Walt Disney Treasures

[Ben]

You may have seen our recent news item up about the "cut backs" in the new wave:
http://www.animated-news.com/archives/00002761.html


To recap:
No wraparound (meaning no title on the side. Great )

Certificates SIGNED BY LEONARD MALTIN ONLY. Roy Disney's name has been complete removed from any packaging.

Contents on back the same design as before, but now on card inserts.

"New" printed version of the "D" in the Walt Disney Treasures logo.

Plusses:
White double keepcases.


What are your thoughts on this?


Also, I've just taken in all of MICKEY MOUSE IN BLACK AND WHITE VOLUME 2 for DVD Toons:
http://www.dvdtoons.com/reviews/357

While it may not have the classic cartoon punch of the first collection (which did predictably feature all of Mickey's more well known early shorts), this new edition still has the "wow factor", due to the cartoons here being more rare.

However, they still show all the wit and invention that marked out the Disney Studio for great things, and I recommend a pick up, especially if you have others in the series.

Great stuff, and more reviews on the way!

[Randall]

I'm really excited about seeing these for the first time (for the most part).

But why not keep the packaging more consistent with previous waves? That's just annoying. Yes, the content is the most important thing, but they should know that collectors like consistency.

Warner's latest Harry Potter release totally switched packaging too. Dumb.

[Stego]

This change in consistency brings to mind how SO many vid covers have bizarrely stupid looking artwork that resembles about 0% of the film. Anyone know why this happens?

[PatrickvD]

Plusses:
White double keepcases.

What are your thoughts on this?

Am I to understand that the keepcases are different from the previous one? Out of all the changes that would bug me the most.

[GeorgeC]

I'm shaking my head with disbelief...

Out of all the things people could be complaining about with these sets, you're concerned with the darned packaging????

Seriously, there are much more important things being accomplished here!
A) The Disney Treasure Waves are continuing -- FOURTH year running!

B) There's been very little of the editing nonsense that's affected many other animation collections (the Tom & Jerry DVD singles, the Woody Woodpecker volumes);

C) It's a major, major plus that character sets are being done with practically every darn cartoon featuring said characters in chronological order! Even the Looney Tunes sets aren't doing this!
WB is cherry-picking the LT's mixing and matching good cartoons with ultra-bad selections. There's no rhyme or reason to the years represented and the way the directors are matched up.
Big, big mistake that's also being repeated to an extent in the Tom & Jerry collections.
For my money, Disney is doing a much better archival job on their animated shorts... The extras may be sparce, but the presentation on the shorts is arguably much better as far as ordering and topicality go.
The shorts ARE the main point of these sets, period. The rest is dressing and garnishing that, nice as it is, is secondary.

D) It's great that the less popular works are being issued in the Treasures collections. Probably the second best set last Wave was the Tomorrowland collection. That's great educational AND entertaining technical AND science fiction animation in one shot!

Come on -- let's get our priorities straight! You're all going to complain about WHITE keepcases and the way that some dumb letters are stamped on the cases?

I'm a collector, too, but there are points of collecting and the complaints that people make that are just sheer madness when you look at the bigger picture here.

I'm just glad that the stupid cartoons are being released unedited for the most part!

[Ben]

George...

In the review I state that, yes, the CONTENT is the main thing, and here the set delivers.

My main gripe - and with a specific COLLECTORS line like this it is ENTIRELY appropriate - is that the series is not consistent in appearance. Put the new ones up on your shelf and tell me which is Pluto. Which is Mickey? Black And White 2 or Club?

We'll have an awful lot of remembering to do come future waves, since the titles are not on the side of the tins (something the wraparounds provided, and they also helped hold looser tins together).

As for the keepcases: never said I had a problem with that aspect, and for the most part these will be kept in the tins, so what's the worry? That was just pointing out the chages for those to know. Personally, I think the series should have been in white from the offset, but there you go.

The "dumb letters on the cases" wasn't a complaint issue either, and I was just pointing this out. Apparently, depending on where the tins were presed, this has happened in other waves too and is not a "mistake", and actually lending to the collectibility of those sets. I'd just not come across that before.

As you say, it's great that these are coming out at all. But if they're going to do it, why not do it right, and keep in line with previous editions?

BTW, they're not "stupid cartoons" (I know, I know...)

[PatrickvD]

Sure I agree that the content is the most important thing, but I just don't see the logic in altering the packaging constantly.. it's annoying.

[Randall]

George--- we're just answering the question posed in the first post. The packaging WAS the topic of the thread. And the fact that we love the content almost goes without saying. As you said, there's not much else to complain about; would you really prefer we find something else to complain about (as you implied)? And when it comes to limited edition sets aimed at collectors, then yes--- packaging does count for something.

But I do agree that Disney should be praised for the programming of these wonderful sets. That's what makes the packaging decisions so puzzling. One would think that keeping packaging consistent would be the EASY part.

[David]

Maybe there's a shortage of the world's supply of black amaray case, maybe that's why they changed them! After all cost can't be the reason!

[askmike1]

Well said george, it is the content that matters, not the packaging. So this set will be a little different....cry me a river.

We'll have an awful lot of remembering to do come future waves, since the titles are not on the side of the tins (something the wraparounds provided, and they also helped hold looser tins together).

[sarcasm]You're going to have to waste 5 seconds pulling out the case and looking at the front? Oh my gosh, call the police.[/sarcasm] Ok, I know people are still going to say "yes the content matters, but consistency would be nice," but the fact is that they changed it, and it's over with.

[Ben]

Ah-huh...

[Stego]

Just saw this on Ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 39944&rd=1

"This Disney Treasures set DOES NOT INCLUDE a TIN CASE (it never came with one as this is from the Ultimate Disney Treasures Chest). ALL the dvd features are EXACTLY THE SAME IN EVERY WAY on this edition. 125,000 numbered tins (numbered tins also have 1 small artwork page also not included here) were produced, BUT ONLY 10,500 copies like this (sealed, Region 1 no tin) were produced. These original Disney treasures titles without a tin case were sold wholesale a year ago and sold out quickly as well. These are legit Disney dvds that are authorized, official Disney product. It has the Disney security seal and Buena Vista stamping on the shrinkwrap (see picture below and check my feedback). In actuality this version is EVEN RARER than the numbered tin at this point, but I won't say they are as collectible. Lets just leave the tin sets to the collectors and let everyone else enjoy these fantastic Disney cartoons (real American history!!) at a more reasonable price. Buy a true hard to find Disney dvd today for a great price!! "

...while i already have my copy of Vol. 1 WITH the tin, i was wondering what this was all about. Anyone care to shed some light?

[Stego]

wait a minute...i think THIS answers my question...

feel free to chime in on this, just the same, anyone!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 18525&rd=1

[GeorgeC]

Oh,

That sounds like the reprint set of the Wave 1 and Wave 2 Disney Treasures that got sold at Costco and online from the Disney Store...

Same stuff, just not numbered.

They WERE a lot more difficult to get your hands on UNLESS you went online or happened to have a Costco store (and membership to it) in your area.

These sets were definitely a cheaper way to get any missing volumes. I sure know I wouldn't want to pay $100+ for the first Mickey in Color volume alone now!

[Ben]

Yep.

For a while last year, Disney sold this set as a "catch-up" for those who had not learnt about the series.

It was, as George says, a Costco exclusive, and a part reason (so rumored) as to why the last wave was held back (to allow consumers to pick up the first waves and be tempted by the third).

Was quite a good deal, but obviously no numbered tins and the cerificates were not included.

A good cgance to complete a collection though, rather than not have them at all. You'll also notice a lot of these sets broken up and sold off individually on eBay.