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Disney Princess Collection: Princess Stories Volume One

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // Unrated // September 7, 2004
List Price: $19.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]

Review by John Crichton | posted November 6, 2004 | E-mail the Author
"An enchanted realm awaits in Disney Princess Stories - a special place where your little girl's imagination reigns supreme."

 I don't know if this release is an example of "an enchanted realm". In fact, the only thing this release demonstrates is the contempt that the Eisner regime has for Disney fans. But, let me stop before I start referring to the mouse house as Di$ney. 

We start the disc by floating into a 3-D computer animated girl's room and head over to where a menu is waiting for us on the wall. There are five main menu options: Play All, Story Selections, Bonus Features, Set Up and Sneak Peeks. Clicking on Story Selections brings us to a computer generated 3-D jewelry box that has four floating heart lockets and a note that reads "For my little princess. Love, Mom". Each one features a different princess and selecting one leads you to her story.

Ariel's story, "Wish Upon A Starfish", is actually an episode from season two of the Little Mermaid animated series. Basically, we follow Ariel and a fellow mermaid, Gabriella, as they seek out a magical starfish in hopes that their wishes will be granted. The episode runs 21 minutes long and it looks as if it's a direct port from the VHS that it was previously released on. 

Clicking on the gold locket brings us to Belle's "all-new" story "the Big Surprise". Turns out they were being literal by referring to this as a "story" since it's basically a read-along with animation from the cheapquels intersected with stills. It runs 5 minutes and 20 seconds long and is utterly forgettable.

The blue locket tells the other "all-new" story "the Favorite Gift" featuring Cinderella. Basically the same thing as the "all-new" Beauty And the Beast story, this was possibly the worst art i've ever seen on a Disney film. It runs a painful 6 minutes and 50 seconds.

Clicking on Jasmine's locket brings up an episode from Disney's syndicated Aladdin series. It's the second show of the first season and in it, we join Jasmine and Al as they attempt to keep a young keep happy since his mood affects the land he rules. Similar to the Little Mermaid cartoon, this one also runs 21 minutes though the picture quality is slightly better than Ariel's. Oh, and that's not Robin Williams as the genie. 

Bonus Features: The Bonus Features menu allows you four options. The first, Magic Wand Play is a weird "bonus feature". Basically, it allows you two further options. The first, Play All, does just what it says - it plays all four stories without interruption. Play Selected Stories lets you choose from the Beauty And the Beast or the Cinderella "read-alongs". Once you make you choice, it scrolls through the "read-along" but this time it gives you four extra options per page. It allows you to move forward or back, replay the page or exit the story completely. This is a ground-breaking amazingly magical feature that I hope the industry utilizes on all future DVDs. In other words, this is about as much of a special feature as Paramount's subtitle and audio track "Special Features".

The next "Bonus Feature", Princess Craft Time - Charm Bracelet, instructs viewers how to construct a charm bracelet using Elastic String, Beads, Tape, Clear Glue, Charms, Rounded-Tip Scissors, Adult Supervision and a partridge and a pear tree. Okay, so the last two items aren't needed, and my sarcasm is unwarranted since I found this to be the ONE feature that didn't annoy me incessantly. "If You Can Dream", the music video that's exclusive to all of the "Princess Collection" is next. The final "Bonus Feature" is titled "How To Be A Princess" and is hands down, the most ridiculous thing i've seen on these DVDs [Yes, even moreso than the "read-alongs" on this disc]. 

Video: Discounting the terrible animation found on the "read-alongs", the picture quality varies. The Jasmine and Ariel stories, originally broadcast on television in the 90s, show their age but are free from compression errors while, at times, displaying a minor instance of dirt on the print. The other two stories have vibrant color and hues and the picture is relatively sharp. A shame, since the animation is terrible. 

Audio: The Dolby Surround tracks, both English and French, are adequate.


Conclusion: While I am happy to see two episodes from the Aladdin and Little Mermaid animated series, I have to say this is a very lazy release. I realize children are supposed to be easily entertained/amused, but it's our jobs as parents to recognize the quality of the things our children get subjected to. I wouldn't feel comfortable recommending this to a hardcore or fairweather Disney fan, much less someone looking to expose their children to magic of Disney for the very first time. Skip It.

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