The Puppetoon Movie: Volume 3 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The Puppetoon Movie: Volume 3 Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 12, 2023

Arnold Leibovit continues to curate the work of his mentor and friend George Pal, with this appealing third volume of Puppetoon shorts, along with a rather interesting assortment of other curios which bore the Pal imprimatur. For reviews of the two preceding volumes in this series, please click on the following links:

The Puppetoon Movie Blu-ray review

The Puppetoon Movie: Volume 2 Blu-ray review

As with the second volume of this release, the disc has some arguably odd aggregating choices, chief among them an unexplained separation of all of the shorts into not two (as with Volume 2) but three collections, A, B and C (see screenshot 20 for a look at the Main Menu). This disc improves things from the previous volumes by allowing chapter skipping through the shorts to get to the next one, as well as offering none of the anomalies I encountered with the second volume in particular where choosing something on the menu didn't necessarily result in being taken to that choice. This volume also slightly rejiggers the "disclaimer" that accompanied the second volume (see screenshot 19).

This volume also revisits some of the shorts from Volume 1, now presented in high definition, and it also includes some fun live action and animation combo platters, including shorts with Duke Ellington and Woody Herman. I have to say of the three Puppetoon volumes thus far, this is probably my favorite in terms of the variety of offerings on tap, which include everything from frankly gonzo promotional pieces Pal did for various clients to some more "traditional" Puppetoon fare, including the lovable if controversial Jasper.

The disc's contents are as follows:

Puppetoon Shorts A

• Western Daze (1940)
• The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe (1940)
• The Ballet of the Red Radio Waves (1938)
• Bravo, Mr. Strauss (1943)
• Hotlip Jasper (1944)
• Together in the Weather (1946)
• A Fairy Tale About a Melancholic King (1934)
• Jasper's Music Lesson (1943)
• Rhythm in the Ranks (1941)
• The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins (1943)

Puppetoon Shorts B

• The Truck That Flew (1943)
• The Queen Was in the Parlour (1939)
• Charlie's World Cruise (1936)
• Date With Duke (1947)
• On Parade (1936)
• The Tool Box (1970)
• Jasper and the Beanstalk (1945)
• Friend in Need (1940)
• My Man Jasper (1945)

Puppetoon Shorts C

• The Sky Princess (1941)
• The Good Bear and the Bad Bear (1940)
• Jasper's Boobytraps (1945)
• Rhapsody in Wood (1947)
• World's Greatest Show (1935)
• Jasper's Derby (1946)
• Aladdin and the Magic Lamp (1939)
• And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1944)
• Shoe Shine Jasper (1946)

The Puppetoon Movie: Volume 3 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Puppetoon Movie: Volume 3 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Puppetoon Productions and Arnold Leibovit Entertainment with AVC encoded 1080p transfers in 1.32:1. A rather amazing gamut of sources were utilized for this release, as evidenced by some long thanks to a number of different organizations like the BFI, UCLA and many others. The back cover of the nicely appointed insert booklet also commendably lists who provided which elements, which are described as "Successive Exposure Negatives (SEN) 35mm nitrate Technicolor successive exposure camera negative and 35mm acetate track positive" in all cases. As with the two previous volumes in this series, there are some probably unavoidable quality fluctuations, but taken as a whole, this is another impressive set of restorations, and I'd argue that the Puppetoon shorts actually tend to look better than some of the old school cel style animation that is also included. The palette is almost always beautifully suffused (again, especially in the Puppetoon shorts), and detail levels in the Puppetoon productions is also typically nicely textured. The entire presentation looks healthily organic, and any age related wear and tear is surprisingly minimal.

The Puppetoon Movie: Volume 3 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Puppetoon Movie: Volume 3 improves the audio side of things from the previous volume by returning to lossless audio, in this case DTS- HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono. That said, there are some inherent quality limitations on tap here, especially in the oldest features included, where thin sound and occasional issues like background noise and/or hiss can be discerned. On the whole, though, the Puppetoon features in particular, which often feature some very enjoyable music, sound decently full bodied. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available. My score is 3.25.

The Puppetoon Movie: Volume 3 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Sweet Pacific (HD; 1:05) is a kind of funny commercial for Peter Paul Mounds bars featuring the candy bars themselves doing the selling. Someone unfortunately didn't proofread the menu option for this well enough.


• George Pal Interview (HD; 16:07) stems from 1970 and features interviewer James Gunn. A certain demographic will geek out at the fact that this was filmed at Forrest J. Ackerman's home.


• The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal Extended Interviews (SD; 49:07) has some great reminiscences from the likes of Ray Harryhausen, Duke Goldstone, Roy E. Disney, Wah Chang, Gene Roddenberry, Ray Bradbury, Joe Dante, and Russ Tamblyn. The booklet states Bob Baker is also included, and also has a somewhat longer running time, so I assume it's because the Baker part was separated into its own supplement (see below).


• Bob Baker Talks Puppetoons (SD; 15:39)


• Production and Donor Credits (HD; 8:15)

Additionally, an unusually handsome and informative insert booklet is included, with tons of stills and some often fascinating background on each of the shorts.

The Puppetoon Movie: Volume 3 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Arnold Leibovit has devoted considerable time and energy to honoring the legacy of George Pal, and this third volume of Puppetoon shorts and other ephemera is a worthy follow up to the first two volumes. Technical merits are generally solid, with an understanding of contextual limitations, and the supplements, including a really nice insert booklet, are also enjoyable. Recommended.