Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will release more than 30 catalog titles on Blu-ray Disc in 2 (1 Viewer)

[classicmovieguy]

I can understand that as well, Matt - Hayley was Disney's premier leading lady and all her films, including "Summer Magic", "The Moon-Spinners", "That Darn Cat" and "In Search of the Castaways" would be much-appreciated on Blu.

 

[MarkA]

I'm a big Hayley fan and I want them all including the Parent Trap sequels and Back Home (and Good Morning Miss Bliss in any form).

 

[Mark-P]

I can understand that as well, Matt - Hayley was Disney's premier leading lady and all her films, including "Summer Magic", "The Moon-Spinners", "That Darn Cat" and "In Search of the Castaways" would be much-appreciated on Blu.

I second your vote for all of those titles! What is frustrating about it, is that HD masters already exist for every single one of them. They are available for HD streaming and download from iTunes, Amazon Instant and Vudu. Now if those masters are up to snuff for Blu-ray standards I couldn't say, but still I would buy every single one of those in a second if Disney were to put them out on Blu.

 

[Matt Hough]

Since 2014 is the 50th anniversary of Mary Poppins and the 60th anniversary of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and since Disney is never one to miss exploiting an anniversary milestone, I would be shocked if one or both titles were not planned for commemorative releases.

I'm not a betting man generally, but I certainly would wager that you're right about those two titles.

 

[Ken LB]

I hope you're right about 20,000 Leagues and that they're not waiting to tie into the ever-delayed Fincher remake.

 

[Nick*Z]

Disney needs a more proactive approach to their live action catalogue. It has been given short shrift from day one. In addition to 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, we also desperately need Swiss Family Robinson, Pollyanna, The Happiest Millionaire, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Nutty Professor, Old Yeller, The Light In the Forest, Song of the South, Third Man on the Mountain, The Original Parent Trap, That Darn Cat and The Moon-Spinners (in their original OAR), Darby O'Gill and the Little People and - no kidding - Mary Poppins. Almost fifty years later, she's still practically perfect in every way!!!

 

[Brandon Conway]

Mary Poppins is all but guaranteed to be released next year. It's the 50th Anniversary and they have the Poppins-related film Saving Mr. Banks with Tom Hanks getting theatrically released in December 2013. I personally expect Blu-ray releases of both Mary Poppins and Saving Mr. Banks on the same day sometime in March-May 2014.

20,000 Leagues has been undergoing a full restoration and I'd bet on it also getting released sometime next year for its 60th Anniversary.

 

[JoeDoakes]

There was a thread based on what purported leaked schedule of Disney classic blu ray releases that went out to 2017 or 2018 or something. Can anyone help me find it? I do recall that it showed that Song of the South was purportedly scheduled near the end of the list.

 

[AnthonyClarke]

Bring on Pollyanna and The Parent Trap, Hayley's top double. Though my family also loves the Lindsay Lohan remake of the latter. I'd buy that on Blu ray too. These films stand the test of time.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

Was on a Kurt Russell kick after watching Big Trouble
In Little China last weekend.

I followed it up with....wait for it....

The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes

It's a childhood favorite (saw it at Summer camp). It's
amazing to see how back in those early DVD days, the
studio just threw a print on a disc without a care in the
world for cleaning it up first.

Anyhow, I don't expect this will ever see the light of day
on Blu-ray, but as with everyone else, I am hoping that
some of the secondary live action catalog titles do.

 

[Ejanss]

Mary Poppins is all but guaranteed to be released next year. It's the 50th Anniversary and they have the Poppins-related film Saving Mr. Banks with Tom Hanks getting theatrically released in December 2013. I personally expect Blu-ray releases of both Mary Poppins and Saving Mr. Banks on the same day sometime in March-May 2014.

Was on a Kurt Russell kick after watching Big Trouble
In Little China last weekend.

I followed it up with....wait for it....
The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes

And, joining these two completely disparate-sounding items together:
I remember hearing Kurt Russell in an interview once talk about his days as a contract child actor on the Disney lot--Walt Disney was working on Mary Poppins and wanted a kid's perspective, so invited 12-yo. Russell into the screening room to watch some early cuts of the "Jolly Holiday" scene. When Walt asked him what he thought, Russell tactfully replied it was okay, a little cutesy and childish, not really his thing--Walt looked at the scene again, agreed it was a little thin, and started thinking of ideas to improve it: "Think we should really do more with those penguins, maybe get Van Dyke to do a little dance with them..."

(Yeah, you can tell I'm waiting for it, too.
I remember seeing it in the 80's, back during the 7-year-cycle theatrical reissues, with an audience that had either never seen it before or had no memories of it, and it caught the audience totally off guard in every single scene. When I was growing up, "Mary Poppins" was synonymous with shmaltzy, G-rated Julie Andrews/Disney establishment corn, mostly because we were taking out our frustrations at The Sound of Music, and because kiddy matinees were the only thing we were allowed to see at the movies...Now, think I'm just waiting around the forums for some kid to say "Is it really that good? I've heard about it but never seen it!", just so we can all go into detail about it. Unfortunately, everywhere I go, it's preaching to the choir.)

 

[Ronald Epstein]

That's a really cool Kurt Russell story.

As for Mary Poppins....

I'm not really a Sound of Music kind of guy. I own the film, but I never
really loved it.

There's something about Mary Poppins, however --as schmaltzy as it
may seem -- that really strikes a positive chord. It's really a magically
entertaining movie with some really fantastic songs and dance numbers
(one of which is the Penguins sequence).

I am really hoping that the upcoming Tom Hanks film portraying the making
of the film with its author is factual. I am quite interested to see how that
film evolved with the criticisms the author was throwing at it (or at least that
is the impression I get from the trailer).

 

[Jason_V]

I am really hoping that the upcoming Tom Hanks film portraying the making
of the film with its author is factual. I am quite interested to see how that
film evolved with the criticisms the author was throwing at it (or at least that
is the impression I get from the trailer).

Not to get too off topic, but I watched the trailer for the first time yesterday. It had me smiling and remembering Mary Poppins very fondly and made me want to watch it again. At least I have the soundtrack I can always go back to.

 

[MatthewA]

That's a really cool Kurt Russell story.

As for Mary Poppins....

I'm not really a Sound of Music kind of guy. I own the film, but I never
really loved it.

The exact opposite of me; The Sound of Music is in my top 5 films of all-time, and Mary Poppins...isn't.

 

[Escapay]

Both films are among my favorites, with The Sound of Music being my favorite R&H musical, and Mary Poppins being among my top 5 Disney live-action films. Heck, I have the parrot umbrella (which I alternate use with my Singin' in the Rain umbrella).

 

[MatthewA]

Was on a Kurt Russell kick after watching Big Trouble
In Little China last weekend.

I followed it up with....wait for it....

The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes

It's a childhood favorite (saw it at Summer camp). It's
amazing to see how back in those early DVD days, the
studio just threw a print on a disc without a care in the
world for cleaning it up first.

Anyhow, I don't expect this will ever see the light of day
on Blu-ray, but as with everyone else, I am hoping that
some of the secondary live action catalog titles do.

This has a very good HD master on Vudu that could be the basis of a Blu-ray. It's a cute film for what it is: the Disney version of Flowers for Algernon.

 

[cb1]

Come on Disney! Let's see Johnny Tremain on Blu-ray!

 

[Mike*HTF]

and The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh

 

[Ethan Riley]

They're rushing out their animated catalog; maybe afterwards, they'll dive more deeply into the live-action classics. And dare I suggest: the animated shorts.

 

[MatthewA]

There are some animated shorts in HD on Netflix (including The Three Little Pigs, albeit censored), and they look pretty good (none of the Technicolor fringing that plagued some of the 1930s shorts), and should look even better on Blu. The only non-Diamond, non-hybrid animated films left are the 1940s package films, The Black Cauldron, and Hercules (there may be others, but I don't recall).