Walt Disney Home Video presents

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey's Treat (2007)

"Say, you wanna come inside my clubhouse?"- Mickey Mouse (Wayne Allwine)

Stars: Wayne Allwine, Tony Anselmo, Bill Farmer
Other Stars: Tress Macneille, Russi Taylor, April Winchell
Director: various

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for (nothing objectionable)
Run Time: 01h:12m:12s
Release Date: 2007-08-28
Genre: animation

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
A+	A	A+	B+	B+

 

DVD Review

Arguably the best new animated show for preschoolers, Disney Channel's Mickey Mouse Clubhouse continues to wow kids and parents alike on a daily basis. Sure, youngsters love it, but the most impressive aspect of its still-brief run is a large adult fan base. Much of this can be attributed to the show's ability to stay true, in themes and voice talent, to the early cartoons that Walt Disney had a direct hand in producing. Disney DVD shines again with the release of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey's Treat, proof that you don't have to look any further for consistently fun and educational animated programming.

Unlike the series' first two DVD releases, there aren't any original, never-before-seen episodes this time around. Instead, all three installments have aired over the past year. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, as a bad show is rare for this series.

Mickey's Treat hit our television back on October 28, 2006, and has been saved on the DVR ever since. Its inclusion not only allows me to free up valuable recording space, but it also arrives in time for this year's Halloween holiday. In this wonderful story, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, and Pluto are in their favorite costumes, and on their way to Trick-or-Treat Tower. In order to get there, they have to wade through a foggy forest, humongous candy corn, and other fun obstacles.

In addition to the title episode, we get two more. Goofy the Great finds the hapless title character attempting to perform magic tricks and failing miserably. Still, Mickey and the rest of his friends don't hesitate to come to his aid, teaching him (and the young audience) the importance of keeping track of his things. It turns out that all Goofy needed was more effective handkerchiefs, better playing cards, and a collection of doves who won't fly off again.

Doctor Daisy, M.D. features Daisy's desire to act like a doctor. She really gets to indulge herself thanks to Pluto, Minnie, and Donald agreeing to fake illnesses, and their subsequent treatment. Daisy comes up with some amazingly funny remedies, however, in one of the best episodes to date.

This series seems to have immeasurable staying power, for various reasons. Along with high ratings on the Disney Channel, it has spawned a toy line that's been both hard to find in stores, and just as hard to peel the show's fans away from. I just hope Disney knows what a good thing they have going here, and stay true to the series' spirit and overall fun. There's really no reason to believe they don't know what they're doing, as evidenced in this latest DVD collection.

Rating for Style: A+
Rating for Substance: A

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: All three shows are presented in their original full frame format, looking amazing throughout. The colors are as bright and vivid as possible, bursting off the screen with great vibrancy. The animated images are crisp and finely detailed, with no blemishes whatsoever.

Image Transfer Grade: A+
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English, French, Spanish	yes

Audio Transfer Review: The Dolby Digital 2.0 audio isn't as spectacular as the video, but it remains true to the original broadcast sound quality. It's slightly disappointing there isn't a 5.1 mix, but dynamic directional effects aren't very important here. The dialogue is fine, and most of the mix stays up front, but there is some nice surround presence when it comes to the music.

Audio Transfer Grade: B+ 

Disc Extras

Animated menu with music
Scene Access with 4 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English with remote access
7 Other Trailer(s) featuring The Jungle Book: Platinum 40th Anniversary Edition, Disney Princess: Enchanted Tales, My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Super Sleuth Christmas Movie, Little Einsteins: Race for Space, Little Einsteins: Rocket's Firebird Rescue, Handy Manny, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey's Great Clubhouse Hunt
Weblink/DVD-ROM Material
Packaging: Keep Case
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:

1. Bonus Short - A Little Einsteins Halloween
2. Creepy Clubhouse Character Stencils - DVD-ROM-based activity
3. Spooky Clubhouse Cookbook - Collection of six recipes

Extras Review: Not counting the collection of Disney Sneak Peeks, the extras include a bonus episode from the Little Einsteins series called A Little Einsteins Halloween. This 24-minute show finds Leo, Quincy, June, and Annie soaring around the world in Rocket, but stopping at various castles to Trick-or-Treat along the way. This show is well-known for its penchant for fine arts education, with this episode focusing on the Limbourg Brothers and "In the Hall of the Mountain King" by Edvard Grieg.

Also here is a DVD-ROM-based collection of Creepy Clubhouse Character Stencils and six recipes from the Spooky Clubhouse Cookbook.

Extras Grade: B+
 

Final Comments

Get ready to dance to "Hot Dog" three more times, as Disney unveils Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey's Treat on DVD. Mickey and his pals are up to their fun tricks once again, giving us a nice spin on Halloween. The disc features the same great audio and video we're used to from the show's previous releases, but the extras are a bit better, including a Halloween episode from the Little Einsteins series.

Chuck Aliaga 2007-09-04