Disney's True Life Adventures due December! (1 Viewer)

[Douglas R]

Great news. UltimateDisney.com reports that four volumes of Walt Disney's True-Life Adventures will be released on December 5th under Walt Disney's new Legacy Collection. Each volume will be a two-disc set. Features include; The Living Desert (1953), The Vanishing Prairie (1954), The African Lion (1955), Secrets of Life (1956) and Perri (1957). With four Walt Disney Treasures being released the same day, this is going to be an expensive month for Disney fans!

 

[Reagan]

Sweet. I've been waiting for at least three of these for some time now.

-Reagan

 

[James Ryfun]

Man, I thought I was stretching myself thin getting all the Disney Treasures in the same month. Now these? Don't get me wrong - this is great news, but horrible news for my wallet.

Maybe they won't be as limited as the Treasures volumes...?

 

[Matt Hough]

It'll be good to see PERRI again. I haven't seen it since I was a kid in the 1950s. I'm assuming the two reel True-Life Adventure shorts will be in the sets as special features perhaps?

 

[Dick]

This, from the Ultimate Disney web site:

August 21, 2006 - Retailers have been told to expect four volumes of Walt Disney's True-Life Adventures on December 5th, as the debut wave of a new line called Walt Disney's Legacy Collection. With featured content ranging from just under to well over 300 minutes, each volume will be a two-disc set carrying a $32.99 suggested retail price, much like the annual Walt Disney Treasures. UPDATE: UD has learned the contents of these sets. Read on...

Volume 1: Wonders of the World will hold the Oscar-winning 1958 feature White Wilderness; the Oscar-winning two-reel (roughly 30 minute) shorts Seal Island (1948), Beaver Valley (1950), Nature's Half Acre (1951), and Water Birds (1952); plus Nature's Strangest Creatures (1959) and more.

Volume 2: Lands of Exploration will contain a pair of Best Documentary Oscar winners in The Living Desert (1953) and The Vanishing Prairie (1954), in addition to Prowlers of the Everglades (1953), Islands of the Sea (1960), and the anthology episodes "Behind the True-Life Cameras" (1955), "The Crisler Story" (1957) and "Yellowstone Story" (1957).

Volume 3: Creatures of the Wild boasts feature-length flicks The African Lion (1955) and Jungle Cat (1960), as well as 1952's Olympic Elk, 1953's Bear Country, 1955's Emperor Penguins, and the "Disneyland" installment "Cameras in Africa" (1954) and more.

Finally, Volume 4: Nature's Mysteries will serve up 1956's feature-length Secrets of Life and the lone True-Life Fantasy Perri (1957), as well as Mysteries of the Deep (1959) and the anthology episodes "Searching for Nature's Mysteries" (1956) and "Adventure in Wildwood Heart" (1957).

Each set will include collectible packaging, an exclusive in-package keepsake, and introductions by Roy Disney. Like the Treasures, these will be available in limited quantities. It is not yet clear if this scheduling means the four titles expected to comprise Wave 6 of the Walt Disney Treasures are being delayed or if Buena Vista Home Entertainment is planning one mammoth release date for the first Tuesday of December, which is already supposed to bring the year's top-grossing film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and two virtual board game DVDs, and may now prove especially costly for fans of Walt-era fare.

 

[Matt Hough]

I couldn't be happier about the contents of these editions. Some of the True-Life shorts (many of which also won Oscars) I haven't seen in decades.

I will be a very broke guy come Christmas.

 

[Danny Burk]

Wonderful news. I've really hoped for the shorts along with the features, and will definitely grab all of these. The "extras" are intriguing and include a few that I've never heard of. I've loved these films since seeing my first one, NATURE'S HALF ACRE, in first grade when I was 7!

 

[Steven Wesley]

Davis DVD has the artwork:

 

[Jonny_L]

I'm torn about these. I love the collectability factor, but I find nature topics incredibly BORING. I guess I'll wait and see how my mood swings as the release draws closer. At anyrate, it's FANTASTIC to see Disney is continuing to cater to collector's.

 

[Adam_S]

oh man that is gorgeous...

 

[Reagan]

One issue to consider: Will these releases actually get new transfers or will Disney use the 1985 era laserdisc masters as they did with the last batch of Treasures? The former would be a real disappointment.

-Reagan

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

I'm thrilled by this announcement and will undoubtedly be buying each and every one released.


I only hope that this opens the floodgates to releasing older Disney TV material from the 50s, specifically from the Anthology series. I'd love to eventually own a somewhat comprehensive collection of Disneyland TV episodes. Specifically the animated-character themed ones (Adventures In Color, Donald In Mathmagic Land, The Ranger Of Brownstone, Your Host Donald Duck, On Vacation with Mickey, A Disney Christmas Gift, Kids Is Kids, etc) and even those centered around the usual character shorts, even if they're already available on DVD, just for the intersectionals and new bridging sequences and animation, etc. (How To Relax, Sport Goofy's Vacation, Donald Duck's Birthday, etc).


Strange that they wouldn't include the TV episode, "Behind The True-Life Cameras", as a bonus on at least one of these sets. But perhaps that will turn up in a more official press release. Also, Im really hoping that these are not packaged in tin cans like the Treasures. It looks that way from the pictures, and as much as I appreciate classy looking collectors packaging... Ive got no room for it anymore and we all saw how that deteriorated with the Treasures set by wave. So Id be satisfied with something more convenient and well designed for these sets.


I havent been excited by any Disney release announcement in a long time... This is such great news!!!

 

[Amy Mormino]

Look again, Marco. Behind the True-Life Cameras is included in Volume 2.

These releases look really good. I just wish they weren't limited edition. Buying all four in a short amount of time will be an expensive task, especially with the Treasures releases coming out at the same time, unless they will be delayed. There's always Christmas, I suppose.

For those who have seen all of these films, which volume would be best to buy first?

 

[Matt Hough]

If any nature programs can win you over, these are it. I used to show these to my eighth graders when we'd have inside recess, and they would be mesmerized by them. I also had students offer to buy the videotapes from me at the end of the year, especially the ones we didn't get to during the year.

 

[Adam_S]

considering this years rumored treasures releases are not all that interesting to me (imo the two weakest animated offerings yet because Pluto never needed two sets and silly symphonies left off the first are not the best) these are definitely my first prioritiy for buying. much more interestingand entertaining than the hardy boys or our host walt disney.

I doubt Disney's marketing department will flood the market, I think the treasures will be delayed because they're usually officially announced months before now. and for the first time I don't really mind, the treasures releases are essentially lame to me (and I own every one of the first five waves).

 

[MarcoBiscotti]

^ Actually the Treasures are usually announced in late Jan. to mid/late Aug.


I don't think there will be any reason for delay. I expect a press release to come any day now.

 

[Dan Hitchman]

One of the first big name nature programs to introduce the concept of "manufactured" caught in the act wildlife photography. Most shots were staged. Now it seems to have come full circle and just about every Discovery Channel-esque network does it for ratings and drama. The money men don't want their photographers and hosts having to sit around and wait for the animals to naturally "do their thing." There is seemingly no respect for the animals any more. We've got to prod and poke them to provoke a response for the cameras as if they were actors now.

Dan

 

[John Mansor]

Though not everything in this release would live up to current standards of animal treatment, I will be purchasing for the nostalgic qualities. I am pretty excited since I grew up watching most of these in grade school.

 

[Dick]

I enjoy this series. It does go overboard on the anthropomorphism and cartoon music (reaching its zenith with the square dancing scorpions of THE LIVING DESERT), but the leisurely pace and Winton Hibler's drawling narration make these films feel like old friends stopping by for an hour or two. Most if not all were, I believe, filmed in 16mm and the grain is going to be evident, but they've got to look better than the horrifying VHS editions of seven or eight years ago.

 

[Adam_S]

The two or three brand new restored prints I saw at the Samuel Goldwyn last summer looked very good, better than most any other 16mm I'd seen there. I have hopes for the release to look excellent. I think there was originally going to be a true life adventures release as part of wave 2 of the treasures but it was pulled (so we only got three) I imagine it may have been pulled to be restored, and so they've had several years to restore all the true life adventures and use them to launch another brilliant new line to further drain collector's wallets.