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Specs for Aladdin Platinum Edition Annouced - Should we start emailing Disney now? (1 Viewer)

Ernest Rister

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CAPS = Computer Animation Production System

The clean-up animation is scanned into the computer, and then the drawings are inked and painted digitally, as opposed to the old process of artists tracing the drawings onto cels with paints and brushes. All the composite layers (f/x animation, character animation, backgrounds, computer animation) are captured and layered via digital means. Even classic multiplane photogrpahy can be simulated by layering in levels of backgrounds and animation (the best example being the opening shot of Hunchback). After the whole process is complete, you have a "digital negative" of the movie, which is written to film in a three-strip process by lasers to form the "hard negative" from which all the interpositives are struck. The CAPS system was tested in a single shot of The Little Mermaid, and the first feature to use the CAPS system exclusively was The Rescuers Down Under, and it has been used for every Disney feature film since.

This is why some of us are a little cheesed off about the DVDs for Rescuers Down Under, Pocahontas, Hunchback, Hercules, and Mulan -- these all have "digital negatives", like the PIXAR titles and Star Wars Episode II, and yet the DVDs were struck from existing interpositives (in some cases, the DVDs feature the same transfers used for the old VHS and Laserdisc releases). The definitive DVDs for Rescuers Down Under, Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, and Mulan have yet to be made.
 

Michael St. Clair

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Even 'The Lion King' 'Monsters Inc.', and 'Finding Nemo' are overcompressed 2-disc sets, just not nearly as bad/obvious as 'Beauty and the Beast'. And let's not forget the 'Brother Bear' striping artifacts, another low bitrate disc.

Disney has gotten into a bad habit of only giving an animated feature about half of a DVD-9's worth of space. They do this by including two versions of the film on the same disc, or by putting a ton of extras on disc one.

Animation is demanding material as far as compression goes, and Disney needs to start putting nothing but the feature and commentaries on disc 1. Or start releasing a separate "Superbit" style version for the videophiles. I remember when Disney would release three or more laserdiscs of the same film (regular, box set, DTS), to appeal to different kinds of collectors.
 

Keith Paynter

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That would be a yes. It was soft matted in theatrical exhibition. The big giveaway is in the Genie's introduction, and when he reciprocates the name "Aladdin" and the billboard sign comes up...when exhibited theatrically, it was almost at the top of the 1.85:1 frame.
 

Paul Hillenbrand

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Keith Paynter wrote:

Thanks Keith, that's great news for me! :)
Even though I'm a staunch advocate for OAR, my family (especially my daughter and son in law) love this movie so much, that I'm thankful that Disney is at least offering the CAPS aspect ratio and it being anamorphic to boot. :emoji_thumbsup:

You can always cut information from a frame, showing the film in its proper OAR, but you can't add information, if the frame is butchered as in a hard matted pan & scan version.:thumbsdown:

Paul
 

paul:hillsdon

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Ernest, aren't we all fairly sure that the definitive DVD version of Mulan will be the SE released this october. And the definitive Pocahontas will be the TBA ME. Not to get ahead of myself without proper reviews or anything but SE and MEs are basically a different name for Platinum, and used on less popular Disney titles.

I for one can't really see any compression whatsoever on BATB, TLK, or BB, AT ALL! Maybe I just got an untrained eye, but none the less it's still a good release. I wouldn't not buy a title just because it's slighty altered, cause after all, there still mainly the same films, like SW OT.
 

Stephen Bort

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Why is that? I'd think it would be easier since sometimes backgrounds are static and you're working with a limited color pallette (pre-digital)
 

Stephen Bort

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Why is that? I'd think it would be easier since sometimes backgrounds are static and you're working with a limited color pallette (pre-digital)
 

Dan Rudolph

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But since you're workign with large flat-colored areas and hards lines, any sort of divergence from the original creates noticeable artificats.
 

Dan Rudolph

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But since you're workign with large flat-colored areas and hards lines, any sort of divergence from the original creates noticeable artificats.
 

RyanAn

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I can understand that they do not watch Arab-Americans thought of in a negative way, but if we continue to censor ourselfs as much as we do now, then pretty soon there will only be Will Smith can only kill black robots in I, Robot, Johnny Depp can only harass white Oompa-Loompas, and the Liev Schrieber will be recast in the Manchurian Candidate.

It is not cool to make fun of someone's race, but it is a cartoon. The characters who say "we'll cut off your noses" are not the average arabic-people, they are the bad seeds. The pirates, etc. Who is the star of the movie? A good role model in Aladdin, and he is Arabic. Disney of all companies should not try and be perfect.

I will still own the DVD, because Aladdin is a really good movie, not because I want to be P.C.

Ryan
 

RyanAn

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I can understand that they do not watch Arab-Americans thought of in a negative way, but if we continue to censor ourselfs as much as we do now, then pretty soon there will only be Will Smith can only kill black robots in I, Robot, Johnny Depp can only harass white Oompa-Loompas, and the Liev Schrieber will be recast in the Manchurian Candidate.

It is not cool to make fun of someone's race, but it is a cartoon. The characters who say "we'll cut off your noses" are not the average arabic-people, they are the bad seeds. The pirates, etc. Who is the star of the movie? A good role model in Aladdin, and he is Arabic. Disney of all companies should not try and be perfect.

I will still own the DVD, because Aladdin is a really good movie, not because I want to be P.C.

Ryan
 

Jeff Jacobson

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The original lyrics make the middle east sound like a very violent place. We all know that nothing violent ever happens there in real life, though. :rolleyes
 

Jeff Jacobson

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The original lyrics make the middle east sound like a very violent place. We all know that nothing violent ever happens there in real life, though. :rolleyes
 

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