Fantasia
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Exactly what I've been saying George! 
This April there will be (high end, expensive) product on sale, and by next Christmas BD will see many titles issued in 3D. Disney has already suggested Christmas Carol and Alice In Wonderland will be among them.
Yep, eddie, that's the other thing I've been saying. I believe consumer spending is down because people are basically waiting out all this switching around. Not only do they need a new HDTV and BD player, but 3D may require new buys on both again. So many people are not buying HDTV and BD and will wait for 3D to come down in price. Give it another two or three years before it even starts to be widely accepted.
This April there will be (high end, expensive) product on sale, and by next Christmas BD will see many titles issued in 3D. Disney has already suggested Christmas Carol and Alice In Wonderland will be among them.
Yep, eddie, that's the other thing I've been saying. I believe consumer spending is down because people are basically waiting out all this switching around. Not only do they need a new HDTV and BD player, but 3D may require new buys on both again. So many people are not buying HDTV and BD and will wait for 3D to come down in price. Give it another two or three years before it even starts to be widely accepted.
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If I remember correctly, Fantasia 2000 was initially released only in IMAX, back when there were much fewer IMAX theaters. When the film finally reached regular theaters, public interest in it had diminished. Still, during its IMAX run, I think Fantasia 2000's box office gross was considerably more than what most IMAX features were collecting at that time.
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I remember there WERE no IMAX theaters in Boston when F2K opened (no, we didn't have the Jordan's Furniture theater yet), and I had to wait two months for a business trip to NYC just to catch it--
Since you had to search out an IMAX theater in only one of a few select cities (for Boston, it was either NYC, Providence or DC), you had to cross the country to go see it, and going to NYC, it was like buying tickets to a Broadway show...
Obviously, the "prestige" of tracking it down was what sold out the IMAX shows solid for the four months, but when it hit the cineplexes in June, we might take friends and family who hadn't seen it yet, but most of us, um...already had.
Add to that the fact that most newspapers who reviewed it in January didn't review it again in June, so most people literally didn't know the movie was "back" again....They thought it was already gone months ago, when it was still playing downtown.
And like Walt made the mistake of doing sixty years ago, the boardroom counted only the small-town non-grosses and said "They didn't like it!", when the thing had perfectly good audiences in its "prestige" city runs.
Since you had to search out an IMAX theater in only one of a few select cities (for Boston, it was either NYC, Providence or DC), you had to cross the country to go see it, and going to NYC, it was like buying tickets to a Broadway show...
Obviously, the "prestige" of tracking it down was what sold out the IMAX shows solid for the four months, but when it hit the cineplexes in June, we might take friends and family who hadn't seen it yet, but most of us, um...already had.
Add to that the fact that most newspapers who reviewed it in January didn't review it again in June, so most people literally didn't know the movie was "back" again....They thought it was already gone months ago, when it was still playing downtown.
And like Walt made the mistake of doing sixty years ago, the boardroom counted only the small-town non-grosses and said "They didn't like it!", when the thing had perfectly good audiences in its "prestige" city runs.
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...and three others, Eddie.
Ironically, though the business plan killed it, that's just what I loved about going to see F/2K at an Imax theater - it was just like booking up to see a prestige performance or broadway show...a real event.
Back then, as Eric says, the Imax chain wasn't so large, and so visiting one was an event anyway. To then sit down and have this "show" put on for you, with Steve Martin coming out and seemingly addressing <I>you</I> in the audience...it was fantastic and magical.
One of the best moviegoing experiences of my life, the effect just wasn't the same when I saw it in flat 35mm a few months later. If any film has ever been designed and intended directly for the Imax screen as an event, F/"K was it.
Ironically, though the business plan killed it, that's just what I loved about going to see F/2K at an Imax theater - it was just like booking up to see a prestige performance or broadway show...a real event.
Back then, as Eric says, the Imax chain wasn't so large, and so visiting one was an event anyway. To then sit down and have this "show" put on for you, with Steve Martin coming out and seemingly addressing <I>you</I> in the audience...it was fantastic and magical.
One of the best moviegoing experiences of my life, the effect just wasn't the same when I saw it in flat 35mm a few months later. If any film has ever been designed and intended directly for the Imax screen as an event, F/"K was it.
Destino confirmed for Fantasia BD's...
Friday, 8/27 edition of The Digital Bits....
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents
"Now then... we mentioned these titles the other day, and you've been waiting over a year for news about them. But Disney has just officially confirmed the Blu-ray Disc release (and DVD re-release) of Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 on 11/30. You'll be able to buy a 4-Disc Blu-ray Special Edition (SRP $45.99) and a 2-Disc DVD Special Edition (SRP $39.99). Each will include both films. Let's start with the DVD, which will include Fantasia (fully restored) on one disc, and Fantasia 2000 on the other. Extras on the DVDs will include the Musicana and Disney Family Museum features, along with audio commentaries. Both of these discs will also be included in the 4-disc Blu-ray, which will add a Blu-ray version of each film. Exclusive features on these Blu-rays will include the Dali & Disney: A Date with Destino documentary, the long awaited Destino film itself, The Schultheis Notebook, Disney's Virtual Vault (BD-Live), an Interactive Art Gallery and DisneyView. The aspect ratio for Fantasia will be the original 1.33:1, while Fantasia 2000 will be 1.78:1. Audio on the Blu-rays will be in 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (48 KHz/24-bit), along with 5.1 DEHT tracks in French and Spanish. You'll get English SDH, as well as French and Spanish subtitles."
AND a bit on Beauty & the Beast...
"Don't forget, Disney's new Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray streets on 10/5 (SRP $39.99)! "
Now if only Lorenzo and all the other orphaned Disney theatrical shorts and experimental films would get released on home video!
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents
"Now then... we mentioned these titles the other day, and you've been waiting over a year for news about them. But Disney has just officially confirmed the Blu-ray Disc release (and DVD re-release) of Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 on 11/30. You'll be able to buy a 4-Disc Blu-ray Special Edition (SRP $45.99) and a 2-Disc DVD Special Edition (SRP $39.99). Each will include both films. Let's start with the DVD, which will include Fantasia (fully restored) on one disc, and Fantasia 2000 on the other. Extras on the DVDs will include the Musicana and Disney Family Museum features, along with audio commentaries. Both of these discs will also be included in the 4-disc Blu-ray, which will add a Blu-ray version of each film. Exclusive features on these Blu-rays will include the Dali & Disney: A Date with Destino documentary, the long awaited Destino film itself, The Schultheis Notebook, Disney's Virtual Vault (BD-Live), an Interactive Art Gallery and DisneyView. The aspect ratio for Fantasia will be the original 1.33:1, while Fantasia 2000 will be 1.78:1. Audio on the Blu-rays will be in 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (48 KHz/24-bit), along with 5.1 DEHT tracks in French and Spanish. You'll get English SDH, as well as French and Spanish subtitles."
AND a bit on Beauty & the Beast...
"Don't forget, Disney's new Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray streets on 10/5 (SRP $39.99)! "
Now if only Lorenzo and all the other orphaned Disney theatrical shorts and experimental films would get released on home video!
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Re: Destino confirmed for Fantasia BD's...
I'd love to see Redux Riding Hood get to home video, someday.
I saw it at the World Animation Celebration over a decade ago .. and (despite it being the funniest cartoon I've seen out of Disney, before or since) since then -- not a 'peep' from them about it. Almost like they're denying it was ever made.
Maybe they feel like Shrek and Hoodwinked stole its thunder .. even though Redux came first..? I dunno.
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I'd also like to see The Sweatbox .. but somehow, I think that one stands even less of a chance of making it to home video. I once had a possible opportunity to see a screening on the Disney lot with a friend who works for the studio, but it ended up not working out for her schedule.
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Definitely gonna grab Waking Sleeping Beauty and Walt & El Grupo this fall, though! And the Fantasia and Beauty And The Beast Blu-rays.
And I still hope Disney will 'step-up' the pace of their Blu-ray release schedule, soon. Two or three 'catalog' titles per year isn't gonna last out the format.
I saw it at the World Animation Celebration over a decade ago .. and (despite it being the funniest cartoon I've seen out of Disney, before or since) since then -- not a 'peep' from them about it. Almost like they're denying it was ever made.
Maybe they feel like Shrek and Hoodwinked stole its thunder .. even though Redux came first..? I dunno.
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I'd also like to see The Sweatbox .. but somehow, I think that one stands even less of a chance of making it to home video. I once had a possible opportunity to see a screening on the Disney lot with a friend who works for the studio, but it ended up not working out for her schedule.
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Definitely gonna grab Waking Sleeping Beauty and Walt & El Grupo this fall, though! And the Fantasia and Beauty And The Beast Blu-rays.
And I still hope Disney will 'step-up' the pace of their Blu-ray release schedule, soon. Two or three 'catalog' titles per year isn't gonna last out the format.
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Getting the Fantasia films on Blu-ray is a major moment for me. I love them both dearly (especially the first, of course, but the second is also wonderful), and their hi-def release is something I've dreamed of since the first mention of Blu-ray.
Great to see Destino on there, but so disappointing to find out that the third part of the release intially planned ("Fantasia World", as seen on a trailer found on numerous Disney Blu-ray releases), with more unreleased Disney shorts, is no longer to be included. Also, with no mention of the previous DVD extras, I'm glad to have hung onto the magnificent Fantasia Anthology box.
Also of note: Disney changed their minds yet again in the terms of branding. For those that worry about such things, this is no longer a Platinum release.
Great to see Destino on there, but so disappointing to find out that the third part of the release intially planned ("Fantasia World", as seen on a trailer found on numerous Disney Blu-ray releases), with more unreleased Disney shorts, is no longer to be included. Also, with no mention of the previous DVD extras, I'm glad to have hung onto the magnificent Fantasia Anthology box.
Also of note: Disney changed their minds yet again in the terms of branding. For those that worry about such things, this is no longer a Platinum release.
Last edited by Randall on August 28th, 2010, 9:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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It was supposed to be a full-Platinum in March, and their cross-marketing hubris to try and squeeze Dumbo in at the last minute literally threw a wrench into the assembly line:
Two years later, it's still a time-consuming process designing and mastering Blu's on the Platinum scale, and three per year is a crowd--We'd have gotten a real version (and think "World" was just supposed to be an immersive extras interface, like the one on Ponyo), but they felt they "had" to deliver it by the end of '10, and still keep Beauty on schedule.
Two years later, it's still a time-consuming process designing and mastering Blu's on the Platinum scale, and three per year is a crowd--We'd have gotten a real version (and think "World" was just supposed to be an immersive extras interface, like the one on Ponyo), but they felt they "had" to deliver it by the end of '10, and still keep Beauty on schedule.
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See, Rand...not always worth ditching the DVDs! 
And, once again, EricJ shows his knowledge of the Disney marketing machine...NOT. Then again, maybe he WAS in that meeting where "they felt they 'had' to deliver it by the end of '10" and can back his comments up first hand?
I'm majorly disappointed with how this release has turned out. When the Fantasia World box set was held back in February this year, I wondered if it could be to revise the set for any Roy Disney material, either to remove/replace him from intros and interviews since his passing, or indeed because they may have simply re-worded his on-screen tag or gone to the length of re-authoring to include a tribute featurette.
Then half way through the year, the Fantasia/Fantasia 2000/Fantasia World release was simply referred to as a Fantasia 2-Movie Set, with "never before seen animation" as opposed to "all new, never before seen animated short films". It was obvious something was up from around the spring onwards, and it didn't seem to be for the good (I never thought they would keep "Platinum" on the cover...that label was dropped a couple of years ago). I wonder if this release had little support behind it other than Roy who, now gone, couldn't hold out for the full-featured edition he probably envisioned.
It basically looks like both sets have dropped at least one stuffed disc of extras, for whatever reason we will probably never know. But with it, this release of Fantasia has also lost a lot of luster, for me at least. Of course I'm going to be jumping off the walls to get both these films in HD, but my heart tells me these could have been definitive versions that finally pulled together a lot of other material that would have really made this something, probably the must-have archival release of this year (taking WB's thunder from them this year for best fall release).
I still don't get the B&TB release and why they're putting that out instead of going theatrical before the 3D buzz dies down. Hold that one back until next year (um, the 20th Anniversary) and get the titles out that they promised for 2010 - Fantasia (70th Anniversary), F/2K (10th Anniversary if you count the release date, not the production date of 1999) and Dumbo (though I can understand if they want to hold that back for a proper 70th early next year).
Droo: I agree that Little Redux Riding Hood is hysterical...did you ever see the other Totally Twisted Fairytales (Three Little Pigs, Jack And The Beanstock)? I believe they were all made as parts of a proposed alternate fairytale show for Disney Channel that never happened, and wound up doing the festival circuit as "shorts": didn't Redux even go as far as landing an Oscar nomination for best animated short!?
As for the three documentaries all coming out the same day, does anyone else get the "here are your substitute Disney Treasures releases" vibe? There was a bit of grumbling on other sites that nothing along those lines had been announced, and when these were, that talk pretty much dried up. I guess the thinking was that they needed to give us something that covered the same ground, and Waking Sleeping Beauty and, especially, Walt & El Grupo and The Boys, does exactly that.
But it does feel that Disney has held back some odd titles for odd reasons and, now, has a glut of stuff coming out, all of which will fight against each other within the same holiday gift-buying/heavy collectors' releases timeframe.
And, once again, EricJ shows his knowledge of the Disney marketing machine...NOT. Then again, maybe he WAS in that meeting where "they felt they 'had' to deliver it by the end of '10" and can back his comments up first hand?
I'm majorly disappointed with how this release has turned out. When the Fantasia World box set was held back in February this year, I wondered if it could be to revise the set for any Roy Disney material, either to remove/replace him from intros and interviews since his passing, or indeed because they may have simply re-worded his on-screen tag or gone to the length of re-authoring to include a tribute featurette.
Then half way through the year, the Fantasia/Fantasia 2000/Fantasia World release was simply referred to as a Fantasia 2-Movie Set, with "never before seen animation" as opposed to "all new, never before seen animated short films". It was obvious something was up from around the spring onwards, and it didn't seem to be for the good (I never thought they would keep "Platinum" on the cover...that label was dropped a couple of years ago). I wonder if this release had little support behind it other than Roy who, now gone, couldn't hold out for the full-featured edition he probably envisioned.
It basically looks like both sets have dropped at least one stuffed disc of extras, for whatever reason we will probably never know. But with it, this release of Fantasia has also lost a lot of luster, for me at least. Of course I'm going to be jumping off the walls to get both these films in HD, but my heart tells me these could have been definitive versions that finally pulled together a lot of other material that would have really made this something, probably the must-have archival release of this year (taking WB's thunder from them this year for best fall release).
I still don't get the B&TB release and why they're putting that out instead of going theatrical before the 3D buzz dies down. Hold that one back until next year (um, the 20th Anniversary) and get the titles out that they promised for 2010 - Fantasia (70th Anniversary), F/2K (10th Anniversary if you count the release date, not the production date of 1999) and Dumbo (though I can understand if they want to hold that back for a proper 70th early next year).
Droo: I agree that Little Redux Riding Hood is hysterical...did you ever see the other Totally Twisted Fairytales (Three Little Pigs, Jack And The Beanstock)? I believe they were all made as parts of a proposed alternate fairytale show for Disney Channel that never happened, and wound up doing the festival circuit as "shorts": didn't Redux even go as far as landing an Oscar nomination for best animated short!?
As for the three documentaries all coming out the same day, does anyone else get the "here are your substitute Disney Treasures releases" vibe? There was a bit of grumbling on other sites that nothing along those lines had been announced, and when these were, that talk pretty much dried up. I guess the thinking was that they needed to give us something that covered the same ground, and Waking Sleeping Beauty and, especially, Walt & El Grupo and The Boys, does exactly that.
But it does feel that Disney has held back some odd titles for odd reasons and, now, has a glut of stuff coming out, all of which will fight against each other within the same holiday gift-buying/heavy collectors' releases timeframe.
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Re: Clarification on Disney Blu-Ray plans... DESTINO update, too
SO frustrating ... I already have Fantasia 2000 on DVD, why would I want to duplicate that?? Even if I get the Blu-Ray set, I STILL get another Fantasia 2000 DVD?!? Thanks but no thanks ... really hoping here that they will release both movies individually as well as together.
Confirmation on Disney Alice 60th BD and Tron BD's
Lots and lots of stuff from The Digital Bits today!
On the September 1st edition of http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents , there is the first semi-official confirmation of an Alice in Wonderland BD coming from Disney in the next year! The Lion King may be slinking in, too.
In addition, both Tron movies should be out on BD by Spring 2011.
Don't miss the huge update on Fantasia BD's, either. If you have the Fantasia boxset, you might still want to get the BD set. There's a lot of great new extras and bonus features being released for the first time on the upcoming BD's... I won't repost the text for Fantasia since it's over two pages long. Go to the September 1st edition of the posted link above and read for yourselves. This may be the best home video release from Disney in a long time!
The text for the Alice in Wonderland and TRON BD announcement --
"Speaking of Disney, I thought you might like a look ahead at what the studio has planned for Blu-ray in the coming year. Well, according to trailers on their recent James and the Giant Peach Blu-ray, you can definitely expect an Alice in Wonderland: 60th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray Disc sometime in 2011, as well as the long awaited The Lion King: Diamond Edition on Blu-ray (and DVD) in the Fall of 2011. Obviously, Tron Legacy will arrive on DVD and Blu-ray sometime early next year, along with a Blu-ray of the original Tron - the brand new HD transfer of which has been running on HDNet in recent months. Additional titles are in development, and we'll have more on that as it comes in. "
On the September 1st edition of http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents , there is the first semi-official confirmation of an Alice in Wonderland BD coming from Disney in the next year! The Lion King may be slinking in, too.
In addition, both Tron movies should be out on BD by Spring 2011.
Don't miss the huge update on Fantasia BD's, either. If you have the Fantasia boxset, you might still want to get the BD set. There's a lot of great new extras and bonus features being released for the first time on the upcoming BD's... I won't repost the text for Fantasia since it's over two pages long. Go to the September 1st edition of the posted link above and read for yourselves. This may be the best home video release from Disney in a long time!
The text for the Alice in Wonderland and TRON BD announcement --
"Speaking of Disney, I thought you might like a look ahead at what the studio has planned for Blu-ray in the coming year. Well, according to trailers on their recent James and the Giant Peach Blu-ray, you can definitely expect an Alice in Wonderland: 60th Anniversary Edition on Blu-ray Disc sometime in 2011, as well as the long awaited The Lion King: Diamond Edition on Blu-ray (and DVD) in the Fall of 2011. Obviously, Tron Legacy will arrive on DVD and Blu-ray sometime early next year, along with a Blu-ray of the original Tron - the brand new HD transfer of which has been running on HDNet in recent months. Additional titles are in development, and we'll have more on that as it comes in. "
Why are you complaining?
Have you paid attention to the releases Disney has done on Blu ray already?
The vast majority of the newer releases give the option of BD + DVD, BD + DVD + Digital Copy, or DVD-only!
I can't understand half the time why people complain about new releases.
Nobody's forcing you to buy this stuff... Get it or don't get it. Your choice. But please, can we spare some bandwidth on people complaining about re-releases of older films!?!? This gets done because certain films are guaranteed money makers. I can think of a half-dozen films from other companies that have had more re-releases than any Disney film to date has had on home video.
The reason for the BD + DVD releases is for all the knuckleheads who haven't figured out DVD players won't play BD's as well as giving options for people who don't want their BD's destroyed by little kids AND adults who don't want to read. (That latter reason is why I DON'T lend my movies to relations. I am related to people who are convinced they can't read instructions for taking care of video equipment and discs to save their lives! This in spite of the fact that most instruction manuals are written at a sixth-grade or lower reading level. It's ridiculous!)
In addition, the DVD disc is there for people to bring over to a friend's/relation's house who doesn't have a BD player.
Again, I don't understand what is so difficult to understand about that and why all the complaining.
Besides, most major Disney titles are getting DVD-only releases within a month of the BD release. It's true that you may not always be able to buy the BD by itself with a DVD copy of the film but you're generally not getting charged much extra for that and in many cases can find those sets for at least $10 off MSRP in stores. OR, you can wait 6 months to a year and the vast majority of the movies do get marked down to move them off shelves.
Have you paid attention to the releases Disney has done on Blu ray already?
The vast majority of the newer releases give the option of BD + DVD, BD + DVD + Digital Copy, or DVD-only!
I can't understand half the time why people complain about new releases.
Nobody's forcing you to buy this stuff... Get it or don't get it. Your choice. But please, can we spare some bandwidth on people complaining about re-releases of older films!?!? This gets done because certain films are guaranteed money makers. I can think of a half-dozen films from other companies that have had more re-releases than any Disney film to date has had on home video.
The reason for the BD + DVD releases is for all the knuckleheads who haven't figured out DVD players won't play BD's as well as giving options for people who don't want their BD's destroyed by little kids AND adults who don't want to read. (That latter reason is why I DON'T lend my movies to relations. I am related to people who are convinced they can't read instructions for taking care of video equipment and discs to save their lives! This in spite of the fact that most instruction manuals are written at a sixth-grade or lower reading level. It's ridiculous!)
In addition, the DVD disc is there for people to bring over to a friend's/relation's house who doesn't have a BD player.
Again, I don't understand what is so difficult to understand about that and why all the complaining.
Besides, most major Disney titles are getting DVD-only releases within a month of the BD release. It's true that you may not always be able to buy the BD by itself with a DVD copy of the film but you're generally not getting charged much extra for that and in many cases can find those sets for at least $10 off MSRP in stores. OR, you can wait 6 months to a year and the vast majority of the movies do get marked down to move them off shelves.