Should we boycott Disney DVD? (1 Viewer)

[MatthewA]

I think the idea of boycotting botched DVDs and buying good ones is probably what would work best. That's what I'm going to do. Also, try to tell DVD-loving people you know not to buy the botched releases.

 

[Glenn Yagos]

The only beef I have with the 2 Disney Tins that were just released, Mickey Mouse in B&W and The Complete Goofy, is that there is NO PLAY ALL FEATURE.

 

[Jon Robertson]

The only beef I have with the 2 Disney Tins that were just released, Mickey Mouse in B&W and The Complete Goofy, is that there is NO PLAY ALL FEATURE.

THAT'S OUTRAGEOUS. If they weren't all sold out, I'd damn well boycott them like there's no tomorrow!!!

 

[JustinCleveland]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is bad about the Fantasia DVD?

 

[Jon Robertson]

People are objecting to the fact that some of the images were zoomed in to cut out some black handmaids scrubbing the floor, despite the fact Walt Disney (as in, the man himself) made this change decades ago.

 

[Ron_Lamb]

I would have purchased the computer wore tennis shoes if it was OAR and the absentminded professor if was not the colorized version so thats two sells they lost this week.

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I would have (eventually) bought nearly every Disney live action title they released, however I will buy NONE of the ones that aren't presented in their correct theatrical aspect ratios and/or original color.

I'll still buy the tins, and the Vault Disney line in its entirety assuming they remain consistent with the philosophy established by the current releases.

 

[Rob Gardiner]

I'll still buy the tins, and the Vault Disney line in its entirety assuming they remain consistent with the philosophy established by the current releases.

I agree!
Is Disney the most schizophrenic studio? On one hand they turn out fantastic releases such as:

• Platinum Editions
• Pixar discs
• Walt Disney Treasures
• Vault Disney
• Studio Ghibli releases
• Vista Series
• other great SEs like Amelie

Yet other discs are in PAN & SCAN? Or COLORIZED? This is the 21st Century! I thought colorization went out with powdered wigs!
Please everyone call Disney, let them know we'd like more quality discs like those listed above, but no Pan & Scan or colorization. We must use positive reinforcement to let them know what they are doing right.

 

[Patrick McCart]

People are objecting to the fact that some of the images were zoomed in to cut out some black handmaids scrubbing the floor, despite the fact Walt Disney (as in, the man himself) made this change decades ago.

Wrong.

The first release of Fantasia in its censored form didn't happen until a few years after Walt Disney's death. Why didn't he have it changed for the 1950's SuperScope reissue? The 1969 version was the first one to feature these cuts...despite Disney dying a few years earlier. I highly doubt that on his death bed, he said "Oh yeah...could you censor Fantasia after my death?"

Roy E. Disney has even said that the cuts were NOT supposed to be made, yet the Disney DVD department did it anyways. He's been trying to get Fantasia and the other censored DVDs fixed, but others on the board don't want to "waste" money on doing re-issues like this.

AND...

As we know from other examples, Disney had two cartoons re-edited from his approval. The Three Little Pigs had scenes re-animated and dubbed to replace the then-offensive to Disney stereotype of the Jewish peddler character the wolf was trying to be.

Steamboat Willie had the scene with Mickey playing the pig like a concertina (with much pain shown from the swine) neatly edited out in the 1950's. I find it hard to believe Disney would allow jump-cutting (which would be impossible due to the constant music) or the sloppy zooms to be done.

The first version of the censored cut had jumpcuts and it wasn't until the 1982 re-release that they used opticals to fake the shots.

Europe must have gotten an uncensored VHS at one time, since a certain site has clips from a European source.


When I contacted Disney a while ago about this, they told me that my DVD player was zooming by itself. When I asked about the other censored DVDs, they were more than proud to admit that they "changed them for family viewing" reasons.


The bottom line is...Disney is the Gollum of DVD. One minute, they're putting out 5-star DVDs like the Disney Treaures, then they decide to pull stunts like Roger Rabbit, The Absent Minded Professor, Fantasia, and their exhaustive library of non-OAR DVDs.

Disney doesn't deserve good publicity unless they can stop catering only to the lowest common denomination and start putting out DVDs the LCD and the majority of DVD buyers can enjoy.

Fox was able to release Shirley Temple films to DVD with color and B&W versions. Other companies have put censored and uncensored versions of films on DVD. Other companies are able to put 2 screen formats on one disc or set or even separate releases. Disney needs to learn from its peers.

 

[Rick Blaine]

In regards to

Fox was able to release Shirley Temple films to DVD with color and B&W versions

The fact is Fox has not released the controversial S.T. films such as "The Littlest Rebel" and "The Little Colonel". Nor have they released "Susannah of the Mounties"(indians), Wee Willie Winkie (India) or "Stowaway" (Chinese).

By the way "colorization" to me is worse than some minor PC edits.

Also remember Disney is in a unique position of having a name associated with "clean american living" and FAMILY.

Rick

 

[DaViD Boulet]

Unless you've bothered to contact Disney directly and share your thoughts with them (info in my signature), why even talk about a boycott?

Tell them what you think. Be polite, they'll type it in their computer. If more people who care about films call and register comments than wal-mart moms complaining about black-bars...Disney will respond. They're just doing what consumers are telling them to do via their 1-800 number. Unless you've bothered to be one of those consumers communicating your views to them, your posts here mean nothing.

-dave