I give this only **** four stars because most of these films have already been released on DVD restored from 35mm. There is little new here.
The thought is that kids won't watch B&W films, so lets COLORIZE The Litle Rascals. Purists can watch this in B&W also, which is good since the colorization looks cartoony & unnatural.
I just could not pass up the extras that are included on these DVDs.
BEST OF OUR GANG has
Alfalfa short soundie "The Singing Lesson",
Broadway Highlights short clip of Pete the Pup becoming a member of a entertainment night club,
"You Asked For It" clip of the segment with the OUR GANG REUNION showing the silent stars (Jackie Condon, Joe Cobb, Farina & others) as they are in 1955.
Our Gang clip from "The Stolen Jewels" ( o.k. this is the only clip un necessary as the complete short is widely available ).
Oh, yes.. there are the comedy shorts. These are all from 35mm 1950's RE-ISSUE PRINTS, not the same MGM transfers as the Cabin Fever / Hallmark DVDs. But they are 35mm prints and they look very good. There is a variety of title sections representing almost every company that re-issued these shorts in 35mm, including Official Films which I never knew made 35mm prints.
BEST OF OUR GANG
"FLY MY KITE" - Official 'Famous Kids' titles - The rascals help Grandma save her property from the evil banker.
"A LAD IN A LAMP" - ERKO 'Kids 'n Pets' titles (1st time on DVD?)- Spanky & the gang find a 'magic lamp'. Spanky whishes Buckwheat was a monkey and thinks his wish came true when a real monkey comes in (there is always one around in a Little Rascals comedy).
"KID FROM BORNEO" - Monogram titles - a short that has been long banned from television due to racial jokes & the main character being a wild man from borneo who goes around saying "Yum , Yum , Eat'em Up" while chasing Spanky & the gang. It is unlikely that Hallmark will do an official release of this on their DVD sets, so you might want to consider this if you don't have the old Cabin Fever videos.
"HI! NEIGHBOR" - Allied Artists titles - The gang gets a new neighbor, who owns a shiny new kiddie firetruck.
"HIDE & SHRIEK" - Official 'Famous Kids' titles - another classic featured on this disc starring Alfalfa, Buckweat & Porky. Alfalfa plays a sherlock holmes type of detective and hires Buckweat & Porky to investigate some missing candy.
The shorts are offered in both Colorized & original B&W restored versions, but switching back & forth while playing the short is not possible. The bonus material is B&W only.