The Best Of The Mickey Mouse Club

 

Picture: C     Sound: C+     Extras: D     Episodes: B-

 

 

A classic is a classic and the original Mickey Mouse Club that began in the 1950s was an unqualified commercial and critical hit, especially with kids.  It was the show that first weaved narrative sub-segments (like The Hardy Boys, featured here) inside a children’s entertainment series.  It also offered one of the first all-child casts for a TV show that made them stars in their own right.  Of course, Annette Funicello went on to great success decades after, before the nightmare illness of multiple sclerosis got the better of her.  The five shows selected for this single basic DVD are:

 

Fun With Music Day (9/30/57)

Talent Roundup Day (10/25/57)

Guest Star Day (8/28/62)

Circus Day (10/11/62)

Anything Can Happen Day (11/12/64)

 

 

There is more dancing and tap dancing that I remembered, but growing up, I was lucky to have these shows broadcast daily in reruns.  I do not think this represents the best five shows, but there is a larger volume on DVD of them for fans and this makes for a good sampler.  It reminds us of the heyday of the classical peak of the magic kingdom and is quality entertainment that Disney’s own revivals cannot match.

 

The 1.33 X 1 filmed image includes some monochrome animation, though the darker end of the gray scale seems a tad darker than it should be, while the live-action footage has a strange, slight digititis to it that may be a distraction to some.  That is especially if you watch this on a larger monitor or projection screen.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono fares better, sounding good considering the age of the shows and TV’s low audio standards in the 1950s.  There are no extras, except previews on before the show that can be skipped.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo