Swiss Family Robinson (Vault Disney Collection)

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 03/18/2003 Rating: G

Amazon.com
The Disney touch is all over this grand, colorful version of the Johann Wyss adventure of a European family set off for the new world of New Guinea. The film opens on a ship jostled and torn by a raging storm while a family struggles to make it through alive. Tossed into a reef near a deserted tropical island, father John Mills takes charge and the family soon turns their island prison into a veritable paradise. Their multilevel tree house, built in record time, is complete with running water and a working pipe organ scavenged from the ship, while their grand yard is abloom in English roses. As a tale of hardship and pioneer pluck, the tale is pure fantasy, but as entertainment it's energetic and appealing. The island is impossibly populated by ostriches, zebras, lions, and elephants, a private zoo that delights the youngest boy and offers plenty of comic relief. The two older brothers discover even wilder life when they rescue the prisoner of oriental pirates (led by hard-bitten Sessue Hayakawa). There's little real danger anywhere in the film--even the climactic battle with the pirates is a cartoonish affair, with coconut bombs and nonlethal booby traps, until the final desperate, deadly moments. Hardly a faithful adaptation of the novel, but a lush, beautifully photographed film and an entertaining adventure safe for all ages. Dorothy McGuire costars as the proper, worry-prone mother. (Ages 5 and older) --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews: Read 76 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

Loaded special DVD deserves more than 5 stars February 3, 2003
124 out of 126 found this review helpful

I strongly recommend! Originally released in 1960, the film returned to theatres 4 times in later years. This is absolutely one of the most fun family films the Walt Disney Studios ever made. There is truly something for everyone... comedy, action, adventure, drama, romance, and suspense. Even at 126 minutes in length, it does not feel too long. Starting in the aftermath of a shipwreck, the Swiss family rebuilds their life on an uncharted tropical island. They use the wealth of salvage in livestock, tools, guns, furniture, wood, and more to build a safe home in the trees, complete with running water and other conveniences. The mother and father begin an idealic exhistance with their 3 boys aged 9, 16, and 18. But one day the older boys decide to take a canoe and survey the rest of the island. They stumble across pirates that are attacking the crew of a ship, and rescue the captain's daughter, bringing the wrath of the pirates on them since they are discovered.

Directed by Ken Annakin, the movie was filmed on location on the caribbean island of Tobago. While the production went way over budget for a total cost of $4 million, Walt did not get upset with his production team at the time since the film was looking to be success when he reviewed clips from the set. As it turned out, with subsequent theatre releases, television, and video airing, the film has turned out to be one of the top-grossing films from Disney.

The tropical scenery is spectacular as they filmed all over the island; waterfalls, forests, grass plains, flowers, beaches, cliffs, mountains, oceans, streams, and much more. Contributing a tremendous amount to the exotic locale of the movie are animals, pirates, ships, and a tree house to beat all tree houses ever made. Similar to the role the submarine "Nautilus" filled in the earlier film "20,000 Leagues Below the Sea", the tree house becomes a star in it's own right. The wonderful and inventive home designed by the castaways and from the ships salvage is incredible to behold.

Featuring a wonderful cast and crew assembled by Walt himself, Mr. Disney liked to stick with actors he knew could relate to a broad audience. Most of the actors in this film appeared in other Disney movies over the years, many times with other actors from this film. Hayley Mills (Pollyana, Parent Trap, That Darn Cat, Summer Magic, In Search of the Castaways, The Moon-Spinners), Dorothy McGuire (Old Yeller, Summer Magic), John Mills (Did not appear in other Disney movies, but was Hayley's real life father), James MacArthur (Light in the Forest, Third Man on the Mountain, Kidnapped), Kevin Corcoran (A Tiger Walks, Savage Sam, Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Bon Voyage, Babes in Toyland, Toby Tyler, Pollyanna), Tommy Kirk (Probably the most proficient of all with Savage Sam, Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog, Moon Pilot, Bon Voayage, Son of Flubber, The Absent-Minded Professor, Misadventure of Merlin Jones, The Monkeys Uncle, Babes in Toyland), and Janet Munroe (Darby O'Gill and the Little People, Third Man on the Mountain). Most of these actors also appeared in movies for the Disney television series as well.

VAULT DISNEY DVD VERSION
The 2 disc DVD treatment that Disney gave this film is perfect, starting with great packaging and case. It is in Widescreen, the first widescreen release outside of theatres for the film in fact. And what a difference it makes in the beautiful location island vistas of the film. The film has been cleaned up and remastered to its original brilliance with lush colors, great image and depth, it just sparkles. The DVD transfer itself is very well done, a high quality job. The audio is very clean and crisp.

DVD EXTRAS
The extras on this DVD are what really make the best version released of this film, and they are not all listed here at Amazon or even on the packaging. You have to hunt them down and get creative with your remote. So let me help by telling you what to look for if you buy this... For starters they have the original cartoon that was released with the movie, "Sea Salts" allowing you to see this with the kids the way that it is meant to be seen. There is a 2 minute "1960 Disney Studio Album", a montage of projects, attractions, shows, and films being made and released that year. There is an audio commentary as an alternate track that features comments from cast and crew.

Next we have 23 minutes from a vintage Walt Disney television "Wonderful World of Disney" episode titled "Escape to Paradise", that show the making of the film behind the scenes. Up next is the original 1960 movie theatre trailers for the film, and the 1960 televison spots to advertise the film. Then there are "Storyboard to Scene Comparisons"; a seperate "Storyboard Gallery"; and a 2 minute "Production Gallery" of photo stills from behind the scenes at location. Another gallery is full of production stills; Next is "Biographies" on 8 principle actors; and then "Concept Art" on the films pre-production design work.

As if that's not enough a featurette titled "Adventure in the Making" was made just for this set, and at 49:00 minutes long it is very complete and satisfying, with recent interviews of the original cast and crew. There is great behind the scenes original footage in this piece, and the folks regale us with funny stories of the filming days. Peter Elleshaw (matte artist), Ken Annakin (director), Danny Lee (special effects), and actors John Mills, Tommy Kirk, Kevin Corcoran are all here for modern interviews. ANOTHER short 4 minute featurette that was also made just for this set is "Swiss Family Treehouse", narrated by Hayley Mills. It is the pre-opening footage and the actual Opening Ceremony of the "Swiss Family Robinson's Tree House" attraction (now gone, replaced with Tarzans Tree House) at the Disneyland Park. Walt himself is there and it is evident he is really enjoying himself in this must-see footage.

Included on the set is a very nice 12 minute interview with James MacArthur, who appeared in this film and 3 others for Disney along with a TV movie. This features great video as well. There is a "Pirates" music video sing along featuring pirate themed clips from Disney films, TV shows, cartoons, and the theme park attraction "Pirates of the Caribbean", all set to the Disney tune of "Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirates Life For Me". An unusual or unexpected extra is a featurette that has 20 minutes of excerpts from a 1940 non-Disney version of the story.

The dvd set has Audio Archives set to photos from the film, including 2 Interactive Sound Studios, 2 songs from the film, original 1960 radio spots. Another real treat is the complete LP soundtrack of the original "Storybook Album" of the movie released in 1960.

SUMMARY
I really enjoyed this DVD, and this film really got the best of treatment by Disney. They simply outdid themselves and I am one grateful viewer. I wish all the really good classic Disney films got at least some of this royal treatment. They have a reputation as the best studio about protecting their old source material, archives, etc, but they are not always generous in using it for their DVD's so I can really appreciate the effort here by the decision makers. Thank you Disney for this compilation that really honors this gem of a film the way it should be!!!! My highest recommendation if you are considering buying this DVD.

4 out of 5 stars

FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY... August 6, 2001
16 out of 20 found this review helpful

You can't get much more wholesome than this. This film definitely has the Disney stamp all over it. The Swiss Family Robinson are on their way to New Guinea. Chased by pirates on the high seas, their ship runs up against a reef, and they find themselves shipwrecked by a deserted tropical island. They manage to get themselves and all their belongings and animals ashore, intact and none the worse for wear. They even survive a shark attack.

The mother, played by the lovely Dorothy MaGuire, is always clean, perfectly groomed and coiffed. The father, played by the wonderful English actor, John Mills, is positively cheerful the entire film. Talk about optimism. His three sons, played by the hunky James MacArthur, the adorable Tommy Kirk, and the cute-as-a-button Kevin Corcoran, work tirelessly to make their new home into an island paradise. In record time, they build a multi-level house to die for, high up in the trees. Somehow, they manage to get a pipe organ off the wrecked ship, ashore, and up into their multi-level tree house, so that they can sing Christmas Carols at the appropriate time. Kevin Corcoran even has a baby elephant for a pet, and they parade around their sculpted lawn which is surrounded by what appears to be an English garden.

After a while, two of the boys set out on a home made sail boat to check the terrain around the island. Their boat capsizes and crashes on the rocks, when they notice pirates ashore, the very same ones who had bothered them before. Now, the pirates appear to be holding two males captive, an old man and a young boy. The two Robinson boys help the young boy escape, while the older man tells them to leave him, as he will be ransomed.

The boys go off with their young companion in tow, while chased by the pirates. They manage to thwart the pirates and get back to the safety of their home on the other side of the island. In the meantime, they discover that the "boy" is really a girl, delightfully played by Janet Munro, and the older man was her grandfather. The two older boys are sweet on her, which causes a little fun loving tension. As the pirates are now aware that they are on the island, they set up all sorts of ingenious defenses. When the pirates do come a calling, they capably battle off a horde of pirates without injury to themselves.

Just as the pirates are in flight, a ship comes to the rescue led by the grandfather, who seems to have been ransomed and rescued in no time, and managed to get a sailing ship to the island to recue them, lickety split. Who in their right mind, however, would ever want to be rescued from this magical island, where nothing can possibly go wrong, and everyone loves each other. Pure Disney fantasy, this film is a lot of fun to watch and, better yet, can be enjoyed by the whole family.

5 out of 5 stars Vault Disney DVD packed with extras for a low price May 20, 2002
10 out of 10 found this review helpful

What a fantastic DVD this is. The Vault Disney series is wonderful, and I hope they give more films the same treatment soon. Not only is the film beautifully restored (in its original 2:35:1 theatrical aspect ratio, and with 5.1 THX surround sound), but the DVD itself is packed with delightful extras.

There's a documentary about making "Swiss Family Robinson" that is nearly 50 minutes long and contains interviews with Sir John Mills, James MacArthur, Tommy Kirk, and Kevin Corcoran. There's a commentary track with the latter three contributing comments about the film. There's an additional interview with MacArthur about his film work, the original theatrical trailer and television spots, radio spots, the entire story album that came out with the film, a Donald Duck cartoon, and more! If you like "Swiss Family Robinson," get this DVD -- even if you already have the VHS tape. It's worth it just to finally have a widescreen version of this family-friendly classic (the better to view the wonderful island vistas), even if you don't figure all of the wonderful extras into the bargain.

4 out of 5 stars FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY... June 20, 2002
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

You can't get much more wholesome than this. This film definitely has the Disney stamp all over it. The Swiss Family Robinson are on their way to New Guinea. Chased by pirates on the high seas, their ship runs up against a reef, and they find themselves shipwrecked by a deserted tropical island. They manage to get themselves and all their belongings and animals ashore, intact and none the worse for wear.

The mother, played by the lovely Dorothy McGuire, is always clean, perfectly groomed and coiffed. The father, played by the wonderful English actor, John Mills, is positively cheerful the entire film. Talk about optimism. His three sons, played by the hunky James MacArthur, the adorable Tommy Kirk, and the cute-as-a-button Kevin Corcoran, work tirelessly to make their new home into an island paradise.

In record time, they build a multi-level house to die for, high up in the trees. Somehow, they manage to get a pipe organ off the wrecked ship, ashore, and up into their multi-level tree house, so that they can sing Christmas Carols at the appropriate time. Kevin Corcoran even has a baby elephant for a pet, and they parade around their sculpted lawn which is surrounded by what appears to be a manicured, English country garden.

After a while, two of the boys set out on a home made sail boat to check the terrain around the island. They discover yet another casualty of the pirates' onslaught, delightfully played by Janet Munro. The two older boys are sweet on her, which causes a little fun loving tension. All is well, until the pirates come a-calling on the island, and all you know what breaks loose. Never fear. Rescue is on the way.

Who in their right mind, however, would ever want to be rescued from this magical island, where nothing can possibly go wrong, and everyone loves each other? Pure Disney fantasy, this film is a lot of fun to watch and, better yet, can be enjoyed by the whole family.

5 out of 5 stars Classic Disney adventure -- Superlative DVD release May 29, 2002
8 out of 8 found this review helpful

The folks at Walt Disney Home Video have put together four excellent new "Vault Disney" releases that truly showcase DVD technology at its best. "Swiss Family Robinson," one of Walt Disney's best-loved live-action adventures, benefits immensely from DVD technology, especially the wide-screen presentation and THX restored picture and sound quality. The widescreen alone would have satisfied most fans, so the plethora of extras on the supplemental disc are truly special. I have never seen a DVD with so many extras presented in such a creative and easily accessible way. Thank you to everyone at Walt Disney Home Video for this wonderful DVD. Hopefully, more titles will follow in this series (like Third Man on the Mountain, Darby O'Gill and the Little People, The Moonspinners, and Summer Magic) and ALL Disney DVD's will be released in their original theatrical ratios

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