New Disney Streaming Service: Disney+

[Ben]

On DuckTales, they did make a big thing about both versions being available at launch, so I was surprised when Rand said said he couldn’t find it. Glad it’s there, even though we both had the DVDs.

My thinking on the "random" episodes...maybe things are structured on their end alphabetically? All those episodes did have episode names, so it they’ve been uploaded under those titles, it could explain why the shows are "out of order"...?

It all sounds good, though! While it will be cool to see all the good classic stuff in HD, I’m still pleased to have my DVD library of things to hand. And I’ll certainly continue to go for Blu-rays, both for a collecting sense and also in case they do start pulling "Disney Vault" tricks later down the line, or start swapping out transfers for updated/changed versions.

But, yeah, March 31st can come soon enough! I guess we’ll start to see the heavy blitz advertising in the new year here.

[ShyViolet]

K...two weeks from now...IT’S A GO!!!


I was so relieved to hear that they’re leaving the animated Classics alone. (Thanks gaastra! ) That was my only real objection.

Very excited to re-watch Walt’s ‘55 Alice...lately I’ve actually been thinking about that specific film and how, on my opinion, it is just so, so underrated. It doesn’t surpass Carroll’s two books of course, but it has an extremely dark and disturbing brilliance all its own. It’s not really an adaptation of Carroll’s work in the traditional sense, but kind of a twisted reflection of his supremely witty, bittersweet vision.

To keep it short: Carroll saw Wonderland as truly “wondrous” as Alice develops mentally and emotionally from a child into a mature pre-adolescent who will most likely take the wisdom and courage she acquired in her dreamworld through her journey into adulthood and beyond.

Walt’s vision is the complete opposite. His Wonderland is consistently frightening and nonsensical and Alice really doesn’t mature at all during the film but rather becomes more
vulnerable and childish as the film progresses. Instead of gaining self-confidence while confronting the army of cards and tossing them away: (“Who cares for you? Why you’re nothing but a pack of cards!”) as she does in Carroll’s closing chapter, Walt’s Alice scatters the cards, but then immediately shrinks down to an even tinier size than them. The film’s climax has every character she met on her journey chasing after her (nowhere to be found in Carroll’s version, of course) then finally Alice’s older sister wakes her and says it’s time for tea. Alice meekly follows her up the hill. The End.

Alice gained no new awareness of herself or society, but actually regressed after her imprisonment in a terrifying world of nonsense. This is nothing like the guide to defeating societal hypocrisy that Carroll wrote, but rather a nightmarish preview of the unpredictable horror and stark loneliness of the adult world that still awaits her.

*******************************************

Interesting how even though Burton’s version (Well, technically sequel) also had kind of a “twisted” atmosphere throughout, its overall optimism and mockery of societal mores is actually much, MUCH closer to Carroll’s vision than to Walt’s. Walt’s film is much less “Edward Scissorhands” and WAY more...”Return to Oz.” Lol.

[Daniel]

Pushover.

Oh well, at least now you might finally catch up on some sequels, not least the live action remakes. ♫ You've got a lot to see.

[EricJ]

To keep it short: Carroll saw Wonderland as truly “wondrous” as Alice develops mentally and emotionally from a child into a mature pre-adolescent who will most likely take the wisdom and courage she acquired in her dreamworld through her journey into adulthood and beyond.

OTOH, it's one of the few--two, maybe--versions that actually "get" Carroll's dry, silly wordplay jokes. Even though the King of Hearts is a different character in Disney's version, Ed Wynn's Mad Hatter still gets to make sense out of "Begin your story at the beginning, until you get to the end...Then stop."
Most bad versions of Alice that don't understand the jokes either A) try to make up their own cutesy ones, often confusing Carroll's Jabberwocky with Dr. Seuss's, or B) assume the famous book quotes are Deep Wisdom, and treat them with arcane seriousness. (Which the Tim Burton/Linda Woolverton version was guilty of both, giving us the "Futterwacken dance", and deep philosophical ponderings of Things That Begin With an M.)

Also, it's one of the few versions where Alice is the most entertaining character--She's just a straight-man cipher in the book, and most other versions try to paste on feminist/growing-up "metaphors" onto her to make her sympathetic. But Walt's writers knew how to play up Alice's careful-what-you-wish-for slow-burn at seeing a little bit of playful silliness turn into a frustrating lot of silliness when she tries to get a straight answer, and Kathy Beaumont delivers it perfectly. (I still crack up at Alice hopping to get a look over the maze hedges, or dealing with goofy croquet-flamingos.)

On DuckTales, they did make a big thing about both versions being available at launch, so I was surprised when Rand said said he couldn’t find it. Glad it’s there, even though we both had the DVDs.
My thinking on the "random" episodes...maybe things are structured on their end alphabetically? All those episodes did have episode names, so it they’ve been uploaded under those titles, it could explain why the shows are "out of order"...?

No, it's because the complete DVDs were more Club-exclusive titles, while the random Best-Of's were on store shelves.
Although a few of the obscure movies have shown up, I'm guessing we won't be getting more of the Club titles or the still MIA Disney Treasures tins. (Technically, the True-Life Adventures weren't Disney Treasures, since they were phasing out the program at the time.)
That's why we can get the Davy Crockett movies but not the episodes, and I wouldn't wait up nights for Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow.

[Ben]

I’m talking about the ordering on D+, nothing to do with the DVDs.

And Dr Syn might turn up sooner than you think: it’s the next DMC Exclusive Blu.

[EricJ]

I’m talking about the ordering on D+, nothing to do with the DVDs.

Yeah, so am I - Despite the abolition of the Vault, title availability seems to be tied to Club vs. Retail availability, and showing the Disney Afternoon series is more a matter of showing "Famous retail titles" (ie. the mainstream Best-Of collections) than digging broadcast series out of the archive.

And Dr Syn might turn up sooner than you think: it’s the next DMC Exclusive Blu.

Oo, and the TV episodes from the Treasures steelbook, too! I looked it up expecting they were just going to do another Davy Crockett and only clear the feature-edit.
I expect we're going to see some interesting things, now that Disney's in their "The Future is Streaming" honeymoon, and thinks they have to garage-sale their remaining lost disc titles.

[droosan]

One thing I really like is, even when I have something on DVD already, so much of what's on D+ is in HD (or even 4K). While I'd still be tempted on a nice Shaggy Dog Blu-ray, I can be quite satisfied with seeing That Darn Cat (either version) in HD on D+.

I just watched The Black Hole in HD, on my 55" screen.

It's a title I've long wished Disney would release on Blu-ray .. but I rather doubt that'll ever happen, now.

The wire work for V.I.N.CENT, B.O.B & Max is much more noticeable than on 'standard def' DVD .. but the Ellenshaw matte paintings are as gorgeous as ever, and the overall movie remains creepy cool.

[gaastra]

Black hole is on Blu-ray but it's Disney movie club only.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Blac ... ray/43569/

[droosan]

I .. did not know this.

But after a quick dash to eBay, I have one on its way to me, now.

Thanks, gaastra!

[Randall]

I .. did not know this.

But after a quick dash to eBay, I have one on its way to me, now.

Thanks, gaastra!

Beware: The Black Hole Blu-ray was initially released with an authoring glitch that made the overture unplayable. You may not care, but a fixed disc is out now. DMC just let me know that my (and Ben's) replacement is on the way. I wasn't overly bothered, really, but it's always nicer having the WHOLE film available to view. And yeah, with D+ now, it's almost a moot point.

In fact, I'm questioning a few of my recent disc purchases. Why did I buy George of the Jungle (another DMC exclusive) recently? It's all on D+ anyhow! Of course, I still treasure many discs with their special features, but D+ allows me great access to just watch those films that are non-classic curiosities.

[EricJ]

In fact, I'm questioning a few of my recent disc purchases. Why did I buy George of the Jungle (another DMC exclusive) recently? It's all on D+ anyhow!

This is...EXACTLY...verbatim......what everyone said about Netflix from '10-'11: "I'm throwing out my disc collection, now that Netflix has it all!"
And then, March 15, 2012: The day still referred to in the streaming-binge press as "Netflix-pocalypse". The day, we first (and I mean first) discovered that Movies Wouldn't Stay on Streaming Forever.
Now we get monthly panic articles about "Here's what's leaving Netflix/Hulu this month!" on the clueless grownup news sites.

Those who refuse to learn from the past...
Yes, I know the appeal of Disney's own site is that they won't lose the rights to their movies like Netflix did with Starz's, but that doesn't mean that Anything Can't Happen. Enjoy your untouched Dumbo and Lady & the Tramp now, but don't cut off your discs to spite your stream.

(Now, I don't mind looking up "Treasure of Matecumbe" or "The Castaway Cowboy" on D+, since they used to be $3 for a 2-night rental at Vudu VOD, and I wouldn't mind seeing a few other of the rarities show up, but if I ever give up my DVD of Dr. Syn, it'll be because of the aforementioned Blu-ray, not D+.)

[Ben]

Was just going to mention the Black Hole fixed disc. I think I read the overture is on the old one, but not accessible or something, like a chapter glitch. It may be that you can rewind to play it, or something like that. The fixed disc correctly authors the overture as the first chapter.

As for streaming and D+ in general, I agree that streaming is GREAT for discovering curios, but I did also say this to Rand in a recent email:

"I will continue to pick up Blus, especially the rare ones. I can just see them putting certain titles back into "the vault" on occasion, if even only temporarily, so that they can bring them back with fanfare to promote a new feature, or as a "season" of this or that, once the programming has become a little more routine and the service more everyday and taken for granted. Plus quality will still be better on disc for a long while yet and, at the end of the day, I just like me my packaged content!"

So that’s me in a nutshell (yeah, yeah, "no, this is me in a nutshell! Help! I’m in a nutshell!"). Streaming will be perfect for basically catching up with rare stuff (and more legit that other nefarious means) and new offerings, but I’ll continue to buy and own discs for those special titles that I’ll want to make sure remain "mine".

[Daniel]

If I had the service I would be singing the same tune, too. There's also the chance that someone says or does something that results in a show or movie getting yanked. One sorta example that comes to mind is The Simpsons. The season 3 episode titled "Stark Raving Dad" is not on Disney+ because it features the voice of Michael Jackson. Such a shame since it's one of their best. It has also been absent on syndication reruns.

[Randall]

Very true. Stuff that I really want stays in my disc collection (which is in the thousands). But curios just get streamed now.

[EricJ]

So that’s me in a nutshell (yeah, yeah, "no, this is me in a nutshell! Help! I’m in a nutshell!"). Streaming will be perfect for basically catching up with rare stuff (and more legit that other nefarious means) and new offerings, but I’ll continue to buy and own discs for those special titles that I’ll want to make sure remain "mine".

One of the things that took the industry so LONG to realize that Digital VOD was an unqualified flop that was never going to "replace" Blu-ray sales the way Warner hoped it would was the fact that streaming was perfect for rentals:
Mail-Netflix drove Blockbuster out of business because we only had to go to our mailbox to return a rental, and now Redbox is competing with movies we can simply delete with a click. If the chief worry of VOD Libraries is "what if they disappear?", well, not keeping them around forever was sort of the idea anyway.

But, as usual, the studios had one script they wanted the home-theater industry to follow, and kept trying to force it back on script whenever the audience started improvising better systems for it.
(Which is why the industry turned a 90-degree angle and said "What?...Oh, yeah--Streaming SERVICES is the future of movies!"