Restoring Disney's Wonderful World
Burbank, California—Congratulations to Robert Iger, who takes the lead to run the great Walt Disney Company—Iger's only the sixth man to do so, following Michael Eisner—and cheers to his restoration of what was once America's most magical motion picture company. Walt Disney was a genius—Mr. Eisner had his day, too, especially early on—and if low-key Iger merely polishes and protects what Mr. Disney created, his stewardship will put recent troubles in the past.
Some suggest he might start with the parks. It's been a while since I've been to Disneyland—or Disney World in Florida—but they are marvelous places to visit, even without my favorite attraction, the Carousel of Progress in Tomorrowland. But here is one Mouseketeer who hopes Iger scales back the overexposed brand. A Disney item used to mean something—that you actually bought it at Disneyland, not on the cheap at a run-down mall department store. Iger has a chance to recapture the wonderful world of good, clean fun. In other words, enough communist China—more Sleeping Beauty.
Disney animation is still magical. Girls—and boys—of all ages ought to appreciate the brilliant integration of color, movement and Tchaikovsky's ballet music in the 1959 masterpiece, Sleeping Beauty, whose castle represents an entire American cultural symbol—instantly recognizable across the globe. It's among my favorites on DVD, though it'll be a year until Disney releases another treasured classic, the Hans Christian Andersen-based The Little Mermaid, due on special edition DVD on Oct. 3, 2006.
More Disney DVD Notes
In fact, Disney cannot be beat for top-notch DVD treatments. Their 10th anniversary edition of Toy Story [Toystory.com] includes the remastered Disney-Pixar movie, deleted scenes, features on creator John Lasseter and how Toy Story changed the movies, a peek at Pixar and Disney's upcoming Cars (which looks like a snooze to me), games and more.
Likewise, the 15th Anniversary Special Edition of Julia Roberts's breakout picture, Pretty Woman, has bloopers, a wrap party reel, and director Garry Marshall narrating Los Angeles location spots used in the movie.
Watching Beaches again on a special edition DVD reminded me how much better past star vehicles—like this one for Bette Midler—are than today's cookie-cutter pics. The disc contains a neat 15-minute bit with a lovely young lady named Mayim Bialik who played Miss Midler's character as a Coney Island kid. What an honest, attractive person, and why isn't she in pictures?
New Disney DVD faves include The Best of the Mickey Mouse Club, which plays like Broadway these days, and the digitally mastered Vintage Mickey, featuring "Steamboat Willie" with Mickey Mouse. Every dad and mom ought to have the kids watch these gems—they're an archival gold mine of when the children and cartoons were so much smarter, more mature—and yet more innocent, too.
Ladies Are the Tramps
No one is innocent on the first season of Desperate Housewives, which I finally had a chance to check out on DVD after hearing about the Disney-owned ABC series incessantly for the past year. What trash. While it is not hard to see why this soft-core bitchslap is popular, with cynical humor that's mildly clever, it's a retread that plays shallow women for chumps. If you are a fan, you're not watching for anything but titillation, and, if you're not, you are not missing much.
But do not skip Disney's Cinderella, which is new to DVD. The 1950 classically animated musical fairy tale gets the full-fledged Buena Vista buff and polish in a two-disc package that's almost as delicious as this year's Bambi (and you'll get a peek at the sequel, which looks like it'll turn out to be good). Despite a pointless ESPN tie-in—the cable sports network owned by Disney that has no place here—the digital restoration is spectacular.
For me, the surprise is the music, with new songs about dancing on clouds and old tunes featured and added that are both ticklishly funny and romantic. Lots of old footage, radio show excerpts promoting the movie, Perry Como singing "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" with three cuties dressed as mice—and with Ilene Woods, the voice of Cinderella, flubbing on live television—documentaries and girly stuff. Not incidentally, there's also Walt Disney himself, the great American creator of a larger than life movie company—one that richly deserves to continue making great American motion pictures.
RELATED ARTICLES
• Review - 'Bambi' on DVD
• 2/24/05 - From 'Bambi' to 'Rugrats'
• 2/24/05 - 'Bambi' Banks on a New Generation
MORE COLUMNS by Scott Holleran
• 9/24/05 - Garbo Shines on DVD and More
• 9/15/05 - Robert Wise and Witherspoon's Consent
• 9/2/05 - The New Orleans Disaster and the Line on 'John Galt'
Some suggest he might start with the parks. It's been a while since I've been to Disneyland—or Disney World in Florida—but they are marvelous places to visit, even without my favorite attraction, the Carousel of Progress in Tomorrowland. But here is one Mouseketeer who hopes Iger scales back the overexposed brand. A Disney item used to mean something—that you actually bought it at Disneyland, not on the cheap at a run-down mall department store. Iger has a chance to recapture the wonderful world of good, clean fun. In other words, enough communist China—more Sleeping Beauty.
Disney animation is still magical. Girls—and boys—of all ages ought to appreciate the brilliant integration of color, movement and Tchaikovsky's ballet music in the 1959 masterpiece, Sleeping Beauty, whose castle represents an entire American cultural symbol—instantly recognizable across the globe. It's among my favorites on DVD, though it'll be a year until Disney releases another treasured classic, the Hans Christian Andersen-based The Little Mermaid, due on special edition DVD on Oct. 3, 2006.
More Disney DVD Notes
In fact, Disney cannot be beat for top-notch DVD treatments. Their 10th anniversary edition of Toy Story [Toystory.com] includes the remastered Disney-Pixar movie, deleted scenes, features on creator John Lasseter and how Toy Story changed the movies, a peek at Pixar and Disney's upcoming Cars (which looks like a snooze to me), games and more.
Likewise, the 15th Anniversary Special Edition of Julia Roberts's breakout picture, Pretty Woman, has bloopers, a wrap party reel, and director Garry Marshall narrating Los Angeles location spots used in the movie.
Watching Beaches again on a special edition DVD reminded me how much better past star vehicles—like this one for Bette Midler—are than today's cookie-cutter pics. The disc contains a neat 15-minute bit with a lovely young lady named Mayim Bialik who played Miss Midler's character as a Coney Island kid. What an honest, attractive person, and why isn't she in pictures?
New Disney DVD faves include The Best of the Mickey Mouse Club, which plays like Broadway these days, and the digitally mastered Vintage Mickey, featuring "Steamboat Willie" with Mickey Mouse. Every dad and mom ought to have the kids watch these gems—they're an archival gold mine of when the children and cartoons were so much smarter, more mature—and yet more innocent, too.
Ladies Are the Tramps
No one is innocent on the first season of Desperate Housewives, which I finally had a chance to check out on DVD after hearing about the Disney-owned ABC series incessantly for the past year. What trash. While it is not hard to see why this soft-core bitchslap is popular, with cynical humor that's mildly clever, it's a retread that plays shallow women for chumps. If you are a fan, you're not watching for anything but titillation, and, if you're not, you are not missing much.
But do not skip Disney's Cinderella, which is new to DVD. The 1950 classically animated musical fairy tale gets the full-fledged Buena Vista buff and polish in a two-disc package that's almost as delicious as this year's Bambi (and you'll get a peek at the sequel, which looks like it'll turn out to be good). Despite a pointless ESPN tie-in—the cable sports network owned by Disney that has no place here—the digital restoration is spectacular.
For me, the surprise is the music, with new songs about dancing on clouds and old tunes featured and added that are both ticklishly funny and romantic. Lots of old footage, radio show excerpts promoting the movie, Perry Como singing "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo" with three cuties dressed as mice—and with Ilene Woods, the voice of Cinderella, flubbing on live television—documentaries and girly stuff. Not incidentally, there's also Walt Disney himself, the great American creator of a larger than life movie company—one that richly deserves to continue making great American motion pictures.
RELATED ARTICLES
• Review - 'Bambi' on DVD
• 2/24/05 - From 'Bambi' to 'Rugrats'
• 2/24/05 - 'Bambi' Banks on a New Generation
MORE COLUMNS by Scott Holleran
• 9/24/05 - Garbo Shines on DVD and More
• 9/15/05 - Robert Wise and Witherspoon's Consent
• 9/2/05 - The New Orleans Disaster and the Line on 'John Galt'
