On this day, treasures were discovered by Disney fans across the country. The Walt Disney Treasures DVDs, that is. The DVD series, which would appear around Christmastime annually, featured some of the more rare and obscure films from Disney’s vault. Throughout its run, each DVD would be hosted by famed film critic (and Disney fan) Leonard Maltin, and with this second wave of Treasures DVDs, Leonard introduced fans to Mickey Mouse in Black and White, The Complete Goofy and Behind the Scenes at The Walt Disney Studio. This series of DVDs was actually Leonard’s idea, and he recently told us how it came to be. “The genesis of the Walt Disney Treasures is fairly simple to chart: I envisioned a series of DVDs that would please me and my fellow Disneyphiles. I pitched the idea to then-Disney chairman Dick Cook, who understood the concept immediately and said, very simply, ‘Let’s do it!’ I wanted to strike a balance between animation and live-action, and thought we had a good range of material in our first four sets. I didn’t know how the series would be received, so I started with Mickey Mouse in Color, for fear that we might get flak about some of the early, crude Mickey cartoons in black and white. I also thought we should present the ‘best’ of the Silly Symphonies because I didn’t know for certain that we’d ever get to release a second volume! I never dreamed we would have a nine-year run with this series… but I’m awfully glad we did. It was the opportunity of a lifetime.”
