Old Yeller (Vault Disney Collection) dvd movie.|
Old Yeller (Vault Disney Collection) buy bestselling dvd movies, videos find reviews, ratings, prices |
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List Price: $19.99 Features • Anamorphic • Closed-captioned • Color • DVD-Video • Widescreen • NTSC In Theaters : 25 December, 1957 DVD Release : 07 May, 2002 |
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Old Yeller (Vault Disney Collection) description There's nothing hip about this vintage Disney film that begins and ends with a corny song about the "best doggone dog in the West." But that's the beauty of Old Yeller, originally released in 1957. The simple, heart-warming story of a boy who bonds with a feisty stray dog in 1860s Texas is full of 1950s sensibilities: A Donna Reed-style perfect "Momma" (Dorothy McGuire) who knows best, a couple of brothers who quarrel in the best sitcom tradition, and a father (Fess Parker, in a small role) who goes off to provide for his family, leaving his older boy (Tommy Kirk) in charge and his incredibly cute younger one (Kevin Corcoran) to steal as many scenes in the movie as he possibly can. With Old Yeller at his side, Kirk becomes a little man, who in the end must make a decision so heart-breaking that it's one of filmdom's most memorable moments. --Valerie J. Nelson |
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| ♥♥♥♥♥ | The Classic Tear-Jerker |
| Shortly after Jim Coates leaves his wife and two young sons alone on their Texas frontier homestead to go on a cattle drive, the family takes in a large, thieving, stray, yellow dog as pet and protector. The story follows the time of Jim's absence and Old Yeller's stay, as the endearing dog takes on the roles of play-pal to little Arliss and chore partner to teenage Travis, and fights off dangerous animals to protect them all, putting himself in great danger. However, with the closeness of animals to the lives of American frontier-folk, diseases like rabies prove to be just as looming a threat, as the Coates family comes to learn in one of the most heart-wrenching endings in both literary and cinematic history.
"Old Yeller" is a masterpiece of filmmaking and definitely among the finest work from the Walt Disney Studios to date. The tale is plain and simple, softer than the famous Fred Gipson book it was based on but extremely loyal at the same time, and easily one of the greatest coming-of-age tales of love and loss ever written or filmed. Painstaking detail was put into recreating life on the Texas frontier in this Disney classic, and though it was released in 1957, claims that the film is loaded with 50's sensibilities may be a bit unjust. This film is set shortly after the Civil War, not in modern day. Having things like the man being "head of the household" or "breadwinner" aren't always just 50's sensibilities. Anyway, if one takes a good look at Disney films of the time, one might be surprised to find that the Disney films often depict more believable families than what you'd see on television sitcoms and other films of the period. "Old Yeller" doesn't fall short in that area either. There are only seven human members to the cast, and all are outstanding (most Disney regulars) in strong, believable roles. Tommy Kirk (The Shaggy Dog, The Misadventures of Merlin Jones, The Hardy Boys, Swiss Family Robinson) is the human lead as Travis Coates, the young teenager who grows closest to "Old Yeller" and is hurt the most when the dog meets his emotional and legendary end. Kevin "Moochie" Corcoran (The Shaggy Dog, Swiss Family Robinson, Toby Tyler) is little brother Arliss, a feisty little boy who throws rocks and never sits still. Dorothy McGuire (Swiss Family Robinson, Summer Magic) is the ever motherly Katie Coates, and Disney legend Fess Parker (Davy Crockett, The Great Locomotive Chase) rounds out the family as fatherly and loving Jim Coates. The always hilarious Jeff York plays lazy, meal-mooching neighbor Bud Searcy, with Beverly Washburn as his sweet and put-upon daughter with a crush on young Travis. The final human castmember is the well-known Chuck Connors, who plays Old Yeller's original owner and a kind visitor to the Coates' farmstead. Throw in Spike the dog as the title character, no less impressive an actor than any of them, and you have one of Hollywood's greatest casts! Not to mention that this was directed by Robert Stevenson (Mary Poppins, Darby O'Gill and the Little People, The Love Bug), one of Hollywood's all-time greatest directors! No, there's really nothing much corny or extremely '"50's" about this movie, if that's what you've been led to believe, aside from the "Old Yeller" theme song, though us Disney fanatics rather like it. It's wonderfully sung by Jerome Courtland (Disney's Andy Burnett). As for the DVD edition, the 2-disc Vault Disney release (now out of print) is a real triumph! Disc One includes two bonuses in addition to the beautiful widescreen presentation of the film: A delightful Pluto Cartoon, "Bone Trouble," in which Pluto's attempt to swipe Butch's bone breakfast leads him to be chased into a hall of mirrors, and an excellent audio commentary (featuring Kevin Corcoran, Fess Parker, dog-trainer Bob Weatherwax, and more than anyone, Tommy Kirk; it seems that Kevin and Parker were recorded separately). In addition, the DVD menus look great. Disc Two's amazing Vault Disney menu is loaded with goodies. There's, "Old Yeller: Remembering a Classic," a lengthy making-of documentary full of tear-jerking interviews with the surviving cast-members along with animal trainer Bob Weatherwax and T. Beck Gipson, the son of writer Fred Gipson. There's also a nearly 15 minute featurette titled, "Conversations with Tommy Kirk." This is an enjoyable, in-depth interview with Tommy about how he got into acting as a child, met Walt Disney, and various details about his career at the Disney studios, including an unfortunate misunderstanding with Fred MacMurray. There are a couple of montages too. One is a bit of a commercial really, and doesn't have much value. It's called "Dogs!," and is nothing but a fast-paced montage of Disney dog clips. The other montage is more appreciated. It's called "Disney Studio Album," and is a montage of Disney events of 1957. A sort of Disney video yearbook. "Lost Treasures: Ranch of the Golden Oak" is a guided tour of the California property where many films are still filmed, along with reminiscence from Old Yeller's cast members of course. A Production Archive on Disc Two is loaded with galleries in the categories of "Production Stills," "Publishing," "Advertising," "Screenplay Excerpt," "Documents," and "Biographies" (of everyone but Jeff York for some reason). There's also a slideshow titled "Production Gallery," though it just features some selections from the Production Stills gallery. The DVD also offers the original theatrical trailer, a 90's TV commercial for a TV airing, and another tear-jerker labeled, "News Segment: Old Yeller Memorial." This is a report on an Old Yeller statue dedication in writer Fred Gipson's hometown and focuses on his son. Laura Bush also gives a speech at this sentimental ceremony. What non-Texan folks might not know is that this isn't really a news segment, it's from an excellent Texas television program called "Texas Country Reporter." It's a long running show that is not unlike "Made In America" or other such shows on the more educational/informative cable channels like TLC, Travel Channel, or Food Network, just a little more down-homey. Also on Disc Two is a virtual jukebox featuring various audio explorations. There are two interactive Sound Studio experiences, a selection of Radio Spots, a Foley Demonstration, and a vintage "Old Yeller" record album story told by Fess Parker with dialogue from the film. Last, but certainly not least, one of my favorite types of extras to find on a Disney DVD, we get a complete episode of the Disneyland TV series! The episode, hosted by Walt, is "The Best Doggone Dog in the World." This treat shows us dogs of the world, introduces Dorothy McGuire talking about the film "Old Yeller" and narrating clips, and presents to us a "True-Life Adventure" type story about Arizona sheepdogs at work. A wonderful addition to a wonderful DVD release! Ya know, I gotta say, as much as I love the Disney Renaissance period of films like "The Little Mermaid," "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids," and so on, whenever I am walking around a Disney theme park and taking in the sights, sounds, and smells, it's films like this that really come to mind for me. The company still churns out some gems now and then, but Walt's legacy is the work the studio made under his guidance, and it really is at least as good as anything made after he was gone. Walking down nostalgic Main Street or anywhere else in the Magic Kingdom, I love having films like "The Happiest Millionaire," Pollyanna," "Swiss Family Robinson," and "Old Yeller" to look back on, and it's a shame that more young people aren't exposed to such films today. Thank goodness they're available on DVD for those who care enough to purchase them. Of course, as I mentioned, this Vault Disney 2-disc release is no longer in print and recently has become difficult to find. As with a few other excellent Disney releases, they have been recently rereleased in double feature editions, sometimes still in 2-disc sets, but usually missing some very nice extras. In Old Yeller's case, the film has been released on another 2-disc set, this time paired with its underrated sequel, "Savage Sam." While it's a fine way to acquire "Savage Sam" if you don't have it yet, I still recommend seeking out the Vault Disney edition if you don't yet have "Old Yeller." All the double feature lacks is the audio commentary, but for me that was reason enough to seek out the Vault Disney release. I will probably get the double-feature anyway to acquire "Savage Sam" though. |
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