Before we get into the aspect ratio debate, let me tell you that when the Library of Congress screened this film in 2005 as part of their cat film series, they used an original IB Technicolor print, and screened it at a weird ratio. They claimed the print itself was matted, but the projectionist showed it at what looked like 2:1, and it was definitely overmatted.
I agree. The characters should at least be rendered in the same style in which they were drawn for the film. Those cats on the cover look much more three-dimensional than they do in the film.
And, Thomas O'Malley cat looks a little "off" to me. Maybe its just the color...
I've always hated that. The characters on Disney video cover art haven't looked like they look in the films for at least 20 years. There are longstanding bad habits/traditions entrenched in the product art department (or whatever it's called) that I really wish would be shaken up.
MY guess is that this'll wind up in 1.78:1, given that it's a "new digital transfer", and that previous experience tells me this was meant to be projected 1.75:1.
As you might have already expected, The Aristocats: 2-Disc Special Edition will not be making the March 27th release date announced in an insert inside Cinderella III. BVHE has yet to set a new date, but a spring release is still possible. The DVD's first video preview will be found on Peter Pan: Platinum Edition next month.
The site is up, but the release date has been delayed and some people are reporting that they never got the leaflet in the Cinderella III DVD, while some people did