat Willie” stands out as it’s not a feature-length film, but as Mickey’s most recognizable short, it’s not surprising to see it included. It also, like pretty much all of Disney’s classic shorts, was originally released to theaters. The Three Musketeers also stands out as it was a direct-to-video release so it appears their self-inflicted rule does not mean the film needed to be theatrically released. Square has done a good job of hitting most of Disney’s biggest properties. There is also a good balance of old and new, but there’s still plenty of room for more. Below are some thoughts of mine regarding where the franchise could go for its next outing:

Bambi – Bambi the character has already appeared as a summon in the KH series but he’s never had his own world. As one of the few classic pictures to not have a world, it makes sense for Bambi to step into a larger role. His world is not particularly unique considering it’s just a forest, but a world created around the forest fire scene from the film’s climax could have some interesting gameplay mechanics. For one, it would make the world visually interesting and the fire could be the result of one of the film’s antagonists. Bambi could be an assist character and, together with Sora, they would be tasked with extinguishing the blaze. The world could either be full of peril due to the fire, or there could be a time limit in place. Considering Bambi is one of Walt’s greatest achievements, it just makes too much sense to include it eventually.

And to think, some at Disney felt The Horned King would be too scary for kids…

The Black Cauldron – The Black Cauldron is, unofficially of course, Disney’s black sheep. It differs quite a bit in tone from the works that preceded it in that there’s a distinct absence of humor throughout. A lot of critics disliked the film, and while it appears to have spawned a cult following, it’s still one of the lesser films put out by Disney. It’s inclusion here is not a defense of the film, I haven’t it seen it in so long that I really can’t offer much of an opinion on it, but it’s world would actually appear to fit in quite well with the KH universe. The Horned King would make a natural complement for Maleficent and the Fairfolk could be incorporated as well. The film almost makes too much sense for inclusion, leading me to believe the only reason it has not been is because the film is so obscure. It’s also possible that Disney doesn’t own any of the characters outright and legal issues may not make it worthwhile to include.

Toy Tinkers – I am an unabashed Donald Duck fan so I wanted to include one of his shorts on this list. I initially thought “Trick or Treat” would work well because of the Witch Hazel and her special potion that brings inanimate objects to life, but such a world would have a lot in common with Fantasia and Halloweentown. I settled on “Toy Tinkers” because it would allow the inclusion of a Christmas themed world and a unique gameplay opportunity. I conceive it as a world in which Sora has been shrunk somehow and is caught in between the fire-fight between Donald and Chip and Dale. There would be debris raining down and perhaps Sora would help Chip and Dale thwart Donald somehow. It would be a bit of comedic relief and a fun bit of level design.

This would seem to be a natural conflict for a video game.

The Brave Little Tailor – My thought process for this level is similar to the above for “Toy Tinkers,” so I consider this an either/or arrangement. In the short, “The Brave Little Tailor,” Mickey is tasked with defeating a giant. For KH, the scenario seems obvious and Sora would either replace Mickey or assist him in taking down a giant. It would feel similar to my “Toy Tinkers” scenario because Sora would be taking on a foe much larger than he, so the two would perhaps feel too alike if they both appeared in the same game. Nonetheless, it would be fun to challenge the giant and a tailor themed Mickey could be an interesting assist character. This could also easily be swapped out in favor of a Mickey and the Beanstalk themed level.

Duck Tales – Duck Tales would appear to not be eligible due to the fact that it was a television property, but it sneaks in because it did have a feature-length release, Treasure of the Lost Lamp. If the level had to be based on that film, then no matter, it could be a pseudo Indiana Jones type of deal with cave exploring with Uncle Scrooge, the nephews, and maybe even Launch Pad. Classic Duck Tales villains could still be included as well. Ultimately, I just want to see Scrooge’s giant vault of gold coins included complete with diving board.

Toy Story – Yes, I know and covered it already, it would appear that Pixar films are a no-go when it comes to KH. However, Pixar’s films have become as much a part of the Disney brand as Mickey and Snow White and their presence is felt throughout Walt Disney World and Disney Land. And if there is to be one exception made for Pixar, why it has to be Toy Story, no? It makes too much sense for inclusion as Sora could be transformed into a toy of some kind and have to team-up with Woody and the gang to foil Sid. The level basically designs itself and there are so many action sequences from the three films that the designers could look to for inspiration. Come on Square/Disney, it’s time to invite Pixar to the party. Do it!

I’d be delighted to see any of the films/shorts from this list incorporated into KH3, but mostly I just want to kick some ass with Goliath by my side.

Gargoyles – We’ll end this with what started it in the first place, Gargoyles! Gargoyles, as primarily an action-adventure cartoon, makes a lot of sense for a video game. Goliath would be a pretty bad-ass support character and Demona seems like a perfect villain for KH (though MacBeth and Xanatos would work as well). There would be some fun music to source, and most of the voice cast has maintained a relationship with Disney to this day including Keith David (voice of Goliath) who recently voiced the villain for Disney’s The Princess and the Frog. Gargoyles would also allow Square to set a level in New York, specifically the skies above New York. The castle would make for both a great visual and fun setting for an all out battle with Demona or the Steel Clan. Someone send the developers of Kingdom Hearts 3 a copy of the first season (or the movie, but they would need a VCR on hand to watch it) and then try to stop them from making use of it!

There’s actually plenty of other films Square could source for Kingdom Hearts 3 that I didn’t even bring up. The Sword in the Stone or Robin Hood seem like natural fits, or perhaps because they’re too conventional they’ve been ignored. 101 Dalmatians also seems like an easy film to incorporate and Cruella De Vil would be a natural as a villain for the series. And considering it drew inspiration from video games, I feel like I have to mention Wreck-It Ralph. I actually fully expect a Wreck-It Ralph scenario of some kind to appear in KH3, either as the game world Fix-It Felix Jr. or maybe a Sugar Rush style mini game. I consider all of my selections as long shots and I’d be surprised to see most of them. It actually wouldn’t shock me if Disney lifted the embargo on Pixar films and allowed a Toy Story level, just because the property is so popular, and the giant sequence I described (most likely to occur in the form of Mickey and the Beanstalk) also strikes me as a legit possibility for a KH world. The others are merely dreams or wishes, and as much as it would delight me to see Goliath and crew in Kingdom Hearts 3, I also acknowledge it’s mostly a pipe dream. Perhaps if I wish upon a star…

1 Comment | tags: bambi, disney, donald duck, duck tales, final fantasy, gargoyles, goliath, mickey mouse, pixar, sora, square-enix, the black cauldron | posted in Video Games

April 28, 2013

The Chronological Donald Volume One

By Joe

The Chronological Donald Volume One

Mickey Mouse is the character that launched an empire. When Walt’s darling little mouse took to the screen he captured the hearts of millions of movie-goers in the 1930’s, adult and children alike. And even though he’s no longer a big part of Disney’s animation output, the theme parks and other merchandising have made sure that Mickey has never faded far from the spotlight. His earliest exploits though are thematically different from what is presented as Mickey Mouse today. Sure the obvious distinction of Mickey no longer appearing in black and white is clear, but it’s his character traits that are most notable. In his earliest days, Mickey was more like Bugs Bunny in that he was a bit of a trouble-maker. He was never on Bugs’ level in that regard, but he did partake in things some parents were not overly fond with. The cartoon that famously introduced the character Pluto, “The Chain Gang,” begins with Mickey in prison, of all places. He smoked, he drank, and he could be a bit of a jerk in those old cartoons. Walt Disney, after hearing the complaints from some parents, decided he needed Mickey to be the face of his company, and as a result, he needed to clean him up just a bit. His cartoons still needed the characteristics he was about to excise from Mickey, so he took them (and then some) and applied them to a new character, an anthropomorphic duck he named Donald.

Donald took off like a rocket. His easily irritable and temperamental nature made him a hit with fans who either rooted for him or against him. His tendency to exhibit wild mood swings added a charge of electricity to his cartoons; fans knew the tantrum was coming, they just didn’t know when. At first, Donald appeared alongside Mickey for the most part, but soon his popularity earned him his own series allowing him to surpass Mickey himself in terms of popularity. To date, no other Disney character has appeared in more cartoons than Donald and he’s appeared in more comic strips than any character who doesn’t wear tights and fight crime. Donald Duck is recognized all over the world and has become an institution, so it should come as no surprise that he has several DVD releases in the Walt Disney Treasures line as well.

I love Donald and always have. I liked Mickey too when I was a kid, and I always had a fondness for Pluto, but Donald was my favorite. He’s just an inherently funny character and a lot of that comes from the performance of Clarence “Ducky” Nash, Donald’s voice actor from the 1930’s thru to the early 80’s concluding with Mickey’s Christmas Carol. That semi-intelligible voice is perfect for the character. It sounds like something that would come from a duck, if a duck could speak. Of course, that impression may only exist because Donald has been around for over 70 years but that certainly must have been the sentiment when Nash was awarded the role. Sometimes it’s nearly impossible to figure out what Donald is saying, but that adds to the humor. Early on, other duck characters that would appear in Donald cartoons, including Daisy, would speak like Donald but overtime that was dropped. Donald’s nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, exhibited a lesser but similar speech pattern until DuckTales when they were basically made to speak somewhat normal.

Sharks find ducks tasty.

The Chronological Donald was released in four parts from 2005-2008. As the name implies, the shorts appear in chronological order beginning with Donald’s debut from the Silly Symphonies series “The Wise Little Hen.” This makes Donald the rare character to debut in color before black and white. His first appearance with Mickey came in the short “Orphan’s Benefit” which can be found on the set Mickey Mouse in Black and White. It would have been nice to have it here too to mark the occasion as several other sets contain overlapping cartoons, but oh well. After “The Wise Little Hen,” the rest of the shorts are Donald cartoons though he wasn’t officially given his own series until 1937 with the first short being “Don Donald.” Mickey doesn’t appear in any of these cartoons (with the exception of one brief cameo), but Pluto and Goofy make appearances as Disney seemed to enjoy pairing Donald with those two. This set also contains the debut of Donald’s nephews in the cartoon appropriately titled “Donald’s Nephews.” We’re also introduced to Donald’s cousin Gus in one short who never made another appearance that I’m aware of.

For the most part, these shorts try to put Donald in a new role in each one. That role is either an official one like “Officer Duck” or making him a golfer or a celebrity chaser. Some of the ideas repeat, such as “Donald’s Ostrich” and “Donald’s Penguin.” There’s repeating gags too, of course the most famous being Donald’s tantrum where he thrusts out one arm and swings the other while hopping up and down. If he doesn’t assume this pose in every cartoon, well then he does in almost every one. It’s hard for me to choose a favorite, as several shorts here are ones I’m familiar with from my childhood so they have a nostalgic quality for me. “Sea Scouts” is one where Donald and his nephews are sailors and have to contend with a shark. It’s a mostly slapstick affair with a great sequence of Donald trying to keep from getting swallowed by the shark. “Beach Picnic” is another where Donald finds his water float to be uncooperative and Pluto finds himself victimized by the irascible duck. This cartoon also contains the Pluto fly paper gag, one that shows up in several other cartoons.

This set was created before the vault concept was created for this series. For those unaware, the vaulted cartoons are ones that contain offensive material. Leonard Maltin is the host for the set and he does comment on some of the shorts. The most common bit of offensive material is stereotypical portrayals of native americans. Anyone around the age of thirty who grew up watching old Warner Bros. shorts or Disney cartoons (including feature-length films such as Peter Pan) should be familiar with this kind of material. I don’t tell people how to raise their kids so if you’re not familiar with this kind of stuff and are weary about showing it to your kids do some research. In the case of Donald Duck shorts, a great many can be viewed on video sites for free making it easy to preview the material first.

Things rarely end well for Donald.

Of course, if you want to purchase such a set for your kids know that it isn’t easy. Disney only released a limited amount figuring only collectors and Disney diehards would be interested so walking into a store and simply buying a set of Donald Duck cartoons is basically impossible. Volume One was produced in larger numbers than others but still can command a hefty price. Amazon has it currently priced at $65 and volume two at $54 with volumes three and four jumping over $100. I don’t know if they’re worth it, but if you do love Donald and want some of his cartoons you will find this to be a quality set. The DVDs came housed in a plastic DVD case which in turn is packaged in a silver tin. The only negative to the packaging is that the tin can be prone to denting in the shipping process. The cartoons look great for the most part, especially when one considers how old they are. Some have survived better than others and it shows on some with the usual white Donald being a little dingy or sometimes yellowed. The quality of the animation can’t be dulled by age though, and if anything, it only looks more impressive in today’s age where a lot of animation is low-budget or computer generated. Hand drawn animation is practically dead and this set certainly helps to bring the viewer back to the golden age for animation. Animation fans and Disney fans would do well to track these sets down. I own three of the four, and the completest in me likely demands that I eventually get the fourth. I’ve watched them all and on a lazy Sunday morning it’s not uncommon to find me on my couch with a cup of coffee and Donald Duck playing on my TV.

The shorts:

1934
- The Wise Little Hen

1936
- Donald and Pluto

1937
- Don Donald
- Modern Inventions
- Donald’s Ostrich

1938
- Self Control
- Donald’s Better Self
- Donald’s Nephews
- Polar Trappers (with Goofy)
- Good Scouts
- The Fox Hunt (with Goofy)
- Donald’s Golf Game

1939
- Donald’s Lucky Day
- The Hockey Champ
- Donald’s Cousin Gus
- Beach Picnic
- Sea Scouts
- Donald’s Penguin
- The Autograph Hound
- Officer Duck

1 Comment | tags: animation, daisy duck, disney, donald, duck tales, goofy, leonard maltin, mickey mouse, pluto, scrooge mcduck, walt disney treasures | posted in Film

December 23, 2012

Mickey Mouse: In Living Color

By Joe

Mickey Mouse: In Living Color

I love classic cartoons. They just seem to be so much more developed than present day television shorts. There’s an emphasis placed on the score and plot while not forgetting the laughs. The most iconic of cartoon characters from this era include Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, but is any more well known than Mickey Mouse? The mouse that built an empire, Mickey was Disney’s original star. While he ruled the world in the 20’s during his black and white career, he was eclipsed later on by other characters, most notably brand-mate Donald Duck. Mickey was eclipsed more out of choice than anything. He became the Disney brand which necessitated him becoming a more wholesome character. Early portrayals had him playing the role of the trickster at times, but he evolved into more of a straight man (err, mouse) with Donald becoming the more devious character.

As a result, while he wasn’t the most watched cartoon character in the 1930’s he still received all-star quality toons. When Disney set out to re-release collections of their classic shorts they wisely lead off with this set, Mickey Mouse: In Living Color which covers the years 1935-1938. Some of Mickey’s most famous shorts are contained on this set and all appear uncut (save for a minor audio change in “Clock Cleaners”). Either Disney wanted to create strong demand for these collections, or the company failed to predict how popular they would become because now they can be hard to come by. They’re worth it though for animation buffs and I’m going to tell you why.

I currently own three sets from the Walt Disney Treasures line. This one as well as Donald Duck Volume 2 and Mickey Mouse: In Black and White Volume 2. Picking a favorite is an exercise in futility, and this one is a great starting point for anyone. It features a total of 26 shorts (listed at the end of this post) all starring Mickey with many featuring Donald, Goofy, Minnie and Pluto. Perhaps starring is too strong a word as some of the ensemble pieces feature equal screen time for the trio of Mickey, Donald and Goofy and some feature very little of Mickey. There’s also an easter egg short that’s kind of amusing as it was sponsored by Nabisco so it’s basically an extended commercial (and may have been the first Mickey cartoon to give him pupils).

Mickey and Donald are often friends but also often adversaries.

A few feature Mickey playing off of Donald. As I mentioned earlier, Mickey became relegated to the role of straight-man with Donald being relied upon for the comedy aspect. Mickey’s most famous cartoon (other than “Steamboat Willy”) is probably “The Band Concert” where Donald tries to ingratiate himself to Mickey to hilarious results. There’s also solo cartoons like “Thru the Mirror” which puts Mickey into the book “Through the Looking-Glass” and has him interacting with personified objects. Fans of the 8 bit and 16 bit era Mickey video games will recognize several scenes from some of these cartoons. “Thru the Mirror” is a visual delight and one of the stronger cartoons on the set. For pure comedy there’s “Moose Hunters” which features the trio going after a moose and failing spectacularly. Another I adore, partly because I had this cartoon on VHS as a kid, is “Mickey’s Trailer” which again features Donald and Goofy. In this one, Goofy is towing Mickey’s camper while Mickey and Donald are inside. Goofy, predictably “goofs up” and it leads to some amusing physical comedy. There’s also a great sequence where Mickey has to get Donald out of bed and relies on the trailer’s technology to assist him. Another nostalgic favorite for me is “On Ice” which used to be included, in quick clips, with the Mickey’s Christmas Carol broadcasts from the 80’s. In it, Mickey teaches Minnie how to skate while Goofy tries to ice fish and Donald plays a prank on Pluto. It’s one of the funnier cartoons included.

Some of these shorts offer a nice glimpse at the era from which they’re from. In the 30’s, the nation was still coming out of The Great Depression and the short “Moving Day” reflects that as Mickey and Donald face eviction from their landlord. “Mickey’s Polo Team” features several caricatures of popular actors from that period including the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Harpo Marx. This particular toon should be a real treat for film buffs out there and adds another dimension to the viewing experience. Another short I was familiar with before picking up this set was “Brave Little Tailor.” This one is another visual treat as it pits Mickey against a giant. The plot is setup when the king confuses Mickey’s boast of killing seven flies in one blow with killing seven giants with one blow. Mickey attempts to correct the viewpoint but when he finds out Princess Minnie is his reward if he solves the kingdom’s giant problem he finds it hard to say no.

Mickey Mouse in “Thru the Mirror.”

The set comes housed in a tin with images printed on both sides. Later sets would replace the back print with an insert instead which is actually beneficial as these tins are susceptible to shelf ware. Leonard Maltin is the host on all of them and there’s a mini documentary included where he goes over Mickey in the 30’s. He’s also present to educate the masses since these cartoons are not always politically correct. There’s smoking in some, even by the protagonists, and some jokes that may be considered tasteless. This set is fairly harmless in that regard when compared with others. Other sets contain episodes dubbed as “From the Vault” that usually contain images that could be considered racist. This one contains no such section which is a good thing as those Vault sections contain a mandatory word of caution from Maltin that can’t be skipped. It just becomes annoying whenever you want to watch those episodes and you have to sit through it each time. I did mention that there is one edit on “Clock Cleaners” and that’s because some people insisted a Donald Duck line contained the word “fuck,” which was an absurd claim to make since Disney would have never tried to get away with such in the 30’s, let alone now. Nevertheless, the line was replaced to avoid confusion but it has been released uncut in other sets. I don’t consider it a big deal though and it’s not something that should affect anyone’s purchasing decision.

Mickey gets to take on a giant in “Brave Little Tailor.”

This is a wonderful collection of cartoons and anyone who enjoys the medium should try and track down a copy. Even though these sets only exist in standard definition, the visual quality is very good. Especially considering these cartoons are over 70 years old. Some are better than others, but there aren’t any that appear to have deteriorated too bad. Mickey’s face is pretty much always white and doesn’t appear dirty. The only one that seemed a little rough around the edges to me was “On Ice,” but it was nothing that could dampen the viewing experience. This is a fun set to watch and it’s great to experience the joy of these shorts as an adult and I’m sure kids today would still get a kick out of them. To a lot of children Mickey is just a logo, a character that is featured prominently at Disney’s theme parks, but few have experienced him as a cartoon star. This set is from an era where Mickey was king of the cartoon world, and it’s not hard to see why.

As promised, here’s the full list of the cartoons included as part of this collection:

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
Orphans Picnic
Hawaiian Holiday
Moose Hunters
The Worm Turns
Magician Mickey
Mickey’s Amateurs
Clock Cleaners
Lonesome Ghosts
Mickey’s Parrot
Boat Builders
The Whalers
Mickey’s Trailer
Brave Little Tailor

Leave a comment | tags: 1930, animation, cartoons, donald duck, goofy, mickey mouse, minnie mouse, pluto, walt disney | posted in Film

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