Disney DVD's (1 Viewer)

[Ernest Rister]

Hunchback is the most gloriously elaborate Disney animated feature since Sleeping Beauty. The Gargoyles are a misfire, but then, I find most of the low-brow Disney comedy in the 90's to be a misfire. A cohesive Disney animated feature where everything clicked was a rare thing in the 90's and early years of this decade -- Rescuers Down Under, Aladdin, Emperor's New Groove.

 

[Ernest Rister]

Will they also be pulled from release after a period of time?

They already have been. A Bug's Life is now making its second appearance on DVD, after being OOP for a few years.

The later addition of Sleeping Beauty to the list of those films to be withdrawn obviously came about after the DVD sold so much better than they must have anticipated. I remember that it was #1 for two weeks when first released.

Sleeping Beauty has always been a popular film for Disney on home video. I don't think the DVD sales had much to do with it one way or the other -- the sales in the late 80's and mid-90s probably had more influence than the DVD sales. Once again, to repeat, the 10 top-selling Disney animated home video titles of all time became the Platinum Edition titles.

As one of Disney's biggest home video hits, Fantasia would have been in the initial 10, but it was already scheduled for DVD release in Fall of 2000. In a very real way, The Fantasia Anthology was the "1st" Platinum Edition title.

When it became clear that HD convergence was going to hit in the latter part of this decade, Disney ramped up the PE schedule to two releases a year, to get their remaining titles released onto standard DVD before year-ending 2007. We just saw the fruits of that effort with the Spring PE release of Bambi.

Since they were going on a new two-a-year plan, the next four best sellers were added to the PE to give the collection a seven year cycle. These four "new" additions to the PE were traditional best sellers like Fantasia, Peter Pan, Pinocchio, and Sleeping Beauty. We won't see these until the remaining titles have run their course.

My guess is that Pinocchio will be the first HD-DVD "Platinum Edition" title, streeting in 2008.

 

[PeterTHX]

Disney supports BluRay, so it won't be "HD-DVD" per se (DVD Forum has that copyrighted).

Hmmm. I enjoyed "Oliver & Company" and "Rescuers Down Under", especially since I did NOT care much for "The Rescuers". I did not much care for "Hunchback of Notre Dame" or "Pocahontas" (PC Disney at its worst IMHO).

Hoping for a widescreen "Fox & The Hound" someday.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

Disney supports BluRay but openly claims no exclusivity.

 

[Kelly Grannell]

either way, they'll call it Disney Blue-ray Disc. Now THAT will confuse the regular buyers.

Should I buy DVD or DBD?

 

[Damin J Toell]

First, it could never be copyrighted. The type of intellectual property you're looking for is trademark.

Second, as for the trademark, no one owns a Federal trademark on "HD-DVD". As of this date, a gentleman named Benjamin D. Kuchera from Kentucky has attempted to register it. It is still being considered for registration by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The USPTO is also in the process of considering Mr. Kuchera's application for Federal registration on "HDDVD".

DJ

 

[PeterTHX]

Something like that. :b
In any case, BluRay discs and players wouldn't be able to call themselves "HD-DVD".

Hopefully, Disney will ONLY support BluRay. HD-DVD would not serve a Disney classic as well as BluRay would.

 

[Paul Sandhu]

The only PE I am waiting for is Jungle Book. I had the early 90s VHS and that movie brings back a lot of memories. It was my first Disney movie.

And about Disney making these PE's come out fast. Normally when a company fast tracks something the quality suffers. I know we all vouch for these DVDs being worthy.

I wonder when the next format comes out, will they be doing the whole rotation all over again?

 

[Arnold Y]

Speaking of Disney's 2 year PE plan...

I know it may seem a bit early asking (considering it's only March and all), but does anyone know which PE titles Disney will release in 2006? I keep hearing either Jungle Book or Lady & the Tramp in March and Little Mermaid in October.

 

[Scott Weinberg]

As far as I understand it, the remaining Platinum Edition schedule goes like this:

Cinderella - October 2005
Lady and the Tramp - March 2006
The Little Mermaid - October 2006
The Jungle Book - March 2007
101 Dalmatians - October 2007
Pinocchio, Fantasia, Peter Pan, and Sleeping Beauty - To be announced

 

[Ernest Rister]

Disney supports BluRay, so it won't be "HD-DVD" per se (DVD Forum has that copyrighted).

I meant High-Definition DVD, not the brands "HD-DVD" or "Blu-Ray". Disney is supporting Blu-Ray but has also said they will not be exclusive to one or the other.

 

[Matt Fisher]

I've only been waiting 3 years for Lady and Jungle Book, what's another 2 more?

 

[Paul Sandhu]

2007! I guess its to tie into its 40th anniversary. It better be special Disney! I hope they put the bonus they had on the 30th Anniversary VHS from '97.

 

[Ernest Rister]

I've only been waiting 3 years for Lady and Jungle Book, what's another 2 more?

I bought my copies of both in 1999. You can get legitimate copies of both right now from e*bay, look for the distinctive Disney-stamped shrink-wrapping of the early LE titles. If you want legit pressings, you're gonna spend some money, and I have a feeling they're going to become drink-coasters by 2007 when the 2-disc editions come out, but if you really want them now, they are certainly within your reach.

 

[Jeff Swearingen]

any word on the timeline for putting the Peter Pan dvd back on the market? I missed it the last time around

 

[Jonny_L]

Is everyone sure that Fantasia and Sleeping Beauty are coming as PE's? It doesnt really make sense to me as they were already released in such elaborate editions. I already have Sleeping Beauty and I can't imagine anything more they could add to it that would make me buy it again.

Even though I wasnt a fan of the sequel, I kind of regret not getting Fantasia in the Anthology box when I had the chance.

 

[ZackR]

If you love the films and can afford it, I highly recommend picking up the OOP release. No, they are not all great as far as DVDs go, but if you love the films, it would be worth it. I mean, growing up not far from Disney World in Florida, I was deluged with Disney for as long as I can remember. I still remember my mother taking me to see the re-release of Snow White when I was maybe 4-5 years old. Yes, I can actually remember aspects of it. She took me to see it 5 times. I remember seeing Song of the South during its 1986 re-release with my kindergarten class. My grandmother would rent Pinocchio for me every time I visited. I am very close to my mother, and watching Dumbo still can bring tears to me. These Disney films (and others) are priceless. They are a part of my childhood. As I grow older, I see more and more the sheer brilliance behind them. I remember as a kid anticipating the re-releases of these Disney films to our local theater. Snow White was my favorite as a kid. It seemed like it would NEVER be available on VHS. It obviously happened eventually. But I could never have imagined owning the film in a format anywhere close to the Platinum release I now treasure (misgivings about the "sterile" image aside). I have a sizable library of Disney animated films on DVD. I do not know what Walt would have thought about having his films on home video, but I consider myself lucky that I can watch these amazing films whenever I choose. Wow, sorry for rambling. Back to my initial point though, if you can find authentic discs of the OOP Disney DVDs and you love the films, I highly recommend them all. No, the DVDs are not the greatest, but the films?? That is a whole other story.

Looking at the greatness Disney animation (and Disney in general) once possessed makes me even more frustrated by the current state of that company...

 

[RomanSohor]

Actually, there is some question about that movies intended Aspect ratio.

Supposedly it was made for 1.33:1, but was cropped for its theatrical release, because all of Disney's equipment was set up for 1.33:1 production, much like the current CAPS system is 1.66:1 native. So you are apparently seeing it in its intended ratio on DVD.

 

[MatthewA]

If that is so, Roman, then why is "The Rescuers," its immediate predecessor, in widescreen?

 

[Jon Martin]

Anyone interested in Disney and its reasoning for video releases every 7 years might want to read the new book DISNEY WAR by James Stewart.

There is a section in there about how they got into the video business to begin with. Roy and others were against releasing any of the animated films on VHS, ever. But, they found a way to make it work by doing the limited release.