Reports of the demise of the Walt Disney Treasures series of DVDs were greatly exaggerated, it seems — that, or Disney changed its mind and decided to keep the series going for at least a little while longer. UltimateDisney.com reports that there will be three new sets in December — two of which I am quite eager to acquire:
The Chronological Donald, Volume Three
The most self-explanatory of the Wave 7 releases, this one’s expected to deliver 30-35 shorts in Donald Duck’s voluminous series plus a couple of bonus features.
Official Studio Description: The Chronological Donald, Volume 3 features the most prolific of “Walt’s Fab Five,” the short-tempered but hilarious Donald Duck in rarely seen solo shorts dating 1947 through 1950.
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
In February 2006, Disney allowed sportscaster Al Michaels to exit his contract with ABC Sports and join NBC’s team of sports announcers. In exchange, the Mouse reclaimed from NBC/Universal the rights to Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney’s very first cartoon star whose ownership went to Charles B. Mintz and Universal in 1929. Though twenty-six black and white Oswald shorts were produced under Walt Disney and his animator Ub Iwerks, few are known to survive today. Those that do live on are expected to be presented here in a highly-restored state.
Official Studio Description: Predating even Mickey Mouse, the legendary and rarely-seen Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was Walt Disney’s first big animated star, and having recently returned to the Disney fold, comes out of the vault for the first time ever on DVD. The silent shorts made from 1926 to 1927 with Walt’s personal touch, are revitalized with a brand-new score specifically made for Walt Disney Treasures, Wave VII.
Sounds cool. Now all we need is a complete set of the Alice cartoons, a few of which were released a couple years ago on the Disney Rarities: Celebrated Shorts, 1920s – 1960s set.
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