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Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Black and White

As Leonard Maltin points out in one of his comments on "Mickey Mouse in Black and White," some people in this day and age will be surprised to see everyone's favorite mouse chewing tobacco, drinking ale, and smoking! He even wears black face in one of the many cartoon shorts that have been included on this two-disc set! Today, of course, no one would think of doing such a thing, but you have to remember that back in those days, these things were socially acceptable. ***

Of course, there's nothing like sitting down and watching the roots of the animation legend in his finest form, and with all of the shorts from the 1920's and 30's, this is how to do it. Mickey's first cartoon venture, "Steamboat Willie," was the first cartoon ever to marry picture and sound together, and brought him into the spotlight. What's even more interesting is how Maltin points out in his introduction that Mickey himself was not that funny, and in watching how Disney and his animators worked to surround the mouse with a slew of supporting characters and animate objects singing and dancing to the music, you realize he's right. Mickey's more of a charmer than a joker, but that doesn't make him any less entertaining. ***

These are some of the earliest concepts of animation in history, and they still work wonders in this day and age. The opening scene of "The Fire Fighters" is gleeful and brimming with comedic potential, as is "The Klondike Kid," which opens with a vast array of dancers in a pub. The animation, by today's standards, may be old school, but those looking for a nostalgic trip back in time will fall in love with the simple concepts and hard work.

Surprisingly, only one featurette has been included here, along with several introductions and inserts by Leonard Maltin that pop up unannounced when watching the cartoons. "Frank and Ollie... and Mickey," located on Disc One, is an interview with two of Walt Disney's earliest animators, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnson, who recall in their own words their first experiences with Walt as well as with Mickey Mouse himself. The interview runs for about twenty minutes, and the conversation is always engaging. ***

Also on Disc One are two original story scripts presented in the form of a photo gallery. We get a look at the actual pages for the scripts to "Steamboat Willie" and "Mickey Steps Out," and they provide a testament to the ways in which Disney planned things out very carefully before going ahead with production. If this weren't enough, there are also sketch sequences for a handful of the cartoons, presented in slide-show format and cut to music from the cartoons. ***

Disc Two is pretty much cartoon-oriented material, including an early pencil test for the cartoon "The Mail Pilot," more story sketches, and a poster gallery which features audio snippets detailing some of the various designs and advertisements.