It's back! A much-loved TCM franchise returns with a new bounty of films in our Treasures from the Disney Vault. Once again, we are privileged to present cinematic jewels from the great Walt Disney Studios, with TCM favorite and Disney aficionado Leonard Maltin returning as host.

This installment features a trio of cartoon shorts. The Hockey Champ (1939) has Donald Duck taking his nephews to a frozen lake for hockey where he relives the moments that won him a trophy. The Art of Skiing (1941) features Goofy at a resort where he is learning to ski. This cartoon introduced the "Goofy holler," a cry issued by the character in moments of duress. In Donald's Tire Trouble (1943) the querulous duck has to deal with flat tires on his car. This one was timely because of rubber rationing and the use of retreads during World War II.

Below is a rundown of the feature films.

Fun and Fancy Free (1947) is from an era of Disney animation called "Package Films" (1942-49), when the privations of World War II led to movies that combined more than one narrative into a common theme. This one has two segments. "Bongo", hosted by animated character Jiminy Cricket and narrated by singer Dinah Shore, is based on a Sinclair Lewis story about a circus bear cub who escapes to live in the wild and falls in love with a female cub. The second segment, "Mickey and the Beanstalk", is a variation of Jack and the Beanstalk hosted by Edgar Bergen, with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy as peasants who climb a magic beanstalk and do battle with a giant. The latter episode marked the last time that Walt Disney himself provided Mickey's voice.

The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964) stars Tommy Kirk as a college student whose "mind experiments" get him into hot water with a judge (Leon Ames). Annette Funicello costars as Kirk's girlfriend. The Happiest Millionaire (1967) is a musical set in Philadelphia during the World War I era and starring Fred MacMurray as an eccentric millionaire (based on the real-life Anthony J. Drexel Biddle). The score is by Richard and Robert Sherman, and the formidable cast also includes Greer Garson, Geraldine Page, Tommy Steele, Gladys Cooper, Hermione Baddeley, Leslie Ann Warren and (in his film debut) John Davidson.

The Love Bug (1968), a huge hit that inspired a number of sequels, features Dean Jones in the fanciful story of a Volkswagen racing beetle with a mind of its own. Jones plays the San Francisco race-car driver that Herbie takes a shine to, Michele Lee provides the romantic interest, and Buddy Hackett plays a good-hearted mechanic. Jones also stars in Snowball Express (1972), this time playing a man who inherits a Colorado hotel and finds comic complications in his efforts to turn it into a ski lodge. Again, there's an impressive supporting cast, including Keenan Wynn, Nancy Olson, Harry Morgan, George Lindsey and Mary Wickes.

by Roger Fristoe