Walt Disney Treasures

Walt Disney Treasures promotional title card

"The Ultimate Disney Treasure Chest" - Re-packaged titles, without the tin cases

Walt Disney Treasures is a series of two-disc DVD collections of classic Disney cartoons, television episodes and other material. They cover material from the studio's earliest days to their more recent work.There were nine waves, each containing two, three or four different sets, for a total of 30 titles. All content presented uncensored, unedited and uncut with digitally restored picture and remastered sound (except where noted on individual titles).

The first wave was released to Region 1 DVD on December 4, 2001, as a part of Walt Disney's 100th birthday. They were sold in limited quantities. The numbered units are largely commercially unavailable. Only a handful of these titles have been sold outside Region 1.

Each title has been packaged in a numbered tin case. The first two waves featured numbers stamped into each case, while subsequent waves contained certificates of authenticity marking their numbers. The first three waves were bound in a cardboard sleeve displaying the reproduced signatures of Leonard Maltin and Roy Disney. In 2003, a Costco exclusive boxed set called The Ultimate Disney Treasure Chest presented the first two waves of the series, without the tin canisters (as pictured).

The DVD sets were the idea of film critic–historian Leonard Maltin, who appears in each set to introduce the DVDs, and to provide historical context to some of the more dated works.

Release history

• Walt Disney Treasures: Wave One — December 4, 2001
  • Mickey Mouse in Living Color
  • Silly Symphonies
  • Disneyland, USA
  • Davy Crockett
• Walt Disney Treasures: Wave Two — December 3, 2002
  • Mickey Mouse in Black and White
  • The Complete Goofy
  • Behind the Scenes at the Walt Disney Studios
• Walt Disney Treasures: Wave Three — May 18, 2004
  • Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Volume Two
  • The Chronological Donald, Volume One
  • On the Front Lines
  • Tomorrow Land
• Walt Disney Treasures: Wave Four — December 7, 2004
  • Mickey Mouse in Black and White, Volume Two
  • The Complete Pluto, Volume One
  • The Mickey Mouse Club
• Walt Disney Treasures: Wave Five — December 6, 2005
  • The Chronological Donald, Volume Two
  • Disney Rarities: Celebrated Shorts: 1920s–1960s
  • The Adventures of Spin & Marty (The Mickey Mouse Club)
  • Elfego Baca and The Swamp Fox: Legendary Heroes
• Walt Disney Treasures: Wave Six — December 19, 2006
  • More Silly Symphonies
  • The Complete Pluto, Volume Two
  • The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of The Applegate Treasure
  • Your Host, Walt Disney
• Walt Disney Treasures: Wave Seven — December 11, 2007
  • The Chronological Donald, Volume Three
  • The Adventures of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
  • Disneyland: Secrets, Stories and Magic
• Walt Disney Treasures: Wave Eight — November 11, 2008
  • The Chronological Donald, Volume Four
  • Dr. Syn, Alias The Scarecrow
  • Mickey Mouse Club Presents: Annette
• Walt Disney Treasures: Wave Nine — November 3, 2009
  • Zorro: The Complete First Season
  • Zorro: The Complete Second Season

Comic album line

In 2006, Gemstone Publishing published the first of two Walt Disney Treasures comic albums: "Disney Comics: 75 Years of Innovation", reprinting approximately 160 pages of vintage international comics in chronological order. Much like the DVD releases, the comic album featured some politically incorrect stories in unedited form, accompanied by an article to put them in historical context. The comic album also featured a cover designed to look much like the DVD series' cases.

In 2008, Gemstone published the second Treasures comic album: Uncle Scrooge: A Little Something Special, featuring various Scrooge classics from over the years.

Two more Treasures comic albums were announced for 2009, with the titles: Mickey Mouse: In Death Valley and Donald Duck: 75 Unlucky Years. However, due to the cessation of Gemstone's Disney comics license, these albums never came out in the Treasures series.