Rating: - excellent for kids
Great for kids and parents to watch together.... especially ex-pat kids overseas! Wonderful bit of Americana!
Rating: - Good Classic Disney, NOT a waste of money!
This is good classic Disney I remember watching as a child. Johnny Appleseed alone makes the DVD worth buying. Others have commented on it being patriotic because of 9-11 or being politically correct. But it was made WAY before those things were the big issues they are today. It is of course patriotic because they are American folklore. Just enjoy a great set of cartoons and forget about the bad reviews!
Remember the Paul Bunyan and other from when I was a child.
Rating: - Entertaining
These Disney movies are still fun to watch, even though they were made many years ago.
Rating: - A Good Introduction To American Legends
Overall, the DVD is a nice introduction for young children to four American legends. Disney has done a reasonable job of choosing how to present each hero. (If you love a particular version of one of the legends, you might be well served by looking for the right book.)
The best story is about John Henry. The animation (very stylized) and singing are very compelling and the story has a clear narrative which is powerful. My three year old is mesmerized by it. It's worth the purchase of the DVD alone.
The story of Johnny Appleseed is a bit more problematic. If you are a Christian, you _may_ find the story rendition delightful. Others may find the religious tones of this story inappropriate or troubling for your child. Given the history of Johnny Appleseed, though, it is hard to see how you could be faithful to the story and not deal with religion.
The Paul Bunyon story is a classic story cartoon. Many of his legends are pieced together in a likeable fashion with traditional animation. It's hard not to like it, but it isn't as compelling as the John Henry work.
Finally, the Casey Jones episode is muddled and slapstick. It is the least compelling of the stories and it mainly relies on physical humor to carry forward. It's a disappointing end to the collection of stories.
I'd recommend this to parents with young children as an introduction to some American cultural icons.
- excellent for kids
- Entertaining