Rating: 
Summary: An excellent restoration
Review: "Gulliver's Travels" has never looked better. Restored color and sound (with a few sound effects thrown in) makes all the work worthwhile. This classic was a childhood favorite of mine.
Also added are a few of the old "Gabby" cartoons.
Rating: 
Summary: poor version
Review: A couple of years ago I purchased the 60th Anniversary Edition of this classic Fleischer cartoon on VHS. It was digitally re-mastered and was a beautiful print. HOWEVER, this version, THE DVD VERSION is of very poor quality. The dub is scratchy at best and is more often than not, washed out.
The film starts out without the opening credits and we noticed entire scenes have been deleted (as if taken from a bad film version that had been spliced together). ... Apparently, the 60th anniversary re-mastered edition is not available on DVD (at least I cannot find it). Your kids may be entertained but if you consider yourself a Fleischer fan or an animation fan, you will find THIS DVD VERSION very disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: A Fleischer Classic
Review: First let me say that I am not a big fan of Winstar products, but they have done the restoration job on this title that they promised. The 60th Anniversary Edition image is so sharp and pure that I got rid of my Republic Laserdisc that came from their studio masters. As typical with Winstar, they created a new stereo soundtrack, but THEY HAVE INCLUDED THE ORIGINAL MONO TRACK! I would suggest selecting the original mono track, their stereo track is distracting.
This Winstar DVD IS the ULTIMATE RESTORATION of GULLIVER'S TRAVELS on DVD!!!
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite animated films
Review: Fleischer's 1939 animated feature "Gulliver's Travels" delivers! My kids request it all the time, and I cannot help being drawn into it every time its playing. Comparisons with Disney being inevitable, I believe that this is a case were the underdog matches the abilities of its powerful rival. The opening song "All's Well" is as catchy as any musical tune - including Snow White's "Hi Ho". The attention to 3-D effect and other visual detail is mind-boggling. The moral message of toleration and compromise is very well developed, and, in view of its sophisticated source in Jonathan Swift, the point is anything but trivial. Parents on the lookout for a great lesser-known animated film for their children should be delighted with this - as with Fleischer's other animated feature "Hoppity Goes to Town". This DVD edition restores the work to pristine condition. It comes with extra Gabby shorts, which draw on the same settings and characters; this was a nice surprise. The other bonus features were also enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: A Neglected Animated Gem
Review: Here's a wonderful offering from the Fleischer Studio, creators of Betty Boop and Koko the Clown, and producers of the original Popeye and Superman cartoons. The Fleischer brothers, Max and Dave, also put out the first sound cartoon, an animated sing-along with their trademark bouncing ball that highlighted the lyrics to the audience. They also experimented with some truly effective special affects such as combining live action and animation, and the Three-Dimensional Setback which was a tiny stage with animation cels hung in front to create a convincing illusion of dimension. One of their inventions, the Rotoscope, is still in use today.
The Fleischer Studio was active between 1919 and 1942, after which they folded due to increased competition from Disney. By then features were the norm, and to meet this demand the Fleischers made two, GULLIVER'S TRAVELS (1939) and the rarely seen HOPPITY GOES TO TOWN (1941), originally known as MR. BUG GOES TO TOWN. They were unable to make back the money put into these, so Paramount foreclosed their loan, took over the studio, and fired the Fleischers. Later on the brothers recouped as Famous Studios but never quite regained the sparkle and innovation of their earlier days.
Timing wasn't on their side. GULLIVER'S TRAVELS was made after another great animated film hit the theaters, the one with the seven short guys and a wicked witch and a girl who wanders the forest. SNOW WHITE of course has become a legend of animation; in comparison GULLIVER'S TRAVELS fairly languishes and too bad. Here's a noteworthy production that deserves its due.
There's a noticeable distinction between the animation styles of Disney and Fleischer. The Fleischer style appears more arty, with stylized figures and backgrounds and lighting affects which I can only describe as "Max Parrishesque." Gorgeous clouds and seas, and a rather glowing affect infused throughout. The night scenes with Gabby and his lantern are especially effective, and the shadowing is superb. Compared to SNOW WHITE, GULLIVER'S TRAVELS moves at a rather leisurely pace and the story is more expansive. There's plenty to grow on you, too. From the catchy tunes and the cute characters, to a towering, striking Gulliver with the brooding, thoughtful soul of a poet combined with the spunk and spirit of a true adventurer.
Rating:
Summary: A sheer marvel, sustaining comparison with Disney's
Review: I discovered Dave Fleisher's Gulliver long ago, when first released in France, in 1980 or so. It was a shock to discover that Disney's creations were not the one and only! Unfortunetely, this pure wonder remains widely ignored on this side of the Atlantic, as well as "Mr Bug goes to town"...(by the way, when will the DVD of this cartoon be released?). No promotion whatesoever; just some VHS very cheep - thus unconvincing for most people - accasional editions could be obtained... a shame!The present restored edition, accompanied with vintage stuff, such as a brilliant explanation on the making of cartoons is a must have.
Rating:
Summary: This is simply pure magic -- breathtaking!
Review: In 1939 when this movie was released, it faced stiff competition at the Academy Awards from 'Gone with the Wind' and 'The Wizard of Oz.' Nominated for an Academy Award in 1939, it didn't win. But those who love this film will always believe that is should have. By 1939, the Fleischer Studios had been crafting the finest animation around -- they actually produced the first full length animated movie (though Disney gets the credit). This is the very best that the Fleischer Studios ever produced. Its characters are every bit as rich and deep as the very best Disney, Bluth or Spielberg-Katzenberg efforts. (Anyone who hears the classic line: "There's a giant on the beach!" -- will never forget it!) For years, I have wanted to get my hands on this and remaster this movie digitally. (I do effects and compositing for a living.) It's wonderful to see that someone who loves this movie has given it the care and respect it deserves. Max Fleischer was a sheer genius, whose work includes the original Betty Boop, Popeye, the animated Superman -- and his own contributions to film include techniques of effects production that are still used today. He was a master of his craft who, sadly, has little recognition outside artists and animators. I have bought many copies of this over the years -- usually in versions so poorly recorded and transfered that they are pitiful indicators of the Fleischer talent -- and yet, everyone I've given it to, loves the movie. My personal gratitude to Winfield Hoskins, Seymour Kneitel and Thomas Reich for your tender care in restoring such a wonderful movie. Thank you. It is truly long overdue and it is a case of giving honor to whom honor is due. This belongs right alongside the best Disney, tucked right on the shelf alongside Bluth's best -- and when the young and the young at heart ask "What is this?" -- play it. My grand daugther plays it regularly and never tires of it and always quites "There's a giant on the beach" -- and she laughs. This movie is simply pure magic -- breathtaking! Many of you will watch it and will suddenly remember seeing this long ago and your eyes will light up, just as many who I have bought it for, have said to me: "I saw this years ago and have never known what it was. I love this!" And they always smile. And I always buy more copies. The soul of a true artist lives in this movie. And this is the best edition of it that you will find. Buy it...
Rating: 
Summary: A POOR MAN'S "SNOW WHITE"
Review: Producer Max Fleischer was Walt Disney's biggest competition in the 1930's and produced this animated feature in response to the success of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". Unfortunately, Fleischer's unit at Paramount didn't have the sophistication and artistic vision of Disney and their product ends up playing like an extended cartoon short. Fleischer seemed to be more in his element with shorts, as can be seen with the perennial popularity of Betty Boop, Popeye, Felix the Cat and Superman. Fleischer's shorts sometimes have more panache than Disney's Mickey Mouse shorts, which are almost insipid by comparison. But in the field of animated features, Disney had and seems to have kept the edge all these years. Good try Max. The DVD print beats the public domain prints of "Gulliver" which are barely watchable. A piece of trivia: Gabby, the little lillipet man who sings "All's Well", had his voice provided by the same guy who did one of the munchkin mayor's cohorts in "Wizard of Oz", made by MGM in the same year.
Rating:
Summary: Personally, I would have squashed Gabby, given the chance
Review: There are some elements to this film that make it truly memorable. The animation, especially in the larger panoramic shots, is truly remarkable & artistic in its composition. The animation loses something in the close-ups at times, but by and large, the attention lavished on each frame is evident throughout the film.
If only the care devoted to the animation had also been devoted to the storyline, which is unable to sustain the momentum needed in a full-length film. In particular, a number of the main characters (not the least of which is Gulliver himself) are quite bland and simply not that interesting. To make things worse, the characters who are memorable include Gabby, the caricature of a pugnacious Irishman who surely has to rank as one the most annoying characters in the history of all animation.
All in all, it is a wildly uneven film, with enough fine animation to recommend it, but so many flaws that it is hard to think of it as a classic in any sense.
Rating:
Summary: GULLIVERS TRAVELS GREAT FILM
Review: This beautiful movie is my favourite cartoon! Beats today's Disney stuff hands down! Just LOVELY!
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