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Annette
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Annette was adapted from the 1950 teen novel Margaret by Janette Sebring Lowrey (author of the Little Golden Book classic The Poky Little Puppy). It was to retain that title with Mouseketeer and third season Spin and Marty cast member Darlene Gillespie starring in the title role. Along the way, the story of a country girl relocated to the city was renamed "Annette and Darlene" with the intention of Annette playing the lead and Darlene holding a supporting role as her urban cousin. Rewrites occurred, a dissatisfied Darlene was dropped (supposedly to be used in the big unrealized film production Rainbow Road to Oz), and Annette took to the airwaves in the winter of 1958 as a one-girl vehicle.
The 20-episode serial starred Funicello as Annette McCleod, an orphaned 15-year-old farm girl from Beaver Junction, Nebraska who surprises her Uncle Archie (Richard Deacon) and Aunt Lila (Sylvia Field) by showing up on their doorstep. Annette's arrival marks the first time Archie or Lila have seen or heard of their niece, born to the brother they lost touch with. The McCleods' initial reaction is to send the girl off to boarding school, but Annette prefers to stick around and attend Old South High School with the neighborhood kids she soon meets.
It turns out that adolescence in the idyllic '50s isn't all peachy keen, or so the shy, polite Annette discovers. Her lack of algebra and Latin experience gets her moved down a grade. More important to the series is her outsider status, which the popular, pretty, and clearly threatened Laura Rogan (Roberta Shore, who later co-starred in Annette's feature film debut, 1959's The Shaggy Dog) looks to reinforce at every opportunity. The disappearance of Laura's expensive necklace (a semi-MacGuffin) ends up being the central source of conflict and mystery in this light, laid-back serial.
On multiple occasions, characters here object to things being corny. That's amusing and ironic because the whole thing is extremely corny. It's also extremely watchable. Today, a hammily-acted program about shallow, young-looking teenagers and their fickle relationships would be one of the least appealing things on television for me. (Coming Soon... "Hannah Montana": The Complete First Season) And yet, I got quite a kick out of Annette.
I'm not enjoying it in all the same ways that children of the 1950s would have. They probably wouldn't classify the show as delightfully cheesy and couldn't place a tremendous nostalgic value on it. But Annette isn't just bad in a good way, it's good in a good way. The Mickey Mouse Club's serial format isn't something that's been widely repeated. Maybe that accounts for some of its unique, enduring appeal. In truth, the process of leaving viewers wanting to find out what happens next is easy to find today, particularly in the ever-popular hour-long TV drama. What's notable here is how often the start-stop occurs; episodes run just over 10 minutes each, excluding the opening and closing bits. Though that doesn't sound like very much, every installment achieves something, advances the story, and piques viewer interest. Watching the 20 episodes in succession, as not intended, doesn't lessen Annette's impact and may well even strengthen it.
The thing that really made Annette work for me is the characterization. While the sufficiently sympathetic Annette herself is somewhat sterile, she's surrounded by some true characters. In the McCleod home, we're entertained by the warm, cheery family housekeeper Katie (Mary Wickes) and, to a larger degree, the uptight Uncle Archie who initially seems so opposed to having a kid around. Preceding his work in five 1960s live-action Disney comedies, Richard Deacon plays the part in a way that could easily be read as unenthused or unbelievable. But I'm convinced there's a real conscious effort to create a humorous father figure that's aloof, square, finicky, and unproductive.
Several of the young actors and roles merit notice too. Spin and Marty are both back, claiming the second and third billed parts here. Tim Considine embodies '50s slick, or at least the G-rated version of it, as suave smooth-talker and shared love interest Steve Abernathy. David Stollery is Mike, a ducktailed senior with college aspirations who spends his time as the only visible employee of a busy ice cream shop. As the attractive yet chilly Laura, Roberta Shore excels enough to wonder why Disney didn't make more use of her beyond playing Shaggy Dog's French girl Franceska. Judy Nugent amuses as Jet, the outcast ranch girl with some rough edges. I'd be remiss if I failed to mention Rudy Lee as Steady Ware, a spunky, insatiable, and ever-broke little guy who exudes an early, smart-alecky Mickey Rooney vibe. Steady and his proportionate love interest Madge (Cheryl Holdridge) are entertaining and something else; if their disc-concluding dance doesn't have you rushing to insert Disc 2, you may need to check your pulse.
Annette never returned following its well-received 20-episode run, as "The Mickey Mouse Club"'s third season proved to be its final all-original one. That paved the way for Annette Funicello to take flight as a singer and as an actor. Though it doesn't make us any less sad for her, DVD does make it easy to appreciate the many highlights of Ms. Funicello's career. Today, Disney makes Annette the third Mickey Mouse Club serial treated to release in the prestigious Walt Disney Treasures line, following comparable fiftieth anniversary sets of The Adventures of Spin and Marty and The Hardy Boys. Altogether, it brings the number of Original MMC DVDs to five, counting the first week Treasures collection and a one-off Best-of disc. Synopses of the twenty episodes appear below. Each runs 10 minutes and 45 seconds, give or take a few seconds, and is introduced by Mouseketeer Karen Pendleton, whose anglicized pronunciation of the star's name only accompanies the introductory episode.
Disc 1
1. "An Introduction" (Originally aired February 10, 1958)
2. "The Newcomer" (Originally aired February 11, 1958)
3. "Annette Meets Jet" (Originally aired February 12, 1958)
4. "An Invitation (To a Party)" (Originally aired February 13, 1958)
5. "The Escort" (Originally aired February 14, 1958)
6. "The Party" (Originally aired February 17, 1958)
7. "Paying the Piper" (Originally aired February 18, 1958)
8. "The Missing Necklace" (Originally aired February 19, 1958)
9. "What Happened at School" (Originally aired February 20, 1958)
10. "Almost a Fight" (Originally aired February 21, 1958)
Disc 2
11. "Steady Gets an Idea" (Originally aired February 24, 1958)
12. "The Explosion" (Originally aired February 25, 1958)
13. "The Turned Down Invitation" (Originally aired February 26, 1958)
14. "Annette Makes a Decision" (Originally aired February 27, 1958)
15. "The Hayride" (Originally aired February 28, 1958)
16. "The Barbecue" (Originally aired March 3, 1958)
17. "The Fight" (Originally aired March 4, 1958)
18. "The Farewell Letter" (Originally aired March 5, 1958)
19. "Mike to the Rescue" (Originally aired March 6, 1958)
20. "The Mystery is Solved" (Originally aired March 7, 1958)
VIDEO and AUDIO
The black and white Annette naturally appears in screen-filling 1.33:1. It's marred by a few instances of white speckles on the screen and a small handful of shots that are dark or soft. For the most part, it stays satisfactorily clean, detailed, and free of concerns. Sound is offered in two-channel mono. The audio does show some signs of its age and those sensitive to shortcomings will notice some distortion and the illusion of widespread lisps. More limited but glaring is a low rumble that mars part of one of the earliest episodes. The design is predictably simple enough not to bother and, for the most part, this is a perfectly serviceable presentation of early daytime TV.
BONUS FEATURES
In his slick, standard Disc One introduction (3:35), Leonard Maltin discusses the crew and young cast of the Annette serial, paying special attention to its "ethnically distinctive" namesake. Like the two past Mickey Mouse Club serials released as Treasures, this one again includes the complete episode that launched it. Since the Club had been shortened to half-hour format, there isn't an abundance of material gained here. The February In addition, Disc 2 includes the episode that ended "Annette", the March 7th episode (22:15). All this one really has time for outside of the serial conclusion is showcasing two young sisters, Linda and Janey Fallis, as part of "Talent" Round-Up Day. There's also a feel-good, anti-moping song on which Lonnie joins Jimmie.
The featurette "Musically Yours, Annette" (12:00) is an excerpt from a 1993 Walt Disney Records video in which Ms. Funicello reflects on her career, some of her hit songs, her crushes, and her childhood fan mail. Disc 2's featurette, "To Annette with Love" (16:00), offers a new career retrospective for Funicello. In footage from a 1985 interview, she has quite a few fascinating stories to share, most involving Walt Disney himself. Attention is paid to her various efforts for the studio and the beach movies gain brief notice. The feature serial actually just gets passing notice, even though two of Annette's friends and "Annette" co-stars, Sharon Baird and Shelley Fabares, are among those newly interviewed. Also sharing their perspectives are Richard Sherman and Annette's husband Glen Holt. There's a sadly posthumous feel to the piece, but its heart is in the right place and it provides a solid celebration of Annette's work from a Disney perspective.
Though the Treasures often contain fewer extras than you would expect for such a collector-driven line, the opportunities missed by Annette's light set disappoint. If I were in charge of this volume, some of the things I would have thought to include or at least consider devoting space to: a taste of Annette's appearances in Disney's "Zorro", A&E's 1995 "Biography" episode, Annette's short Season 1 and 2 MMC serials, the Mouseketeer reunions glimpsed at in "To Annette", and the aforementioned TV movie A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story. With Disney releasing less and less classic content on DVD, this annual bone-toss to fans takes on greater significance and really ought to at least offer two filled discs.
MENUS and PACKAGING
Par for the course, the colorful menus offer static imagery and loud but relaxing score excerpts.
The Walt Disney Treasures are renowned for their physical presence, a reputation that Annette and its fellow Wave 8 releases live up to. Some may consider the cover artwork choice -- of Annette in her mouse ears and personalized white shirt -- deceptive since it's taken from "The Mickey Mouse Club" and not the less known serial that's really at the heart of the set. You can mull that one over twice, since that's how many times the imagery appears, between the embossed silver tin's front and the double-wide black keepcase within.
Inside the keepcase, one finds a certificate of authenticity (numbering your copy out of the 39,500 produced), a collectible photo card (a black and white publicity still of a seemingly introspective Annette McCleod about to sing), a booklet of information (on the Treasures line, this set, and the featured serial), and a booklet of advertising with Disney Movie Rewards code.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Fifty years since first airing on "The Mickey Mouse Club", Annette holds up as immensely watchable yesteryear entertainment. Judging this by today's standards, the acting is bad, the plots meander, and there isn't even a morsel of reality to be found. And yet, somehow those shortcomings factor into the charm along with the rarely-employed short serial format. This Walt Disney Treasures tin satisfies with its feature presentation. Picture and sound aren't perfect, but they could no doubt be a lot worse. The biggest disappointment of the set is its shortage of bonus features. The two featurettes on Annette Funicello are great and, brief though they may be, it's nice to get a couple of complete "Mickey Mouse Club" episodes. But there's a long list of available items that would have made worthy supplements and make this set a little fuller. It feels a bit silly to complain over a line that regularly delights with otherwise-forgotten content, but it's not wrong to want the most out of Disney's yearly acknowledgement of its television library and dedicated fans.
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