Intro

This is not your traditional Disney animated classics; it is more a vignette of short tales told to music. Told are the stories of John Henry, Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan, and The Brave Engineer… all of which are true “American Legends”.

Synopsis

“Disney celebrates the legends that inspired a country with classic stories of real American heroes in this all-new, full-length animated collection, DISNEY’S AMERICAN LEGENDS! You’ll meet the doers and dreamers who made America great…– including John Henry, the railroad builder, who proved the value of believing in oneself. Journey with the giant lumberjack Paul Bunyan as he clears the land for American settlers. Follow the trail of the beloved American icon Johnny Appleseed, whose peaceful planting of apple trees blossomed along the new frontier. Then take an unforgettable ride with Casey Jones, The Brave Engineer, who never failed to deliver the mail, no matter how difficult the route! Each story is introduced by celebrated actor James Earl Jones, and filled with unforgettable characters, adventure, and memorable songs. Gather the family together and enjoy these timeless tales … an experience no childhood should be without!” – BVHE

Audio

The audio on this disc was quite disappointing. Disney usually takes pride in the audio on its animated films, but that is not the case with American Legends. The Dolby Digital 2.0 audio was very plain, with no surround or soundstage presence. With the amount of singing in the stories, a solid soundtrack would have been much appreciated. The dialog was quite clear, but this audio left me with much to be desired.

Video

Although the video is quite good on this disc, the animation was not. Throughout most of the sketches, you could see the drawn outline of the characters through the animation. This was very distraction in regards to the film, but not a flaw of the transfer. There was a very limited amount of print damage, but the colors were lacking detail and sharpness.

Features

The only special features included on this DVD are an intro to Johnny Appleseed by Walt Disney, and a “Learning Adventure Game”, and “Sneak Peek” Trailers. These features are rather pointless, but at least some features were included on this disc.

Closing Thoughts

Overall, this disc was quite disappointing. I expect the best from Disney animated features, and this film was not up to their high standards. The animation is far from what we are used to seeing from Disney, and the audio was not very compelling. This DVD is a good tool to teach American History and folklore, but the DVD itself could have been much better.

Special Features List

• 4 Disney shorts
• Walt Disney intro to Johnny Appleseed
• American Legends Game
• John Henry (2000)
• Paul Bunyan (1958)
• Johnny Appleseed (1955)
• The Brave Engineer(1950)