Product Description

Tommy Kirk and Annette Funicello star as the sweethearts of Midvale College in this wacky, laugh-filled campus romp. Kirk is Merlin Jones, the gifted but slightly oddball student who, accompanied by his girlfriend Jennifer (Funicello), sets out on a series of comic misadventures. From trying to solve what appears to be a horrendous burglary and murder plot to having a chimp-napping charge pinned on him, no one is exempt from Merlin's wacky sense of oddball adventure!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25843 in DVD
• Brand: Disney
• Released on: 2004-02-03
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 92 minutes

Customer Reviews

Cult Status for Merlin Jones from Disney
"The Misadventures of Merlin Jones" is a very likable film from Walt Disney. Tommy Kirk is excellent as the absent-minded student genius Merlin Jones attending Midvale College. Annette Funicello is Jennifer his girlfriend who constantly tries to get his attention. Leon Ames plays the pivital role of Judge Hornsby. This is one of those movies from the 60s containing a lot of campus mayhem and mishaps. The main title song, "Merlin Jones" was composed by the Sherman brothers and performed by Annette Funicello. It's a fun movie.

Poor DVD quality, but correct aspect ratio!
I'm in strong agreement with the complaints in these reviews regarding Disney's shoddy DVD releases: fullscreen, skimpy or no extras (not even movie trailers which bring back the first view of the next, highly anticipated Disney film), scratchy and dull prints, and comparatively very high prices.

Regarding its aspect ratio, however, this film was made for TV but ended up in theaters instead. Filmed in November 1962 for the 1963-64 season of "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color," it so pleased Walt Disney that he decided to release it to theaters. The DVD presents its original aspect ratio, one intended for TV. It was filmed to be presented at 1.33:1 -- even though it was matted for theatrical presentation, probably at 1.75:1.

But there are other problems with this DVD. The print is clearly inferior to the one used for years on The Disney Channel. Color timing is off, shifting in individual cuts within a scene; faces change color with the light. There are scratches. It is not sharp. It is not worthy of a DVD but looks more like a good VHS tape.

As others here have pointed out, Disney used to be known for providing only the best quality in every product. The company has fallen very far short from that excellent standard. (It could have used one of the excellent prints still kept in the vaults -- but, as with so many recent releases -- it didn't bother.) What more could be expected from a company that fired the person responsible for the excellent-but-cancelled "Vault Disney" DVD line? I will be very reluctant to buy additional Disney DVDs until there's a clear turnaround by the company. Disney should announce it realizes it's gotten things wrong and will in the future always offer DVDs from the best -- or restored -- prints and at the correct aspect ratio.

Nostalgic Disney fun -- Disappointing DVD
It's a shame that Disney refuses to exert that little bit of extra effort (and possibly expense - "there's the rub") to restore its films and release them in their original theatrical ratios (aka: widescreen). These films appeal mainly to "grown-up" Disney fans, scholars, and collectors. For a modest comedy like this, the ratios aren't too distracting; for major productions - like Babes in Toyland, The Moon-Spinners, and Blackbeard's Ghost -- the pan-and-scan is horrible. It would be better for Disney to slow down its release schedule and take the extra time to prepare first class DVD's. The Disney name used to stand for quality and technical innovation; appparantly, those standards no longer apply.