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Walt Disney Home Video presents

Disney Learning Adventures: Mickey's Seeing the World (2005)

"Goofy! Put down that broom and pack your bags! We're going around the world in 80 days!" - Mickey Mouse

MPAA Rating: Not RatedRun Time: 00h:59m:13s
Release Date: 2005-03-22
Genre: animation

Style
Grade
Substance
Grade
Image Transfer
Grade
Audio Transfer
Grade
Extras
Grade
B B+BB C

 

DVD Review

Better have your passports ready, Mouseketeers, because it's time to take a trip with Mickey and his pals. This Disney release smartly combines some archival animation with newer, interactive elements, which will give the kids an opportunity to participate and even learn a little something, instead of just having this be another hour of talking wallpaper.

In the narrative section, Mickey is getting all Phileas Fogg on us: he and Goofy are running a cash-strapped orphanage when good news comes in from Scrooge McDuck. Mickey is the heir to a huge fortune, and Scrooge is the executor of the relevant estate; the condition, though, is that Mickey has to travel around the world in 80 days. If he doesn't, well, the executor just might decide that he is a worthier recipient of the fortune than this well-meaning mouse. Goofy comes along for the ride, and he and Mickey meet up with Princess Minnie, a damsel in distress—it's Minnie as Dorothy Lamour to Goofy and Mickey's Bob and Bing. Of course, all sorts of hijinks ensue, in this very entertaining story.

Instead of commercial breaks, the story is broken up by interactive games to work on basic social studies skills. An offscreen wizard is our guide, talking us through; it's a chance to learn some very rudimentary facts about what the world looks like outside of your living room, and even to learn how to say hello in a few of the world's languages. (Konnichiwa, Mickey!) There's a good balance between games and story here, though kids at the higher end of the recommended age range (2-6) may get a little restless with this one.

You can watch this either in Guided Play mode, in which you have to do less, or in Sorcerer's Apprentice Play mode, for which you'll want to make sure that the DVD remote has a fresh set of batteries, because you'll need to do a fair amount of clicking around. 

Rating for Style: B
Rating for Substance: B+

 

Image Transfer

 One
Aspect Ratio1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratioyes
Anamorphicno


Image Transfer Review: Bright and brassy colors; the narrative animation looks better than some of the computer-generated stuff, which can appear garish from time to time.

Image Transfer Grade: B
 

Audio Transfer

 LanguageRemote Access
Dolby Digital
5.1
Englishno


Audio Transfer Review: A little too peppy on the high end of the range, but it's all perfectly audible.

Audio Transfer Grade:

Disc Extras

Animated menu with music
Scene Access with 7 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English with remote access
3 Other Trailer(s) featuring Pooh's Heffalump Movie, Winnie the Pooh: Shapes and Sizes, Disney's Princess series
Packaging: Amaray
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:
  1. interactive game
Extras Review: The principal extra of note is the Sorcerer's World Challenge, in which we are asked to answer questions based on the feature to help Mickey save the orphanage. One more reason to pay attention instead of going napsy bye while this one is on.

Extras Grade: C
 

Final Comments

A solid children's entertainment, with just enough hard information in the mix to keep caregivers from feeling guilty about pressing the Play button. 

Jon Danziger 2005-06-10