Rating: 
Summary: GREAT CINEMATIC LESSONS IN PROPAGANDA
Review: This is trully a grat collection of war-time propaganda from WWII made by the Disney Studios. Some of these movies feature our favorite characters Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto. Others feature specific characters created on purpose.The main thing about this collection is Mr. Disney's master hand behind each film. Quality animation (and expensive animation from the studio that elevated animation to an art on its own). They alert, inspire, teach and (last but not least) entertain. Some of these little gems are a bit violent and you should see them before deciding if they are suitable for your children. But anyway, these are great films and should be seen by anyone who want to see some of the best propaganda films aver made. It is all great if you check Nazi propaganda films at the same time... they are very different. In these here films Mr. Disney never lost his touch and the style that made his studio famous. In this double DVD you will find lots of things... one feature-length film (VICTORY THROUGH AIR POWER - a trully memorable film that explains the importance or air power to american forces and also the strategical and logistic problems WWII represented to America). This is certainly a landmark film. The DVDs also contain an enormous list of cartoons (in the short form) that cover a large variety of subjects and moods. This is one of the best titles in the collection and an important piece of History. Should be treasured. The quality of the DVDs is outstanding... as everything that is made with care. I just don't understand why the tin cans are not numbered anymore (like the previous titles in this collection).
Rating:
Summary: Interactive Game!!!
Review: This limited edition dvd is the best out yet. Not only does it have propaganda cartoons and rare bonus footage, it also includes an interactive game- "The Nerdy Bearded-Guy Drinking Game"!!! However, the dvd does not include the rulebook, but luckily for you, I obtained a copy. 1. Whenever the nerdy bearded guy appears on the screen before a cartoon all players have to drink a shot of Yager (any hard alcohol can be used as a substitute). 2. The last player to make it to the final bearded-guy round wins. 3. If, however, there are more than one players to make it to the final round, it is then each remaining player has to execute the physical challenge round!!! This dvd is loads of fun and the game makes the experience 10x as good. I don't know how you do it, but Disney, you have done it again!!! A must have!!!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant piece of film history
Review: To be certain, there will be those who attempt to tear apart these shorts based on current cultural standards, but that isn't fair at all. This collection of short cartoons was made at the height of World War II, at a time where Hollywood actually supported the war effort, and made efforts to educate the public and spark them to action. Things like Donald Duck joining the army, Pluto acting as a mascot, Goofy teaching about "alternative" transportation and the Three Little Pigs and Seven Dwarfs stumping war bonds were not only commonplace, but necessary. Plus, some of these shorts are just plain FUNNY. "Commando Duck" may have some unflattering portrayals of Japanese soldiers, but the slapstick comedy is some of Donald Duck's best. "Der Fuehrer's Face" is a masterpiece, and a lot of the Donald shorts in this collection were written (or co-written) by the legendary Donald Duck comic book artist Carl Barks, adding another tidbit of historical significance to this collection. Perhaps the centerpiece of this collection comes on disc two, with the full-length "Victory Through Air Power," in which Walt Disney and a Russian expatriate explain that the only way to win World War II was to build up America's Air Force, a message that did not go unheeded by Churchhill and Roosevelt. People don't even know about this film, but it's one of the most important movies ever made. This set is entertaining and fascinating from a cultural standpoint, and on top of that, Leonard Maltin's commentaries are probably the best he's done yet for a "Treasures" collection. No animation fan can go without this set.
Rating:
Summary: Wow -- "Victory Through Air Power" on DVD!
Review: When I was about 13 years old around 1978, our school teacher had our class watch a 16mm print of the first part of Disney's "Victory Through Air Power", which is all in animation and is about the history of aviation. I loved it. In the decades since, I'd always clearly remembered the shot in which an early WWI fighter plane pilot accidently shot up his own propellor with his machine gun (before the technology to synchronize machine guns with propellers was developed), and went down comically weeping. When I became interested in Disney animation several years ago, I hoped to find a copy of that one. But I learned that it had never been released on any videotape or videodisc format, and that my only glimmer of hope of ever seeing it again was to buy a 16mm film projector and find an old 16mm print, and probably pay a lot for it. More than any other, this title had me seriously thinking about doing that. It's been some time since I've kept up with new DVD releases. I was shopping at Costco today and stumbled across some of Disney's "Treasures Limited Edition" tins. I already had some of those, but I noticed that these were titles I hadn't seen before. I tossed the Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck titles into my cart, passed on one that was about futurism, and dug through to make sure I hadn't missed any. I could hardly believe my eyes when I picked up one that said "On the Front Lines" and "The War Years". My first thought was to wonder if it included that aviation history I had seen in 1978. I turned it over and yes, it said it included not only the aviation history part I had seen then, but the entire film! Somewhat in a daze, I went straight to the checkout line, then straight home, then straight to the DVD player. Even my wife watched it with me, I guess because she could see how excited I was about it. I loved it in 1978 on 16mm, and I loved it again in 2004 on DVD. It's at once an interesting history, attractive animation, and fun entertainment. I was also interested to see the realism in animation of planes I had learned about over the years. The live action part was also very interesting and well worth watching, if a little on the tedious side at times, especially for my wife. It's certainly very interesting to consider how this movie may have changed the course of the war, or more precisely, this movie may have brought enough attention to the book that inspired it, and to that book's brilliant and prophetic author, to change the course of the war. When I looked up this title on the web, I was a little startled to find that I had bought it on the very day it was released! It looks like Disney has let the earlier "Treasures Limited Edition" tins go out of print, and undoubtedly they will do the same with this title. If you have any interest at all in aviation history, and/or in WWII, and/or in rare Disney animation gems, this disc is a must-have, just for Victory Through Air Power. (I haven't even watched most of the shorts yet.)
Rating:
Summary: V T A P predates modern adult geared animation
Review: When I watched V T A P only days ago, I realized as never before the details of Hitler's march through Europe at the start of WW2. In history class as a kid and eventual teen, I could only vaguely grasp the concept. If only the teacher had owned a copy of V T A P, the explanation of both the start of the war (remember, the film was made in the middle of the war with no clear end in sight), the history of aviation, and what was to become the solution to ending the war, would have been illustrated a little better. Not to say that war is confusing enough, but Disney's team of skilled animators displays beauty among war and fine examples of explaining uncomfortable topics like death and the pillaging of a land's goods in metaphor.
For animation fans of all kinds, the hard hitting battle sequences were years ahead of their time and remind you where adult themed animation got its start.
Oh yeah, the Donald Duck shorts are great!
Rating:
Summary: Rarities and priceless gems
Review: While Disney's recently released "Destino" is earning rave reviews for its surrealistic pairing of Uncle Walt with Salvador Dali, this much anticipated package contains some of the most bizarre footage of anything that Disney ever did. When I was doing research for my 2001 biography of Ub Iwerks, a friend of mine gave me a private showing of many of these films which he had smuggled out of the Studio. Some of the imagery is absolutely stunning and frankly, well, weird. Using metaphors such as the U.S. producing enough grain to make enough pasta to knit a sweater that would wrap around the earth is not a normal image. Seriously demented stuff! The most notable effort in this bunch for me personally is "Stop That Tank" because it is amongst the few films that Ub Iwerks directed upon returning to Disney in the 40s. Most people assume that Ub went right to work on technical things after his hiatus, but he in fact was placed at the helm of a few small films including this one. The late, great Ward Kimball told me that when he and Freddy Moore did the animation on this, Ub cut them loose and told them to have fun "You boys know what you're doing." He said. And of course, they did. Ub had fun designing the technical drawings of the gun itself and timing the film while Kimball said he and Moore treated the soldier in the film as a surrogate Goofy-type character. If the narrator said to do it one way, they had the sad sack do just the opposite. Aside from this gem are the harrowing 'Education for Death,' the legendary 'Victory through Air Power' and sterling discussion throughout guided by my personal hero, Leonard Maltin. This is the undeniable prize of the Walt Disney Treasure's collection (that is, until we get Song of the South at some future date, hint, hint.)
| 
