For those of you too young to remember (and considering this is the first time these films have been offered on DVD, it's likely),"True Life Adventures" was a series of painstakingly-shot nature films produced mostly in the 50s & 60s by Walt Disney, which focused on the struggles of various wildlife that lived in whatever region a particular installment covered. Even today, in this era of cable channels dedicated entirely to the critters populating this planet, newcomers will find Disney's original "True Life Adventures" series supremely entertaining. I, however, am one of those who DO remember these films, mostly from frequent airings on the "Wonderful World Of Disney" series on Sunday nights during the 70s. This was a great nostalgia trip for me, and I am pleased to find they remain as entertaining now (albeit a bit cornier) as they were when I was a young 'un. More importantly, my kids enjoyed them as much as I did. Disney has finally released these classics on DVD, as four individually-sold, beautifully packaged two disc sets. The films themselves are nicely restored, and are loaded with great extras, both new and old.

Volume 1 - Wonders Of The World includes "White Wilderness" (one of the best of the series), "Water Birds," "Beaver Valley," and "Prowlers of the Everglades." The first won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, while the second & third won Best Short Subject awards. Volume 2 - Lands Of Exploration features probably the best-known film of the series, the feature-length "The Living Desert," as well as "The Vanishing Prairie" & "Seal Island" (the first of the series). All three films won Oscars. Volume 3 - Creatures Of The Wild features "The African Lion," "Jungle Cat" & "Bear Country," the latter of which won an Oscar for Best Short Subject. Volume 4 - Nature's Mysteries features "Secrets of Life" & "Perri." The more astute readers may have noticed I've so-far refrained from calling this films documentaries. To a certain extent, they are, as each film indeed does present a wealth of information pertaining to its subjects. But while Walt Disney and his crew go to great lengths to present regions of our world in all their glory, an equal effort is placed on creating sheer entertainment, using Winston Hibler's narration and sweeping music score to create many moments of humor and drama. In fact, some of these films have been criticized in the past for the narratives' extensive use of personification, as well as depending on music, sound effects and camera tricks to increase the drama and/or humor. The more cynical viewer might also chide the deliberate staging of certain scenes for the cameras, perhaps most glaring during a confrontation between a rabbit & wolverine in "White Wilderness" (there's no way the punchline of this amusing sequence could have been done without a bit of help from the filmmakers). But that's nitpicking, really. Who cares how informative a film is if it's utterly boring, documentary or otherwise? Besides, for every scene that reeks of manipulation, there's one that is truly awe-inspiring, which says a lot considering most of these films are over 50 years old. The films are even more impressive when you consider that the filmmaking technology back then was a lot different.

These films have been wonderfully restored for DVD. They feature great color tones and, aside from some inevitable aging and/or blemishes in some scenes, these films look better than ever. The audio is rendered in Dolby Digital Mono. Perhaps a full-blown 5.1 track may have been more impressive, but at least there's no distortion of hissing.

All four volumes feature new introductions by Roy Disney which, while charming, aren't really essential. Each set also features a second disc loaded with bonus features, the best being several other Disney shorts & features that, for some reason, were never included as part of the "True Life Adventures" series, even though they are cut from the same cloth. Other extras include new "Backstage with Roy Disney" shorts, filmed at Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park, all of which are kind of interesting. Each set also features filmmakers' journals, which are essentially collected interviews with surviving crew members about the painstaking production of these amazing films; "Collectors' Corner," presents various posters, ads & collectibles inspired by the films; yet-more features on each disc are trailers for the individual movies themselves. Short tributes to director James Algar (who helmed many of these movies) and narrator Winston Hibler are included in Volumes One & Two (respectively).

The films in Walt Disney's "True Life Adventures" series serve as both informative films and, better yet, wonderful family entertainment. For those of you too young to recall the days when these films graced theaters or were aired on television, these volumes are outstanding additions to your DVD collection. For nostalgics who hold a special place in their heart for them, you'll be happy to know they are just as entertaining now as when you were young. Very highly recommended.