Mary Poppins/Alice.../Dumbo/Robin Hood/Brother Bear/Tarzan/... DVD (2007) Julie

Title: Mary Poppins/Alice.../Dumbo/Robin Hood/Brother Bear/Tarzan/... Leading Actor: Julie Andrews Region: Region 2 Format: DVD / Special Edition Box Set Type: DVD No. of Discs: 10 disc(s) Studio / Publisher: WDHE UK Release Date: 01 Oct 2007 Edition: Special Edition Box Set

Classic Disney box set of animated films. In 'Mary Poppins' (1964), stuffy parents in Victorian London are looking for a nanny, but the children write their own ad which is torn up and thrown into the fire. Miraculously, the paper reassembles and floats up the chimney flue, and along comes Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) on her umbrella/parachute. She brings fun and magic to the children's lives, as well as a guiding hand. The film won five Oscars. In 'Alice in Wonderland' (1951) young Alice (voiced by Kathryn Beaumont) is transported to the bizarre Wonderland after following the March Hare (Jerry Colonna) down a rabbit hole. There she encounters the grinning Cheshire Cat (Sterling Holloway), joins the Mad Hatter's (Ed Wynn) tea party, and falls foul of the ill-tempered Queen of Hearts (Verna Felton) during a game of croquet. In 'Dumbo' (1941), baby circus elephant Dumbo is mocked by all the other animals because of his enormous ears. However, when he is befriended by Timothy Mouse (voiced by Edward Brophy) Dumbo discovers a new use for his outsized organs of hearing - they give him the ability to fly. Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace's score won an Oscar. In 'Robin Hood' (1973) Robin is characterised as a fox, Allan-a-Dale a rooster, Little John a bear, Friar Tuck a badger and the Sheriff of Nottingham a wolf. Robin and his merry band rob from the rich and give to the poor while England is ruled by the corrupt King John (voiced by Peter Ustinov) - whose snake advisor Hiss looks and sounds suspiciously like Terry-Thomas. In 'Brother Bear' (2003), Kenai (voiced by Joaquin Phoenix) is an impulsive young Native-American boy who is magically transformed into a bear by his brother when their father is killed by a mother bear protecting her cubs. Forced to see the world through a bear's eyes, Kenai sets out on a quest to find the mountain where the light touches the earth and regain his human form; and learns alot about compassion on his journey. In 'Tarzan' (1999), Disney Studios turn their attention to Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic tale with this lively animated adaptation. Tarzan (voiced by Tony Goldwyn) is a human who was taken in and raised by gorilla Kala (Glenn Close) when his parents were killed by Sabor the leopard. Now a grown male, Tarzan has never been fully accepted by Kala's husband Kerchak (Lance Henriksen), the head of the tribe, but has female gorilla Terk and elephant Trantor for friends. When explorer Professor Porter (Nigel Hawthorne) arrives in the jungle with his daughter Jane (Minnie Driver) and adventurer Clayton (Brian Blessed), Tarzan discovers his human heritage for the first time, gradually learning how to speak and spending time at the visitors' encampment. However, although Porter merely wishes to study the gorillas, Clayton secretly plans to capture them and take them back to England, and tries to trick Tarzan into leading him to the tribe. In 'Dinosaur' (2000), iguanodon Aladar (voiced by D.B. Sweeney) is separated from his own species while still inside his egg. He is taken in and brought up by lemurs Zini and Plio, but when this adoptive family is all by wiped out by a meteor shower, Aladar and his friends are forced to join a mixed herd of dinosaurs who are migrating to a new nesting ground. This tribe is led by the hard-headed Kron (Samuel E. Wright), whose 'survival of the fittest' approach clashes with Aladar's more altruistic nature. In 'The Sword in the Stone' (1963), the Disney version of the early life of King Arthur, scullery boy Arthur, with the nickname of Wart, goes through important magical training at the hands of the wise wizard Merlin. It transpires that the sorceror has the boy earmarked for greater things, but Arthur must undergo a number of tests before he can fulfil his destiny. In 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks' (1971), three English children are evacuated from London in 1940, only to discover the lady they're staying with (Angela Lansbury) is a witch - but a good one. With the aid of her spells and a magic bed, the children visit an undersea kingdom, witness a football match played by teams of wild cartoon animals, and successfully thwart a Nazi invasion of Britain. Live action and animation are combined in this Oscar-winning Disney film, which also features the songs 'Portobello Road' (as performed by the spiv Bruce Forsyth) and 'The Beautiful Briny Sea'. In 'Mulan' (1998), Ancient China faces invasion by the barbarian hordes of Shan-Yu, and calls all able-bodied men to arms to defend their Emperor. Young girl Mulan (voiced by Ming-Na Wen) disguises herself as a boy and joins up in her aged father's place, accompanied by her protectors: guardian dragon Mushu (Eddie Murphy) and lucky cricket Cri-kee. Mulan trains under the handsome Captain Shang (B.D. Wong, with Donny Osmond handling the singing), with whom she is soon falling in love, and shows herself to be a capable warrior. When Mulan is wounded in battle, however, the secret of her gender is discovered and she faces exposure and disgrace.