HTF REVIEW: "The Country Bears" (with screenshots) (1 Viewer)

[Joe Fisher]

Oh well. This one will keep sitting on the store shelf right next to "Snow Dogs". I would have liked to get this one for my little brother. But one day he will understand why I didn't get it.

Sorry Disney NO OAR=NO SALE!!!!

 

[Jeff Bamberger]

The only full frame DVDs I will EVER buy are those that were filmed that way. What is Disney thinking?

What is Disney going to do when all the "masses" that want the image to fill their screen end up with a widescreen TV (which will eventually happen)? Will Disney revisit all of their past transgressions and reissue everything in OAR with nice anmorphic transfers? I seem to doubt it.

Ron, thank you for doing a "bad" review. I think we need more of them to show the studios their mistakes.

 

[Tommy G]

Alright, it's already been said ad-nauseum. Oh what the heck. I was not going to buy it based upon its content but Ron has persuaded me before and I have never been disappointed. So with that said, I would have purchased this had it been OAR. This is the reason why I couldn't possibly vote Disney as studio of the year. Oh well, my kids miss out on yet another Disney debacle. :frowning:

 

[SteveK]

Ron- Thank you for the great review. At first I had no interest in this movie, but after reading your review, I would like to see it...except of course that it's available only in Pan&Scan. I just can't understand Disney's approach to movies; they can release some of the best DVD sets available while simultaneously releasing other titles in P&S only.

Hopefully there will be more reviews questioning Disney on this P&S only release, as I think Disney is hurt more by negative reviews than by a release simply being ignored because it's not available in OAR. What is so difficult about offering OAR on all releases? Whether it be animated or live action, ALL movies should include the OAR version.

I don't watch much television, but I see more and more commercials, music videos and even television programs filmed in widescreen. Yet P&S only releases still proliferate.

Sad, Disney, very sad.

Steve K.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

I appreciate all of you for understanding the
reasons why I did thsi review. It's very easy to
set a policy where this forum won't do any reviews
of and DVD product that doesn't support OAR.
On the othewr hand, it is equally as important to
review these films and bring to the public's attention
the atrocity that is being done to this format when
the presentation of really good films are being
modified for this format.
I was especially angered by what Disney did here.
The Country Bears is a fun film that I would
have loved to encourage members to purchase. The
best thing I could do by reviewing this title would
be to send a message to Disney by discouraging the
purchase.
Someone asked me in this thread why I would pick
Disney as my personal choice for Studio of the
year when they modify so many of their widescreen
releases to full-frame. The answer is simple. All
of the studios who deal with family titles are doing
the exact same thing. If I were to exclude all of
them in my considerations, there would be little
choice left. I look at the positive things that
Disney has done this year. By far, they have released
the most elaborate DVD sets this year including
Pearl Harbor Vista Series, Monster Inc., and
Beauty and The Beast.
As always, thanks for reading my reviews.

 

[todd s]

My 2 daughters (ages 5 & 7) have no problem with those "black bars". They never even questioned why they are there. They even know to ask for WS. So now it is two movies (Snow Dogs) that I am not purchasing from Disney. Especially now that I have a WS set.

Ron, have you spoken to anyone at Disney regarding this?

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Ron, have you spoken to anyone at Disney regarding this?

I have politely expressed my opinion to them in
the past and that opinion has really had no weight.

I can tell you that Disney is certainly reading
this thread.

 

[Justin Lane]

This is a movie I skipped in theaters hoping to pick up the DVD since Disney usually does a great job on new releases. This is now a no sale unfortunatly. Why not put both versions on one disc, that way everyone is happy? As it is now, they are going to be losing a fair amount of sales, which is not surprising considering the mismanagement of Disney on the whole.


J

 

[Randy A Salas]

All of the studios who deal with family titles are doing the exact same thing.

No. Paramount, which admittedly doesn't have as many titles as Disney, releases its theatrical family releases in OAR. WB mostly does, too (Pokemon being the major exception).

 

[Scott Barnhart]

Michael asked:

With what aspect ratio was this film shown in theaters? Maybe it was composed for 1.33:1. It's not P&S, is it?

According to IMDB this was shot 1.85:1. So this is probably an open-matte transfer as opposed to P&S. Also, I read that the bears were all animatronics and very little CGI was involved, so probably there isn't much (if any) CGI-cropping either. So for those of us who are willing to buy open-matte transfers, this one appears to fit the bill (please, no holy-wars! We're all adults and can make our own decisions). However, I didn't see this in the theater, so there is no way I could confirm this. Does anyone know for sure?

 

[Joshua Clinard]

Jungle 2 Jungle is apparently non-anamorphic widescreen, but mismarketed and mislabeled as pan & scan.

Can someone who owns this title confirm that it it OAR? If it is indeed widescreen, I would purchase it.

Disney might want to correct this on the packaging for future re-pressings. This mislable might discourage some people from purchasing.

 

[LukeB]

The "Why letterbox?" feature on Pearl Harbor: Vista Series comes to mind.

Yes, that indeed. And the explanation on Widescreen in the Beauty and the Beast booklet, too.

As for other studios releasing family titles in Pan & Scan only. I just don't see it. Warner hasn't pulled that stunt outside a couple of times, since the Wonka/Cats fiasco of last year. Only other P&S exclusive I can think of is Universal's Big Fat Liar.

Disney is putting out new and catalogue DVDs that are as good as any other studios, and at the same time, putting out new and catalogue DVDs that are worse than any other studio.

 

[Randy A Salas]

I read that the bears were all animatronics and very little CGI was involved, so probably there isn't much (if any) CGI-cropping either. So for those of us who are willing to buy open-matte transfers, this one appears to fit the bill (please, no holy-wars! We're all adults and can make our own decisions). However, I didn't see this in the theater, so there is no way I could confirm this. Does anyone know for sure?

CGI isn't a problem, but there are many physical effects in the movie. I'd be interested to see if those scenes were cropped. Examples that come to mind include an over-the-top car-wash scene and several production song & dance numbers (the diner and backstage with Krystal), where the widescreen framing might have hidden wires and other off-screen aids.

I haven't watched the DVD yet, but my memory of the film from a preview screening will probably be of little help in comparing.

 

[PerryD]

In a time right now where there are probably around a million widescreen sets out there, and growing logarithmically each year, why eliminate those savvy high-tech customers from purchasing your DVDs? I have two young daughters, and I would have purchased Country Bears, Snow Dogs, the recent Muppet releases, but I am not going to since I watch my movies on my 65" widescreen HDTV. Why watch a recent theatrical movie with black bars on the sides?

Back before HDTVs, I had a harder time explaining to salespeople or friends about the advantages of widescreen over P&S. But now owning an HD set, and several friends who now own them, it's easy to say you're not buying the title because it's P&S only. Same with Blockbuster employees when I'm there, I make sure to let them know I was going to rent Insomnia (or whatever the latest P&S version they are stocking), but I am not renting since they stock P&S only.

 

[AaronMK]

Disney is loosing theatrical revenue from me as well with their hap-hazzard treatment of their live action family titles. It is not out of protest; it is just that I don't want to become attached to movie just to be disappointed if they decide not to release it on DVD.

While not Disney, I wish I had never seen Babe for this reason. I would put that movie on my shelf in a heart beat, if only they would release it. From what I hear Country Bears would fall into that category as well, but I would rather have ignorance than that unscratched itch.

All of the studios who deal with family titles are doing the exact same thing.

I don't recall Fox or Paramount ever releasing a family title (or any title) P&S only. Is it just a coincidence that these are also the two studios who at one point regularly participated on the forum? Unfortunately, I think Fox is going to loose that distinction when Bushwacked is non-released.

 

[JosephMoore]

Okay, I'll add my voice to the chorus just in case someone of influence catches wind of this thread.

I was dreading seeing this movie with my daughter during its theatrical run, but Daddy couldn't very well say no to his 3 year old princess, now could he? ;-) I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a really fun movie that reminded me a lot of what I love about the original Muppet movie. the movie is worth seeing just for the cameos (especially the Bonnie Raitt/Don Henley duet.)

Had this film been released unadulterated it would have certainly joined the ranks of the many other kid's flicks in my collection (I think they out number the "grown-up" movies 2-1!) As it stands, Disney will lose yet another sale for no good reason.

 

[Jesse Skeen]

Since DIVXney won't answer any questions about 'artistic integrity', how do they answer the question about what people with WIDESCREEN TVs are supposed to do???

 

[RexW]

If Disney is reading this thread like Ron mentioned then let them know they have lost at least three sales to me.
(2 muppets and now The Country Bears)
I was looking forward to this out of morbid curiosity that made it look like one of those "just sit back and enjoy" movies that you know are not destined for AFI's list.

 

[AaronMK]

how do they answer the question about what people with WIDESCREEN TVs are supposed to do???

Easy, use your TV's 4x3 mode, or its stretch mode. :rolleyes
What about telling us how to get a properly framed and proportioned version of the film. Even those of us with 4x3 TVs would like the answer to that question.

 

[SteveK]

Joseph - I'm like you: my "family" DVDs probably outnumber my "grown-up" DVDs by about a 2:1 ratio. Unlike you, however, I don't have a 3-year old princess. In fact, I have no kids at all. But I've always enjoyed animation and family fare, particularly Disney (except the material aimed for the VERY young). I would gladly add Country Bears to that collection, but it won't be sitting on my shelf until it's available in widescreen.

Disney, since VHS obviously offers "fullframe" only, why would you want to release a DVD with fullframe only? Offer the "fullframe" for those who prefer it if you must, but ALWAYS offer OAR for those of us who realize it's more important to see the whole movie than it is to fill the whole TV screen.

Thanks.
Steve K.