Rating: 
Summary: Good Movie.
Review: This is a really good movie. Especially for little kids.... but hey, we're all little kids at heart, except for scrooge, but it's still a good movie. Both versions, new and old.
Rating:
Summary: A Magnificent Effort for Disney DVD
Review: This is what DisneyDVD should be!Not only is this classic live-action Disney film beautifully restored and brought to DVD format, the "Vault Disney Collection" format has created a modern masterpiece, combining 21st Century technology with timeless Disney storytelling. In particular, Disc Two is worth the full price of admission for this set. "Adventure in the Making" describes the making of the film, featuring interviews with Ken Annakin, Tommy Kirk, James MacArthur, Sir John Mills and more. "Lost Treasures - Swiss Family Treehouse" is narrated by Hayley Mills, and takes us on a 1962 tour with Walt Disney and Hayley's entire family of this newest Disneyland attraction. Included are Production Archives for the film, and the "1960 Disney Studio Album" (video scrapbook) combine for an unforgettable DVD experience. Congratulations to those responsible for creating the "Vault Disney Collection" DVDs. Walt would be proud!
Rating:
Summary: Saving Pirate Ryan
Review: This film's culmination features a pitched frontal battle wherein sterotypically costumed, "evil" Asian pirates assault the Robinson family's formidable island stronghold in a protracted skirmish. In scenes prototypical of Saving Private Ryan, we watch sea-borne shock troops succumb to every imaginable form of mechanical defense -- collapsible bridges, hidden pits (containing carnivorous animals) and land-mine-equivalent weapons. Undaunted by this face-on carnage, the pirates advance relentlessly toward the family's command post... only to encounter bombs, grenades, withering musket fire and a horrible phalanx of logs loosed to roll down the hill and crush the invaders. The violent implications were staggering, as was the tenacity of the aggressors -- contrasted marvelously by the blithe good spirits (and, incidentally, the fine cosmetic appearances) of the defenders. All of the invaders were either killed or driven back to their vessel (to be killed then by cannonfire), and all of the defenders survived unscratched. It just doesn't get much more Disney than this.
Rating: 
Summary: and what about the animals ?
Review: Yes, I do agree, this is a HIGHLY enjoyable movie, and yes, the commentary track by , among others, the elusive Tommy Kirk is a great pleasure(a note to the man who asked where he had been all those years : Tommy was fired by nice uncle Walt when it was discovered that Tommy was(and is) gay...thereby of course being worse than a murderer or convicted crook in the eyes of hypocrytical family loving middle america....and he went into a decline of bad movies booze and drugs, but emerged from all that and is now quite a gay icon among certain circles....good to hear him in good cheer and forgiving for all that he had to endure)..BUT...what really ticks me OFF about this movie and makes me rate it only 3 stars is the blatant Cruelty to the animals..something that appears to have been widespread in those years and especially in uncle Walt's happy family company.
A pig should NOT float mr. Annakin, and NO it is NOT funny to see the poor animal in agony, neither do I believe that it is healthy to have dogs fight with a TIGER !!! animals do NOT act, they are always themselves and violence is violence...scripted or not!! The zebra in the pit with the Hyena's is probably the most stomach turning piece of cruelty that happy bunch of macho men of the Disney crew perpetuated in the higher goal of a perfect movie(the script girls and his wife were a bit upset says Annakin in the commentary...but whoop-de-doo weren't they cry babies....aaah women!!)...so NO, I can't watch animals being FUNNY, because they are NOT...they are just suffering and waiting for the day they can be released from that living hell called fim making they had to endure take after take....just a little electric shock for the zebra laughs Annakin, why he had it administered to himself and it was HARMLESS....mmmm...pity they didn't turn up the voltage that time Ken !!
Rating: 
Summary: Idealistic Island Adventure
Review: "The Swiss Family Robinson" probably bears little relation to the novel by Johann Wyss, but Walt Disney's intention was to create an escapist fantasy for the family audience, not to faithfully recreate the novel evidently. A New Guinea-bound family is shipwrecked by pirates and manages to transport the booty from the partially-submerged ship to an island where they create their own paradise replete with Kon Tiki-style treehouse. It's innocuous and pleasant enough with some wonderful cinematography (especially in the dramatic opening of the shipwreck and then the journey on raft by the Robinson family to exotic shores -- really, the island of Tobago in the West Indies) and yet I felt their situation could have been given a tad more authenticity. Instead, they cavort carelessly on an island abounding with an improbable array of wild animals (including a tiger and speckled anaconda) and encounters become like mini-"thrill rides" that pop up and quickly end. For instance, no less than six hyenas surrounding a mud-submerged zebra are chased away with stones by our heroes as if they were dogs and then the scene is magically free of threat. Still, there is action and the action keeps things moving.
Although I can certainly appreciate the "deserted island" fantasy here, I was nonetheless not entirely enchanted. Jane Wyman is predictably the reserved mother, tsking her adventurous boys (including father John Mills); Kevin Corcoran tries patience as the boisterous kid Frances (although I found his curiosity realistic enough) with his calculated cuteness. Still, it's a high quality production and kind of fun in spite of the two-dimensional characters, so I rate it highly. I love the song "My Heart is an Island" sung here by Jane Wyman and hearing it was a highlight. Disney made a lot of masterpieces like "Mary Poppins," not to mention so many of his animated films, and I'd say this is good, but not quite in that league of great.
As for the extras: usually I don't like extras, particularly when cast members or directors talk over the film, but I must say the extras here were terrific. They include enjoyable, interesting commentary; a cartoon short; a mini sequence about Disney pirates; an entertaining film about the making of "Swiss Family Robinson"; and a short about the opening of Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse in Disneyland narrated by Hayley Mills. It rekindled many good memories in me of what a treat "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" had been, and I hope they could rerun the original show sometime season by season.
Rating:
Summary: ALL AGES
Review: Don't bother wasting your time or money on this movie. I don't care about the quality of the cinematography, the quality of the story is what is lacking. From the elmination of Jack, one of the Robinson children, to the blatant disregard for absolutely any speck of information from the book, this film will make you cringe in horror. Rather, go get the original book, and curl up with your family and read. It's a better use of your time than watching this garbage. It doesn't deserve the one star I was forced to give it.
Rating:
Summary: A great adventure film
Review: I saw this movie about every other week growing up, and I still think it is the best of a slew of great Disney films from the 70's. I think anyone can appreciate this movie. It has a moral sensibility you dont find in movies these days and the pace and flow are very distinct as well. Disney flicks from this era are period pieces of a sort and they don't deliver the bang of a modern film. Even so, they resonate somehow and I heartily reccomend this one and others like Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, Hot Lead and Cold Feet, Bullwhip Griffin and a host of other Disney fare from that era. With all the new tools available to Hollywood today you can lose the ability to enjoy films like this, so buy some and pop them in the DVD player on a rainy afternoon.
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