Walt Disney Treasures: Legendary Heroes - Elfego Baca/The Swamp Fox (2005)

2 Discs DVD

The Walt Disney Treasures: Legendary Heroes - Elfego Baca/The Swamp Fox collection sheds some light on some Americans that I had never heard of before until I popped these discs into my player. Elfego Baca is portrayed by Robert Loggia. He is an old west outlaw who reforms himself and ends up becoming not only a sheriff but a lawyer. Baca then uses the knowledge that he has gleaned to try and clean up the West which is rampant with cowboys bent on injustice. Made up of three episodes, they really give us a well rounded portrait of what a solid person Elfego Baca was.

Leslie Nielsen stars as Marion Wilson aka The Swamp Fox (a man given this name because nobody knew the swamps as well as he did). In the three episodes on display here, we get to see the birth of the Swamp Fox persona as Wilson fights against the British during the Revolutionary War. I was quite surprised with how easily Nielsen handled this role as it is much different than the characters he currently plays. On top of that, all of the episodes contain a high degree of action (a Walt Disney mandate), and Nielsen never seems out of his element.

The Walt Disney Treasures: Legendary Heroes - Elfego Baca/The Swamp Fox two disc set is the kind of DVD that is as entertaining as it is informative. Also, we get the succinct prose of Leonard Maltin who really helps put each DVD in it's proper perspective with his introductory analysis.

Elfego Baca - Disc 1

The Many Lives of Robert Loggia
This is a look at the career of Robert Loggia. An actor who can play (and has played) a variety of different roles. This is something I am really glad to have watched if for no other reason than it shed more light on Loggia as a person. We find out how he got his start, why he made the career choices he has and we also get a nice reflection of his life as an actor and his portrayal of Elfego Baca.

Behind the Scenes Archival Photo Gallery and Merchandise Gallery
These two galleries feature photos from the Elfego Baca episodes as well as some of the merchandise that was made as an offshoot. These are interesting to see if for no other reason than their historic significance. I personally love the look of all the episodes that make up these discs and this is very much captured in these galleries.

The Swamp Fox - Disc 2

Walt Disney Presents Heroes Of The American Frontier
This is a interesting segment that examines Walt Disney's fascination with The American Frontier. At his heart, Walt Disney was a man who had a love affair with the present and the future, but also had a real fondness for the past. As a result of this, shows looking at people like Elfego Baca, Davy Crockett and Texas John Slaughter were made. This featurette celebrates these kinds of characters while at the same time examines the productions themselves.

I really love how Robert Loggia and Leslie Nielsen were used here. Loggia has always come across as a serious actor, so seeing him in the role of Elfego Baca wasn't really too much of stretch. I honestly, had no idea that Nielsen was capable of the portraying such a character. However, seeing him as a bad guy in an episode of Hawaii Five-0 some time ago, made me realize just how much range this "character" actor has. I also liked the historical aspect and celebration of American ideals that these shows imbued. Sure, certain groups and ideas aren't represented, but Walt Disney Treasures: Legendary Heroes - Elfego Baca/The Swamp Fox represents something. It documents a period in history that reflects on certain people as well as the time in which the shows were made.