Mickey's House of Villains (2002)

Wow, where do I begin with this mess of a "movie" First off let me start out by saying i never really watched House of Mouse that often, maybe once a month if that, however I do understand the premise. Mickey runs a club where they play old and new Disney cartoons staring Mickey Donald and Goofy. I never really liked it because they use really cheep versions of their usually beautifully rendered and animated characters. This "movie" however was just a lousy hyped up excuse to get people to tune in. It starts off Jafar actually saying that everyone has to wait till "midnight" for his trick to take place, so that's a good 40 minuets into the movie. We sit through some classic Mickey Mouse cartoons and a new one I never saw before. Note that this is the only reason I gave the movie 3 stars instead of none at all. When Jafar finally decides to kick mickey out, we are treated to an almost catchy song, it's not a bad song, its just not a good one ether. The villains take over and whats the first thing they do? Start playing some new cartoons again. Mickey tries in between cartoons to get his club back and finally succeeds in what may be the dumbest ending I had ever witnessed. Stock footage of Aladdin gives Mickey the Genie's golden lamp, Mickey rubs the lamp while all the villains except for Jafar run away and he gets sucked into the lamp. I challenge you to find a more rushed ending.

As a huge Disney fan, I enjoyed this movie. It was fun and entertaining, while being nothing groundbreaking. Just for the record, I love the show House of Mouse, it is one of those shows with a great concept and makes me feel all nostalgic. Mickey's House of Villains had a really interesting idea and made the most of it.Mickey's House of Villains does have its problems though. The film is too short at only an hour and a quarter or so, and as much as the shorts were so wonderful to watch too much time was spent until the main focus of the story was even introduced. And I also felt they could have done much more with the ending which felt rushed.Flaws aside, the animation is great I feel and sticks to the style of the show. I especially liked Jafar's entrance from The Cave of Wonders, talk about a stylish entrance. The music is a delight as well, the incidental music is really good, but the song It's Our House Now was not only catchy and entertaining it was the highlight of the film. The dialogue is good, humorous often, and Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald are great to watch. Other than It's Our House Now, two assets stood out. One was seeing those shorts, How to Haunt a House was hilarious, Donald and the Gorilla was delightful for a first time viewer and Lonesome Ghosts is a Halloween classic as is Trick or Treat. Dance of the Goofys was quite cute and funny, and I enjoyed Mickey and Minnie's take on Hansel and Gretel especially for the use of Danse Macabre. The second asset was seeing all those villains, Jafar steals the show, but Ursula, Chernabog, Cruella DeVil, Captain Hook and Hades are also delightful to watch. It was nice to see Maleficent and the Wicked Queen as well, but they should have been given more to say.Overall, while nothing groundbreaking it is a very entertaining film. 7/10 Bethany Cox

All in all, this wasn't that bad. It had a good premise, and a good collection of cartoons. As a die hard Disney fan I had just a couple of complaints. WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERSFirst, the House of Villains segment, kind of the wraparound part is short and ends rather abruptly. Its as if the animators got tired of drawing and looked for a quick way to end this. They included a lot of cartoons in between, some new and some classic. Why didn't they just release A Disney Halloween (AKA Halloween Treat) on DVD. My second complaint is the types of villains that got the most attention. Very few classic ones did. Malificent from Sleeping Beauty had only one line while the Wicked Queen from Snow White had only one. Not a bad movie, but I expected more. Word of advice: Rent it first before buying it!

WARNING: Telling SecretsThis is a greatly put together piece of work, from Lonesome Ghosts to other Halloween classic tales told and starred by the Disney gang. My favorite part was the Trick or Treat with Donald and his three nephews, and Hazel the witch, when she zaps Donald a few times. This is one video a Disney fan can not be without. It should be in every Disney library.