Published on Feb 2, 2002
For me, Saturday morning cartoons went the way of the dinosaur
around the time they lopped at least an hour off my weekly quotient
of Bugs Bunny and friends. Now that I’m thirty-something, I can’t
bear to watch the modern-day cartoons, and my five-year-old
daughter has never really made it a point to camp out in front of
the television on Saturday mornings.
This is not the kind of news that either ABC or Disney wants to
hear, especially when I’m reviewing
Disney’s House Of Mouse, the soundtrack for the weekly
cartoon series featuring Mickey and friends in a restaurant
setting. If you’ve never watched the show (as I haven’t), some of
the significance of the music will be lost on you.
Aw, who am I kidding? The fact is, the music isn’t
supposed to be significant – at least to adults. This is one
that is aimed directly to the kids – and they’re the ones who can
appreciate the frivolity that this disc has.
Actually, that’s not entirely true. Most kids today might not
know who “The Three Caballeros” are (even if they do recognize
Donald Duck), but their parents will probably understand. (The
grandparents might even have the best recognition – in a sense,
proving my statement that this disc is just for kids to be wrong.)
But as long as the songs are short and catchy, the kids will eat
these tracks up like so many donuts that Goofy the waiter can serve
up. It’s Goofy’s “Soup Or Salad, Fries Or Biscuits” (a take on a
Mary Poppins track… don’t even make me try to spell it) that
is one of the clear winners on this disc, though I’d tend to guess
that the visuals from the cartoon make the song that much more
powerful.
But will the kids be interested? Put it this way: I gave my
daughter – the same one who, to the best of my knowledge, has never
watched this cartoon – this disc. I have yet to get it back from
her, and have heard it playing in her room on a few occasions.
She’s seen happily bouncing away to it – and, in the end, that’s
probably the ideal goal for Disney. (Well, that and getting the
kids interested in watching the cartoon, that is.)
Kids will love
Disney’s House Of Mouse, even if they’re not as familiar
with the show. As long as Mickey and crew continue to offer
entertainment, that’s all that matters to the kids. In terms of
kids’ music out there today, I can think of worse ways to pass a
half-hour. In fact, this is a pretty enjoyable disc.