The Animated Views MIA: DVD Thread

[ShyViolet]

I'd really like to see the Japanese Little Mermaid out on DVD, but I think Disney might see that as "competiton" or something....especially since it ends very differntly.

[craigpmiller]

quoted From - http://www.beatlefans.com/cartoons.htm

The show was produced by King Features Productions. The voices of the Beatles cartoon characters were supplied by voice actors Lance Percival (Paul and Ringo), and Paul Frees (John and George). Animation was done overseas at TVC of London and Astransa, an Australian company. TVC is also the company that produced the animated movie "Yellow Submarine". The scripts were relatively easy to develop, as the episodes were based on popular Beatles songs.

The animation was quited limited but I remember them to be better than "The Monkeys" but I could do with seeing those shows again too.

[Specter]

The Smurfs And The Magic Flute (1976) - before Hanna-Barbera’s popular television series brought them to the world’s attention, the odd little blue folk were huge around the globe and were the stars of this very rarely seen full-length feature. Although an English-language soundtrack exists, the film has never been issued on home video.

I know for a FACT that I've seen this on home video. I rented it at least a couple of times when I was very young. I remember it specifically and was very recently wondering what it was called and what happened to it. In it, the Smurfs create a magic flute for a boy using wood from a tree branch, if I remember correctly. But either way, it's been released to home video at least once.

The Last Unicorn (1982) - Rankin/Bass’ animated take on Peter S Beagle’s mythical epic fared badly on Artisan’s DVD release, with no extras and an unrestored cropped pan-and-scan print. Bad, bad, bad! In Germany, Concorde Home Video’s DVD features a remastered anamorphic widescreen, 5.1 English sound, with trailers and frame gallery. This edition is rumored to be making its US debut early in 2007!

The cover art is available for the re-release, due out February 6, 2007. I've found it on multiple websites. It shouldn't be too hard to locate.

The ones that I'm looking for, aside from The Smurfs and the Magic Flute, are Jetsons the Movie, and Disney's The Fluppy Dogs. And also Freakazoid!

[Ben]

Thanks!

I'll get around to updating the list and these facts in a couple of days!

I actually have a bunch of those Beatles cartoons, but as MPEG-1s and very poor quality at that. I'd love a proper issue of those too. There was a rumor a couple of years ago, but I guess Mr McCartney has to get divorced first...!

[ShyViolet]

Mickey and the Beanstalk (AKA "Fun and Fancy Free")

I consider this MIA because the only version I have of it is on Mickey Mouse: In Living Color Volume 2, with that what's his name TV host guy and his two puppets interrupting every five seconds! It's barely there at all.

I know it has been released before with Donald Duck's Uncle (dah...forgot his name too! ) narrating it but I don't think it's available now. EDIT: Was it Ludwig Von Drake?

Plus, I don't even want that one, I want the Sterling-Holloway narrated one I had when I was a kid! Is this too much to ask??

I'd also love for there to be some extra features like original artwork, trivia, interviews, discussions of Walt's Mickey compared to other Mickeys, etc....


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BTW I think my favorite part (or one of many) is when Goofy is on the jello-trampoline trying to eat those giant peas!

And of course the harp singing: "My, what a happy day." *sighs*

EDIT: Wait, as to artwork, here's one thing I found over at "Gremlin Fine Arts Gallery":

[Daniel]

I know it has been released before with Donald Duck's Uncle (dah...forgot his name too! ) narrating it but I don't think it's available now. EDIT: Was it Ludwig Von Drake?

Oh, yeah! It was Von Drake! But, he's not Donalds uncle, that's Scrooge

And isn't that version on the Walt Disney Treasure? I know I've seen it somewhere, I just can't rememeber right now!

[Ben]

Doesn't count.

Mickey And The Beanstalk is NOT "AKA" Fun And Fancy Free. It was part of that feature entirely. It was LATER edited as a SOUNDTRACK ALBUM with Sterling Holloway and then as half of a segment on fairy stories for the Ludwig Von Drake hosted episode of The Wonderful World Of Color in 1963.

The <I>original</I>, as intended version, is out already:

http://animated-views.com/2002/fun-and- ... ollection/

You really gotta stop banging the same drums, Vi!

[ShyViolet]

Oh yeah, I know about the bear cartoon....I just meant, that's what MATB usually gets lumped under. FAFF that is.

I know MATB was a separate film and played in theaters....but I always wonder if it was just another feature film like Cinderella, Peter Pan etc...why hasn't it gotten more exposure?

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Oops! I didn't know it was released separately on DVD, w/out the narration.

So...does that mean Sterling's narration is lost forever? I'd still say that's MIA....

Oh, yeah! It was Von Drake! But, he's not Donalds uncle, that's Scrooge

Actually, I think they're both his uncle. I think there's a "family tree" of Donald's family out there somewhere--seriously. It was in some book, I think.

And isn't that version on the Walt Disney Treasure? I

It is, that's what I have--Mickey Mouse In Living Color 2. But like Ben said it's not in its intended version (NO narration) but is narrated and hosted by this old TV host guy and his two puppets.

When it was on Wonderful World of Color it got the Ludwig Von Drake treatment and then later the Sterling treatment--I think.

Hope I had it right THIS time.

[Daniel]

Oh yeah, I know about the bear cartoon....I just meant, that's what MATB usually gets lumped under. FAFF that is.

Oh, I love that cartoon!

Actually, I think they're both his uncle. I think there's a "family tree" of Donald's family out there somewhere--seriously. It was in some book, I think.

Seriously? Haha, I don't know I'm just going by the cartoons, and to my recolition, he never refered to him as 'uncle'.

It is, that's what I have--Mickey Mouse In Living Color 2. But like Ben said it's not in its intended version (NO narration) but is narrated and hosted by this old TV host guy and his two puppets.

When it was on Wonderful World of Color it got the Ludwig Von Drake treatment and then later the Sterling treatment--I think.

Oh, I see.

I like the puppets a little. They were kinda funny.

But, I much prefer Ludwig

[droosan]

Check out our LaserDisc Archives articles in the Toon Review section for a look at several titles that didn't make it to DVD in their original ratios - or at all!

Hey, that's pretty cool that you have some dedicated Laserdisc reviews. Most internet sites which used to cover LD's have either folded, or moved on to DVD while seemingly pretending LD never existed.

I still have over 400 Laserdiscs .. most of them animation & anime titles! I spent over 15 years assembling that collection, and my players still work fine .. so I never saw a need to get rid of 'em. Actually, I still buy an occasional disc from eBay; they're really cheap, now!

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I've just read the reviews on the Art of Tom & Jerry LD sets .. which are indeed marvelous! But while they represent an exhaustive collection of their M-G-M short cartoons, there are some MIA's: The 14 theatrical Tom & Jerry cartoons made by Gene Deitch in the early 1960's, between the Hanna/Barbera and Chuck Jones years.

Sure, they're kitschy and surreal, with cheap animation and kooky sound effects .. but the 'completist' in me would sure like to have them, anyway.

Of course, there are many T&J cartoons from the H/B and Jones years which are still "MIA on DVD", as well .. but that's not a problem when you already have them all on Laserdisc!

[droosan]

On the subject of Hanna-Barbera .. I'd love to have a nice copy of Hey There, It's Yogi Bear.

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I did manage to grab a DVD of the Flintstones' feature film, The Man Called Flintstone, which Warner Bros released, and then quickly pulled off the market. It seems there were 'music rights' issues, which stem from the fact that TMCF was a Columbia Studios release, and thus had used some music from their ColGems record label, whose rights are not properly 'cleared' for home video/broadcast. Unfortunately, this also means that TMCF cannot be seen on television, either, until that issue is cleared up.

I'm not sure if the same problem exists for Hey There, It's Yogi Bear .. but it's quite probably the case.

[Ben]

I still treasure my Hey There, It's Yogi Bear VHS...would love some kind of disc verison of that!

And thanks for enjoying the LD Archives...yep, big LD fan still here too! And I did mention the Deitch shorts in either Part 2 or Part 3 of that feature and said the same thing as you - the completist wants them, but their ommision is no great shakes.

The Man Called Flintstone is readily available on Amazon's Canada site...it's where I got mine from and they have plenty in stock. Seems the music rights don't affect that region...?

On Mickey And The Beanstalk...Violet...you're not listening...!

Fun And Fancy Free IS THE ORIGINAL INTENDED VERSION of Mickey And The Beanstalk and Bongo. Both films were created with Edgar Bergen - who was a big RADIO STAR - fully intended to be inserted in those parts.

Got it? The Bergen/Fancy Free version of M&TB is CORRECT, and out on DVD in its original F&FF edition AND as the sequence on the Treasures tins. THESE ARE THE CORRECT WALT-APPROVED VERSIONS of this story.

Later, a SOUNDTRACK ALBUM was released featuring the story voiced by Sterling Holloway. This was NEVER issued as a stand-alone short film version, as the Bergen inserts could not easily be removed. Holloway also recorded versions of other Disney sequences like this. I still have The Sorcerer's Apprentice from the same album. This was a SOUNDTRACK ONLY.

THEN...in 1963...they got around removing the Bergen inserts by animating Ludwig Von Drake for an episode of the TV show. The special mixes the old 1940s and 50s style with the rougher 60s Xerox look and it doesn't look too pretty, but the inserts work. They basically replace the Bergen parts, with Von Drake interupting just as much as Bergen did in the ORIGINAL.

Later, that one-hour special, which featured other Disney shorts as well, was further cut and released in a "video featurette" version to home video. This version NEVER EXISTED as a theatrical short because the titles were added by video. Although it's kind of nice to have this version, it's even more of a mixture of 1940s animation, 1960s inserts and 1980s graphics!

This version is NOT on DVD, though would have been a nice subsititute for the Treasures tin given that most people would have bought the ORIGINAL F&FF edition.

Got it?

F&FF = original M&TB, Walt-produced, Bergen-narrated, version.
HOLLOWAY = soundtrack album featuring other Disney stories.
WWOD = episode of Wonderful World with Von Drake replacing the Bergen inserts, right down the the shot at the end of Willie holding up the roof coming from the live-action insert from the original F&FF.
F&FF video featurette = cut down, 1980s packaged stand-alone video version.

M&TB was NEVER a separate film and it NEVER played in theaters as a stand-alone short. Only on home video, hence why it hasn't gotten "more exposure". It's not an official Disney release. Fun And Fancy Free...IS.

Hope that helps...I just didn't want my original words mixed up as much as you were doing above!

[ShyViolet]

....


Boy, did I have it wrong. I didn't realize how complicated this was...!


Thanks Ben.

This was a SOUNDTRACK ONLY.

Well, maybe the Holloway one was originally meant as a soundtrack, but I KNOW I saw MATB on TV with Holloway's voice, since we had that on tape for a long time. I think this was the 80's edited remix version you were talking about....? The ending was completely cut off, as soon as Willy the Giant falls, there's this weird break with a pop song or something....?

It's still the one I like best, however.

Phew! Talking about this is interesting but kind of exhausting.

[Ben]

Nope, unless you had Ludwig Von Drake in it, it wasn't the 1980s video version.

Sounds to me that they took the Holloway recording and did some bodged editing to make the images fit the recording. From memory, that Holloway version lasted about 10-12 minutes, which means that they'd cut more than half of the featurette out!

I'm betting, since you said it went to another song, that this was just inserted into a compilation show of some kind. Sounds interesting, but this wouldn't have been any kind of "official" edition and unlikely to come around again since Disney have started issuing films in their close-to-original intentions.

I actually find the original 1947 Bergen version very appealing!

[Whippet Angel]

"The Mouse and His Child"

An obscure film based on an equally obscure book by Russell Hoban. I have a (near dying) VHS that my mom recorded off the Disney channel when I was about 6 or so. I'd love to have this on DVD.