As fans have noticed for some time now, the folks over at Disney sure know how to roll out the red carpet for their animated classics. Say what you will about the "vault" into which certain titles vanish from the public eye for undisclosed reasons, but the advent of Blu-ray has proved that as these movies debut on the new format, the bonus goodies we get in return make the wait worth it. Fortunately, the high-definition treatment hasn't been restricted to just the House of Mouse's most prestigious and well-known features. Disney aficionados will be glad to see that the studio has unveiled a slew of older releases making the Blu-ray leap for the first time, pictures that may not be mainstays in everyone's collection but have been spiffed up regardless. I recently had the pleasure of cracking open three such sets, two being flicks that were brand new when I was a budding cinema hound and one classic double feature that throws in a whole other third movie just for an added treat.

THE ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD AND MR. TOAD (1949) / FUN AND FANCY FREE (1947). Two of Disney's most admired cinematic storybooks come presented here in a package deal for the first time. 1949's The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad brings to life a pair of classic literary creations: Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" and Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." The former features Basil Rathbone narrating the attempts of one J. Thaddeus Toad (voice of Eric Blore) to procure an automobile, while the latter has Bing Crosby regaling us with the tale of schoolmaster Ichabod Crane's encounter with the notorious Headless Horseman. 1947's Fun and Fancy Free, on the other hand, sees Jiminy Cricket (voice of Cliff Edwards) presiding over two tales himself: the story of circus bear Bongo's escape into the wild and a riff on "Jack and the Beanstalk," starring the one and only Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy.

After Fantasia and Bambi made artistic waves but failed to stir up the expected box office, old Uncle Walt focused the remainder of the '40s on delivering crowd-pleasing fare in an anthology format. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad was the last movie in this line, and although it's a classy production and pleasant to look at, there isn't terribly much substance to keep things interesting. The "Toad" story boasts great voice work by Blore but settles into a repetitive grind pretty fast, and while the "Ichabod" section comes to offer some fantastically spooky animation, you have to wade through seemingly endless musical numbers to get to it. At least Rathbone and Crosby both handle narrator duties marvelously, and the visuals of each vignette are evocative in their own unique ways.

You could say that Fun and Fancy Free is an even more frivolous enterprise, and you wouldn't exactly be wrong. I'll admit that the film (or the "Bongo" segment, at least) experiences too much cuteness overload for its own good, and in spite of Jiminy Cricket being featured as our host, he doesn't actually narrate the stories. That job is divided between Dinah Shore and Edgar Bergen (with input from his pint-sized peanut gallery, Charlie McCarthy), but even though the picture as a whole is every bit as light and frothy as the title indicates, it's still my favorite of the set. Shore's silky-smooth singing voice is a perfect fit for the lovey-dovey "Bongo" short, and as Mickey and company ascend the beanstalk, both their antics and McCarthy's commentary ensure that there are more than enough chuckles to go around. Plus, while Jiminy Cricket may not get much to do here, it's always a pleasure hearing Edwards breathing life into the little guy.

Though quaint to the point of lulling today's youth to sleep, both Fun and Fancy Free and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad still carry plenty of old-fashioned charm. Each movie's striking animation has been done high-definition justice, and when it comes to inducting kids into the wonderful world of Disney, their simple storylines are an ideal first step before moving onto more dramatic pictures. As dated as they can seem, these flicks are cheerful treats all the same, and with luck, this set will be successful enough to inspire other anthology features like Melody Time and Saludos Amigos to make the jump to Blu-ray in the near future.

BONUS FEATURES:

-The Reluctant Dragon, a 1941 feature that combines live action with animation as we witness humorist Robert Benchley touring the Disney studio lot.

-DVD copies of the feature films

HERCULES (1997). Legend tells of a man who rose up to become the greatest hero that Ancient Greece would ever see: Hercules (voice of Tate Donovan). But he wasn't always the boar-bashing, stable-cleaning, girdle-swiping beefcake he's known as today. Born the son of Zeus himself (voice of Rip Torn), Hercules was ripped from his divine lineage by that scheming lord of the dead, Hades (voice of James Woods). Stranded on earth as a mere mortal with godlike strength, it was up to Hercules to earn back his place on Mount Olympus by dedicating his life to becoming a champion for the people. With the help of tough-talking trainer Philoctetes (voice of Danny DeVito), young Herc does just that, winning the public over with his fantastic feats and bulging biceps. But his greatest challenge yet comes when Hades plans to use the dreaded Titans to take over Mount Olympus, a fiendish plot that might be too much for even the strongest man in Greece to put an end to.

Hercules is a frustrating film, for it's a slave to the Disney formula as much as it dares to go against the grain. On the plus side, the animation is incredibly appealing, giving the House of Mouse one of the most distinctive looks of its 1990s renaissance. From the deities inhabiting Olympus to the creatures to which Herc delivers a sound thrashing, the number of uniquely-designed characters we get to gaze at is seemingly endless. The pacing is zippy, and to complement it, Woods puts a schmoozing, motor-mouthed spin on the traditionally dour Hades, walking away with one of the funniest and most memorable Disney villains for his efforts. Unfortunately, despite these creative steps taken by the production, there are about as many times when Hercules appears asleep at the wheel. The songs (save for some lively commentary provided by the gospel-style muses) are uninspired, the pop culture gags taken right from Aladdin's playbook are intrusive, and Hercules himself is an all-around boring protagonist, be it his arc or his super-vanilla appearance. There's the usual Disney words of wisdom about following your dreams, thinking of others, and all that, but such sermonizing rings just a touch hollow this time, as if the movie had to recite it instead of choosing to do so from the heart.

After seeing the Disney pictures that came before it brimming with so much scope and ambition, it's a jolt to have Hercules gunning for simple yuks. This is just fine, especially since the nation's grade-schoolers needed something light and breezy on the heels of 1996's monumentally heavy The Hunchback of Notre Dame, but one needn't dig too deeply to tell when the film switches to autopilot. For something prone to poking fun at the over-commercialization of cultural icons, Hercules resembles a marketing ploy more than something born from the desire to tell a stirring story.

BONUS FEATURES:

-A making-of featurette

-A music video for the Spanish version of "Go the Distance" (performed by Ricky Martin)

-A "Zero to Hero" sing-along

-A DVD copy of the feature film
 
TARZAN (1999). A terrible shipwreck. A family stranded in the wilds of Africa. Under typical circumstances, this should have spelled the end for a baby boy caught in the middle of it all, but as we come to see, his life turns out to be anything but typical. Though his parents are tragically taken from him at an early age, the child is soon taken in by native gorillas and given the name that's thrilled adventure seekers for over a century: Tarzan (voice of Tony Goldwyn). Despite feeling alienated due to his appearance, Tarzan grows into a fierce and loyal protector of his furry family, mastering the arts of mimicry and traveling via vine. But on one fateful day, he comes upon Jane Porter (voice of Minnie Driver), a peppy Englishwoman hoping to study gorillas. Learning for the first time about the human world he never knew, Tarzan finds himself at a crossroads, torn between returning to civilization with Jane or remaining with his true family.

Of the movies Disney released back when I was still part of the studio's target audience, Tarzan holds up among the best. Sure, a lot of the kid-geared tropes of the time haven't aged well, from Rosie O'Donnell as Tarzan's smart-alecky sidekick to Brian Blessed's Clayton, a hunter with all the moral complexity of a "Captain Planet" villain. But the picture contains an emotional maturity that helps it resonate with people of all ages and makes Disney's trademark sentimentality a little easier to swallow. As opposed to the hero of Hercules being driven by some generic desire for notoriety, Tarzan simply wants a place to belong; you're pretty sure of what side he'll settle upon by the end, but his struggle over choosing between Jane and his primate pals feels genuine all the same. Goldwyn does pretty unmemorable work with his role, but Driver fills Jane with plenty of liveliness, and the animation used to show them swinging from vine to vine and surfing down tree trunks is nothing short of exhilarating. Plus, for as soapy as some of them can sound, most of the Phil Collins songs filling the soundtrack are fun and inspirational, sweeping you up into the action right along with Mark Mancina's thundering score.

Thanks to its well-roundedness, Disney's Tarzan has a pretty good shot of withstanding the test of time. While other cinematic adaptations of Edgar Rice Burroughs' most famous creation have placed more emphasis on action or romance above all else, this one does it all, blending tender drama and heart-racing adventure in a way that should please any demographic. Tarzan is said by many to be the last great product of Disney's '90s renaissance, and from having seen it to be just about as spirited and entertaining now as it was back in my middle school days, I'm inclined to agree.

BONUS FEATURES:

-Backstage Disney featurettes that provide a look at the film's creation

-Deleted scenes

-Phil Collins music videos

-A DVD copy of the feature film

(PHOTO: A.J. Hakari, aka The Mad Movie Man)