“The Golden Touch” (1935) tells the Greek myth of King Midas and is directed by Walt himself after a five-year hiatus. Young Ambrose runs away from home to be “The Robber Kitten” (1935) but finds life much tougher than he imagined. Based on the folktale “The Little Red Hen,” “The Wise Little Hen” (1934) marks the debut of Donald Duck as he and Peter Pig fake bellyaches to get out of helping the her plant and harvest her corn, but learn a valuable lesson.
Volume 6 finds Kenneth Grahame in the title spot again with “The Reluctant Dragon” (1941), which is a segment from a longer film of the same name. Everyone assumes the dragon is fierce, but he never fights. Instead, he enjoys writing poetry and playing a flute. The video for this cartoon looks terrible. The focus is soft and the colors faded.
Winner of an Academy Award, “Ferdinand The Bull” (1938), by author Munro Leaf, tells a similar story about a presumed vicious creature. Ferdinand would rather smell the flowers than take part in bullfights. “Goliath II” (1959) tells the story of a miniature elephant taking the role of outcast/hero. The cartoon’s look foreshadows The Jungle Book (1967), so it's no surprise Wolfgang Reitherman directed both. Starring the vocal talents of Dennis Day, “Johnny Appleseed” tells the story of John Chapman. It originally appeared in Melody Time (1948).
While there's a great deal of history, The Walt Disney Animation Collection appears targeted at parents who want to provide their children some quality entertainment. The DVDs certainly aren’t for anyone who considers themselves a serious Disney or animation aficionado because the picture quality ranges average to poor and there are no extras except for a “Collectible Litho Print,” which resembles a postcard. For those people, The Walt Disney Treasures line or potential future releases remastered for Blu-ray would be much better options for your video library.
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