On June 14th 2011, Disney released two more volumes of their Have a Laugh series. The series consists of the animated shorts the Disney Channel began running in 2009 in spots where networks would run commercials. For further information on the shorts, you may want to look at my earlier review of Have a Laugh: Volume 3.
Volume 4, as with others, features five animated shots from 1937 to 1950. The original versions add up to a paltry 35:48 of playtime. As I wrote in my review of Volume 3, Disney shows the shorts in a re-edited, newly voiced format. Thankfully though, the DVD sets feature the animated shorts in their original, unedited form, with a wonderfully remastered picture and remixed soundtrack. However, if the younger fans among us prefer the newly edited versions, those are available here as well.
Here are the shorts included, along with their original and edited runtimes.
1. Mickey Down Under (1948) (6:36 / 2:32) In Australia, a boomerang has Pluto angry and suspicious, while an emu gets mad at Mickey Mouse for touching her egg.
2. Hawaiian Holiday (1937) (8:21 / 2:17) In Hawaii, Goofy surfs, Mickey strums a ukulele, Donald dances, and Pluto chases after an assortment of beach creatures.
3. Trailer Horn (1950) (6:26 / 2:32) Chip and Dale follow some large footprints outside their home to a sleeping Donald Duck, who they can’t help but awaken and aggravate.
4. How to Swim (1942) (7:32 / 2:32) In one of Goofy’s “how to” shorts, a narrator explains as Goofy demonstrates the ins and outs of swimming on a rolling stool, on a diving board, and at the bottom of the sea.
5. Pluto’s Surprise Package (1949) (6:53 / 2:32) Pluto is excited by a mail parcel holding a turtle who proves to be a pawful.
Getting the dreaded “BLAM!” treatment—it’s enough to say the word “BLAM” is used way too much—are Goofy’s Hawaiian Holiday (“Beach”), Donald’s The Fox Hunt (“Fox Hunt”), and Goofy’s Hockey Homicide (“Hockey”).
The short Re-MICKS clip here (1:32) edits footage from the 1931 black and white Mickey short The Barnyard Broadcast to “Play My Music”, the Jonas Brothers’ “Play My Music” from Camp Rock.
As with Volume 3, The picture quality is excellent for a DVD. All the cartoons are presented in their original Academy ratios of 1.33:1. The image shows little evidence of its advanced age. Each cartoon is amazingly sharp throughout, with no real distinct blemishes or issues.
The original versions of the shorts are presented in 2.0 sound recreating their original monaural mixes. The recent “short versions” are treated to full Dolby Digital 5.1. In truth, the redone soundtracks are easier on the ears, their faithful new readings (performed by the pros who voice the characters for “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” and other official venues, and sound effects wielding clarity and depth impossible back in the ’30s and ’40s. Still, the original soundtracks come across as well as could be expected. The hearing impaired and foreign language speakers are covered with subtitles and dubs.
