The first short, "The Prince and the Pauper," is the only short released on any of these volumes so far that I can actually say I saw in theaters. When The Rescuers Down Under came out in 1990, this half-hour cartoon accompanied it and it was only the second Mickey cartoon released since the 1950's, which just makes it even more special. In "The Prince and the Pauper," Mickey and Goofy are best friends who live on the streets of a kingdom that his about to lose it's ruler. The King is on his deathbed, and since he has been sick, the sheriff has taken over and is doing everything in his power to keep the peasants poor and his own pockets full. When Mickey chases Pluto into the castle, he finds out that he looks just like the prince, and the young mouse wants to get out of the castle and see the land. While Mickey would love nothing more than to have all the food he can eat, the Prince wants freedom and to get out of his classes. So the two switch places and learn that neither one has the ideal life they thought the other did.
In "The Pied Piper" (1933), Disney retells another classic story, but this time it has a far less dark ending. Like the original story, Hamlin is overrun by rats, and the pied piper comes into town to help everyone out. But when the king refuses to pay, he calls for all the children and brings them to his own magical land.
"Old King Cole," also from 1933, not only brings the cartoon's title-story to life, but tons of other nursery rhymes as well. In this short, King Cole invites many characters from the rhymes to his castle for a major celebration. In this cartoon, everyone from Humpty Dumpty to Simple Simon, Little Bo Peep and that very contrary Mary, and many of them play through a snippet of their rhyme.
"Ye Olden Days" (1933) is a black and white cartoon featuring Mickey as a wandering minstrel. He happens upon a town where the king's daughter, Minnie, is being married off to a foreign prince, Goofy. Not only do Mickey and Goofy end up going to blows in this cartoon, but Mickey's donkey goes up against Goofy's horse as well. Which brings us to Disney Animation Collection Volume 3: The Prince and the Pauper's last cartoon, "A Knight for a Day" (1946), where Goofy has to replace a knight in a major joust, and if he wins, he might just get a kiss from the fair maiden. Watching this cartoon made me wonder if it was a source of inspiration for A Knight's Tale, as they have very similar themes.
Most of the cartoons in this volume have a very strong common theme and they all play off of each other really well. I really enjoyed re-watching "The Prince and the Pauper" and the other cartoons are great to watch for any age group, so whether you are a long-time Disney fan, or a part of a family of young-ones who love these old cartoons, Disney Animation Collection Volume 3: The Prince and the Pauper should be a good purchase.
