Disney Treasures Review: Mickey Mouse in Black and White

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Truly classic cartoons

Cons: Repetitve at times; poor picture quality

The Bottom Line:

Beginning magic

Not the best Disney produced

But fans will love it

If It All Started with a Mouse, It All Started Here

Over the last few years, Disney has released a ton of old material for their fans. And, like the die hard Disney buff I am, I snatched every one of them up immediately. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to watch all of them. But with Mickey's 80th birthday coming this year, I decided I had to watch all the Mickey shorts. And what better place to start then with volume one of Mickey Mouse in Black and White?

This two disc set contains 34 shorts from Mickey's early career. It spans the years from 1928 to 1935, including his first short and his last black and white cartoon. As a result, we really get a feel for the evolution of animation.

The collection starts with the one that started it all. "Steamboat Willie" finds Mickey working on a steamboat. There are several gags involving music, my favorite being the goat playing "Turkey in the Straw" after eating the sheet music. It also introduces Minnie and the character that would become the villainous Peg Leg Pete. To be perfectly honest, the short shows its age. I mean, there's hardly any plot to it. It's really just a collection of musical gags. The drawings are crude. They get the job done, but anyone who tried to pass this off now would be laughed at. It's truly hard to believe that Snow While followed only 10 years later.

Frankly, these complaints apply to most of the shorts on the first disc. There might be a bit of a story, but most of the time, it's just a collection of music inspired gags. Most of them are pretty good taken individually, but they wear on you when you watch them back to back. I was surprised to learn that Minnie played piano. She does so in just about every cartoon on disc one while Mickey uses whatever is near by to add to the music.

Fortunately, things improve on the second disc. Here, we get actual stories, like the creepy "Mad Doctor," which finds Mickey trying to rescue Pluto before the doc can conduct an experiment on him. "Mickey's Gala Premiere" features caricatures of many Hollywood stars of the era as they enjoy Mickey's latest cartoon. "Giantland" finds Mickey playing a variation on Jack and the Beanstalk, a story they'd have Mickey star in again later. There's also some fun with sizes, although the other way around, with "Gulliver Mickey." Disc two ends with "Mickey's Service Station" his final black and white cartoon, and the first time he teamed up with Donald and Goofy.

Speaking of whom, we get to watch the evolution of Mickey's friends. In the early shorts, it's the now forgotten Clarabelle Cow and Horace Horse who help with the gags. In fact there's a great cartoon where the two of them, Mickey, and Minnie fight mosquitoes while "Camping Out." Pluto appears fairly early on as well. Goofy doesn't show up until "Mickey's Revue," and even then, he's just an audience member with a unique laugh. Heck, he's even called Dopey Dawg for his first few appearances. Donald premiers a few years later in "Orphan's Benefit." He's pretty much already the Donald we know and love in his first appearance.

It's also interesting to watch the evolution of animation over time. As I said, the early cartoons are rather simplistic and crude. But even by the time this collection ends, the drawings have gotten much more elaborate. Even though they are still black and white, there's some beautiful stuff to watch here.

These cartoons are a reflection of their time, meaning that some of the gags were be considered racist today. Fortunately, Disney released them intact. Unfortunately, every time we are about to watch a non-PC cartoon, host and film historian Lenonard Maltin comes on and points out the offending passages to us. I might not mind as much if it wasn't the same two or three intros every single time. While I applaud Disney for using this message to release the shorts, I really wish they'd found some other way to offer the warning.

The shorts themselves haven't aged well. There's lots of grain and dust on these shorts. They are still watchable, but it is distracting. I'm not sure if they spent any time trying to restore them or not, but it seems like they could have done a slightly better job.

In addition to the 34 shorts, there are also some bonus features. Most of them focus on the story scripts and sketches for some of the shorts. Personally, the one I enjoyed was the interview with Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnson, two legendary animators who started work at Disney's studio during the time. Hearing their insight into animation and these shorts is quite interesting.

Ultimately, Mickey Mouse in Black and White will most appeal to die hard Disney fans. Kids and casual fans will enjoy watching these occasionally, but they will bore quickly, especially during the first disc.

Included Shorts:

Steamboat Willie, The Gallopin' Gaucho, Plane Crazy, The Karnival Kid, Mickey's Follies, The Fire Fighters, The Chain Gang, The Gorilla Mystery, Pioneer Days, The Birthday Party, Mickey Steps Out, Blue Rhythm, Mickey Cuts Up, Mickey's Orphans, The Duck Hunt, Mickey's Revue, Mickey's Nightmare, The Whoopee Party, Touchdown Mickey, The Klondike Kid, Building a Building, The Mad Doctor, Ye Olden Days, The Mail Pilot, Mickey's Gala Premiere, Puppy Love, The Pet Store, Giantland, Camping Out, Gulliver Mickey, Orphan's Benefit, The Dognapper, Two-Gun Mickey, Mickey's Service Station