In Search Of The Castaways

A Walt Disney/Jules Verne Story Worthy of any Collection
I concur that this account is based on the Jules Verne story titled "CAPTAIN GRANT'S CHILDREN". It is a beautiful mix of suspense, fantasy and charm that only Walt Disney himself could bring to the big screen. With majestic and divine photography, we can only hope that Disney Studios will not "Black Beard" the release and produce a cleaned and digitally restored DVD with the Original Aspect Ratio preserved.

UPDATE!

A reviewer from Amazon.com UK reports that this film IS being presented in it's original aspect ratio at 1.33:1. This film was MADE in fullscreen and theatrical widescreen prints were made by cropping the picture as was done with Darby O'Gill. So in actual fact it is the widescreen version that is missing part of the picture and NOT the fullscreen version. This film is too new for Disney to try to pull this kind of stunt. Still another says not only is the framing much too close to allow this, but even a couple of the opening credits disappear off...

Shocked at Disneys' glaring lapse of judgement!
Disney within a space of a few months has gone from one extreme to the other.
On the one hand they release a two disc version of one of their all time classics Mary Poppins,both sound and picture having been fully restored and cleaned close to perfection.A fitting compliment to both the film,its' stars and Disney itself.
Then comes the first time release onto DVD of this little Disney gem and it absolutely stuns you as you shake your head and check the box to make sure it really is a Disney product and not some kind of cruel joke.
Don't get me wrong the product(i.e.movie)is worth about a four star rating on its' own merits.It has a wonderful story line which takes our lead characters on an adventure in many far and distant lands and is a natural for older children to excite their imaginations.The special effects are pure Disney and of that era but were always done with great flare and still hold up fairly
well now.
Strangly enough the last review I wrote was...

Good Film -- Poor Full-Frame Presentation
Based on a Jules Verne story, "In Search of the Castaways" is a fine Disney adventure which is suitable for the entire family. Overall, the film has a similar feel to "Swiss Family Robinson", only "Castaways" is more action-based.

The basic premise of the movie takes youngsters Hayley Mills and Keith Hamshere on a wild adventure through South America while searching for their missing father. Among the obstacles faced along the way are a perilous earthquake, a furious flood, wild animals and a thrilling ride down a mountainside --which is arguably the film's crowning moment.

As other reviewers have mentioned, some of the special effects seem a bit quaint by today's standards. Regardless, this 40-year-old movie still manages to be highly entertaining.

However, as a DVD, "Castaways" simply misses the mark. The picture presentation itself is decent. However, there are apparent signs of the film's age and, overall, it's not as clean as recent Disney...

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