The Little Rascals: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

The Little Rascals: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 1, 2022

ClassicFlix has been releasing restored versions of The Little Rascals shorts now for a couple of years, and fans have been understandably thrilled with the restoration efforts and finally being able to see uncut versions of these mini-classics. If there's been one complaint about the several volumes of Little Rascals productions ClassicFlix has put out, it's been the relative lack of bonus features included with each volume, but this new "complete collection" helps to ameliorate that issue with a bonus disc filled to the brim with some really fun items.

While this set offers the shorts packaged just a bit differently in terms of what is on each disc (see my listing, below), my thoughts on the series can be read by clicking on the following review links:

The Little Rascals Volume 1 Blu-ray review

The Little Rascals Volume 2 Blu-ray review

The Little Rascals Volume 3 Blu-ray review

The Little Rascals Volume 4 Blu-ray review

The Little Rascals Volume 5 Blu-ray review

The Little Rascals Volume 6 Blu-ray review

For those interested in how this set divvies up the shorts between the five discs, Disc One contains Small Talk through Teacher's Pet; Disc Two contains School's Out through Choo-Choo; Disc Three contains The Pooch through Honky- Donkey; Disc Four contains Mike Fright through Second Childhood; and Disc Five contains Arbor Day through Hide and Shriek. As outlined below, Disc Six is comprised entirely of some very appealing supplements.

The Little Rascals: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

All of The Little Rascals shorts are offered courtesy of ClassicFlix with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in 1.38:1. Despite this being slightly repackaged in terms of five discs rather than six, the good news is I could not discern any compression issues and in fact several of the discs still have a bit of "real estate" left on them (several come in around 43 GB and change). Those interested in my thoughts on the image quality should consult the above linked reviews, but the bottom line is by and large these shorts look gorgeously restored, though there are still some passing minor issues which I address in the individual reviews. I've included four screenshots from each of the five discs, sequentially (i.e., screenshots 1-4 are from Disc One, and so on), so that those interested can take a look.

The Little Rascals: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with the video side of things, I noticed no discernable difference in audio quality here on the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono tracks. Those interested in my thoughts are encouraged to consult the above linked reviews.

The Little Rascals: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: With the exception of the first supplement listed below, the rest of the supplements can be found on Disc Six of this set.

• Newly Recorded Introduction by Leonard Maltin (HD; 6:25) is an audio supplement that plays to stills, snippets from the films, and some quaint photos of the VHS releases where Maltin also provided introductions. Maltin understandably commends ClassicFlix for its restoration efforts. This supplement can be found on Disc One and is accessible under the Select Shorts menu.


• Foreign Language Shorts comes with the following text information at the beginning of the first short

  In 1929, as it is today, film stars were not just celebrities in America, but were famous the world over. With talking pictures becoming an established norm by the late 1920s, Hal Roach sought to keep his foreign distribution revenue stream robust by re-shooting English language versions of this short subjects in Spanish, French, German, and occasionally Italian.
  
  Roach's studio did this for dozens of shorts between 1929 and 1931, with four Our Gang films among them. Three of the Little Rascal [sic] foreign language shorts survive in some form, with this Spanish version of When the Wind Blows ( Las Fantasmas, 1930) being the only film that survives fully intact.

  The shorts included in this Submenu are:

  Las Fantasmas (HD; 21:06)

  
  

  Los Cazadores de Osos (HD; 11:15) comes with the following introduction:

  Bear Shooters (1930) was the third of four Our Gang shorts re-filmed in a foreign language (after The First Seven Years and When the Wind Blows, both 1930) and was reportedly shot in Spanish and French.
  
  While image survives for both reels of the Spanish version of Bear Shooters ( Los Cazadores de Osos), the only extant audio materials are of reel 2. No elements of the French version survive.

  Temps d'Hiver (HD; 10:58) comes with the following introduction:

  Temps d'Hiver Reel 1 Fragment
  
  A Tough Winter (1930) was the last Our Gang short produced in a language other than English and was reportedly re-filmed in both French and German.
  
  While the German language version is lost, reel 1 of the French version (Temps d'Hiver) survives and is presented here.

• Our Gang Silent Shorts

  The Big Show (HD; 21:06)

  
  

  Dogs of War! (HD; 19:56)

  
  

  Mary, Queen of Tots (HD; 20:25)

• Good Old Days - The Music of Our Gang (HD; 28:53) offers background on the use of music in the Hal Roach productions. Produced and narrated by Ray Faiola.


• Then and Now - A Special Tour of Our Gang Shooting Locations (HD; 12:56) is a fun look at how much things have changed around Los Angeles. Ray Faiola once again narrates.


• Our Gang Centennial at the Hollywood Museum (HD; 17:11) comes with the following introduction:

  On July 27th, 2022, the Hollywood Museum celebrated the opening of their "100 Years of Our Gang" exhibit with a festive ceremony, including a speech from Sidney Kibrick, who appeared in over two dozen Our Gang shorts (mostly as "Woim") and is the last surviving featured player of the series.
  
  The following presents highlights from the festivities.

• Our Gang Reunion on You Asked for It TV Show (HD; 8:45) begins with a brief newspaper article advertising the episode.


• A Day in the Life of Spanky and Porky (SD; 47:54) comes with the following introduction:

  Starting in 1968, and running continuously for over two decades, the University of Colorado Boulder hosted an annual "Trivia Bowl" event.
  
  As part of the festivities, celebrities from various entertainment mediums were invited to attend based on the yearly theme. In 1985, the theme was "Coming of Age" and Spanky and Porky accepted an invitation to appear.
  
  The following presentation derives from footage taken on April 2nd, 1985 when Spanky and Porky started their day with an appearance on a local radio show. Later in the evening at the Trivia Bowl, they shared stories about their time as Our Gang members, answered questions and signed autographs.

• The Little Rascals Jukebox (HD; 18:47 and 27:09) is in essence an audio supplement (in Dolby Digital 2.0), offering a bunch of Alfalfa's "stylings" (the first timing) and then other performers like The Two Darling Sisters (the second timing).


• Image Galleries

  Ephemera (HD; 3:16)

  
  

  Holidays (HD; 2:04)

  
  

  Promotional Stills, Portraits, Candids and More (HD; 12:28)

  
  

  Scene and Production Stills (HD; 16:28)

• Other Rarities

  Speed-O-Byke Theater Ad with Spanky (HD; 00:53)

  
  

  In Theater Ad featuring Mary Ann (HD; 2:12) comes with the following introduction:

  This rare advertisement promoting an appearance by Mary Ann Jackson would have played in between shows at movie houses and was likely used in the 1930-31 "season".
  
  What makes this ad extra special is the clips used are comprised of outtakes from several different shorts and not actual footage from the films themselves.

  Screentest for Unknown Film with Mary Ann Jackson (no sound) (HD; 1:47) comes with the following introduction:

  This rare mid-1930s screen test for an older Mary Ann Jackson (after she left Our Gang) is not identified with any specific film.
  
  The director and cameraman are likely Norman Z. McLeod and Henry Sharp, respectively.

  In Theater Ad with Norman "Chubby" Chaney (HD; 1:40) comes with the following introduction:

  This rare advertisement promoting an appearance by Norman "Chubby" Chaney" would have played in between shows at movie houses and was likely used in the 1930-31 "season".

  Art Lloyd Home Movies (no sound) (HD; 4:15) come with following introduction:

  Presented here are home movies of prolific cameraman Art Lloyd who photographed nearly 100 of the 168 Our Gang shorts produced by Hal Roach Studios, as well as many other shorts and features at the "Lot of fun".
  
  Early on in the footage Lloyd appears with unknown guests. Later, Our Gang member Joe Cobb is seen along with Lloyd's wife Venice (brunette) and her sister Florence (blonde). The latter half of the footage shows Spanky horsing around with his brother Tommy, who was an extra in some of the Our Gang comedies.

  Commercial for MGM Our Gang (HD; 1:19)

  
  

  Audition Reel for Jackie Lynn Taylor (HD; 5:45) comes with the following introduction:

  The following is a rare audition reel (with outtakes) from the 1950s of Jackie Lynn taylor, who was a brief, but memorable, Our Gang player in the 1934-35 season.
  
  She later worked steadily as a TV personality in Southern California, including co-hosting "The Little Rascals Family Theater" which featured guest apperarances by many former Rascals.
  
  She often spoke very fondly about her Our Gang days and later published two books on the subject.
  
  Jackie Lynn later said, "I am often asked, 'Why, with all your other accomplishments, do you enjoy reflecting on your days with Our Gang so much?' The answer is quite simple: my association with The Gang was a wonderful and satisfying experience full of pleasant memories and good friends.
  
  Our Gang is also so much a part of Americana -- the good ol' days, if you must. The Our Gang stories taught values, tolerance, good self esteem in spite of lack (remember, this was in the middle of The Great Depression--but we didn't know enough to become depressed; people then just kept on keeping on)."

The inner print summaries and trivia that were part of the original releases are not included here. Some may quibble with the packaging decision of putting more than one disc on a spindle in the keepcase.

The Little Rascals: The Complete Collection Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are just a couple of downsides to this generally superb release. The most pressing is that those who sprang for the original six volumes may not feel like shelling out bucks again, though that said, the bonus disc included with this set is really a lot of fun (ClassicFlix is evidently offering a standalone release of this bonus disc on its site). Some may also miss the very interesting summaries and trivia tidbits that were printed on the inside covers of the original six volumes, as well. Otherwise, though, this is an absolutely first rate collection and should certainly be of interest to those with an eye toward nostalgia and historical preservation. Leonard Maltin self identifies as Boomer in his enjoyable introduction, and I'd just add that this would probably make a great holiday present for anyone in that age range. Highly recommended.