1961 - ONE HUNDRED AND ONE DALMATIANS, another high point for the Disney animated film.

 A very good animated film from the Walt Disney Company.  

In this film the animators and artists simplified their approach to the story.  They were clearly influenced by the work that UPA was doing with their animated product.

The result was one or Disney's least overstuffed films.  Gone were the elaborate settings of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty.  The film is definitely all the better for it.  This is a simple story told clearly and effectively.

The film is so good that Disney paid it the ultimate compliment, remaking it as a live action film.

The writer was Bill Peet, the running time is 79 minutes.

1949 - THE ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD AND MR. TOAD

Is this one of the greatest animated Disney features?  No but it's very good.   These two stories show the skill of the Disney production company and they each run about 30 minutes.

The Wind In The Willows is narrated by Basil Rathbone and is based on the Kenneth Grahame children's book.

The second story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is narrated by Bing Crosby and is based on Washington Irving's "The Sketch Book".

The film runs 68 minutes and doesn't wear out it's welcome.

1959 - SLEEPING BEAUTY, on Blu Ray

Walt Disney went back to the well with another fairy tale story.  Disney had very good luck in the past adapting these types of stories.  This time The Disney studio spent lavishly on Sleeping Beauty, animating it in CinemaScope at a then record breaking budget of six million dollars.

Sleeping Beauty is one of Disney's most beautiful films.  Every scene looks incredible.  The design of the film is stunning with the visual qualities of the film always in the foreground.  Unfortunately this lush pictorial beauty tends to overwhelm the characters and more importantly the story.

The score was adapted from the Tchaikovsky ballet.  The film's director Clyde Genonimi is credited as the supervising director but really this type of animated project is the result of many artists and technicians.

The film runs a brisk 75 minutes.