I bought this DVD knowing that "The World's Greatest Athlete" wasn't one of the best of the "Dopey" Disney Comedies (For those who don't know, the "Dopey" Disney Comedies were the ones the studio made from 1959 ("Shaggy Dog") to 1984 (when Eisner took over). Admittedly there are stupider Disney comedies to come out since, but they don't have the charm and home-grown look and feel of these 59-84 ones.)
Anyway, blah blah blah, "Athlete" was issued in 1973 and is the first Disney feature to have an African-American star (John Amos) since "Song of the South"! The writing for this film is inconsistent. There are some genuine laughs, particularly from Tim Conway in his first Disney movie, and even some from announcer Howard Cosell!
As far as this DVD goes, I have had no luck finding it in US stores, so the version I received from Amazon is a Canadian copy. I don't mind as long as it works in my player, which it does. The film itself is a widescreen transfer, which is a good thing, as Disney has sometimes not released their films to DVD in this format. The print quality is excellent and there are even some extras! Although, apart from the original trailer appear to be some random cutting room outtakes that don't have synchonized sound so you don't really know what's going on, and they're not particularly funny, either.
Overall, if you are a "Dopey" Disney Comedy fan, a Tim Conway fan, or wonder where the hell John Amos went after "Roots", check this one out. Otherwise, I direct you to "The Apple Dumpling Gang" for a better time and many more extras on the DVD.
-Mark.
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