Mickey's House of Villains

For a direct-to-video release, this is surprisingly fun. Sure, it's cheaply produced - it consists primarily of reused segments previously aired or published by the Walt Disney company - but that doesn't mean it's not still a good time.

Production value of the new segments is on par with the TV standard of the time and the shorts interspersed throughout fit in relatively well with the rest of the material. Everything's been restored and remastered to the current standard.

Given the aspect ratios of the original shorts, however, I believe VHS is the best way to view this special. It's not cropped for the widescreen television format (although the shorts hold the integrity of their original aspect ratios as well, for the most part).

If you're expecting a top-tier Disney production, you're not going to find it here. However, if you're just looking to have a good time with the family, this is a really solid compilation of some of Disney's spookier history.

What a great song!!

Anyway, this House of Mouse movie was much better than the Christmas one. The concept and plot of the villians was very interesting. Many of the segments were hysterical. Especially "How to be Ghost" (or something like that). You could tell that "How to be a Ghost" was animated very well. The classic segments were a great addition! Also, the music and animation matched perfectly for the "Dance of the Goofys" and the "Hansel-mickey and Gretel-minnie".

Great movie and the DVD's game was also very well done.

10/10

2001's Snowed in at the House of Mouse was better put together. It made more sense. To many short cartoons in the House of Villains, to little club scenes. Jafar says that he's taking over at the start of the film, good opening by the way. Then the shorts, couple more snipplets of the House but nothing gets the story moving. Then at the end Jafar and the villains take over, kick the Fav Five and Co out of the club only to be taken back after another cartoon or two.

The collections of shorts in a HoM shell have the potential to be good if Disney decides to cut down with the cartoons and put more story in the House itself. Next year... Valentines Day, 2004... Eastern. There enough potential themes for future movies.

WARNING: Telling Secrets

This is a greatly put together piece of work, from Lonesome Ghosts to other Halloween classic tales told and starred by the Disney gang. My favorite part was the Trick or Treat with Donald and his three nephews, and Hazel the witch, when she zaps Donald a few times. This is one video a Disney fan can not be without. It should be in every Disney library.

If there's anything I learned by watching both House of Villains and Snowed in at the House of Mouse, it is that the House of Mouse format just doesn't seem to fit as a full-fledged movie. I definitely enjoy the House of Mouse series, but both these movies just seem to drag on a little too long.

This is not to say that I didn't like any of the HOM movies. I thought all the cartoons showed on the Christmas special were great, and I thought most of the ones on Villains were great too. However, Villains has the upper hand when it comes to the in-between segments. The story for Villains was much better and interesting as the Villains tried to take over the House of Mouse.

However, that is really just a small part of this movie. I still think the greatest draw is the animated shorts. Villains has more of a Halloween theme as they showcase Disney classics like Donald Duck & the Gorilla and Lonesome Ghosts and even new spooky shorts like the hilarious How to Haunt a House. This cartoon resurrects the classic Goofy How-to cartoons and gives it a paranormal twist. A narrator instructs Goofy and the viewers on how to properly act like a ghost. These are the type of cartoons that Goofy is best at as he bumbles and stumbles along trying to scare Donald, who definitely added even more humor to this cartoon. Even Mickey has a funny cameo.

So overall, Mickey's House of Villains has its entertaining moments, but it's nothing too extraordinary. My suggestion is to check out the whole thing once, and from then on, watch the cartoons and segments you enjoy the most. There are some good ones in there!

My IMDb Rating: 7/10