Somehow it completely escaped my attention that a few months ago Disney started releasing many of their older, lesser-known films on DVD as part of the Disney Generations Collection. For Disney fans, the Generations collection is a treasure trove of rare or otherwise forgotten films–both animated and live-action–that until now have remained sealed away deep within the Disney vault.
Among the many new-to-DVD Disney films in the collection is one of my personal favorites: Child of Glass. Before now, Child of Glass was only available on VHS and it was difficult to find a copy that wasn’t being sold for an exorbitant amount. And even if you were lucky enough to score one–ew, VHS!
For years I’ve held onto an extremely old VHS copy that my grandmother recorded for me sometime back in the early 80’s, when I was about five or six. Not only is the quality complete shit, but the tape has been played so many times the tracking is permanently out of whack. Needless to say, I ordered this DVD immediately. And I’m also thinking about picking up Beyond Witch Mountain and Fuzzbucket.
Sleeping Lies the Murdered Lass…
Child of Glass is one of the coolest old Disney films, and one of the most charming. It’s a coming-of-age story, a murder mystery, and light horror film all in one. There’s plenty of creepy atmosphere, a big old Southern mansion, historical period costumes, cemeteries at night, fire, an old abandoned well–all the makings of an adventurous ghost story.
Synopsis:
Strange forces are at work here…Listen to the call of the spirits…They’ll come to you soon…” It’s a warning 13-year-old Alexander Armsworth hears (and ignores) from a mystical old hag when he and his family move into a grand, antebellum Southern mansion. Soon the prophecy comes true, and Alexander is knee-deep in a mystery involving witchcraft, frightening visions from the past, a lost fortune in diamonds, a crazed caretaker with murder on his mind, and visitations by the ghost of a young girl who has been haunting the mansion since her murder during the days of the Civil War!
