Walt Disney Home Video presents

Classic Cartoon Favorites: Extreme Sports Fun (1935-48)

"Don't be a spineless, weak-kneed, no-good nincompoop! Be a man!" - A workout brochure, imploring Goofy to get pumped up

Stars: Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Pluto
MPAA Rating: Not RatedRun Time: 01h:00m:17s
Release Date: 2005-05-31
Genre: animation

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
B+	B+	B	B	D

 

DVD Review

It's time to lace ‘em up with Mickey and the gang, in this octet of classic shorts from the 1930s and 1940s. These are vintageDisney pieces from the studio's animation department at its zenith—the earliest titles here antedate Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , and these are the years of some of Disney's best loved animated features, like Pinocchio and Dumbo. They were fun to begin with, and since, unlike Looney Tunes, they haven't been played ad infinitum on TV for generations, they're likely to be fresh for everybody in the family. So batter up:

First up, Mickey is on the links with Pluto on the bag as his Canine Caddy; Mickey does battle with the sand traps, Pluto with a wily chipmunk who gives him fits. Then, in a mock educational film, Goofy teaches us How To Play Baseball, by playing all nine positions for both teams. The NHL lockout got you down? Then check out Donald Duck as The Hockey Champ, when he shows off his skills by going three-on-one versus Huey, Dewey and Louie.

Goofy next takes to the hardwood, as all starting five for both sides, as well as the coaches, the ref, and the crowd, doing his best not to Double Dribble. Then he's playing both ways for both Taxidermy Tech and Anthropology A & M while teaching us How to Play Football. Mickey's Polo Team features a roster of Disney all-stars on horseback, taking on some of Hollywood's brightest lights—this is great fun for fans of old movies, for it's a chance to see animated Disney versions of Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, W.C. Fields, Harold Lloyd, and best of all Harpo Marx, who does battle with Donald Duck.

And it's Goofy front and center for the final two entries, too—first, he's blond and playing both sides of the net, tuning up for the Open and trying not to make a Tennis Racquet; finally, with Pilates not having been invented yet, the plan is for old-style dumbbells to buff him out with Goofy Gymnastics.

As those brief encapsulations make clear, the leading man here is Goofy, cloned and cloned again to pad out the roster. There's room for him and his pals on the end of my bench any time—they sure couldn't do worse than some of the guys on my Rotisserie league team this season, anyway. 

Rating for Style: B+
Rating for Substance: B+

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: Some of the shorts show their age—The Hockey Champ is especially blotchy, and Mickey's Polo Teamis awfully faded—but the transfer to DVD is certainly an adequate one.

Image Transfer Grade: B
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English, French	yes

Audio Transfer Review: If you think Donald Duck has diction problems in English, check him out in French. None of these are heavy on the dialogue, so the occasional bit of static won't interfere much.

Audio Transfer Grade: B 

Disc Extras

Animated menu with music
Scene Access with 8 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English with remote access
7 Other Trailer(s) featuring Cinderella, Tarzan II, Lilo & Stitch 2, Kronk's New Groove, Disney Words: Shapes and Sizes, Pocahontas, Disney Princess Collection
Packaging: Amaray
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extras Review: Just a lot of trailers for recent Disney titles, so we parents can continue signing over our paychecks to the mouse.

Extras Grade: D
 

Final Comments

The title of the DVD might lead you to think you were going into X Games territory, but fear not: our favorite pals from the Magic Kingdom are having a fine old time with some of our favorite games to watch and play. And, given the performance of the Mets bullpen this season, Goofy could be just one good AAA outing away from going to the show.

Jon Danziger 2005-06-15