Product Description

The celebration of Mickey's color capers continues in this second volume of shorts -- from "Society Dog Show" in 1939 to his last short, "The Simple Things," in 1953 -- and feature film appearances, giving you a decidedly colorful history of the most famous mouse in the world. This outstanding review of Mickey's color career spotlights some very special features, including his groundbreaking performance in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." You'll also get an inside look at Mickey's recent career through the eyes of his most recent animators, Mark Henn and Andreas Deja, and voice actors Wayne Allwine (Mickey) and Russi Taylor (Minnie). Featuring exclusive introductions by film historian Leonard Maltin, this is a timeless collection from generations past for generations to come.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6038 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-05-18
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Animated, Box set, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 345 minutes

Amazon.com
By 1939, when the earliest films in this collection were made, Mickey Mouse was the most famous cartoon character in the world. The unsuccessful hunter in "The Pointer" (1939) and the irrepressible magician in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (1940) rank among his finest performances. In both films, he sparkles with vitality. But as Mickey grew more popular, more restrictions were placed on what he could do, and the character grew dull. Those restrictions become obvious when the viewer compares these films with the shorts on Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Living Color. In "Mickey's Birthday Party" (1942), he clowns and stumbles through a comic dance routine, but it feels like he's working for the laughs. In 1936, when a more impish Mickey danced with a deck of cards in "Thru the Mirror," the fun came from the stylish grace of his movements: That Mickey didn't need to mug for the camera. In the later films, Mickey serves as a genial straight man, with Pluto and other side characters supplying the comedy.

A new generation of animators faced the same problems and restrictions when they tried to revive the character in "Mickey's Christmas Carol" (1983) and "The Prince and the Pauper" (1990). The extras include some deleted animation from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," and the five opening sequences from the "Mickey Mouse Club" (1955), the last time Walt Disney provided the character's voice. (Rated G, suitable for all ages: minor cartoon violence, tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

Awesome, but...
Mickey Mouse in Living Color Volume 2 is great. It features a multitude of Mickey/Pluto shorts and some really cool extras. Each cartoon has its good points and bad points (some more than others) but overall a very, very awesome set. The best part is having Mickey and the Beanstalk, Mickey's Christmas Carol, and The Prince and the Pauper all together in one set :)

Unfortunately, when you use the Play All feature, it doesn't just play the cartoons. Many of the cartoons feature a brief introduction from DVD host Leonard Maltin. Now, you would think these introductions would tell you a bit about the history of the short, how the story was conceived, who directed it, whatever. But, no, all these introductions are for is to warn viewer about possible "offensive" material found in the shorts. It really saddens me that we live in a world where people cannot see the past as past and accept they way things were at the time. Instead, we have these really annoying clips of Maltin telling us how much more "enlightened" we are nowadays. He says the same repetitive things in each intro.

The public domain releases of old cartoon from the '30s and '40s that you can get at Wal-Mart for a dollar have the same type of supposedly offensive material (actually, probably more of it than anything Disney would ever have). We don't, however, have Leonard Maltin there warning us of the dangers of supposedly un-PC material. Whatever. Aside from that, this set is awesome! :)

Contents of MM in color 2
According to a mail that Diney Consumer Services sended me, the following are the contents of this set:

"The following information is tentative for MICKEY MOUSE IN LIVING COLOR 2.

BONUS FEATURES:
Disc One:
***Leonard Maltin Introduction***
***"The Sorcerer's Apprentice" with Introduction***
***Deleted Animation from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" with Introduction***
***"Mickey and the Beanstalk" with Introduction***

Disc Two:
***Leonard Maltin Introduction***

***Mickey's Cartoon Comeback***
***The Voice Behind the Mouse***
***Mouse Mania with Introduction***
***Mickey Cartoon Physics from "The Plausible Impossible" with Introduction***
***Mickey on the Camera Stand from "Tricks of Our Trade" with Introduction***
***Mickey Meets the Maestro with Introduction***
***Color Titles from "The Mickey Mouse Club" with Introduction***
***The Making of "Mickey's Christmas Carol"***
***Publicity & Memorabilia Gallery***
***Story & Background Art Gallery: ***
- The Little Whirlwind
- The Nifty Nineties
- The Pointer
- Symphony Hour

______________________________________________
PROGRAM:
Disc One:
***Society Dog Show***
***The Pointer***
***Tugboat Mickey***
***Pluto's Dream House with Stereotypes Introduction***
***Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip with Stereotypes Introduction***
***The Little Whirlwind***
***The Nifty Nineties with Uncharacteristic Behaviors Introduction***

***Orphan's Benefit***
***Mickey's Birthday Party***
***Symphony Hour with Stereotypes Introduction***
***Mickey's Delayed Date***
***Mickey Down Under***
***Mickey and the Seal***
***Plutopia with Uncharacteristic Behaviors Introduction***
***R'Coon Dawg***
***Pluto's Party***
***Pluto's Christmas Tree***
***The Simple Things***

Disc Two:
***Mickey's Christmas Carol with Introduction***
***The Prince and the Pauper with Introduction***
***Runaway Brain with Introduction***"

In other words... yes!, it will contain "Runaway Brain" (tentatively, of course)

The Latest Chapter in a Long Career
This volume in the Disney Treasures series features the latest work from studio icon Mickey Mouse. This set covers the longest time period, starting in 1939 and running up to his most resent short, "Runaway Brain."

Disc One features the remaining color shorts. There are 18 of them here, ranging from 1939 to 1953. In many of them, Mickey plays a supporting role, usually to Pluto. He still gets chances to shine in such shorts as "Mickey's Delayed Date" and "Mickey and the Seal." I especially enjoyed "Tugboat Mickey," although here Donald and Goofy get to shine more then Mickey does. Especially interesting was "Orphan's Benefit," a complete update of the Black and White classic including color and the current look of all the classic characters. Disc one includes Mickey's early big screen appearances, including "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and "Mickey and the Beanstalk." This second one is the original version. I was hoping it would be the one I grew up watching on TV, but it makes sense it wouldn't be. There's also a fun Easter Egg to find.

Disc Two brings us Mickey's comeback of the 80's and 90's. Here we get three cartoons, "Mickey's Christmas Carol," "The Prince and the Pauper," and "Runaway Brain." Personally, I'm thrilled to have the first on DVD since I watching it every Christmas. The second is a fun reworking of Mark Twain's classic. I remember not being impressed with the final one when I saw it in the theater, and my impression still holds up today. All three are presented in wide screen since, being more modern, that's their original aspect ratio.

The second disc is where you'll find the majority of the bonus features. These include interviews with current animators who have worked on Mickey and an interesting interview with the current voices for Mickey and Minnie. Other highlights include Mickey's appearances on "The Mickey Mouse Club" opening, two "Tricks of our Trade" episodes of Disneyland, and a special from the 80's on the making of "Mickey's Christmas Carol."

For those looking for more Mickey Mouse shorts on DVD, this will certainly fit the bill. Some will argue that this isn't Mickey's best work. Personally, I loved going through everything on here. It's nice to see Disney preserving and releasing its history for all of us to enjoy.