The Little Mermaid 30th Anniversary Edition 4K coming 2019 (1 Viewer)

[Jake Lipson]

No, Guardians 2 came out on August 22 and The Lion King was re-released on August 29, 2017. Regardless of the date, my point is that, since Guardians 2 was their first 4K title, they probably weren't ready to to release such a legacy title as The Lion King on the format yet since their commitment to 4K was in its infancy. Now, they are releasing almost all of their major titles on 4K and have fully embraced the format, so it makes sense to me why they wouldn't have done that in 2017 but now they're more committed and have more releases under their belt.

 

[David Norman]

No, Guardians 2 came out on August 22 and The Lion King was re-released on August 29, 2017. Regardless of the date, my point is that, since Guardians 2 was their first 4K title, they probably weren't ready to to release such a legacy title as The Lion King on the format yet since their commitment to 4K was in its infancy. Now, they are releasing almost all of their major titles on 4K and have fully embraced the format, so it makes sense to me why they wouldn't have done that in 2017 but now they're more committed and have more releases under their belt.

I got you, I was confused about which movie was being referred to -- the Lion King re-release was a week after G24K, not G2 BD a week later. Certainly makes a lot more sense read that way

 

[Jake Lipson]

Because The Lion King is one of the most important library titles that Disney owns, it's not something I would expect them to bow on a new format until they were fully confident about it. With the timing of Guardians' release being their first one on 4K, it makes total sense to me why they just weren't ready yet to commit to that when the Blu-ray version was due for re-release. Now, things are different in terms of how many titles they have already released on 4K and their experience with and commitment to the format, so obviously they felt more comfortable bringing out one of their biggest movies. Theoretically, that shouldn't be an issue again preventing anything else from coming day-and-date.

All that being said, I did double dip on The Lion King in 2017 to get the new extras (as well as the correction of the Mufasa clouds scene.) I have no use for the included DVD version, so if the 4K release had been available day-and-date, I might have been convinced to buy that to future proof instead of the standard release that includes a DVD. Because they staggered the release, even though I can understand why they would do that, I'm much less inclined to pluck down another $30 to double dip again when I already have the included Blu-ray disc, and can't use the 4K right now.

 

[Garysb]

In possibly related news, the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, which Disney owns, will be showing The Little Mermaid in January. They have done this before prior to in conjunction with home releases of older films. They're also showing Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Lady and the Tramp and Cinderella.

https://ohmy.disney.com/news/2018/12/18/el-capitan-disney-princess-movies-happily-ever-after/

It doesn't mention if these are digital or actual film. Digital will probably mean scrubbed of grain. Does Disney provide actual film to theaters anymore?

 

[Jake Lipson]

Digital will probably mean scrubbed of grain

The El Capitan is owned by Disney, so they can show whatever Disney wants without a problem, but I would be extremely surprised if these looked like anything other than the versions available on the Blu-rays.

 

[Malcolm R]

TLM 3D is quite easy to find as long as you don't get hung up on logos. I agree that a US release is beyond unlikely

Or don't mind a used copy.

 

[MatthewA]

EDIT: I thought this was the Lion King thread while trying to navigate multiple threads at once.

Or don't mind a used copy.

These days, if I want anything from Disney badly enough to actually own it, I buy it used.

 

[David Norman]

Now I'm fully onboard the 4K TLM boat with a second listing and on a Disney site. It wasn't a huge doubt, but it did exist. Release appears confirmed 2/26 as well

https://movies.disney.com/the-little-mermaid

 

[DaveF]

Blerg. I still haven’t watched my blu-ray release I bought two years ago. I’ve got to get through my backlog...

But still this is a likely 4K purchase when I upgrade my system.