Search - Walt Disney's It's a Small World of Fun, Vol. 1 on DVD


Walt Disney's It's a Small World of Fun, Vol. 1
Walt Disney's It's a Small World of Fun Vol 1
Actors: Pinto Colvig, Sterling Holloway, Mel Blanc, J. Pat O'Malley, Barbara Jo Allen
Directors: Bill Justice, Charles A. Nichols, Jack Kinney, Wolfgang Reitherman
Genres: Action & Adventure, Westerns, Comedy, Kids & Family, Musicals & Performing Arts, Mystery & Suspense, Animation
NR     2006     0hr 55min

You'll discover that it truly is a small world after all as you travel around the globe with this sensational animated collection. Follow a host of lovable Disney characters as they star in magical adventures from all acro...  more »

     

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Movie Details

Actors: Pinto Colvig, Sterling Holloway, Mel Blanc, J. Pat O'Malley, Barbara Jo Allen
Directors: Bill Justice, Charles A. Nichols, Jack Kinney, Wolfgang Reitherman
Creators: Bill Peet, Dick Kinney, Harry Reeves, Jack Huber, Jesse Marsh, MacDonald MacPherson, Roy Williams
Genres: Action & Adventure, Westerns, Comedy, Kids & Family, Musicals & Performing Arts, Mystery & Suspense, Animation
Sub-Genres: Action & Adventure, Westerns, Animation, Animation, Comedy, Classics, Musicals, Mystery & Suspense, Animation
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Format: DVD - Color
DVD Release Date: 05/16/2006
Original Release Date: 05/10/1946
Theatrical Release Date: 05/10/1946
Release Year: 2006
Run Time: 0hr 55min
Screens: Color
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 0
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Languages: English

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Member Movie Reviews

Teresa R. from WINSTON SALEM, NC
Reviewed on 10/1/2012...
My grandchildren really enjoyed this classic Disney

Movie Reviews

Sweet, classic fun
Julie Neal | Sanibel Island, Fla. | 03/24/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)

"These "It's a Small World" DVDs use classic Disney cartoons to take viewers around the world. They're not geography lessons, but they do make a fun complement to Disney's "The Little Einsteins."

Originally shown in theaters, the cartoons feature bright animation atop gorgeous watercolors. And though they are often filled with sight gags, they're never the least bit cynical. Destinations on this "Volume 1" disk include Argentina, the Netherlands, Australia and Africa:

A boy finds a flying donkey and enters it in a horse race in the charming "The Flying Gauchito," a cartoon the whole family will enjoy. Kids will crack up at the donkey; adults will like how the off-screen narrator controls the action -- and often changes his mind.

All ages will also like the Pluto cartoon "In Dutch." Pluto's expressive face is irresistible when he gets embarrassed, cries and gets a sneaky idea. When Pluto meets a cute girl dog he gets so smitten his face nearly transforms into Goofy's! The plot has a simple arc any child can understand: Pluto and the girl are first treated unfairly by authority figures (they accidentally ring a Netherlands city's emergency bell and get banished from the village) but eventually become the town heroes.

Pluto steals the show in his appearence with Mickey Mouse, "Mickey's Down Under." As Mickey battles an angry ostrich, Pluto tries to catch a boomerang which seems to have a mind of its own. Once it gets stuck in his mouth, Pluto's hilarious facial expressions will tickle a viewer of any age -- even a teenager.

The other cartoons are pretty good, too. Goofy's "African Diary" combines silly animals with even sillier sight gags (the Goof does fire his rifle point blank at a rhino, though miraculously it doesn't get hurt). Grandparents, or perhaps great grandparents, will love sitting in on "A Cowboy Needs a Horse." It's set in a 1950s suburban home that, if you've been to Walt Disney World, combines the retro waiting area of the `50s Prime Time Cafe with the eye-popping color of It's a Small World. And everyone will succumb to the catchy theme song. The plot? A young boy's dream-like vision of what it's like to be a cowboy.

A modern Japanese short, "Grievance of a Starmaker" plays out like an ancient folk tale. When a depressed starmaker (Mr. Hoshi) takes his stars out of the sky -- because pollution has ruined their beauty -- a young boy (Yasu) volunteers to clean them. As a reward, the boy gets "a future as bright as the stars." The cartoon was originally produced in Japanese but you'd never know it: the only voice comes from an off-screen (and now, American) narrator. Produced by Walt Disney Television Animation in 1992, the film's rich compositions are some of the best things that outfit has done.

The set has one weak link. A tiny elephant lives in constant danger of being killed in the scary, if slow-paced, "Goliath II," a cartoon in which the characters look lazily similar to those in earlier feature films. The crocodile is identical to the one in "Peter Pan."

Disney collectors often dismiss these DVDs because the cartoons often contain dust marks and other signs of age -- frustrating since the company cleaned up the shorts for the earlier "Walt Disney Treasures" series. But frankly that shouldn't discourage you. To a preschooler -- or anyone watching on a backseat DVD player -- it won't matter.

Also check out Walt Disney's It's a Small World of Fun, Vol. 3."
Great if you don't collect the Disney Treasures tins!
Monty Moonlight | TX | 03/09/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)

"Personally, I do collect the Disney Treasures tins, so for me there were only two shorts of interest in this DVD collection of 7 Disney animated shorts, but I decided one of those was reason enough to make the purchase. And with that in mind, I was slightly disappointed. But more on that later.

As previously stated, this first volume of Disney's 4 volume (so far) "It's a Small World of Fun" line is a collection of seven short Disney cartoons. Six of these cartoons are theatrically released classics. The seventh is a first-see for Americans, "Grievance of a Starmaker" from 2002, and was the result of a Japanese story-writing contest. The winner's story was made into a Disney animated short, and this DVD is the first and only way for Americans to currently see the short. Now, the idea behind the title of this DVD line and how the shorts were selected for it is that each short represents a different part of the world. Naturally, the line title is taken from that very popular Disney theme park ride/song, "It's a Small World (After All)". Unfortunately, the song is not featured anywhere on the disc, not even on the menu, which would have been nice.

Here is the line-up:

1. "The Flying Gauchito" (South America): This short was originally part of the 1944 feature "The Three Caballeros", but was released as a solo short the next year. It is the story of a little boy who captures a winged, flying Donkey and tries to use him to win a horse race and get rich. A very enjoyable short, but the major flaw of this collection because the print used looks like something you'd find on a $1.00 DVD of a public domain cartoon. The picture is shaky and loaded with artifacts. You're better off getting this one in the context of Three Caballeros, which is a wonderful film anyway. Luckily, the rest of the shorts on this disc are of excellent quality.

2. "In Dutch" (Holland): This 1946 Pluto cartoon presents his romance with Dina the Dachshund as a setup for trouble. Pluto's mistake of an accidental false alarm causes their village to simply not pay attention to him later when the nearby dyke really springs a leak and only he and Dina know!

3. "Goliath II" (India): All Jungle Book fanatics like myself should enjoy this 1960 treat about a tiny little elephant who is a pain to his herd until the day comes when he is the only one who can save it. Sterling Holloway provides his always charming narration.

4. "Mickey Down Under" (Australia): From 1948, this classic Mickey cartoon features Pluto's problems with Mickey's boomerang and Mickey's troubles with an angry mother ostrich.

5. "African Diary" (Africa): Goofy heads out on safari accompanied by narration until a run-in with a rhino sends him packing! Hilarious Goofy antics from 1945.

6. "A Cowboy Needs a Horse" (U.S.A.): Brimming with 50's nostalgia, this musical treat is a boy's fantasy of being a cowboy and done in some delightfully stylized animation from 1956. A longtime favorite of mine.

7. "Grievance of a Starmaker" (Japan): From 2002, this short tells the tale of a little boy who wonders where all the stars have gone. He sets out to find the old starmaker, and when he does, he befriends him. It seems the starmaker is upset that pollution has dirtied his stars and no one seems to care, but through hard work, the little boy cleans all the stars and earns them back for the world. It's a cute little story, but feels rather rushed and while some like the animation style used, it looked rather like simple Flash animation to me (or one of those home computer styles, I'm really not an expert on them) and not really all that charming. Not terrible though.

So, there you have it. If you don't have these shorts, this is definitely worth owning. Not that I would pay too much, as it's only around 55 minutes and has no bonus features. Incidentally, I do like the colorful cover art, but a funny side note is that pictured on the back as a scene from "The Flying Gauchito" is actually a scene from a totally different cartoon not even on this set, "Pedro" (the little airplane) from Saludos Amigos, ha (Pedro's short is actually on It's a Small World of Fun volume 2). As for my personal issues, like I said, I already had many of these but bought it for two: The Flying Gauchito and Grievance of a Starmaker. Truth is, since I own The Three Caballeros, I didn't care much about getting the short version of Fying Gauchito but saw it as a bonus. I mainly bought this for Grievance. But that doesn't excuse the awful quality in which Gauchito was presented, for which I'll be docking this disc one star. But I was more disappointed in Grievance due to both how rushed and how short it was (4 minutes and 4 seconds, I believe) and how cheap the animation appeared. Stylized is one thing, but to me this just looked cheap. Nevertheless, I do not regret buying this DVD. As a Disney completist, I had to get Grievance for my collection, and I certainly don't mind having backups/quicker access to the other shorts on here than fumbling through my Treasures sets. So, if you don't own these shorts, this is worth getting, but if you have all the Treasures collections and Three Caballeros, you'll have to decide for yourself if you are a completist or not and NEED "Grievance of a Starmaker"."
Walt Disney's It's a Small World of Fun, Vol. 1
C. G. Page Jr. | 04/07/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"the old cartoons--brought back great memories--better than advertised on amazon"