Behind the Scenes at the Walt Disney Studio

Meet the wizards who conjure up the Disney magic: a must for animation buffs, this two-disc set unearths a treasure trove of promotional films, a rare feature, and entertaining television specials in which Walt Disney and his staff of legendary animators reveal how they create cartoons. The highlight of this collection is "The Reluctant Dragon" (1941), in which humorist Robert Benchley gets a tour of Walt Disney studios, featuring the animated sequences "How to Ride a Horse," the charming "Baby Weems" and "The Reluctant Dragon." Disc one also contains "A Trip Through the Walt Disney Studios" and "How Walt Disney Cartoons Are Made," which were created to hype Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Disc two contains three episodes from the 1950s TV series Disneyland, which aired in black and white, but were filmed in (and are presented here in) color. Disney historian Leonard Maltin's introductions offer further fascinating background into these entertaining programs. While kids may not appreciate the technical stuff, they'll love the vintage cartoons and archival rarities (the episode "The Plausible Impossible," for example, debuts a sequence deleted from Snow White). DVD extras include a 24-minute studio tour conducted by Maltin, and a 1946 audio tour of the Disney studio produced for Australian radio. Recommended. (K. Lee Benson)