DVD Review: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - Mickey's Storybook Surprises

Mickey Mouse, created back in 1928, is now an enduring icon.  Despite being 80 years old, the character remains as popular today as he has ever been. Recognizable the world over, the animated character has starred in a number of movies and television series, the most recent being Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  The computer animated series starring Mickey and his friends recently released their latest DVD,  Mickey's Storybook Surprises.

The DVD features four episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, all of which have their roots in the written word - three in fairy tales and one mystery (this last episode, "Minnie's Mystery," is the only one not to have aired on TV).  As with every episode in the series, these feature Mickey and the gang trying to accomplish a single main task over the course of an episode, with several different smaller tasks being required in order to complete the larger one.  In addition to having the help of Donald, Daisy, Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto, Mickey has a new helper in the series - Toodles.  It is the job of Toodles (who is best described as a robotic entity which has the classic Mickey shape of one large circle with two smaller ones on top) to carry the various tools that Mickey will need to perform tasks during the episode. 

Save for "Minnie's Mystery" which is more Sherlock Holmes-like, the episodes on the disc overtly play off of old fairytales, such as "Sleeping Beauty," "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Rapunzel."  Of course, while the original Grimm's fairytales often featured terribly serious, dark moment, there is nothing of the sort to be found here.  Though the stakes are sometimes large — in "Sleeping Minnie" if Mickey and company are unable to successfully complete their goals Minnie will sleep for 100 years — there is never any real sense of danger.  Mickey might momentarily be unsure of what his next step is, but such a moment is unfailingly followed by the answer being provided by one of his friends or a request for the viewer's help (which leads to a momentary pause and the show then assuming the viewer gave the correct response). 

Article Author: Josh Lasser

Josh Lasser, formerly known as "TV and Film Guy," and complete with a Masters Degree in Critical Studies in said areas, gives his opinions on TV, Film, and Entertainment in general. All of which he does in a shameless attempt to try to get paid to do the exact same thing. …

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