Pollyanna (1960)

The DVD double-disk edition of this movie is a perfect example of just how GREAT DVDs can be! Ostensibly a "big-kids' movie," "Pollyanna" is good enough to appeal to adults as well. I saw it when I was 10 years old, and fell in love with it then. I also had a crush on Haley Mills, as did most of the other boys I knew. Coming back now and finding the movie on DVD to be a treasure for myself--- nostalgia, childhood revisited, etc.--- came as no surprise. However, finding the high quality of bonus materials and extras on the two disks was amazing. Good for Disney Studios... Very well done!

Contrast "Pollyanna" DVD extras with those found on the new "Harry Potter" DVD. "Harry," an excellent movie, nonetheless has DVD extras that are mostly geared towards children. "Harry's" entire second DVD disk, the bonus disk, has high production values (that is, it was obviously expensive to produce), but most of it is so simplistic and slow that one can only imagine it was designed for the 8- to 12-year old crowd. Which is fine (note, however, that the "Interviews" selection on that disk is excellent and informative for adults, too).

"Pollyanna," however, gives us half a dozen bonus disk features that are ALL aimed at adults (yet might also be appealing to older, brighter, more inquisitive children). For example, Disney's film restorer guy gives a behind the scenes explanation and multiple demonstrations of how and why color film degrades, and how it can be brought back to life. "Where are they now?" type things give us modern day glimpses of the surviving stars of the movie. We get to hear them relate their experiences on the set, and experiences vis-a-vis the movie since that time. We see archival TV footage of Walt Disney commenting on the movie, what Haley Mills thought at the time, what she went through, what her dad (famed actor Sir John Mills) said, and what she thinks NOW, etc. The film's writer and director also makes in-depth appearances in various features on the bonus disk, AND, he and Haley Mills provide an interesting audio commentary as the feature itself is viewed (I read that the director, whose name I cannot recall this instant, died at the age of 80 or 81, just a few months ago. His death came just after the DVD bonus materials were prepared). The whole thing was as meaty and appropriate and entertaining as anything I've ever seen on The History Channel, or A&E or Bravo channels.

Finally, the movie itself has been restored and lovingly presented (again, optional director and star commentary is available). It is still a good and solid entertainment! I gave this DVD edition of "Pollyanna" 10 out of 10. Seriously, I hope the other studios and DVD makers will study this disk religiously, and learn how it's done! I'd love to see ALL my DVDs prepared with this degree of detail, care, and mastery.