The Best of the Original Mickey Mouse Club

I discovered the original Mickey Mouse Club in the early/mid 70's when it ran in syndication. I was in my youth at that time. My sister and I loved the show. She had her favorites that included Annette and Tommy. I liked Darlene and Doreen. But, most of all, Cheryl. The girl with the million dollar smile:) I also loved Cheryl from reruns and the good work she did on other tv shows between 1960-1964 before dropping out of the biz to get married. Anyway, the Mickey Mouse Club still holds up today. Lots of interesting segments, serials, cartoons, and guest performers. Ethnic diversity included. This disc was inexpensive, so I went for it. Got some good guest performances. A cool juggling act with help from a very funny Roy! One segment had a good Dixieland band backed by Mouseketeers. Cartoons are fun. And, the "documentary" stories they did were interesting. But, it lacked song and dance numbers by the Mouseketeers. That is what I wanted to see most. My Cheryl is featured as a cute onlooker in a couple of the guest acts. Of course, she is on the roll calls. And, she and some of the other Mouseketeer girls do an absolutely adorable version of the intro song to a Mouse-cartoon. The Mickey Mouse Club has lots of good stuff. This disc is kind of a weak representation of the show. No bonus features is also a minus. I still kind of enjoyed the disc. But, it could have been a lot better and provided more material. Hopefully, there will be future discs that are more carefully put together than this one. At least, I can watch some of the Mouseketeer song and dance numbers on places like YouTube.

This was a gift so I never opened it or looked at it

I'm sure this "Best" DVD will continue to whet the appetites of all fans of the original Mickey Mouse Club. Since this won't be released until July, 2005, I can only give it a rating based on anticipation. I was exuberantly pleased with the Disney Treasury that contained the first week of the original MM Club and hope the marketing gurus will release the complete series. I'd also like to see DVDs released of the original "Spin and Marty" and "The Applegate Treasure," as well as other serials that appeared on the original MM Club show. These are classics and should be made available to the public! And yes, I'd even buy the "new" MMC shows too (70s or 80s): as they are nostalgic and classic in their own right. For Disney buffs, we can't get enough. So keep 'em coming!Mike C. - DFW, Texas

I would watch the Mickey Mouse Club TV show every weekday from 5 PM until 6 PM for the two years it was on. It was too bad the show did not run longer! Every young boys' delight was Annette Funicello! All of the Mouseketeers were simply great stars and put on a very good show! I bought these DVD's to give to my grandchildren because I know they will certainly love to see the programs I watched when I was 12 and 13 years old!

This dvd looks really good on my digital tv. In your face effect. Im loving this dvd as i have never left The Mickey Mouse Club. And said mouseca even before i seen the show. It was great seeing the reruns when i was very young on tv. This to me is the best of The Mickey Mouse Club. As fun with music and frontier day were my best episodes. As well as talant round up day. Very fun this more than made my day. I never watch old shows on a flat screen. I would not recomend watching this on a 60 inch flat screen.

I was disappointed in this DVD. Once again, it shows a typical complete show which includes newsreels, various series, a Mouseketeer segment, and cartoons. I don't care about news, cartoons and just one episode of a series. I know many fans of the MMC would love to just see the Mouseketeer performing segments from seasons 1, 2, and 3. What a treat it would be to have these classic song and dance performances available. They could be released as Season One, Season Two, etc. I also know that fans would buy individual DVDs of the wonderful series such as Spin and Marty years 1, 2, and 3..The Hardy Boys, and especially the Annette series. Disney, please do this for all fans. I would buy each and every DVD you released and I believe that all true MMC fans from years ago would do the same!!

MY GRANDSONS WATCH THE CURRENT DISNEY "CLUBHOUSE " PROGRAM AND I STARTED TO TELL THEM HOW I USED TO WATCH THE ORIGINAL "MICKEY MOUSE CLUB " AND IT WAS IN BLACK AND WHITE. SO I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUN FOR THEM TO SEE WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO WATCH A TV PROGRAM IN BLACK AND WHITE. THEY LOVED IT ! WE HAD SO MUCH FUN WATCHING IT TOGETHER...FOR THEM IT WAS THE FUN OF WATCHING AND ENJOYING THE PROGRAM IN BLACK AND WHITE AND FOR ME IT WAS HAVING FUN ENJOYING SOME OF MY "CHILDHOOD" AGAIN! IT WAS "WONDERFUL " !!!!

This is a great little "best of" but in my personal opinion there is not enough Annette. I know there were other Mouseketeers besides her, but she is the most famous and it's too bad there isn't a little more footage picked for this that features her.

THE five episodes presented on this disc play out as follows:"Fun with Music Day - September 30, 1957" (22:08)This rather slim episode offers a short song-and-dance number at the beginning. Next is musical role-playing, as Darlene plays a girl browsing through "The Pet Shop" and imitating animals in song before settling on a dog. Other Mouseketeers join in to belittle her selection. The remainder of the show is devoted to a lengthy tease for Season Three's "The Hardy Boys" serial The Mystery of Ghost Farm. Brothers Frank (Tim Considine) and Joe (Tommy Kirk, who would graduate to a long career in Disney films) Hardy introduce viewers to the spooky happenings encountered while the sleuth youths were pursuing the title case. The clips of events to come, the siblings' clues and words of warnings merely whet your appetite for the serial's subsequent episode where it would presumably launch in earnest. Doreen provides some "Words to Grow By" accompanied by Jimmie on his guitar, but before you know it, the Mouseketeers are slowly singing farewell for the day."Guest Star Day - August 28, 1962" (22:42)In the opening number, the whole gang seems pretty enthused to meet their special guest for the day, but it turns out to be a man who does some ice skating in drag. Neither his staged flubs nor the jerky changes in music make this performance very entertaining, which results in a somewhat tortuous nearly 4-minute act. It's then revealed that the guest is actually Olympic medalist Ronnie Robertson, who talks with the Mouseketeers and showcases the moves that make him "The Fastest Spinner in the World." Next is the "Mousekartoon" for the day which is 1938's "Ferdinand the Bull." In this fun Academy Award-winning short, Ferdinand is a special bull who prefers sitting under a tree and smelling flowers to butting heads, which makes him an odd choice to enter a bullfight. Diehard Disney fans may recognize that the cartoon's human characters are based on Walt's animators and the fiery matador bears a resemblance to Walt himself. (While it's fairly beat up and black-and-white here, this cartoon will make a more proper DVD debut in next month's Timeless Tales: Volume 2.) The episode closes with Jimmie discussing something he liked about Bambi; it's not long before he's strumming his trademark instrument and singing "Safety First."The prospect of fatherhood has the Mouse quivering under the covers in "Mickey's Nightmare", the third episode's Mousekartoon. "Mooseketeer" Roy is in the proverbial monkey in the middle of the Hap Brothers' juggling act. Lei-wearing Annette narrates a report on the Mouseketeers' trip to Hawaii. Hope nobody killed Karen!"Anything Can Happen Day - November 12, 1964" (22:40)It's "Anything Can Happen Day", a fact announced by the wild and wacky way the cast parades out for their roll call. The Fire House 5 + 2, Disney animator Ward Kimball's Dixieland band, shows up and performs "I Want to be a Fireman" and "Tiger Rag" with the Mouseketeers. Cubby O'Brien gets to show off his drum-playing skills, and a performer in a tiger costume helps keep the mood light and gay. The 1932 cartoon short "Mickey's Nightmare" follows. What really frightens Mickey isn't Pegleg Pete or a monster, but the prospect of having the famed Stork drop too many kids down his chimney. The hypothetical little ones create plenty of havoc for the Mouse, and all that's left after Mickey wakes up is for the Club to say their drawn out goodbye."Circus Day - October 11, 1962" (22:42)After the gang introduces themselves costumed for the theme's day, they welcome South American circus performers the Hap Brothers, who put on a diverting but prolonged juggling exhibition. The episode's Mousekartoon is "The Pied Piper" (which, coincidentally, will also make its proper DVD debut in the new Timeless Tales line next month). The mayor of a town overrun by rats hires the Pied Piper to take care of the problem. The Piper comes through, but when the mayor tries to stiff him on the bill, the Piper leads all the town's children off to a fantasy land. It's a nice cartoon, but clearly, children had greater attention spans in 1933 than they do now. The episode concludes with Jimmie Dodd poignantly waxing philosophic on the problems facing the day's youths."Talent Roundup Day - October 25, 1957" (22:02)The set concludes with a slight Friday episode composed of three fairly unmemorable portions. First, fulfilling the talent to be rounded up for the day's theme and becoming an Honorary Mouseketeer is Cheryl Weinberg, a girl from Chicago who sings about her "Weekend Blues" and then performs a dance number with her partners Ronnie and Riley Wilson. Following this dated but diverting segment is the Mickey Mouse Newsreel. Here, Annette narrates part of a report on a trip several Mouseketeers made to Hawaii. They learn about the natives' pastimes of fishing and lei-making before things get slightly more serious for a visit to Pearl Harbor. The final segment is a rhyming Mouseke-fable told by Jimmie about a cat unable to outsmart some birds.Darlene craves attention in this musical "Pet Shop" sketch. Is that matador Walt Disney? Is that bull a little different? These are the questions you may ask while enjoying "Ferdinand", the second show's Mousekartoon.All these features are in Black and White!A good purchase if you want to show your children or grandchildren how it was like, the famous songs at the beginning and end.

I loved to watched it , it was great memories

Mom enjoyed this. It is only a couple of shows but she liked it and what she remembers watching as a child

I grew up watching these shows on TV and it is great to see them again. I put the DVD on one day when my 5 year old grandson was here and he loved it so much that I had to buy him his own copy to have at home! This kind of wholesome entertainment is timeless!

This is what Disney was all about and im sure walt would die all over again to see what his dream has become