johnstonjames i'm glad to read that everybody who reviewed this seemed to really like it. i hate to label people, but heck, if you don't find this warm and cozy little series kind of cute, i would think you were sort of mean.i wasn't even born yet when the original MMC was on ABC, but i definitely saw it a few years later in re-runs. like Mickey Mouse himself, i can't even recall the first time i was aware of Annette Funicello because i was introduced to her image at such a young age. to me, Annette is like a Disney character like Minnie or Mickey. she seems synonymous with Disney. for many of us baby boomers it would be hard to imagine Disney without the original MMC.anyone who really knows me knows i am ga-ga fanatic over the original MMC and Annette Funicello. i mean i would be part of a fan club, but i really don't do that sort of thing. but i've seen Disney's 'Toyland' musical at least a hundred times(not kidding), and i try to buy any VHS or DVD that features the original MMC. for me it's just not Disney without it.that brings me to the crappy treatment that big, corporate Disney has given the original MMC and it's Annette movies. on the 50th anniversary of the original MMC, the Disney corporation did very little to acknowledge the MMC legacy. the original MMC has never been released in a full comprehensive volume like almost all the other classic television shows have. i mean you can see every episode of 'Red Skelton' or 'Harriet and Ozzy' but there is very little of the original MMC available. that's crap. the current Disney empire owes a lot of it's success to the original TV series MMC and 'world of Disney' and it's noticeably callous that the current corporation really doesn't seem to care. there is lots of yakking from the corporation about how much they want to preserve the legacy but that's mostly what it is. yakking. i wish big, corporate Disney would stop yakking and put their big fat bucks where their yak hole is. that's why i prefer Disney when it was just a small studio with only two small theme parks. they were more sincere. the fact that the studio won't re-release some of the old Disney classics because of political reasons is pure S--t.VIVA ANNETTE FUNICELLO!! MAY SHE REIGN FOREVER!!

bkoganbing The big serial for the Mickey Mouse Club in its final year was Annette, starring of course Annette Funicello. The young men of America watched Annette have a rather public puberty so Walt Disney no doubt figured in the last season of the club it was altogether fitting and proper to recognize this.Funicello plays a role somewhat akin to something Janet Gaynor might have done back in her day. Gaynor was always a girl fresh off the farm who comes to the big city and wins the heart of whomever the leading man was. She was always down to earth and full of common sense.And that's exactly what Funicello plays in Annette. She's lived in a rural background until her teens when she's orphaned. Her rich uncle Richard Deacon and aunt Sylvia Field take her in. These people are pretty rich, but Annette doesn't gravitate at first to the kids in her aunt and uncle's economic class. She likes young Judy Nugent who delivers milk and eggs from her farm and young David Stollery who has to work after school. Gradually though she not only becomes accepted with the cool kids, but they actually start developing some nice values of their own.Except for one that is, Roberta Shore who played a lot of teen queen roles that Annette didn't get is the villain of the piece. She gets insanely jealous of this country bumpkin's new found popularity and schemes for her downfall.This series ran 19 episodes and granted they're only 15 minutes in length each chapter, still it's one of the longest if not the longest serial Disney had on the Mickey Mouse Club. It was a picture of the Fifties and the values we had at the time. Note the lack of any minority faces in Annette.Still it wasn't a bad show. Annette Funicello was launched on her way to teen and adult stardom. She established her image that carries on right up to today in Annette. And it's not a bad image for a very brave lady to have.

Sushipoo I love the serial. It reflects a time in the '50s when many families moved from the country to the city. Country kids versus City Kids. A reverse of "Footloose". The challenges of teens in their social scene at school. Annette plays a country girl adapting to the City High School Crowd, relevent to the times. It takes us to a time past of Spin the Bottle, Poodle skirts (worn by Roberta Shaw), can can slips, boy's hyped up Model T's, the high school malt shop, Smallville USA, affordable maids, and streets named after trees like Elm Street. My daughter of 19 enjoyed the reflection of a different time and different society. Fun to see Annette, Tim Considine, Roberta Shaw, Shelley Fabre, and many more. I wish it were available for purchase. On the Mickey Mouse Club show at night, they leave out the main scenes in the country where Jet confronts Laura.. It was the best scene. The serial is excellent

Itsamoomoo This is a serial that runs on the old "Mickey Mouse Club." Annette Funicello plays Annette, a country girl living with her aunt and uncle in the city. She's attending the local high school and is trying to be part of the crowd. This is very well written and some of the cast is from the "Mickey Mouse Club." Child actress Judy Nugent as Jet Maypen steals many of the scenes she's in. Interestingly, Sylvia Field and Mary Wickes from the "Dennis the Menace" TV series both have roles. Shelly Fabares also has a small role. She's a delight. Of course, Annette Funicello is the star of the serial. I highly recommend watching.