DVD Review HTF REVIEW: Aladdin - 2 Disc SE - UTTERLY RECOMMENDED!!! (1 Viewer)

[RomanSohor]

Are the sketches included in the gift set really by the "original animator" of the Genie, Eric Goldberg? He left the company a few years ago, and from what I understand not on the greatest of terms... last project he did was supervise animation for Looney Tunes Back In Action... it's a shame he's gone from Disney, not only is he a great animator, but he really shines in creating neat, stylized animation, such as the Herschfeld style he used on the Genie and in Fantasia 2000... IMHO that is the future of 2-D animation, just like when Roy Disney realized that Disney animation could only succeed in an era when special effects could make movies like Star Wars possible, that Disney could only succeed by making the kind of movies that couldn't be made live action, 2D animatiors are proving that their art form can really outshine CGI when it comes to making highly stylized looking animation - CGI will always do Photo-realistic better than hand drawn, hand drawn however can still create a fantastical world, a painting come to life...

 

[TonyD]

wasnt the color banding an issue on BROTHER BEAR and not NEMO?

i thought the issue with nemo was whether or not the fish should be glowing the way they were.

and wasnt it the consensus that they were intended to be glowing?

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Nemo had color banding in the blue-water background images. Pretty severe at times depending on your display/signal-chain.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

quote:Are the sketches included in the gift set really by the "original animator" of the Genie, Eric Goldberg? He left the company a few years ago, and from what I understand not on the greatest of terms

Must not've been too bad since he's all over the extras - commentary, documentary, etc.

 

[Jonathan Dagmar]

quote:This is why Williams did not return to do the voice of the Genie in the DTV cheapquel, Return of Jafar. For the second DTV film, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, a new agreement was brokered between Robin Williams and Disney, giving Disney the right to market Thieves using his name and vocal work, and in return, Williams was paid handsomely for his efforts.

I'm not so sure that's accurate. As I understand it, the movie "Return of Jafar" was assembled from several episodes of the saturday morning cartoon.... Dan Castelenatta would have been the voice from the start....

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

Jim Hill Media has a great article about the situation with Robin Williams here. Worth reading.

 

[Brendon]

quote:Jim Hill Media has a great article about the situation with Robin Williams here. Worth reading.

Matthew,



Thanks for posting the link - that is the most interesting thing I've read relating to the film ever (David's review notwithstanding!). I had no idea of the Disney/Robin Williams situation prior to reading this, not the slightest clue.



It will certainly add another level to matters when going through the extras on the disc set. Having just looked at the cover of the CAV gatefold laserdisc, I can fully appreciate Mr William's concern. Back cover, no Genie, no mention of voice talent. Inside gatefold cover, the tiny "Made you look!" genie. Front cover HUGE genie! Lamp not withstanding, nothing else on the cover besides the title!



My day has not been wasted....



Brendon

 

[Ernest Rister]

"I'm not so sure that's accurate. As I understand it, the movie "Return of Jafar" was assembled from several episodes of the saturday morning cartoon.... Dan Castelenatta would have been the voice from the start...."



Dan was the voice from the start because of Williams' great anger with Disney.



By the by, regarding the Jim Hill article, Aladdin was not the first time Robin Williams had provided a voice for Disney animation -- Disney/MGM Studios had an attraction showing a behind-the-scenes look at the Disney Florida Animation Studio, and Williams was featured both in the flesh and as an animated character in the attraction, drawn in the mold of one of the Lost Boys from 1953's Peter Pan. This was up and running as early as 1990, it may have been up since 1989.



Williams also voiced a zany bat in the 1992 20th Century Fox release, Ferngully: The Last Rainforest, which was released in the US a good half-year before Aladdin.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Thank you for that review, David. The best review of the set that I have seen as of today, and it's comforting to know that my favorite film of all time (until December, at least) is treated well on DVD. Although it was originally slated for release in what became The Lion King's 10/07/2003 slot, I'm glad it was delayed as it has obviously been much improved over what it would have been then.



Can't wait to get the set, and I will of course be going for the collector's box. Thanks!

 

[Travis Hedger]

Add another title to the pre-order list.

 

[RomanSohor]

quote:

Are the sketches included in the gift set really by the "original animator" of the Genie, Eric Goldberg? He left the company a few years ago, and from what I understand not on the greatest of terms

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Must not've been too bad since he's all over the extras - commentary, documentary, etc.

Well that's good. Disney seems to have a history of being one of those companies that once you leave, it's almost like you never existed to them before... I assume at least some of the stuff (like the commentary) is new and he's not just in the rehashed old stuff (good as that old stuff might be)

 

[Colin Jacobson]

quote:Well that's good. Disney seems to have a history of being one of those companies that once you leave, it's almost like you never existed to them before... I assume at least some of the stuff (like the commentary) is new and he's not just in the rehashed old stuff (good as that old stuff might be)

The commentary's a running, screen-specific one with the four animators, so it's not like they took old comments and mixed them together. The material all seems to be of recent vintage - last couple of years at the latest, and probably more recent. (I can't think of anything that perfectly dates it, though...)

 

[Ernest Rister]

"Well that's good. Disney seems to have a history of being one of those companies that once you leave, it's almost like you never existed to them before... I assume at least some of the stuff (like the commentary) is new and he's not just in the rehashed old stuff (good as that old stuff might be)"



Eric Goldberg left because of the downsizing of the feature animation unit. Whatever his potential feelings towards certain members of upper management, that does not neccesarily mean he has antipathy towards the company as a whole. Goldberg's heart was at Disney, it actually pained me to hear that he had left, and I'm sure the decision was exponentially painful for him - and his wife.



Disappointment and anger are two different things.

 

[Robert James Clark]

This is my personal favorite of all the "modern" Disney films, and I can't wait for the release!





Thanks David

 

[Brian Perry]

Since selling my laserdisc years ago, I've been waiting for the DVD -- one of my favorite demo scenes (and that was in Pro Logic) was when the boulder falls on the flying carpet as they're trying to escape the Cave of Wonders. When it hits the ground, there is an awesome thud that will send shockwaves through your system!

 

[Bernard E.]

Thanks for the review!



The extra material have some type of subtitle or CC?

Only spanish audio? What about spanish subtitles?



Thanks in advance

 

[Dustin Elmore]

I got to watch this last week and wondered if anyone else has seen it. The picture outdoes all the previous platinum releases by far. In The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast I've always seen haloing around the pencil lines, do to the sharp, clean contrast in animation I assume (non of the reviews for them mention edge enhancement). But Aladdin was perfect, as if watching the original film cels move. And the artists put a lot more texture and detail into the backgrounds than any other modern Disney film, which just adds to the picture quality. Unfortunately I watched this at a friends house, and he doesn't have surround sound. I know that home theater mix must be good but It'll be awhile before I get to experience it, anyone heard it yet?

 

[Ernest Rister]

"And the artists put a lot more texture and detail into the backgrounds than any other modern Disney film, which just adds to the picture quality."



If I had to vote, I'd say Hunchback of Notre Dame would probably take the nod for background detail. I think the layers of detail in the backgrounds of Hunchback invite favorable comparison to Sleeping Beauty and Pinocchio. That's not a slight on Aladdin, mind you. I love the theatrical curves and contours in the backgrounds of that film -- Aladdin had the luxury, however, of being a straight cartoon fantasy, like The Emperor's New Groove and Hercules. Hunchback, Atlantis, Tarzan, Lilo and Stitch, and Treasure Planet worked at achieving a stylized realism, and hence, the backgrounds were more defined, more lived-in, more detailed.

 

[Adam Barratt]

David, that's one hell of a nice review. Kudos to you, my friend.

Adam

 

[Moz]

Hi, great review...

We've got a french version of it that brings a french DTS track on the EHT mix.

And, like you, i found it less interesting than the original DOLBY track.

I was very disturbed by the sound stage that didn't convince me either.

Voices weren't natural at all... and my LD sounds better