| Home | Movie Archives | Useful Information | Product Reviews | Recalls | Rating System |

Film Title: The Prince & The Pauper

 Best for ages: 6 and up.

Movie Website:  Click Here

Year Released: 1990

Rated: G (US)

SYNOPSIS

Click Here Long ago in a land with an ailing king, there was a pair of boys who looked exactly alike, a pauper called Mickey and the other, the Crown Prince. Mickey dreamed of plenty and an easy life as Royalty and the Prince dreamed of the freedom as a subject. Happenstance throws them together and their mutual resemblance inspires the pair to switch identities to see how the other lives. To their surprise, Mickey learns of the duties and responsibilities of royalty while the Prince learns to his horror that the Royal Captain of the Guard has taken advantage of the existing power vacuum to inflict brutal tyranny on the subjects. Now the Prince must react to this evil, unaware that the Captain knows about the identity swap and is using it to his own advantage while dominating Mickey who play the Heir to the Throne. The DVD also includes the shorts The Pied Piper. Old King Cole, A Knight for a Day, and Ye Olden Days.

VIOLENCE/GRAPHIC CONTENT/language

   The Prince and the Pauper shows England burning in the beginning, Pauper Mickey follows Pluto into a fort where some evil characters are not so happy with them being there. Prince Mickey shoots spit darts at Donald, and the two have a fight throwing stuff at one another. Prince Mickey mimics his teacher. Pete the thug almost kills Pauper Mickey with a sword, but then kicks him over a wall to see the king along with Pluto. Pauper Mickey slips on a shiny floor and knocks over a bunch of armor some hitting him as they fall. Prince Mickey throws a sword at a painting and it sticks into the eye of the man on the painting, it also happens when Pauper Mickey throws a sword and it goes though the teachers hat. Captain Pete, takes prince Mickey now dressed as pauper and slings him over the world in a catapult. Kids have a snowball fight and the prince gets involved, he is also attacked by dogs. Meanwhile Pauper Mickey is living as a prince and blows up Donald Duck with a potion. Prince Mickey as the pauper finds out that goods are being stolen in his name and corrects it by giving food to the poor, only to be attacked by his own guards, who are in fact the ones stealing in his name. The Captain (Pete) drinks, smokes cigars (Throughout the film) and plots to kill the price, by grabbing one of his weasels by the throat letting him know so. He kidnaps Pauper Mickey as the prince and beats him up a bit in an attempt to make him do his will. The captain goes after the real prince and his weasels throws spears at him and take him hostage and bring him to the dungeons. They are all thrown in jail and the captain with Pluto on a noose makes Pauper Mickey become the prince. However Goofy, with an ax and dressed as an executioner rescues the real prince to stop Pauper Mickey from being crowned king and stop the captain from doing his evil deeds. This leads to an all out war with the captain and his crew where swords fly and and the real prince confronts the captain in a sword fight to the end. Many things happen in this scene that is full of animated violence, but all in all the film ends on a positive note. 

   The Pied Piper starts off with a bunch of people beating rats with brooms outside their homes. Then we see rats eating everything in site. The King refuses to give the Pied Piper his bag of gold for getting rid of the rats. He takes revenge playing a tune that makes all the children of the town follow him away to cave to Toyland, leaving their greedy parents behind.

   Old King Cole does not really have much violence it's basically all  the story book characters coming to Old King Cole's party, in which they must leave by midnight. Other than a man and women licking a plate together and one of the three men in a tub holding a knife and clever. This is a pretty safe short for kids to watch.

   Ye Olden Days is one of the first Mickey Mouse black and white cartoons, in which Mickey rescues a princess Mickey Mouse from marrying a Prince Goofy. Minnie slaps prince Goofy because she does not want to marry him and is thrown into a tower. Mickey and Minnie are found together in a turkey suit, and Mickey is put to death, but Minnie confesses her love for him and is saved, but not before having a jousting match with Goofy for her hand. Mickey pokes Goofy with his own joust and win while Mickey's donkey beats up on Goofy's horse.

    A Knight for a Day is about a jousting tournament where Cedric (Goofy) as a farmhand finds himself in the shoes of a knight and must compete for the hand of the princess. One knight is shown with a cigar in his mouth. The Jousting matches are full of animated violence with the losers being put though brick walls and shot over the stadium, but the champ is surprised by a move by Cedric , but a beating ensues on Cedric who is hiding in his armor, but the champ beats himself by tiring himself out and Cedric wins.

OVERALL VIEWS

   Once again, just like all the other discs, you need to remember the time in which these films were produced. With the exception of The Prince and The Pauper which was produced in 1990, which has the most violence out of all the shorts. It's all animated violence of course, but I know that some parents would like to keep their little ones away from these cartoons until they get a little older.

   This DVD has some real good classic shorts on it, ones that I never seen before.  I particularly liked the Pied Piper short as well as Ye Olden Days which was one of the older cartoons to feature Mickey Mouse. These shorts are a piece of history as some of them are the first ones that Walt Disney himself produced.

    The DVD includes five classic Disney shorts and the Disney Fast Play feature, English, French, and Spanish Subtitles are also available on the disc. The Disc also come with a collectible Litho Print.

BUY THIS MOVIE.