Walt Disney Treasures Mickey Mouse In Living Colour Volume 2 1939-1995 (2005)

Disney's most recognizable animated character is again the subject of his own 2-disc Limited Edition Walt Disney Treasures tin. This makes the third time, with previous Treasures releases already exploring Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts of color and black & white varieties. Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Volume Two picks up where the first color volume left off.

The earliest material here is from 1939, a time when Disney had already found success in feature films with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. With Pinocchio and other feature films already in progress and characters like Donald and Goofy growing in popularity, Disney was making fewer cartoon shorts starring the adventuresome mouse.

Nonetheless, Mickey Mouse remained one of the staples of the Walt Disney studio. This first disc of this set contains 18 animated shorts spanning through 1953, as well as segments from two feature film appearances.

Like all Walt Disney Treasures, this set is presented in a double Alpha keepcase and housed in a silver tin. Inside, you'll find a certificate of authenticity, with the number of your indivdiual copy; just 175,000 of Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Volume 2 sets were produced. An 8-page booklet contains some basic info on Walt Disney common to all Treasures, a list of contents, information on the set by Leonard Maltin, and a pastel sketch from "Symphony Hour." In addition, there is a collectible card which is a color reproduction of the poster art from Fantasia's original release.

Disc one:

1939
Society Dog Show
The Pointer

1940
Tugboat Mickey
Pluto's Dream House
Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip

1941
The Little Whirlwind
The Nifty Nineties
Orphans' Benefit (1941)

1942
Mickey's Birthday Party
Symphony Hour

1947
Mickey's Delayed Date

1948
Mickey Down Under
Mickey and the Seal

1951
Plutopia
R'Coon Dawg

1952
Pluto's Party
Pluto's Christmas Tree

1953
The Simple Things

Bonus Features Disc 1:

The Sorcerer's Apprentice:This segment features not only the full cartoon from Fantasia (however, the closing segment of Mickey shaking hands with conductor Leopold Stokowski is cut here), but also a deleted scene which showed (in pencil tests) an alternate sequence of Mickey attacking the broom with an axe (whereas in the finished product, viewers only see the shadows of the both of them, originally Mickey and the broom were supposed to be seen wholly).

Mickey and the Beanstalk: The entire sequence from Fun and Fancy Free, complete with the intertwined live action footage of Edgar Bergen, Luana Patten and Bergen's two ventriloquist dummies, Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd.

Walt Disney's Standard Parade For 1939: Easter egg bonus about a promotion made specifically for Standard Oil dealers. First, it starts with a whirlwind history of Disney's breakthroughs in animation with Steamboat Willie, Flowers and Trees, The Three Little Pigs and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, as well as show off a host of honors bestowed upon Disney. Then it is followed by a brief short scene in which many of Disney's characters up until 1939 parade by holding signs displaying advertising opportunities. This scene is similar in animation to Disney's 1932 Academy Awards parade, which was shown as a bonus feature on the "Mickey In Color, Volume One" set.

Walt Disney Performing the Voice of Mickey: Another Easter egg bonus feature, this black and white clip begins with Billy Bletcher, the voice of Black Pete, performing a couple of lines repeatedly. Then it shows Walt himself reading as Mickey Mouse with Bletcher. The dialogue is for the short "Mr. Mouse Takes a Trip".

Disc two:

1983
Mickey's Christmas Carol

1990
The Prince and the Pauper

1995
Runaway Brain

Bonus Features Disc 2:

Mickey's Cartoon Comeback: Maltin goes into Disney's Animation Research Library and interview animators Mark Henn and Andreas Deja and they reveal their first exposures to animation and Mickey, too. Modern animators are compared with the animators of the early Mickey Mouse shorts, trendsetters to whom there was no opportunity to study animation.

The Voice Behind the Mouse: Maltin meets up with the current voices of Mickey and Minnie, Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor. They talk about the characteristics of Mickey and Minnie that they see in themselves. They compare how Mickey's voice changed over the years, even within Walt Disney's run of doing the voice. Allwine and Taylor consider how Walt would probably embrace new technologies of today. Allwine does most of the talking, sharing anecdotes and touching on a wide array of other subjects related to Disney animation. Taylor, his real-life wife, recalls how she prepared for her Minnie audition.

Mouse Mania: A stop-motion segment that aired as part of a primetime TV special for Mickey's 50th Anniversary in 1978. Mike Jittlov, who had established himself in stop-motion, made this short, set inside a psychiatrist's office. It's extremely weird in a good way. Mickey figures and an assortment of other Disneyana, bell-bottomed men, and fast-tempoed electronic music (it's Baroque Hoedown, the same music used in the Main Street Electrical Parade at the Disney parks) are all rapidly blended in a nearly incoherent fashion.

Mickey's Cartoon Physics: This segment is from a 1956 episode of the Walt Disney anthology series known as The Plausible Impossible (which can be viewed in its entirety on the "Behind the Scenes" set from Wave 2). Herein, Walt discusses how impossible action can seem real in animation if there is some factual basis. We see why it makes sense for a cow's bell to ring when you pull its tail, how Mickey stretches and squishes when going up in an elevator, and a couple of other demonstrations from cartoons.

Tricks of Our Trade: Another segment from another anthology series episode: a 1957 episode entitled Tricks of Our Trade. Walt discusses three-dimensionality in cel animation, using the multi-plane camera. Like The Plausible Impossible, this episode can be viewed in its entirety on "Behind the Scenes".

Mickey Meets the Maestro: A behind-the-scenes featurette on the meeting of Mickey and conductor James Levine in Fantasia 2000.

Color Titles from Mickey Mouse Club: The original opening sequence of The Mickey Mouse Club is shown in color. There are five different 25-second openings; one for each day of the week, each with a different theme. Also, contrary to popular belief, Walt did not stop voicing Mickey after Fun and Fancy Free; The Mickey Mouse Club was that last time, instead.

The Making of Mickey's Christmas Carol: A thorough and informative featurette from the 1980s. It satisfactorily covers the filmmakers' approach to the material, such as how they assigned Disney's cartoon stars to Dickens' characters, and how they assigned animators to characters. Producer/director Burny Mattinson, animators Glen Keane and David Block, and some of the voice talent are interviewed. Also shown is a bit of a history of Mickey and Donald.

Publicity and Memorabilia Gallery: This gallery shows posters and advertisements on the Mickey shorts on this set.

Story and Background Gallery: Sketches from some of Mickey's shorts are depicted, as are comments on costumes, supporting characters, and how Mickey's changed over the years.