A sweet and naïve country girl arrives in the suburbs to live with an aunt and uncle unaware of her existence. Seeking to fit in at her new school, she runs afoul of the reigning mean girl, who accuses her of stealing her necklace at a party. No, it's not Gossip Girl, it's Annette, the serial that aired during The Mickey Mouse Club's third season, and it's nothing less than “keen.” Irresistible nostalgia for baby boomers, of course, but perhaps a new generation will also breathlessly follow each episode to find out what happened to that necklace, and if Annette will be vindicated, and whether “the menace” Laura Rogan will get her comeuppance. Offering a typically Disney-fied idealized view of high school and small town life (every neighborhood should have a hopping malt shop), Annette is a fitting star vehicle for Annette Funicello, the most popular Mouseketeer, and the only original cast member personally selected by Walt Disney. In addition to the endearing star (whose hayride rendition of the ditty “How Will I Know My Love” launched her recording career), this serial boasts a cast of Disney kid-faves (including heartthrob Tim Considine, the Zac Efron of his day) and dependable adult character actors, including Richard Deacon (of Leave It to Beaver and The Dick Van Dyke Show) as Annette's very proper Uncle Archie, Sylvia Field (Mrs. Wilson on the Dennis the Menace TV series) as his wife, and Mary Wickes (the voice of gargoyle Laverne in Disney's animated The Hunchback of Notre Dame) as their housekeeper. Annette is corny as all get out, and the teen cast is amateurish (although Judy Nugent as Annette's feisty farm girl friend Jet and Rudy Lee as wisecracking small fry “Steady” are a real hoot). But just like its star, it's still a real charmer. Compiling all 20 episodes from the 1957-58 series, DVD extras include introductions on each disc by film critic Leonard Maltin, the two Mickey Mouse Club episodes that launched and concluded the serial, and a tribute to Funicello, who—in archival interviews—cannot seem to talk about Walt Disney without tearing up. Recommended. (D. Liebenson)
Walt Disney Treasures: The Mickey Mouse Club Presents—Annette, 1957-1958 Season
Walt Disney, 2 discs, 286 min., not rated, DVD: $32.99 Volume 24, Issue 1
Walt Disney Treasures: The Mickey Mouse Club Presents—Annette, 1957-1958 Season
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