Toon Talk: Classic Cartoon Favorites
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(c) Disney

Goofy always had the most varied output of all the Disney tune stars, and Volume 3: Starring Goofy offers a fare representation of that, with four How To’s, two odd jobs and three frazzled suburbanite plots. (Curiously included is Hold That Pose, the first appearance of Humphrey the Bear, which should have been saved for his own volume.) If you don’t already own the Treasure set The Complete Goofy (which, being Complete and all, includes all nine of these), then this one should hold you over.

(c) Disney

As previously mentioned, the one collectors will want is Volume 4: Starring Chip ‘n Dale. Yes, since Chip ’n Dale mostly co-starred in Donald or Pluto shorts, the shorts gathered here will eventually appear in those respective Treasure sets, but its nice to have a good chunk of the chipmunks on one disc. But completests note: although the daffy duo only headlined three shorts of their own series, only two of those (Chicken in the Rough, Two Chips and a Miss) are included here. Why the third, The Lone Chipmunk, is not included is frustrating, although I suspect it will be on the “various Treasures�? set that is rumored for some time in the future. But what is on this disc is a lot of fun, notably Chip an’ Dale (the only Academy Award-nominee on all four volumes) and the Tex Avery-esque Two Chips and a Miss, the chipmunks’ only short where they anthropomorphic-ally wear clothing (years before their TV series, Chip ‘n Dale’s Rescue Rangers).

As with CD collections, the packaging counts a lot, and here it’s frankly a little sloppy; the picture quality of the shorts themselves varies (especially on Volume 4, which seems awfully murky on some) and the shorts aren’t in any kind of chronological order. The “Disney Fast Play�? feature is available, as is “Play All�?, which seems a bit redundant. Even the package art itself isn’t free from blunders: for example, Volume 2 features a picture from Goofy and Wilbur, which is not on the disc.

Supposedly this series will continue later this year, with sets based on themes (like sports and music) instead of stars. That route may improve the ‘collectibility’ of the titles; but regarding this first wave, the discs may include Cartoon Favorites, just not a lot of Cartoon Classics.

Toon Talk Ratings:

        Volume 1: Starring Mickey: D
        Volume 2: Starring Donald: C-
        Volume 3: Starring Goofy: B
        Volume 4: Starring Chip ‘n Dale: B+