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Rating:  - Might not be the version you remember...
If like a lot of people you first saw "Mickey & the Beanstalk" not in theaters but on television (usually preceding a feature, like "Dumbo") you are in for a bit of a surprise.
This DVD contains the theatrical version, where the animation is interspersed with live-action footage of people at a party, who are "telling" the story. This also means the wonderfully soothing TV-version narration (provided by Sterling Halloway, also voice of Pooh) is gone. The end result is that the cartoon drags on unnecessarily as the action is constantly interrupted by the live-action segments. Additionally, the live actors tend to get a bit chatty with their narration, and some of the humor they try to inject hasn't aged well. With the capacity of the DVD medium, why couldn't the TV version be tacked on as an extra?
Still worth owning (the beautiful animation and music can't be derailed even by the mediocre live action footage)--but be warned.
Rating:  - Only the best movie that I have ever seen
Okay, I have been reading the other reviews on this movie, and they all say things like "went on for too long"..."Way overhyped"...and things like that. I beg to differ. The two movies in this wonderful DVD, Bongo and Mickey and the Beanstalk, are two family classics. As a child, I watched these two movies (on VHS, of course) over and over and over again. Willy the Giant characterizes my childhood in three words..."Potroast! Chocolate potroast!" And now, I know for a fact that my two little brothers have memorized the whole movie of Mickey and the Beanstalk. I don't want to ramble on forever, but I just want to say that these two are the best movies that I have ever seen, and I have seen a lot of movies.
Rating: - Fun and Fancy Free Gold Collection DVD
"Fun and Fancy Free", is a very good movie. However, the problem with this package feature is that it's first story, "Bongo", seems to outstays it's welcome. The story is well written, but it just seems to last forever sometimes. "Bongo" was actually going to be one of Disney's full length features by it's self (and possibly a follow-up to "Dumbo"), uh, Im glad it wasn't.
"Mickey & The Beanstalk" is really what makes this movie really great. The animation is really terrific, Donald provides his outrageous humor, as always, and the narration has some laughs in it to. Also, the fact that Walt Disney is voicing Mickey, is an added bonus.
The short featurette on the DVD, "The Story Behind Fun And Fancy Free", is very brief, but provides great insight.
Rating:  - Where is the Ward Kimball Naration?
The Mickey and the Beanstalk portion of the DVD is fine, except for the fact that the live action keeps popping in. While this is all fine and well for those with nostalgia for that type of thing, it absolutely ruins the flow of the movie. A much better version (the version I remember seeing) had Ward Kimball narating. There were no interuptions in the animation and it flowed a lot better. Unfortunately, there is no DVD out there with the Ward Kimball naration, so if you love the animation like I do, you're kinda stuck.
Rating: - Too Many Forced Previews
The cartoons are okay, but I don't really care for all the previews. I have to hit the next button severl times before I can get to the main menu and if I don't do this I will end up owning the entire Disney library.
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