Rating: 
Summary: Earliest and Best!
Review: I eagerly awaited this DVD set of Mickey Mouse's earliest cartoons, and was thrilled. While not the entire run of the black and white cartoons (it is assumed there will be a Part. 2)
it does include every Mickey Mouse cartoon from Steamboat Willie to the mid 30s.These cartoons show how Mickey evolved in the earliest cartoons to a rattish looking mouse, into the more classic Mickey we know. Cartoons are violent in some cases (Mickey torturing a cat!!! Say it aint so!!) to downright adorable. The DVD extras, including a look at Mickey memorabilia and introductions by Leonard Maltin, as well as a promotional Mickey Mouse cartoon made for Nabisco, make this DVD well worth it.
Rating:
Summary: It all Started with a Mouse
Review: This collection of black-and-white Mickey Mouse shorts from the 1920s and 30s is a treasure trove of vintage shorts. Not only does the DVD set feature some of Mickey's better-known shorts like "Steamboat Willie" or "Orphan's Benefit", but also some equally charming rarities such as "The Gorilla Mystery" and "Blue Rhythm". All of the included shorts, unlike previoud showings of these shorts on Television, are also uncensored and many feature introductions by film historian Leonard Maltin to put into perspective what would be considered today as politically incorrect. Bonus features are also included including an interesting look at the original Mickey Mouse Clubs in the 1930s and pencil tests and sketches from the disk's shorts. The shorts themselves may not be as flashy or action-packed as many of today's cartoons, but these music and joke-filled films are full of nostalgia and are must-haves for any Disney fan.
Rating:
Summary: Yoo hoo!
Review: This is out of print, and the only way you can get it is to pay a lot of money for it. Is it worth it? Well, I certainly think so. You get 34 black and white Mickey Mouse cartoons. Some of the early ones are rather primitive, but they are still amusing, and it gets even better as it goes along. If you buy this along with "Mickey Mouse in Black and White Volume 2", you'll have all the black and white Mickey Mouse cartoons. What more can an animation fan ask for?
Rating:
Summary: A great compilation of the early Mickey cartoons
Review: If you can actually acquire these rare DVD's (and the ever-elusive collectible tin), you'll simultaneously be impressed and disppointed.
First and foremost, this collections is a wonderful compilation of vintage 20's and 30's cartoons, not just encompassing the period in which cartoons were popularized and evolved into the form they are today, these black and white shorts define that period. Each cartoon is in excellent condition, with clean picture and relatively clear sound (although the original audio limitations of these "sound cartoons" constitutes the real audio handicap). While not all of them are in window box format, like Steamboat Willie, they are appropriately croppped to show the maximum picture on your screen. For some people today, this can be annoying, but for purists this is the best and only way to view old movies.
Unfortunately, Disney DVD's are notoriously substandard compared to other studios, and this is no exception. The most annoying quirks are the unavoidable introduction at the beginning (why does anybody think we would want to see this every time we insert the DVD? just give us the main menu please) and the absence of a "play all" option (as if anybody would want to have to manually select each chapter on a movie). In addition, while Leonard Maltin's comments are interesting and informative (including background on Al Jolson's talkie, the Jazz Singer), they can be annoying. More than anything, the comments seem to be a disclaimer to sanatize some of the more questionable scenes (such as Mickey drinking, smoking, chewing tobacco, etc.) that are nowadays inconsistent with Disney's wholesome image. Even worse, the exact same and unavoidable disclaimers repeat before multiple chapters (do we really want to see the exact same thing again?). And of course, as has already been mentioned, the 1928-1935 caption is misleading, as this is only a select few of the cartoons really released from that period.
Three stars for the marvelous content on these discs, but the actual product is lacking. If only a more compotent vintage company like Kino or Image Entertainment had been able to produce this set, it would be a lot more than just an inferior DVD sold by its collectible tin.
Interestingly enough, Maltin makes one comment about how just because some of the shorts contain unrefined, questionable, and even racist humor, they should not be locked away in the vaults. Yet, one has to wonder why else Disney has done just that? After decades of being unavailalbe, the studio makes an inadequate and underproduced supply avaialable, only to seal it up in the vaults again (but as predictable as Disney is, they'll probably re-release it again in 10 years). Of course, i supppose one has to keep in mind that Disney is marketing mostly to these collectors who appreciate the serial-numbered tin but not the actual cartoons. If nothing else, Disney could at leat re-release this set without the tin--that's all that's really availalbe anyway.
Rating: 
Summary: A Little More Information on Mr. Maltin
Review: A couple of notes to "Yarby".
Leonard Maltin is not a self appointed expert. He is the author of "Of Mice and Magic", the authorative book on theatrical American animation.
If you would check another of Maltin's book "TV Movies", he gives "Song of the South" a very high rating. It is BECAUSE of people like Maltin, that the "questionable" material in these collections gets shown at all. There is great presure these days to cut all this material out. (Note recent bows to pressure stopping screenings of Charlie Chan movies on cable and "The Birth of a Nation" at a cinema in Los Angeles.)
Maltin is one of our best American film historians. If you don't like his screen presence, I recommend you to his numerous books. He is a fine writer.
Rating: 
Summary: Would be FOUR STARS without Leonard Maltin
Review: But, of course, you can't but love these cartoons. These were made back when the efforts of the artists weren't constrained by financial considerations. Thus, within the same frame, there are sometimes more than two things going on at once, and often both hilarious. This is what cartoons were meant to be.
The drawback to this set?....the inclusion of the self-appointed movie "expert" Leonard Maltin, spoiling an otherwise perfect DVD set. His PC comments, while usually insipid, are also often insulting....pointing out minor "offensive" points in the cartoons which in actuality are merely a reflection of the time in which they were made. He seems to think he is the only one who understands this perspective, and he has to explain it to what he must conclude is a brain-dead viewer. It is individuals with thinking such as Maltin's that have prevented such classics as "Song of the South" and "Amos and Andy" from being released on DVD, on the presumption that the audience is too stupid to evaluate the place in history of such shows.
I guess one would expect this screwed-up perspective from Maltin, having read some of his comments in his books. He always seems to be reprimanding those responsible for movies of the past, instead of ignoring the obvious (the era from which they come) and praising their value.
The only good part about the Leonard Maltin comments? They can be skipped by using the chapter button on the remote. It's just a pity that one has to use it so often. Some of his comments are even tacked on at the beginning of individual cartoons....this is the most annoying of all, just like flies at a picnic.
Of course, since the producers at Disney consider the Maltin sequences bonuses, you really don't get much but the cartoons...and a lot of this nitwit....on this set.
Five stars for the cartoons.....the transfers are as good as can be expected for cartoons of this age.
However a BIG problem I had was one which I've seems to be a problem on MANY Disney DVD's....a random appearance of closed captioning. Closed captions appear at the beginning of many of the cartoons. After a brief appearance, they go away, until the NEXT cartoon is started.
For the "bonus features".....negative 10...I prefer my "picnic" without the "flies". Obviously, based on many of the negative Maltin reviews on this site, I am not the only one.
Rating:
Summary: Earliest and Best!
Review: I eagerly awaited this DVD set of Mickey Mouse's earliest cartoons, and was thrilled. While not the entire run of the black and white cartoons (it is assumed there will be a Part. 2)
it does include every Mickey Mouse cartoon from Steamboat Willie to the mid 30s. These cartoons show how Mickey evolved in the earliest cartoons to a rattish looking mouse, into the more classic Mickey we know. Cartoons are violent in some cases (Mickey torturing a cat!!! Say it aint so!!) to downright adorable. The DVD extras, including a look at Mickey memorabilia and introductions by Leonard Maltin, as well as a promotional Mickey Mouse cartoon made for Nabisco, make this DVD well worth it.
Rating:
Summary: What is wrong with people???
Review: People will complain about ANYTHING!!! So there is no PLAY ALL feature...that make this disc a 1 star review??? I know it must be so tough for these people to press a few buttons on the remote...can they not afford batteries??...are they so stupid they dont know how to navigate through a DVD???...there is just one word I can use to describe all these negative reviewers...LAZY!!! I trully believe these people look for the bad in everything. This is a great DVD, and I am extremely happy to finally have these shorts in my collection, and so should everyone else.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent reflections in animation history
Review: My family loves this set. Ironically, the kids clamour for it more than the MICKEY IN LIVING COLOR set depsite the B&W and lack of dialogue in many of the cartoons. They LOVE it. Some parents may want to note that there is plenty of un-P.C. content here but that is a great time to open the discussion with your kids. The beef has already been noted that this disc does not have the Play it All feature like the color set has. So if you're getting it for little kids there is no "set it and forget it" option. They'll either have to know how to move around in a menu or you'll be back at the TV every 5 minutes to advance it to the next cartoon. Other than that, this set is a real treasure and not only a great look into animation/Disney history, but also US culture in the 30s and 40s.
Rating:
Summary: Tin or not Tin?
Review: This is an outstanding disk, for pure nostalgia alone. The quality is as good as can be expected, considering the age of some of these features. My only complaint is the case. Mine is a plastic snap case. Do I have some bootlegged version?
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