us some genuinely inventive entertainments, especially Escape to Witch Mountain and Island at the Top of the World. With The Apple Dumpling Gang, we're back to assembly line plots about the adventure of squeaky-clean kids". Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film one star out of four and called it "the latest piece of treacle from the Walt Disney sitcom kitchen. The recipe is well-known: Mix smiling moms and pops with the dash of villains, fold in saccharine children, and beat with slapstick. The resulting cinematic mush is so predictable, it's a wonder that more youngsters don't tell the Disney folks to 'bake off'". Richard Eder of The New York Times called it "as cheerful and indistinguishable as rice pudding". Variety called the film "an engaging gentle-humored comedy melodrama ... Don Tait's screenplay based on the book by Jack M. Bickham would benefit by some sharp editing of certain Knotts-Conway routines but otherwise picture generally is a fast-paced situation caper". Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called it "a pleasant and funny Disney family comedy" that was "a bit long but amiable enough to get away with overstaying its welcome". Gary Arnold of The Washington Post called it "the summer's second consecutive stale confection from the Disney organization, whose comedy formulas are solely in need of rejuvenation". Home media In October 1980, it became one of the first Disney movies to be released on videocassette. Both The Apple Dumpling Gang and its sequel, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, have been released on Disney DVD in the United States. In the United Kingdom, only the original film has been made available on DVD. Sequel and TV series In 1979, Knotts and Conway reprised their roles in the sequel The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again. Bill Bixby, Susan Clark, and the rest of the cast did not appear. Harry Morgan was the only other member of the cast to appear in the sequel, although he plays a different character. In January 1982, Disney aired Tales of the Apple Dumpling Gang, a television film remake starring John Bennett Perry in the Bixby role, Ed Begley Jr. in the Conway role and Arte Johnson in the Knotts role. One year later saw the premiere of a television series, Gun Shy, with a completely different cast, including Barry Van Dyke in the Bixby role. Six episodes were produced. References External links