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Walt Disney Treasures - On the Front Lines

Walt Disney Treasures - On the Front Lines

List Price: $32.99
Your Price: $28.04
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Leonard Maltin is a problem
Review: Hey, Maltin knows his stuff and all, but why should I be forced to hear his introductions? Disney is concerned about the racist elements of these wartime shorts that Maltin's explanatory comments before each cartoon cannot be fast forwarded through! I hate that. Otherwise, a great set.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: I agree with the other 1-star reviewer
Review: I didn't realise this had happened to other people. But i ordered this off Amazon, got it a week or so later only to find an empty case.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Must Buy For Disney Fans And History Buffs Alike!
Review: I just got my copy and all I can say is... WOW. Regardless of one's viewpoints on war, this is one very important and educational peice of history. The shorts on why we fight, who we fight and how the homefront can help were amazing to watch! One word of advice for parents: these cartoons over all are not children's cartoons. Watch the contents of these DVDs before deciding whether or not (or which parts) to let your kids watch. That disclaimer out of the way, let me restate: WOW. Definitely the best of all the Treasures to be released to date!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Walt Disney Treasures...need I say more?
Review: I will not waste your time with what will be on this and the other 3 editions because other reviewers have covered that. I just would like to say that I have seen a great deal of the material (shorts/television shows) included on these sets and think this is some fantastic work. There is also quite a bit that I have yet to see but am very much looking forward to seeing as well. Trust me, If you are a fan of Classic Walt Disney films then you should certainly treat yourself to these gems. I give all of the sets in the Walt Disney Treasures series 5 stars.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent collection, but be warned.
Review: I've been waiting eagerly for this collection, and for the most part, it didn't disappoint. But be warned--some of the most famous of these wartime shorts, such as "The Fuhrer's Face" and "Chicken Little" have an annoying Leonard Martin intro tacked onto them, and you can't skip through them. I say annoying because Maltin insists on giving away story points and illustrating his simplistic remarks with clips from the cartoons you are about to see! It ruins the experience of seeing these cartoons as "new"--particularly relevent in this case because these films were designed to elicit a strong emotional response from an audience. Don't miss this collection, it's a real rarity, but unless you're the type who turns immediately to the last page of a whodunit, or who always uses cheat codes on video games, mute Maltin's comments and close your eyes when he comes on--at least, for the first time you watch these.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Must Have Collection
Review: Incredible collection of WWII shorts and propaganda for mature audiences. A big thank you to Disney for releasing this unique piece of history. A true treasure indeed!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Finally!
Review: Of all the film studios that produced "propaganda" cartoons during WWII, none have been better kept hidden than those made by the Walt Disney studio. Sure a couple of them slipped through the cracks into the public domain, but as a whole they remained sealed in the Disney Vaults until now.

While not every single cartoon made during the War (Disney produced numerous "how to" films made only for those in the actual armed forces, clips of some are shown on these DVDs), it does include all the theatrically released features. Stars like Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Pete, Minnie and Huey, Dewey and Louie star in these wartime cartoons. Mickey Mouse only appeared in one short, using borrowed animation from "The Band Concert."

There is also the full length animated WWII feature "Victory Through Air Power," which is considered to be amongst the rarest of all the Disney features. This DVD set is well worth the buy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Finally!
Review: Of all the film studios that produced "propaganda" cartoons during WWII, none have been better kept hidden than those made by the Walt Disney studio. Sure a couple of them slipped through the cracks into the public domain, but as a whole they remained sealed in the Disney Vaults until now.

While not every single cartoon made during the War (Disney produced numerous "how to" films made only for those in the actual armed forces, clips of some are shown on these DVDs), it does include all the theatrically released features. Stars like Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto, Pete, Minnie and Huey, Dewey and Louie star in these wartime cartoons. Mickey Mouse only appeared in one short, using borrowed animation from "The Band Concert."

There is also the full length animated WWII feature "Victory Through Air Power," which is considered to be amongst the rarest of all the Disney features. This DVD set is well worth the buy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A controversial treasure
Review: Of all the WD Treasures, this is one of the most anticipated, and perhaps the more controversial of all. (this set will contain a lot of theatrical shorts released in 1943-44, with WW2 theme)

This collection was planed to be release in Wave 2 (2002), but because the US-Iraq incoming war, was postponed (a lot of people thought that it was cancelled).

Finally will be released, and acording to the scaned image of this set, i will contain "Victory thru air power", but, the rest of the shorts are, until now, a mistery; it's expected that it will contain among others two of the more controversial shorts: Der Fuehrer's Face (a Donald Duck short), and "Education for death" (aka. How to be a Nazi).

I hope Buena Vista reveals the contents of this set soon.

LAST INFORMATION!!! (WITH EXCELLENT NEWS!!)

I emailed Buena Vista, hoping that they reveal me a little information about this set, and they answered the following:

"The following information for DISNEY ON THE FRONT LINES is tentative at this time:

BONUS FEATURES:
Disc One:
***Leonard Maltin Introduction***

Disc Two:
***Leonard Maltin Introduction***
***On the Set of "Victory Through Air Power"***
***Victory Through Air Power Trailer***
***A Conversation with Joe Hench***
***A Conversation with Joe Grant***
***A Conversation with Roy Disney***
***Production Art Galleries***
***Victory Through Air Power Gallery***

____________________________________________
CONTENT:
Disc One:
PROPAGANDA & ENTERTAINMENT
***Introduction***
***Donald Gets Drafted***
***The Army Mascot***
***The Vanishing Private***
***Sky Trooper***
***Private Pluto***
***Fall Out; Fall In***
***Victory Vehicles***
***The Old Army Game***
***Home Defense***
***How to Be a Sailor***
***Commando Duck***

EDUCATIONAL SHORTS
***Introduction***
***Thrifty Pig***
***Seven Wise Dwarfs***
***Food Will Win the War***
***Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Firing Line***
***Donald's Decision***

***All Together***
***The New Spirit***
***The Spirit of '43***
***The Winged Scourge***
***Defense Against Invasion***
***All Together***
***The Grain That Built A Hemisphere***
***Cleanliness Brings Health***
***What Is Disease?***
***Planning for Good Eating***

FROM THE VAULT
***Der Fuehrer's Face with Introduction***
***Education for Death with Introduction***
***Reason and Emotion with Introduction***
***Chicken Little with Introduction***

Disc Two:

***Victory Through Air Power with Introduction***

TRAINING SHORTS:
***Introduction***
***Four Methods of Flush Riveting***
***Stop That Tank***
***Training Film Montage***"

Pretty cool, isn't it?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful set, finally available to the public
Review: On the Front Lines is an interesting blend of entertainment, education, propaganda and training shorts that are fascinating. This was the final set of Wave 3 that I viewed and I can say I enjoyed it very much. Be warned though: it is very difficult to sit through large parts of this dvd without getting bored. I had to watch each disc on seperate days, and it was even hard watching Victory through Air Power in one sitting. But dont be discouraged from watching this because of its historical aspect. I am not one you would call a history fanatic, but I found interest in most of what this set has to offer and I am sure you will too.
Disc 1 is divided into Entertainment shorts, Education shorts, and From the Vault. I thoroughly enjoyed the Donald Duck shorts which encouraged Americans to buy war bonds, pay your taxes, and do what you can to help the country. Some of the best of these in my opinion are The Vanishing Private, Home Defense, The Old Army Game, DER FUEHRER'S FACE(my favorite on this set, where Donald dreams he is in Naziland), and Education for Death, which I had previously seen but am glad to own a quality copy. Also Reason and Emotion I thought was a great piece about how reason/emotion must be balanced to keep one rational.The picture and sound on all of these are great, and I especially liked the way the dvd menus were set up.
Disc 2 is mostly made of Victory through Air Power, the full-length feature about how air power is vital to winning the war at sea and on land. Major Alex de Seversky explains what it will take to neutralize enemy forces and this feature is accompanied by some impressive animation. There is also a trailer for this film in the bonus features section that is interesting to visualize seeing back in that time. Aside from the feature are 4 Methods for Flush Riveting, Stop that Tank! and a training films montage. 4 Methods was apparently made only for educational purposes, and while it is important to this collection, it was the only short I did not enjoy. It is a bore to be honest. Stop That Tank! provides great animation and I found it to be very interesting, as it details the anti-tank rifle and the mechanisms behind it. Hitler even gets blown away in a tank, and who can't enjoy that? As for the training film montage, Leonard Maltin briefly introduces some training films that were to educate soldiers about adjusting to different weather conditions, etc. They aren't shown in their entirety though, but I don't think that takes away from the set at all. To round out disc 2, you get plenty of extras including:
"Victory Through Air Power" Trailer
On the Set of "Victory through Air Power"
Production Art Galleries
"Victory Through Air Power" Art Galleries
"A Conversation with Roy Disney"
"A Conversation with Joe Grant"
"A Conversation with John Hench"

All in all this set is something every historian, animator, animation fan and person interested in American culture should definately own. A lot of this material has been in the Disney vaults for years, but we are now lucky enough to see them. I wouldn't say it is for kids, but parents should judge it for themselves as some of the material is questionable for young eyes, such as one scene where Donald believes he has lost his lower half and then points a gun at his head as if to end it all. I, like many of you am annoyed at Maltin's introductions and you cannot skip them on here. That is what it costs though to see these things because of the politically correct world we live in. It is a small price to pay though and without it we may not have gotten these films to enjoy. So I hoped this helped you decide either way to buy this set, and I can add it is one of the best purchases I have made for 24 dollars. That is a steal to me. I highly recommend this set for the funny entertainment shorts, and others not so comical such as Education for Death, which shows the darker side of the whole Nazi movement. So there is something on here everybody can enjoy, so I recommend this as a valuable asset to any DVD collection.


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