WALT DISNEY'S IT'S A SMALL WORLD OF FUN, VOL. 2 - DVD review

The Walt Disney studios long ago perfected a marketing strategy to ensure that people continue buying their same product from year to year. While other studios these days reissue their movies in special editions, unrated versions, and directors' cuts, Disney keeps the formula simple: Release a movie for a limited time, either in theaters or on video, and then keep it off the market until a new generation of youngsters grows old enough to appreciate it and then reissue it. The idea has worked successfully for over seventy-five years, and I don't see the studio stopping anytime soon.

So it is with "Walt Disney's It's a Small World of Fun, Vol. 2," a collection of six short Disney animations, at least two of them classics. The keep case further describes the disc as "Animated adventures in exciting lands," the gimmick here that ties the various films together being their settings in different countries of the world. Adults without kids may scoff at the marketing scheme, but, whatever, it works, and the films are fun, the collection brief enough (fifty-six minutes total) not to tax the attention spans of younger children.

"Pedro":
The first feature selection on the menu is "Pedro," which Disney released in 1943 and which longtime Disney animator and director Hamilton Luske directed. It's an odd choice to begin the program because it is without question the least entertaining cartoon of the bunch. The setting is Argentina, for reasons wholly beyond me, and it concerns a family of airplanes--a mother, a father, and a son, Pedro--who deliver the mail. The dad usually carries the mail between Chile and Argentina, but at the time of the story he has a cold, so he entrusts the mail delivery to little Pedro, who has never done the job before. It's a rather juvenile tale, without much interest for this adult, about eight minutes of humdrum flight. 4/10

"The Olympic Champ":
Next, there is "The Olympic Champ" from 1942, directed by Jack Kinney. This is a seven-minute Goofy cartoon set in ancient Greece and modern times as a narrator explains to us the history and nature of the Olympic Games. Goofy illustrates the narrator's points in typically goofy manner as an Olympic torch bearer, a runner, a hurdler, a pole vaulter, a hammer thrower, etc. There are some funny gags along the way, and it's among Goofy's best outings. 5/10

"Peter and the Wolf":
"Peter and the Wolf" is one of those classics I mentioned earlier. Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Disney released the movie in 1946, basing the story on the Russian fairy tale set to music by Sergei Prokofiev. Sterling Holloway, whom moviegoers loved for his kindly, gravelly voice, narrates the fifteen-minute tale. As you know, Prokofiev represented each character in the story with a different musical instrument, the composer making the musical score an easy and entertaining way for young people to learn more about a symphony orchestra. Most of the plot you already know, so let me just say it comes across with a minimum of cuteness and a maximum of beauty and invention. The artwork is excellent, the music is fun, and pace is appropriate to the story. 8/10

"Brave Little Tailor":
Following the classic "Peter and the Wolf" comes the equally classic "Brave Little Tailor," and together these two short subjects are worth the price of the whole disc. Disney released "The Brave Little Tailor" in 1938 and asked Burt Gillett, another of the studio's stalwart filmmakers, to direct. This cartoon is about nine minutes long and set in medieval England. It concerns Mickey (voiced by Uncle Walt) as a tailor bothered by flies. He manages to swat and kill seven giant flies at one time and brags about it. The land is being terrorized by a particularly bothersome giant, and, naturally, people misinterpret Mickey's talk about killing seven giants as his being an expert giant killer. So, the King sets him the task of killing the pesky giant, with a promise to grant him the hand of his daughter, Princess Minnie, if he succeeds. Using the tools of his trade, the resourceful little tailor succeeds splendidly. Not only is the story fun, the animation is lovely, some of Disney's best. 7/10

"Crazy With the Heat":
After that, there is "Crazy With the Heat," a 1947, six-minute release directed by Bob Carlson. Donald and Goofy are on a road trip across the Egyptian desert when they run out of gas, and then run afoul of mirages and genies, with the usual results. It's a pretty ordinary affair. 4/10

"Susie, the Little Blue Coupe":
Lastly, we have "Susie, the Little Blue Coupe" from 1952, set in the good ol' U.S. of A., the newest film on the disc, directed by Clyde Geronimi. As with "Peter and the Wolf," Sterling Holloway narrates the story, which revolves around a little blue automobile as it travels the roads of life from spanking new to old and dilapidated. As the mileage accumulates, poor Susie eventually winds up on the scrap heap. But this is Disney, so expect a happy ending. It's a sweet tale and should keep an adult's attention as well as a child's. 7/10

Video:
As we might guess, the video quality on these cartoons varies somewhat with age. The best looking is the newest, "Susie, the Little Blue Coupe," the print being the cleanest and clearest of the lot. The other cartoons show a tad more wear, although nothing serious because the Disney folks take very good care of their valued property. No, it's more like a thin layer of fine grain that veils some of the other features. Still, the Technicolor almost always looks vibrant and alive. I noticed, however, that during the opening titles for "Peter and the Wolf" the reduction of the film from 1.37:1 to 1.33:1 cut out a fraction of the text to the far left and right of the screen. Nothing of concern, though.

Audio:
The keep case announces the sound as Dolby Digital Stereo Surround, but everything I heard appeared to be in two-channel mono. Be that as it may, the audio is fine, with virtually no background noise even in the earliest works on the disc.

Extras:
There aren't many extra items available. Disney equip the disc with their "Fast Play" option, meaning the disc can force unsuspecting youngsters into watching a selection of trailers before the primary features begin. Or the viewer can go directly to the main menu and make selections from there. The Sneak Peeks include trailers for "Leroy and Stitch," "Little Einsteins," "The Fox and the Hound," "The Little Mermaid," "Dumbo," "Cars," and "Brother Bear 2." In addition, there are six feature selections; English and French spoken language choices; and English captions for the hearing impaired.

Parting Thoughts:
I know that fifty-six minutes seems like short measure for a DVD, but remember that this collection is meant primarily for kids. For adult fans of Disney cartoons, there are always the big Disney double-disc tins, which include many of these cartoons and more. My rating below for the disc's Film Value is a composite score for all six short features (5.83/10 to be more exact).

In addition to "Walt Disney's It's a Small World of Fun, Vol. 2," there is obviously a Volume 1. It contains seven Disney shorts: "Mickey Down Under" (Australia); "A Cowboy Needs a Horse" (U.S.A.); "The Flying Gauchito" (South America); "Goliath II" (India); "In Dutch" (Holland); "African Diary" (Africa); and "Grievance of a Starmaker" (Japan).