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Old Yeller - Vault Disney Collection
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // G // May 7, 2002
List Price: $29.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
If you're a dog lover, chances are that you'll have a soft spot in your heart for Old Yeller. And if you happen to be a dog lover with young kids, then Disney's 1957 film will certainly find a welcome spot in your collection.
The Disney film, now appearing on DVD in the "Vault Disney" collection, is based on the classic children's novel of the same name by Fred Gipson. It's a reasonably faithful rendition of the award-winning novel, preserving the key elements of the story. Old Yeller has a number of very child-appealing elements. There's a slightly scary setup: the father is going to be away for several months on a cattle drive (an eternity for a child), leaving Travis (Tommy Kirk), the older boy, in charge of many of the "man's" tasks on the family homestead. To the film's credit, though, Dorothy McGuire's character is a plausible homesteading wife, who does as much hard work on the farm as anyone. With the two child characters, Travis and his younger brother, there's an element of sibling rivalry thrown in. The representation of life on a frontier farm is worthwhile: the kids play and have fun, but also do their share of work. There's a strong element of wish-fulfillment worked into the story as well: who wouldn't like to ride horses, explore the woods, or have exciting adventures like wrestling with a (baby) bear?
The narrative is fairly episodic, with the general theme of Travis overcoming his initial bad impressions of the "old yeller dog" and realizing Old Yeller's value to the family as a friend and protector. Adults who have read the book, or seen the film before, will know ahead of time that there's a sad twist in the story, which will give the film added impact for younger viewers. The overall conclusion of the film is upbeat, though.
As a "cat person," the dog character of Old Yeller didn't tug at my heartstrings the same way that, say, a beloved cat character would have. (I admit, though, that the adventures of "Old Stripey" as he protects the family from invading mice wouldn't quite pack the narrative punch of Old Yeller.) Even I could see, though, that the dog actor in the film is quite talented, with a very expressive face and an ability to go quite a bit of active stunts. If you like dogs, you'll enjoy seeing Old Yeller in action.
Video
Viewers will be pleased to find that Old Yeller is presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.78:1, with anamorphic enhancement. The transfer looks good for a film that's over forty years old, though it's not perfect. Yellow and brown colors come across in fairly rich tones, but other colors, such as the green of vegetation, are slightly muted. Some scenes display a moderate amount of noise and a touch of grain, while others are quite clean. All in all, it's a respectable transfer.
Audio
The Dolby 5.1 soundtrack carries the dialogue and ambient sounds clearly and accurately, though it doesn't offer much by way of surround effects. The music portion of the track is well-balanced with other elements, staying properly in the background except during the title and closing songs, where it stands out as it's intended to.
Extras
The Vault Disney two-disc set of Old Yeller is sure to please on the special features front. The first disc contains the 84-minute film itself, plus the original animated short "Bone Trouble" that played in theaters before the movie. This disc also contains an audio commentary track from Tommy Kirk, Fess Parker, Kevin Corcoran, and Bob Weatherwax.
The second disc rounds out the extras with a set of featurettes about the film. We get "Old Yeller: Remembering a Classic" and "Conversations with Tommy Kirk" as the most interesting pieces. More special features include "Dogs!," a montage of Disney images of dogs; production archives; a piece on "The Ranch of the Golden Oak"; and a studio album from 1957. Taken all together, there's a lot of added value provided in this release of Old Yeller.
Final thoughts
Old Yeller is a good kids' movie. I don't think that it offers much on the adult level, but at least it will be moderately enjoyable for the parental viewers, while the kids will find the adventures of the child actors and dog to be exciting. With the excellent set of extras, and the commendable choice by Disney of providing the original widescreen version of the film, it's a package that's worth the price as a family film.
The Disney film, now appearing on DVD in the "Vault Disney" collection, is based on the classic children's novel of the same name by Fred Gipson. It's a reasonably faithful rendition of the award-winning novel, preserving the key elements of the story. Old Yeller has a number of very child-appealing elements. There's a slightly scary setup: the father is going to be away for several months on a cattle drive (an eternity for a child), leaving Travis (Tommy Kirk), the older boy, in charge of many of the "man's" tasks on the family homestead. To the film's credit, though, Dorothy McGuire's character is a plausible homesteading wife, who does as much hard work on the farm as anyone. With the two child characters, Travis and his younger brother, there's an element of sibling rivalry thrown in. The representation of life on a frontier farm is worthwhile: the kids play and have fun, but also do their share of work. There's a strong element of wish-fulfillment worked into the story as well: who wouldn't like to ride horses, explore the woods, or have exciting adventures like wrestling with a (baby) bear?
The narrative is fairly episodic, with the general theme of Travis overcoming his initial bad impressions of the "old yeller dog" and realizing Old Yeller's value to the family as a friend and protector. Adults who have read the book, or seen the film before, will know ahead of time that there's a sad twist in the story, which will give the film added impact for younger viewers. The overall conclusion of the film is upbeat, though.
As a "cat person," the dog character of Old Yeller didn't tug at my heartstrings the same way that, say, a beloved cat character would have. (I admit, though, that the adventures of "Old Stripey" as he protects the family from invading mice wouldn't quite pack the narrative punch of Old Yeller.) Even I could see, though, that the dog actor in the film is quite talented, with a very expressive face and an ability to go quite a bit of active stunts. If you like dogs, you'll enjoy seeing Old Yeller in action.
Video
Viewers will be pleased to find that Old Yeller is presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.78:1, with anamorphic enhancement. The transfer looks good for a film that's over forty years old, though it's not perfect. Yellow and brown colors come across in fairly rich tones, but other colors, such as the green of vegetation, are slightly muted. Some scenes display a moderate amount of noise and a touch of grain, while others are quite clean. All in all, it's a respectable transfer.
Audio
The Dolby 5.1 soundtrack carries the dialogue and ambient sounds clearly and accurately, though it doesn't offer much by way of surround effects. The music portion of the track is well-balanced with other elements, staying properly in the background except during the title and closing songs, where it stands out as it's intended to.
Extras
The Vault Disney two-disc set of Old Yeller is sure to please on the special features front. The first disc contains the 84-minute film itself, plus the original animated short "Bone Trouble" that played in theaters before the movie. This disc also contains an audio commentary track from Tommy Kirk, Fess Parker, Kevin Corcoran, and Bob Weatherwax.
The second disc rounds out the extras with a set of featurettes about the film. We get "Old Yeller: Remembering a Classic" and "Conversations with Tommy Kirk" as the most interesting pieces. More special features include "Dogs!," a montage of Disney images of dogs; production archives; a piece on "The Ranch of the Golden Oak"; and a studio album from 1957. Taken all together, there's a lot of added value provided in this release of Old Yeller.
Final thoughts
Old Yeller is a good kids' movie. I don't think that it offers much on the adult level, but at least it will be moderately enjoyable for the parental viewers, while the kids will find the adventures of the child actors and dog to be exciting. With the excellent set of extras, and the commendable choice by Disney of providing the original widescreen version of the film, it's a package that's worth the price as a family film.
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