Walt Disney's It's a Small World of Fun, Volume 1

The Disney folks display true entrepreneurial genius when it comes to repurposing their precious library of classic animation. This themed collection, much of it previously available in high-end Walt Disney Treasures sets, is your passport to far-off lands, featuring trips to South America ("The Flying Gauchito," a segment from The Three Caballeros), Holland (the Pluto cartoon "In Dutch"), India ("Goliath II"), Australia ("Mickey Down Under"), Africa ("African Diary" featuring Goofy), and the good ol' USA (the very sweet "A Cowboy Needs a Horse"). Making the journey especially well worth taking is a charming, anti-pollution short, "Grievance of a Starmaker" (based on an award-winning Japanese story, and never seen outside Japan), in which a young boy named Yasu visits the celestial shop run by Mr. Hoshi, who, despairing of the pollution that has darkened his stars, has drawn a curtain across the sky. It's the kind of thoughtful, stylized animation rarely seen outside film festivals, and just the ticket for a wondrous journey into the imagination. Recommended. [Note: Walt Disney's It's a Small World of Fun, Volume 2 is also available.] (D. Liebenson)