DVD Review: Disney Releases Trio of Informative Documentaries

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CHICAGO – Walt Disney Home Video isn’t all about “Hannah Montana” or “Toy Story 3.” At the end of last month, they released a trio of informative documentaries about the fascinating history of their own company. None of the three are must-see viewing, but they do combine to offer a glimpse at the incredibly legacy of one of the most important American companies in history.

“The Boys”

The Boys
Photo credit: Disney

You may not know the names Robert and Richard Sherman but you absolutely know their work. The Sherman Brothers, the subject (and fathers) of Jeffrey C. Sherman & Gregory V. Sherman’s documentary “The Boys,” not only wrote some of the most memorable Disney songs of all time but simply wrote more movie songs than any other pair of songwriters in film history.

The brothers became legends after joining Walt Disney in 1961, as his company was about to begin a string of belove musicals. The Shermans won two Oscars for “Mary Poppins” but their most memorable contribution to the pop culture lexicon may be penning “It’s a Small World (After All)” for Walt’s new park.

Other notable Sherman films include “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” “The Aristocats,” “Bedknobs and Broomsticks,” “The Jungle Book,” and “The Parent Trap.” They have been nominated for Oscar an amazing nine times.

The DVD about “The Boys” features interviews with Dick Van Dyke, Angela Lansbury, Roy Disney, and more, along with several bonus documentaries and a collectible “Mary Poppins” music sheet. “The Boys” may not be as essential to your understanding of the history of Disney as some other films but it is a fascinating chapter about two of the most beloved songwriters to ever work for the company.

“Waking Sleeping Beauty”

Waking Sleeping Beauty
Photo credit: Disney

As someone who grew up in the ’80s, I can say from personal experience that it was a rough time for Disney. The legendary animation studio started to flounder in the ’70s as viewers who grew up with “Cinderella” and “Fantasia” were no longer that interested in projects like “Robin Hood,” “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh,” and “The Rescuers.” But it got real dark in the ’80s when the company only released “The Black Cauldron,” “The Great Mouse Detective,” and “Oliver & Company from 1982 to 1988.

“Waking Sleeping Beauty” is about the fall and re-rise of the studio in the ’80s and early ’90s as people like Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Roy E. Disney, and John Lasseter redefined the company with mega-hits like “The Little Mermaid,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin,” and “The Lion King.” What happened with Disney in the early ’90s changed movies forever as it brought animation back to the forefront and set the foundation for the massively-succesful medium of today.

The “Waking Sleeping Beauty” DVD includes everal special features including a commentary by director Don Hahn and producer Peter Schneider along with a collectible litho.

“Walt & El Grupo”

Walt and El Grupo
Photo credit: Disney

The story of the Sherman brothers and the saga of Disney in the Eisner era are relatively well-known stories but the tale of “Walt & El Grupo” is probably the least-known subject of the three films and arguably the most fascinating.

In 1941, Walt Disney was asked to be a cultural ambassador to South America and his journies south of the border with a group of artists known as El Grupo would not only be historically significant but severely impact the Disney canon. Have you always wondered how the Disney canon went from “Dumbo” and “Bambi” to “Saludos Amigos” and “The Three Caballeros”? This doc will connect the dots.

The DVD of “Walt & El Grupo” also includes a collectible along with a similarly-impressive selection of special features including a commentary track by the director Theodore Thomas. Like the other two releases, it is a very complete DVD for what is a relatively minor documentary. Well, as minor as anything related to the word Disney can be.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com