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Classics

Dumbo (Special Edition) [1941]

Rated: Universal, suitable for all
Director: Ben Sharpsteen

Perfect in every sense..., 2008-02-08
I bought this DVD recently having not seen it for at least 15 years. I couldn't have imagined how profound an effect it would have on me watching it now in my late twentys. As a child I remember the colourful characters, catchy tunes and an enjoyable story. Watching it now it's as if all of this has been magnified a thousand times. In a flash everything came back to me but this time I can clearly see the messages of acceptance, loyalty, companionship, courage etc.

It's not difficult to see why this film has survived for so long (since it's release in 1941). It's a simple tale without any complexity but with so much compassion. It's neither too long or too short and every scene focuses on delivering a powerful sentiment without over-doing it. The mother-child dynamic is very touching culminating in an emotional scene where they are briefly re-united. The vigour and energy of Timothy Mouse is a real marvel to watch not to mention his compassion towards Dumbo.

The musical score is a gorgeous accompaniment and really adds to the impact of the scenes. I've since found out the film won an Oscar for its musical score and was nominated for best song with the heart-felt "Baby Mine".

I noticed that there was some stereotyping of African-Americans with the Crow characters which passes you by as a child. However, it's not a negative stereotype at all and in the end the Crows come out looking like heroes for their part in the finale.

This is a film that just couldn't get made today without an audience feeling cynical about it. So I hope this one remains a classic for years to come. After all, films like this are the reason cinema was invented.

Finally, one of the special features is a clip of Walt Disney himself introducing a television screening of Dumbo. He states it is his favourite of the films he's produced and as you might have guessed, I'd have to agree with him on that.

List Price: ~~£17.99~~
Our Price: £4.99

Oliver! (Special Edition) [1968]

Rated: Universal, suitable for all
Staring: Mark Lester, Oliver Reed, Harry Secombe, Ron Moody
Director: Carol Reed

This spectacular new Special Edition includes brand new featurettes and contains exciting new interactive material that will take you into the very heart of Dickens' London and the musical world of Oliver!. Packed with unmissable features including quizzes, sing-alongs and dance-alongs, this DVD will allow the whole family to experience the magic of Oliver! as never before this Christmas.

Lionel Bart's hit musical of Dickens' classic tale was directed by film legend Carol Reed (The Third Man, Our Man in Havana) and features an impeccable cast, including Ron Moody, Harry Secombe, Oliver Reed, Jack Wild and a young Mark Lester as orphan Oliver. The brilliant cast, heartfelt score and stunning choreography earned Oliver! an incredible six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Young Oliver (Lester) is an orphan who escapes the cheerless life of the workhouse and takes to the streets of 19th century London. He's immediately taken in by a band of street urchins, headed by the lovable villain, Fagin (Moody), his fiendish henchman, Bill Sikes (Reed) and his loyal apprentice, The Artful Dodger (Wild). Through his education in the fine points of pick-pocketing, Oliver makes away with an unexpected treasure...a home and a family of his own.

One of the Best Musicals of All Time, 2008-02-18
Simply put, Oliver! is one of the greatest musicals of all time. It is filled with memorable songs - "Food Glorious Food", "Oliver!", "Consider Yourself" and "Oom-Pah-Pah" to name just a few - and equally memorable characters.

The film is a musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic novel and much like the story of Oliver Twist itself, it is a perfect family film. There are some frightening moments - the villain Bill Sykes played by Oliver Reed is scary enough on his own - but overall, the film will appeal to children of all ages as well as adults.

The story - which almost everyone is surely familiar with by now - revolves around a little orphan boy named Oliver and his life growing up in London. At first he lives in the workhouse with the rest of his fellow orphans but after daring to question Mr. Bumble, the overseer, he is sold to a family as a servant.

After a series of mishaps and close shaves, he meets the Artful Dodger - superbly played by a young Jack Wild, who gives his all in the role - and through him, the greedy Fagin (Ron Moody), who trains young boys to pick pocket treasures which he keeps for himself.

The film was shot solely in studios and on soundstages at Shepperton Film Studios but this does not translate at all to film. The sets perfectly replicate Victorian London, as do the costumes worn by the characters. A multi-Oscar winner and a massive success on its release, Oliver! is a worthy contender for the best musical all of time and will delight anyone who loves film.

List Price: ~~£12.99~~
Our Price: £3.97

It's A Wonderful Life [1946]

Rated: Universal, suitable for all
Staring: James Stewart, Charles Lane, Charles Williams, Bob Scott, H.B. Warner
Director: Frank Capra

Now perhaps the most beloved American film, It's a Wonderful Life was largely forgotten for years, due to a copyright quirk. Only in the late 1970s did it find its audience through repeated TV showings. Frank Capra's masterwork deserves its status as a feel-good communal event, but it is also one of the most fascinating films in the American cinema, a multilayered work of Dickensian density. George Bailey (played superbly by James Stewart) grows up in the small town of Bedford Falls, dreaming dreams of adventure and travel, but circumstances conspire to keep him enslaved to his home turf. Frustrated by his life, and haunted by an impending scandal, George prepares to commit suicide on Christmas Eve. A heavenly messenger (Henry Travers) arrives to show him a vision: what the world would have been like if George had never been born. The sequence is a vivid depiction of the American Dream gone bad, and probably the wildest thing Capra ever shot (the director's optimistic vision may have darkened during his experiences making military films in World War II). Capra's triumph is to acknowledge the difficulties and disappointments of life, while affirming--in the teary-eyed final reel--his cherished values of friendship and individual achievement. It's a Wonderful Life was not a big hit on its initial release, and it won no Oscars (Capra and Stewart were nominated); but it continues to weave a special magic. --Robert Horton

A Timeless Classic Feel Good Film for All the Family a gem, 2008-06-09
George Bailey played by James Stewart is an ordinary guy who wants to rid himself of his home town of Bedford Falls and see the World......Fate however has it that he stays in Bedford Falls and gets married to Mary aka the beautiful Donna Mills and has kids taking on his fathers Building and Loan small business struggling to make ends meet he comes up against a ruthless business shark in Mr Potter played with perfection by Lionel Barrymore....what transpires from here is a desperate man at his wits end looking for an answer only to find it in an angel named Clarence.....will George survive and see the light? It's a Wonderful Life is undoubtedly the best film ever to hit celluloid and probably James Stewart's greatest ever role...This film inspires you to a higher level when watching it ...taking you on an emotional roller coaster ride of life which there is a lot of identification.....The cast is exemplary the storyline oozes class and this film will still be popular in another 100 years it's a gem...

List Price: ~~£17.99~~
Our Price: £6.38

Sleeping Beauty (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) [1958]

Rated: Universal, suitable for all
Staring: Mary Costa, Bill Shirley, Eleanor Audley, Verna Felton
Director: Clyde Geronimi

Disney's 1959 Sleeping Beauty was the studio's most ambitious effort to date, a lavish spectacle boasting a gorgeous waltz-filled score adapted from the music of Tchaikovsky.

In the 14th century, the malevolent Maleficent (not dissimilar to the wicked queen in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) taunts a king that his infant Aurora will fatally prick her finger on a spinning wheel before sundown on her sixteenth birthday. This, of course, would deny her a happily-ever-after with her true love. Fortunately, some bubbly, bumbling fairies named Flora, Fauna and Merryweather are on hand to assist.

It's not really all that much about the title character--how interesting can someone in the middle of a long nap be, anyway? Instead, those fairies carry the day, as well as, of course, good Prince Phillip, whose battle with the malevolent Maleficent in the guise of a dragon has been co-opted by any number of animated films since. See it in its original glory here, alongside Maleficent's castle, which, filled with warthogs and demonic imps in a macabre dance celebrating their evil ways, manages a certain creepy grandeur. --David Kronke, Amazon.com
After 50 years, even more dazzling and more delightful animation, 2008-10-15

This is a new release of a Disney classic that first appeared in 1959. As is my custom, I much prefer to watch an animated feature film with several of my younger grandchildren (ages 3-7) and did so again with Sleeping Beauty on its 50th anniversary. Once again, they were engrossed in the story line whereas I was somewhat more interested in how the quality of animation measures up (after 59 years) when compared and contrasted with recent films such as Toy Story and Toy Story 2, the three Shreks, Ratatouille, Cars, and Wall-E. It measures up remarkably well. Just as there is a certain charm in black-and-white classic films from the 1930's and 40's (e.g. Casablanca, The Little Shop Around the Corner, and It Happened One Night), the same is true of older Disney features (e.g. Dumbo, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Pinocchio) despite relatively less sophisticated animation.

There were also generational differences when my companions and I examined the special features that include "Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough (a fully immersive virtual tour), an all-new "Enchanted Dance Game," the "Dragon Encounter Audio Sensory Experience," and an all-new "Making of Sleeping beauty." Predictably, my grandchildren much preferred the supplementary games whereas I was (as always) intrigued by the "behind the screen" material such as a discussion of the film by John Lasseter of Pixar, the film critic Leonard Maltin, and the Disney animator Andreas Deja. The production values in this new edition are superb, especially in the Blu-ray version. The running time of 75 minutes seems just about right. Whatever the ages of those who see this film and one or more of its numerous special features, they will find much to enjoy and appreciate.

The story line is strikingly similar to the one in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. A daughter named Aurora is born to royal parents and then cursed to die by her 16th birthday by an evil fairy, Malificent. To protect her, three good fairies take her away, re-name her Briar Rose, and raise her themselves. A handsome prince meets her by chance, they fall in love, and agree to meet again soon. However, on the night of her 16th birthday, as she prepares to return to her parents and be crowned a princess, the evil fairy locates her and then.... Fortunately, everything eventually works out for Aurora as it also does for Snow White, Belle, and other Disney heroines.

I highly recommend this 50th anniversary celebration of one of Disney's most delightful animated films. Under-appreciated when first released, I think it will now receive the praise it so clearly deserves. Bravo!

List Price: ~~£19.99~~
Our Price: £12.98

The Sword In The Stone (45th Anniversary Edition) [1963]

Rated: Universal, suitable for all
Staring: Karl Swenson, Rickie Sorenson, Vera Vague, Norman Alden, Alan Napier
Director: Wolfgang Reitherman

As far as Disney is concerned, The Sword in the Stone was a portent of things to come, with slapstick upstaging storytelling, and cultural in-jokes substituting for wonder. Based on TH White's beloved novel The Once and Future King, this Disney version chronicles King Arthur's boyish adventures. There's much to enjoy here as coach Merlin the magician shows the young Arthur, nicknamed Wart, the skills that will help him become the future ruler of the Britons. The transformation sequences, where the boy is turned into a fish, a bird and a squirrel are vintage Disney. The oft-repeated scene of Merlin battling it out with mean old Madame Mim still is worth a few chuckles, but it underlines the problem with most of the film--most of its scenes are only played for laughs. References by Merlin to television and other items of modern life also mar the generally innocuous landscape. Younger children will like it, while older kids will find it slower compared with recent Disney films. --Keith Simanton

Much better than I once thought, 2008-07-13

As other reviewers have duly noted, this film (first released in 1963) is based on the first of four parts of T.H. White's The Once and Future King (1958), focusing on Arthur's birth, childhood, and youth before he became king of England. The film has been reissued as a 45th anniversary edition. It features the well-selected voices of Sebastian Cabot (Sir Ector/Narrator), Karl Swenson (Merlin), Rickie Sorensen (Arthur/"Wart"), Junius Matthews (Archimedes), and Alan Napier (Sir Pelinore). Frankly, I was underwhelmed when I first saw it many years ago and had little patience with the antics. While seeing it again recently, I found the film much more entertaining and frequently charming.

In our family, a film's "acid test" for grandchildren is for them to want to see it again, immediately. After I watched it with several of the younger ones, they requested that but agreed, instead, to check out "Merlin's New Magical Academy Game," passing on the other bonus features. I would not rank The Sword in the Stone among the "classic" animated features produced by Disney (e.g. Bambi, Beauty and the Beast, Dumbo, Pinocchio, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) and Pixar (e.g. Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and WALL-E) as well as DreamWorks' Antz and Shrek. However, how many animation features do?

Perhaps there are other grandparents and parents who also saw The Sword in the Stone years ago, as did I, and are not inclined to have a copy available for children to see. I urge them to reconsider because it possesses a unique "magic" of its own. I think they will also enjoy the bonus features. Hopefully this reissued version will attract the interest and gain the appreciation the film clearly deserves.

List Price: ~~£17.99~~
Our Price: £5.48

Peter Pan (2 Disc Special Edition) [1953]

Rated: Universal, suitable for all
Artist: Peter Pan

Peter Pan has a special place in the realm of classic animated Disney films: it instills an element of childlike wonder. The 1953 version of James M. Barrie's story is colourfully told and keeps on the straight and narrow of the book. Barrie's wondrous focus on child's play is the key to its longevity: kids who don't grow up, shadows that run away from their owners, pirates, a fairy, and the magic ability to fly. In short, you can't help wishing the adventure would happen to you. Fueled by a few memorable songs (the stunner being "You Can Fly") and the strong impression of the pixie fairy Tinkerbell and the goofy Captain Hook, Disney's version of this story neither supplants nor lessens the Broadway version with Mary Martin that was produced for television the same decade. Unlike some classics, Peter Pan never ages along the way. --Doug Thomas

A GREAT DISNEY FILM, 2007-10-11
If Walt Disney had never made another cartoon feature after BAMBI in 1942 he would still be remembered as the man who transformed the animated full length film into an art form. SNOW WHITE , PINOCCHIO , FANTASIA and BAMBI all belong on the list of the greatest achievements in American Film. Disney's next phase in full length animation took place after World War 2 and although these subsequent works may not match the brilliance and creativity of the earlier films, they still possess the superb craftsmanship the Disney artists are famous for. Missing from the new batch of films was the meticulous background detail that distinguished the earlier projects. Starting with Cinderella in 1950, the animators seemed to concentrate more on clean, uncluttered backgrounds but the drawing was just as professional as before , characters still brought to life with fluid, lifelike movements. Colors tended to be bright and splashy, but the cartoonists also knew when subtlety was called for, and scenes occurring at night were done with convincing atmosphere and shadows. The success of Cinderella confirmed that the movie-going public was still willing to be entertained and moved by a cartoon movie, and Disney and his artists forged ahead with an impressive array of animated features that to this day remain models of the Art Form. Perhaps the greatest of these was PETER PAN, first released in 1953. Based on J.M. Barrie's immortal play and novel about the little boy who doesn't want to grow up, PETER PAN had been a project stewing in Disney's mind for years. It wasn't until after the War that work on the film really took off. When the movie was completed and finally released to theaters, Disney seemed rather ambivalent about its achievement. He had a hard time defining who Peter actually was as a character but to millions of children in movie theaters all over the world, that didn't seem to matter. PETER PAN is not very deep story-wise. It lacks the heart and sentiment of the Barrie original, which to some degree is a good thing. Past stage versions and the spectacular 1924 Paramount film version could be cloyingly sentimental at times.

The Disney version is light and breezy and moves at a clip. The London sequence which opens the picture is spectacular in both the backdrops and the animation itself. When Peter, Wendy, John and Michael leap out of the Darling nursery window and fly over nighttime Edwardian London the viewer is treated to some of the most thrilling animation ever created for the movies. Later sections of the movie are equally enchanting, and the personage of the villainous Captain Hook is brought to great comic life by Disney animators and the marvelous vocal talent of Hans Conried. As with past Disney efforts, the song score is superb. "Second Star to the Right", "You Can Fly" and "Your Mother and Mine" are highlights in a tuneful soundtrack created by Sammy Cahn and Sammy Fain.

PETER PAN holds a special place in my heart. It was the first movie I ever saw. As a 4 year old sitting with my father in an ornate, red carpeted movie palace in Cincinnati, Ohio, looking up at that big screen watching Peter and his friends swooping and flying over the roofs and spires of London was an overwhelming experience. I was hooked, so to speak, and it is an image that has stayed with me ever since. This is the film that initiated my love affair with movies. PETER PAN is one of the iconic films of the Baby Boom Generation

List Price: ~~£19.99~~
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Tinker Bell/Peter Pan (Special Edition) - Double Pack [1953]

Rated: To Be Announced
Staring: Lucy Liu, Mae Whitman, Jane Horrocks, Raven-Symone, America Ferrera
Director: Bradley Raymond

Bargain boxset., 2008-11-14
This is a great boxset for a christmas present, we all know Peter Pan is good and this has the special edition and I loved Tinkerbell it's a really sweet film which as always with Disney is sure to go down well all in all it's a bargain which the kids will love.

List Price: ~~£22.99~~
Our Price: £16.98

The Jungle Book : 40th Anniversary 2 Disc Special Edition [1967] [1968]

Rated: Universal, suitable for all
Director: Wolfgang Reitherman

Disney's 1967 animated feature The Jungle Book seems even more entertaining now than it did upon first release, with a hall-of-fame vocal performance by Phil Harris as Baloo, the genial bear friend of feral child Mowgli. Loosely based on Rudyard Kipling's original, the film goes its own way as Disney animation will, but the strong characters and smart casting (George Sanders as the villainous tiger, Shere Khan) make it one of the studio's stronger feature-length cartoons. Songs include "The Bare Necessities" and "Trust in Me". --Tom Keogh

The Jungle Book, 2007-12-28
I have fond memories of this film from my childhood and was delighted to receive a copy for Christmas. It's just how I remember it, beautifully animated, toe tapping music, great characterisations (although this was less of a concern when I was 5!) and a good story to boot. Modern animations, although impressive, seem too polished sometimes and I love in this film how you can see the pen strokes on the screen and get a feel that there was a person behind the artwork. The songs in this film are some of Disney's most famous and rightly so, 'Bare Necessities' 'King of the Swingers', even the 'elephant parade', they really are that good . I tend to find Disney films too saccharine sweet, but The Jungle Book is just the right balance of cuteness and story. Overall a great film from the Disney back catalogue and one not to be missed.

List Price: ~~£21.99~~
Our Price: £7.48

101 Dalmatians Platinum Edition [1961]

Rated: Universal, suitable for all
Staring: Rod Taylor, Betty Lou Gerson, Cate Bauer, Lisa Daniels, Ben Wright
Director: Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, Wolfgang Reitherman

Back in 1961, Walt Disney got a little hip with 101 Dalmatians, making use of that flat Saturday morning cartoon style that had become so popular. The result is a kitschy change in animation and story. Pongo and Perdita are two lonely Dalmatians who meet in a London park and arrange for their pet humans to marry so they can live together and raise a family. They become proud parents of 15 pups, who are stolen by the dastardly Cruella De Vil, who wants to make a fur coat out of them. Cruella has become the most popular villain in all of Disney--she is flamboyantly nasty and lots of fun. But it is the Dalmatians who shine in this endearing classic, particularly those precocious pups. Telling the story from the dogs' point of view is a clever conceit, a fundamental flaw of Disney's 1996 live-action remake. --Bill Desowitz

101 Dalmations, 2008-02-09
This is one of the best Disney films ever made and is an absolute classic. It has action, suspense and comedy and have brilliant characters like Cruella DeVil, Horace and Jasper and of course the Dalmations, all in all a very good film.

List Price: ~~£21.99~~
Our Price: £7.48

Mary Poppins (2 Disc 40th Anniversary Special Edition)

Rated: Universal, suitable for all
Staring: Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson, Glynis Johns, Hermione Baddeley
Director: Robert Stevenson

There is only one word that comes close to accurately describing the enchanting Mary Poppins, and that term was coined by the movie itself: supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Even at 2 hours and 20 minutes, Disney's pioneering mixture of live action and animation (based on the books by P.L. Travers) still holds kids spellbound. Julie Andrews won an Oscar as the world's most magically idealized nanny ("practically perfect in every way," and complete with lighter-than-air umbrella), and Dick Van Dyke is her clownishly charming beau, Bert the chimney sweep. The songs are also terrific, ranging from bright and cheery ("A Spoonful of Sugar") to dark and cheery (the Oscar-winning "Chim-Chim Cheree") to touchingly melancholy ("Feed the Birds"). Many consider Mary Poppins to be the crowning achievement of Walt Disney's career--and it was the only one of his features to be nominated for a best picture Academy Award until Beauty and the Beast in 1991. --Jim Emerson

A Disney classic, 2006-03-02
Mary Poppins (40th Anniversary edition) is truly a classic movie and a real treat for Disney fans, to experience watching and reliving the magical moments of Disney at your home.

What make it a great movie? An all round cast featuring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke (with his rather dodgy London accent). A great setting based in a dark and gloomy London. Not forgettinng Disney's trademark of musical songs. Remember songs like A Spoonful of Sugar, that just a simple and nice worded song. A good mix of animation , which is pretty amazing. The extra featured are excellent with rare and exclusive interviews with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. For the kids, you can sang along to the songs featured in the movie.

The perfect treat for Dinsey fans and a good collector item.

List Price: ~~£19.99~~
Our Price: £6.48

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