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Walt Disney Treasures: The Mickey Mouse Club Presents Annette
R1 - America - Buena Vista Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Jeremiah Chin (12th January 2009). |
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The Show
 More than 85 years after it’s creation, The Walt Disney empire is easily taken for granted as it’s reach of production and range of products is fairly astonishing; extending from children’s animation into more adult-oriented films and television. Disney’s media impact manages to cross multiple generations, with different images and messages though each is fairly easily recognizable as Disney, especially the signature “The Mickey Mouse Club” (1955-1959) with the distinctive hats and famous alumni. Though it would change images and formats between generations, the earliest inception of “The Mickey Mouse Club” featured a variety-styled showcase of singing and dancing from the Mouseketeers along with a few fairly self-contained serials featuring the more popular Mouseketeers, which in the 1958 spawned “Anette” starring Annette Funicello as Annette. Each 10-minute serial follows the story of Annette, a rural farm girl from Nebraska who has decided to move to suburbia to live with her affluent aunt and uncle. Of course being the new girl in town she deals with the changes of moving from farm town into 50’s suburbia, though quickly makes some new friends and a few enemies, meets some crushes and goes to school. The story is what 1950’s suburbia mythology is made of, envisioning a more innocent time of all-white suburbia that is disarming and kind at heart, lacking any sort of real villainy outside of the catty actions of Laura Rogan (Roberta Shore). There are some jokesters, some heart-throbs, a few hot rods and a malt shop in the town, all mixed in with a pre-feminist casual misogyny that’s apparently all in good, innocent humor. Overall the serial is a good look at the message Disney attempted to portray of what teen life should look like, where everyone knows everyone, becomes friends at the end of the day and for every lucky gal there’s a lucky guy to take care of. The acting is fairly typical of what 50’s sitcoms are known for, very “Leave It to Beaver” (1957-1963) in home and family life, though in “Annette” everyone seems to be more wealthy than “Beaver” tried to show its focus on the growing middle-class, for example everyone seems to have a maid to tend to the cooking and general home concerns while the women of the town seem to always be shopping or getting ready for a fancy dress party. While it may have great nostalgic value for some, “Annette” doesn’t really hold my interest outside of being an interesting look at the 1950’s mythos of Americana in popular culture. The 2 disc set includes all of the Annette serials which are listed below: - “An Introduction” - “The Newcomer” - “Annette Meets Jet” - “An Invitation” - “The Escort” - “The Party” - “Paying the Piper” - “The Missing Necklace” - “What Happened At School” - “Almost A Fight” - “Steady Gets An Idea” - “The Explosion” - “The Turned Down Invitation” - “Annette Makes a Decision” - “The Hayride” - “The Barbecue” - “The Fight” - “The Farewell Letter” - “Mike To The Rescue” - “The Mystery is Solved”
Video
Presented in the original full screen 1.33:1 black and white, the transfer of the episodes seems well preserved; the images are clean and clear considering the time they’ve sat around. There aren’t to many noticeable artifacts that pop up in the frame, though there are at least a few small noticeable bits every few seconds, it’s more a reminder of the time distance than annoyance.
Audio
The audio transfer also works well, presented in English Dolby digital 2.0 stereo transfer; it’s similarly well preserved to the video. All of the levels sound right and all of the instrumental cues come through well, thankfully not trying to overextend the audio into something it’s not with a 5.1 track, the 2.0 stereo works well. There are also optional English subtitles.
Extras
The 2-disc set comes equipped with a small supply of extras, including 2 introductions, 2 bonus episodes of “The Mickey Mouse Club” and 2 featurettes. DISC ONE: Introduction with Leonard Maltin runs for 3 minutes and 35 seconds. In this clip Maltin gives a brief history and introduction to Annette’s joining "The Mickey Mouse Club" and use of serials within the show. It’s an interesting intro that gives a fairly detailed history of the production and the creation of the “Annette” serial. Maltin delivers a concise history, fairly interesting and a fine setup for the show. “The Mickey Mouse Club” bonus episode runs for 22 minutes and 19 seconds. This full episode of the “Mickey Mouse Club” aired on February 11, 1958 and shows off the original format of the show, complete with variety style musical pieces with some animated segments and the opening piece of the “Annette serial.” Provides an interesting look at the old format of the show, a little creepy, especially Jimmie Dodd’s songs about the need for butter and good eating, but overall a good look at the hyper-moralistic attitude the program held in the 50’s. “Musically Yours, Annette” runs for 12 minutes and 2 seconds. This featurette uses interviews with various people associated with Annette Funicello, including Annette herself, talking about her career rise as ‘the girl next door’ icon of the 50’s and 60’s, mostly focusing on her musical career in recording. It’s an interesting featurette, though the production value on it is surprisingly low considering Disney’s usual standards. There’s also a start-up bonus trailer for "Disney DVD and Blu-ray" which runs 52 seconds. DISC TWO: Introduction with Leonard Maltin runs for 3 minutes and 52 seconds. In this second introductory clip, Maltin talks about the location on Disney’s studio lot. Maltin talks about growing up watching “The Mickey Mouse Club” and the importance of the “Annette” serial, as well as the different film careers of the adults featured in the serial. Maltin displays a good knowledge of the serial and Disney, providing some interesting facts and a summary of the content to be found on the DVD. “The Mickey Mouse Club” bonus episode runs for 22 minutes and 16 seconds. This episode aired March 7, 1958, featuring the final episode featuring the final episode of the “Annette Serial” as well as a cowboy theme for the entire episode. It’s pretty much the same as the earlier episode with the odd songs and smiles that are far too big. Both entire episodes are thoughtful additions to the 2-disc set that helps to provide some context for the way the serial format worked within the early years of “The Mickey Mouse Club” “To Annette, With Love” runs for 16 minutes and 7 seconds. This final featurette on the set talks about the life and career of Annette Funicello, building upon different archival footage and interviews of Funicello, along with current interviews of Glen Holt (her husband), other former Mouseketeers, and others affiliated with her. An interesting look at her life focusing more on her personal life in combination with her career, along with some nostalgic memories of Walt Disney. A nice featurette to look at the actresses’ career and her friendship with Disney with a variety of footage from different points in her career. There’s also a start-up bonus trailer for "Disney DVD and Blu-ray" which runs 53 seconds.
Packaging
This 2-disc set is packaged in a deluxe amaray case housed in a silver tin case.
Overall
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