Walt Disney Treasures: The Adventures of Spin and Marty DVD: Review By Mushy

I am sucker for shows from the 1950s but I am even more of a sucker for shows about kids from that time period. So imagine how happy I was to realize that this is precisely what The Walt Disney Treasures: The Adventures of Spin and Marty offers. The tales of Spin Evans, a kid without much money but a rich sense of adventure and Marty Markham, an uptight kid with money, are superbly done. These boys spend their summer on the Triple R Ranch where after a rough start, they find they really like each other and soon undertake adventure after adventure. Leonard Maltin, who introduces this collection on the two discs that make it up, does a fine job of setting the stage for all that we are about to see. He puts this show in it's proper historical perspective and in doing so, makes this elaborately put together DVD something to treasure.

This is a show for kids, done by kids. There are adults around (somebody has to run the Triple R Ranch, right?) but I would say 95% of the shows are carried by the younger talent. I am sure that there are people today who will scoff at both the show and it's subject matter, but The Walt Disney Treasures: The Adventures of Spin and Marty worked very well for me and I wish that more of today's programs were like it.

Disc One

An Introduction to Spin & Marty

This introduction is actually part of an episode of The Mickey Mouse Club. To be honest, I am more nostalgic than most and I found watching this show to be pretty dreadful. Thankfully, Marty Markham appeared and took is into the Triple R world. He explained who all the main characters were, and even took us through some of the adventures they get into. While at times I think this was a little bit awkward (just because David Stollery seemed awkward) overall it gets the job done.

Tim Considine's Screen Test

This was a screen test in which we get to see Tim Considine act in the Marty Markham role. This was very interesting just because I was used to him as the character of Spin Evans. While I think he could have pulled it off, ultimately Walt was smart to go with him in the much rawer role.

Galleries

These galleries give us a mix of merchandise like albums and books based on this show, as well as some candid still shots that were taken on the set. We get to see things like the actors having a break in between takes, the set up of certain scenes that involved animals and other shots that probably have not seen the light of day until this DVD was created.

Disc Two

Return to the Triple R

Tim Considine and David Stollery take a trip back to the Triple R Ranch as they walk around together remembering old times. I was really taken by how good the production was on this segment. These two guys are walking around and the sound and picture quality always remains top notch. I think it was interesting when discussing the show that they say the reason why it was successful had nothing to do with production values or the acting, but because it was the only program on that was really for kids.

Back in the Saddle with Harry Carey, Jr.

Leonard Maltin conducts this interview with Harry Carey, Jr. who played the role of Bill Burnett on the show. Burnett tells Maltin about working with Walt Disney, how all the kids were really great (not a spoiled brat among them) and how being on The Adventures of Spin and Marty actually allowed him to cash a big check when he walked into a bank with no identification. Leonard Maltin's reverential interviewing style has a way of really relaxing his subjects and getting them to open up.

Full screen. I am huge fan of the way these Spin and Marty episodes looked. Even in black and white, I think that there is a richness to these shows that many others today could take a lesson from. There are times, especially in the early going, where the acting is really poor by the young kids. However, as the show wore on the acting improved and these characters got their legs under them. On top of that, this wasn't a stand alone show but something that was part of The Mickey Mouse Club, so it wasn't like they had a whole lot of time to work out their characters. As a result, while the acting might leave something to be desired, the adventurous spirit of this show certainly does not.

Dolby Digital. When you consider how old these shows are, I can forgive having to turn the volume on my TV set up a bit louder in order to hear them. Amazingly, with all the hours of material on these discs, I was quite surprised not to have any real audio problems come up. There were no drop outs or points where the sound disappeared completely. The assets for these discs have also been digitally mastered (although not all of them have), but I certainly never got the impression that Disney was just throwing stuff on here hoping people wouldn't notice any problems.

The DVD that stores these discs comes housed in a silver tin. The only artwork on the front cover is a small picture of Spin and Marty. The back features a cover from the Spin and Marty comic book from 1958. There is a description of the show, some technical specs and a quote from Leonard Maltin. The cover art on the DVD itself is exactly the same. Inside is a nice (although informationally sparse) collector's booklet, a front cover print of the Spin and Marty comic book from 1958 and a certificate of authenticity from Roy Disney and Leonard Maltin. The discs are each housed in their own trays with my only complaint being that they slam against one another whenever you close the case.

I think there is a real joy that people get in creating children's programming. It is this joy that I think propelled Walt Disney to create the kinds of things he did. He was really a man who understood that one only gets to be a kid once. Time goes so fast and as we get older it seems to go even faster. Walt seemed to be trying to preserve that experience through his movies, TV shows and Theme parks. This way, we would be able to realize what a special time being a child is no matter what our age.

The Walt Disney Treasures: The Adventures of Spin and Marty is great family programming and I really hope that parents make it available to their kids.