Blu-ray Review HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: A Bug's Life (1 Viewer)

[Matt Hough]

Which is the very reason I didn't give the bonus features a perfect 5/5 score. There is that roundtable discussion, but that's a far cry from the Cinexplore from previous Pixar releases. I appreciated that most (but not all) of the bonuses from the DVD set were ported over, but I missed that interactive feature as well.

 

[BrettB]

Wasn't sure whether I'd buy this or not but the Up ticket seals the deal I guess. The HD Silly Symphony is interesting as well. Didn't know about that either.

 

[Carlo_M]

Between this review and the screencaps over at DVDBeaver, this is going to be a release date purchase for me. I so clearly remember when this first came out on DVD and became one of my reference discs. Looks like it has a chance to be so again on BD!

 

[Johnny Angell]

Is there a way to confirm whether a particular theater accepts this free movie ticket in advance? Is this ticket considered to be one of the free passes that many theaters post in their listings as not being accepted for special engagements?

 

[TravisR]

I don't have it yet so I can't say for sure but the Movie Cash passes are not considered 'free passes' (at least, I've never seen one that is). As far as I know, the theater sends in the Movie Cash passes to the studio and they get reimbursed so it's exempt of the No Free Passes rule.

 

[Karl Pozorski]

I picked this up at a store that put it out before street date. It looks and sounds fantastic. Reference quality stuff here. Quick question. In the preview trailers it states: Now available on blu-ray Monster's Inc. I am confused. I thought Monster's Inc. had been delayed until fall. Is it still coming out tuesday or was this just a mistake on the disc?

 

[TonyD]

it is delayed, the disc was probably finished as the delay was just
announced a week or so ago, so no time to remove the monter's inc. from it.

 

[Jake Lipson]

I was really looking forward to seeing this in high definition on Tuesday, but the digital-copy-goosed $39.99 retail price is way too steep for a catalog title and is resulting in a $29.99 street price at most major retailers (excluding Amazon, which is only $2 cheaper.) Even with the Up movie cash, that's too much considering that I got the other Pixar titles in my library for cheaper and that I already paid for this film twice (once on VHS as soon as it came out in 1999 and again on DVD when I upgraded to that format.)

I've emailed Disney's customer care people ([email protected]) to politely complain about this and encourage them to release a version without the digital copy included for cheaper. They did this with WALL-E and Prince Caspian and it's a shame they have not continued that with this release.

$19.99 would be great, $24.99 would be fair...but $29.99 is too much. If you agree I would send an email yourself -- if they get enough, perhaps they will consider a price drop.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I agree with you 100%. $30 is too much. I can afford it, but I'm not willing to pay it. I will also email them.

 

[TravisR]

Not that it will change anyone's mind but it's $28 at Amazon. If you're planning on seeing Up, subtract the cost of the free ticket for that and the cost works out to about $20.

 

[Todd smith]

+2.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Is that included no matter where you buy it? Is there a way to verify that my theater accepts the free ticket?

 

[BrettB]

It's a code in every set no matter where you buy. Worth $8.50.

"Visit Hollywood Movie Money | Start for participating theaters in your area."

 

[DavidJ]

Without the promo code there is no way to verify which theaters take it.

 

[TravisR]

Every chain that I've ever heard of accepts those tickets. Anything is possible but if you're going to a national theater chain, I don't think you'll have any problems using the ticket.

 

[BrettB]

The code is 34372A but their dates only go out till the 25th. Nevertheless you can look at current stuff and see the different theaters that work.

 

[Johnny Angell]

When I enter that code is says the dates are 5/29 thru 7/31. It then lists several theaters I'd be interested in, but it's unclear to me if it's telling me these theaters will accept the ticket when UP does open there. I guess on 5/29 I can go back and check again.

This code you gave, if it's from your copy of the movie, I shouldn't use it, I presume it's a one time use code.

 

[Paul Arnette]

Someone on that other forum reported not receiving any movie cash with their copy from Amazon. If true, it sounds like the X-Men debacle all over again. I could be persuaded to spend $28 if I was guaranteed $8.50 in movie cash, but it looks like another gamble.

 

[Carlo_M]

I've stopped buying BDs using the movie cash justification (I'll buy them if I like them, regardless of movie cash). The reason? More often than not there are restrictions that preclude me from using it at my favorite local theater, the Mann Village. Sometimes it's not on the list of theaters. Sometimes it's more of a hassle to enroll and receive the tickets rather than just outright pay for the movie.

I sure hope this movie cash works out for those of you who are going to use it though. I've just given up with the amount of bureaucracy that seems to be involve in some of the "Free offers" we get as an enticement to buy things.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Amen, Carlo. This reminds me of a cartoon I have hanging in my office. A salesman in a pet shop tells a customer "if you buy the goldfish, I'll throw in the aardvark".

Considering the history of previous Pixar releases on BD, I expect the price of this disc to drop to around $20 in a few months. I will buy it then. Patience is a virtue.