The Animated Views MIA: DVD Thread

[Cinderallaboi]

I'd really like to see the Japanese Little Mermaid out on DVD, but I think Disney might see that as "competiton" or something....especially since it ends very differntly.

this is on dvd i saw it for sale on some site

[Ben]

That's great, great information there!

By the way, cindersboi, your signature image could do with coming down in size a little bit. Could you please reduce it down, thanks.

[Foxtale]

I kind of want to make another thread for this but is there any news yet of the release of "The Wondeful World of the Brother's Grimm?" I know there was issues with transferring Cinerama to DVD but has that barrier been crossed yet or just forgotten? I desperately want to see it in a form closer to its original. I have the VHS and that version is so terribly cut apart and put back together. Still a charming movie that I grew up with nonetheless.

Is the version that was aired on AMC widescreen? If so why can't they just transfer that?

[EricJ]

You're talking to the one man most obsessed with seeing it on disk (NOBODY touches my VHS copy!), and we've still got a wait--
It needs a lot of restoration to a cleaned-up anamorphic print (that's why, the AMC was letterbox), and before the "Smilebox" restoration of How the West Was Won (or even the shifting sales of the vintage-MGM catalog), nobody at Warner thought there'd be enough support to pay for it.

Of course, with most of the Cinerama "classics" (like West, 80 Days and Zebra) out of the way, they're going to get there sometime, but not yet...Don't think we've heard news about another Smiley since HtWwW.
Not sure if Home Theater Forum's Warner film chat has already come and gone to ask, they were having problems with their chat software and the next studio chat isn't till April. (And it's the TV/Animation one anyway.)

[Foxtale]

Thanks for the update Eric. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one that has been waiting for years for it to be re-released. The VHS for that is one that I am overprotective of (I've even contemplated buying a second but the urge has been suppressed with the hope of a DVD).

I would love to see it on AMC. I was so upset I missed it the last few times they showed it.

I'm not up on that many DVD releases so its good to hear that they have released other cinerama DVDs so there is hope, if it is far in the future. I hope they release some news soon.

[Randall]

I know that Ben and I would gladly buy a copy too! The pan and scan VHS is sad to watch.

[Foxtale]

It really is sad to watch. Even when i was little I always thought there was something wrong with the movie (the weird bars in the screen and the cut off people).

Well then I know at least 4 people that want to see it on DVD (plus all the people on Amazon), that should be enough for them to make it right I wish, I guess I just have to keep my fingers crossed.

[chernabog]

I'm still waiting for a DVD re-release of Make Mine Music. It's been impossible to obtain in the UK for years now and it's the only Disney "classic" I haven't seen, so imagine my frustration. I wonder if it will be getting a release on blu-ray anytime soon? I can't imagine it would be their highest priority, but who knows?

Also - and I've asked this many times before - why are Hercules and The Hunchback of Notre Dame the only 90's features to not receive a 2-disc special edition? Once again, I'm hoping that perhaps blu-ray will encourage Disney to release them soon, but even then I'm not entirely confident they'd get the full SE treatment (i.e, the 1-dcis special editions of Aristocats, Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland et al.)

[eddievalient]

I like Make Mine Music. I was fortunate to tape the complete, uncut version from Vault Disney (remember that?) late one night. There is a dvd available, but, sadly, one segment is missing (The Martins and The Coys, presumably due to the use of guns) and I refuse to buy an incomplete film. This is why I never bought Melody Time either (the edits to Pecos Bill). When did Disney get so cowardly?

[Foxtale]

Also - and I've asked this many times before - why are Hercules and The Hunchback of Notre Dame the only 90's features to not receive a 2-disc special edition? Once again, I'm hoping that perhaps blu-ray will encourage Disney to release them soon, but even then I'm not entirely confident they'd get the full SE treatment (i.e, the 1-dcis special editions of Aristocats, Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland et al.)

I wondered about that as well. I know they aren't as successful but if there as a special edition DVD for HBND I would totally buy it. I was obsessed with that movie when it came out. I haven't bought the DVD yet, since that release was so long ago I was trying to wait for a special edition one. I can imagine that that movie looks gorgeous in digital form (I still only have the VHS).

[EricJ]

It's in stages--
Their "Vidquels of obscure 70's movies" phase got them to start dusting off and learning how to appreciate and market Robin Hood, Aristocats and Fox & the Hound in spiffy 2-disk again, getting over their bad memories, and figuring out how to sell them to kids who were too young to know which movies were supposed to be "flops".
Now we just have to see what therapy will help lure them to take a second look at their "Post-Lion King '95-'01 decline" titles that they're still so traumatized about.

(Yes, Pocahontas and Lilo got their 2-disks, but only because those had already been in development before being cancelled, and Mulan had a vidquel to help her out--
The 2-disk Collectors' Edition didn't become a prestige item till '00-'01, and Groove and Tarzan came out in dual editions, until Atlantis's low sales put a stop to that.
The new-release disks of Hercules and Hunchback were historically stuck in between, in that they were too late for anything other than 1-disk Golds, but too soon to get their own 2-disk Collectors'.)

[estefan]

I like Make Mine Music. I was fortunate to tape the complete, uncut version from Vault Disney (remember that?) late one night. There is a dvd available, but, sadly, one segment is missing (The Martins and The Coys, presumably due to the use of guns) and I refuse to buy an incomplete film. This is why I never bought Melody Time either (the edits to Pecos Bill). When did Disney get so cowardly?

Yeah, Disney has an unfortunate habit of doing that to their package films. For instance, editing out Goofy smoking in Saludos Amigos (even though Jose Carioca is shown smoking later on in the censored version, but I guess his cigar would been harder to edit out).

[GeorgeC]

I was recently reading through posts on another blog and saw that Warner Home Video is not being forthcoming about a lot of animation video releases.

Apparently, there's been a big slowdown in output and a lot of classic animation requests just aren't being processed or announced just yet adding to a lot of frustration amongst some fans.

One tidbit did come out, though.

WB Home Video has been thinking about doing re-releases of some previous DVD collections on Blu ray. Batman: The Animated Series is one title discussed as being a possible candidate for a Blu ray edition.... not that I think most TV animation would benefit from hi-def at this point.

I'd rather see restored classical theatrical animation debut on Blu ray first.

[Randall]

Yeah, that WHV chat was a bust. They mostly said they weren't releasing anything anymore, except what's already been announced (and Courage the Cowardly Dog, which was announced the following day anyhow). Pretty lame.

It looks bad for those of us hoping for more Hanna-Barbera sets, for example. I don't need DCU stuff on Blu-ray, but I'd like to see more classic TV come to DVD.

Oh, well. At least Universal is releasing the bionic shows this year. Anything else for 2010 is gravy.

[Ben]

Darn shame...but then with comments like those I made on WB's two Easter animated discs (see front page), I'm not surprised they're not announcing more because their sales can't be too good.

But, real shame that some shows will be left in the dust while attentions turn to putting everything out on BD.

Animation, as we know, isn't the best candidate for HD unless it's really highly detailed stuff...and good as some of the shows are in writing, the visuals just don't cut it. I really can't see any but the real die-hards going for these "upgrades".