Waiting… Waiting...

In March, three Disney animated classics arrived on Blu-ray alongside new release Wreck-It Ralph and non-canon film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. You could say it was "Disney Blu-ray Month", because we got a boatload of titles within a few weeks. Disney Blu-ray was release-happy again in June, giving us three more Disney animated classics. In August, four more!

So, it seemed like Disney would do the same this coming March, right? Apparently they aren't.

Two titles are scheduled for release in March, both are direct-to-video films: The Jungle Book 2 (since the first one's Diamond Edition comes out in February) and Springtime with Roo. Ermmm… Ummmmm… Okay? Disney, any animated feature-length films? Apparently they'll save those films for the summer.

For a while, I had predicted that Disney would repeat what they did this past March and finally give us Hercules and Tarzan on Blu-ray (the former hit Blu in Europe two months ago, the latter in May 2012) this coming March. Maybe even throw The Black Cauldron in there, because that's the only other non-package feature that they need to release on the format. I figured they'd bang those out in March, and then release all six of the package features in the summer. They'd get it all done right away, but that doesn't seem like that's in the cards.

If anything, the earliest we'll get Hercules and Tarzan is in the summer, mid-June to be exact. Disney may surprise us and release them in a spot that we wouldn't have expected them to pick, but who knows at this rate.

What do you think?

BluWorks

It looks like an older DreamWorks animated film is coming to Blu-ray this spring…

According to Amazon, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron is going to hit the format on March 11, 2014. This makes it the first DreamWorks hand-drawn film to get a Blu-ray release, as it is one of four hand-drawn films produced by the studio. This implies that DreamWorks is intending to release everything else in their library that isn't on Blu-ray yet all throughout next year.

Currently, the following DreamWorks films aren't on Blu-ray in North America: Antz, The Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, Shark Tale and Over the Hedge. The three Aardman films - Chicken Run, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and Flushed Away - also aren't on Blu-ray in North America. It made me ask a couple times, "What's taking them?" You can rent all of them on iTunes or Vudu or whatever… Except Over the Hedge. That film seemed to fall off the face of the Earth. Nowhere to be found… Could it be a rights issue? It is based on a comic strip.

As for Spirit, I'll pick it up. I happen to like it, I like the fact that it's mostly dialogue-free and does have a pretty decent story. There are a few things about it that kind of irritate me, but I look past that and admire some of the great animation, the surprisingly effective use of Bryan Adams' songs and some genuinely good moments. I liked what they tried to achieve with it: A mostly silent story set during the Old American West of a lost horse trying to get back home and having quite the adventure. While a money loser when it opened, I'm sure it probably got a bigger fan base later on. I think it's a solid, good film.

Anyways, do you think DreamWorks will release a lot of their films on Blu-ray this coming year? Or not? Sound off below!

About Cussing Time...

It looks like the Criterion Collection is going to get their hands wet with animation…

That's right… Fantastic Mr. Fox will be the first animated feature film to get a Criterion Collection edition since Akira, which was released on LaserDisc way back in the mid 1990s. This edition will be released on February 18, 2014! Right around the corner!

Now, does this mean that Criterion will begin investing in other animated titles?

Back in 2010, Kevin T. Rodriguez of Examiner put together this excellent list of what titles that Criterion should give a release. It would give many obscure and hard-to-find animated films a chance to shine, and also gain new fans.

The Black Cauldron and Song of the South were listed, but these will probably never happen since Disney very rarely licenses their titles to other distributors. (A few of their live action titles were released by Anchor Bay on DVD in the early 2000s.)

The Thief and the Cobbler would be the Brazil of the animated Criterion Blu-rays, considering what that film went through and how many versions there are. The visually innovative Twice Upon a Time is criminally kept away from us, having only gotten a home video release once… In 1991. The Plague Dogs is always given the cheapo DVD treatment in the US, and every home video release of that film in the US (and even in its home country, the UK, until 2008) has the 86-minute version. The Secret of Kells got a great Blu-ray edition from Cinedigm months after this article was posted.

When The Wind Blows only got one VHS release here, and a few DVD releases in the UK. The Land Before Time would be interesting, if they track down Don Bluth's original cut or something close to it. (If it was ever finished and finalized before Steven Spielberg and George Lucas unusually forced him to water it down.) Coonskin is also ideal, along with some of Ralph Bakshi's other films that weren't as successful. The Point! is another good addition, being a particularly rare one.

But 10 isn't enough… There are tons and tons of animated films begging for a Criterion release or a release of that caliber…

Watership Down (also from the director of The Plague Dogs, Martin Rosen) never really got a great DVD release here, at least not to my knowledge. I have the 2008 "Deluxe Edition" DVD, but it had very few bonus features and nothing from a good 2005 DVD released only in Australia, which apparently contained an audio commentary from Rosen himself.

The UK's first feature-length animated film, Handling Ships, is a good candidate along with the 1954 Animal Farm. The former is tough, because it was really a training film requested by the British Admiralty that didn't get much of a release. The latter is doable, considering the source material and its status as one of the UK's first animated features.

Aside from The Thief and the Cobbler, Richard Williams' work deserves a set of its own, from his short films to his commercials. But of course we have Garrett Gilchrist restoring his work and making it readily available for animation fans, after all, it was his dedication that brought Cobbler into the limelight as he tracked down the work print and also put together his wonderful fan-edit, The Recobbled Cut.

What about The Adventures of Mark Twain? Will Vinton's stop motion animated film from 1985? A limited released back in the day, it needs to reach a wider audience.

Several anime films… There's a goldmine there!

There are also lots of interesting European productions from the Golden Age that could get some form of release as well.

Anyways, that's just some pipe dream stuff. Maybe this will be a one-time thing given the fact that Criterion has given many of Wes Anderson's films tip top treatment. Or maybe, just maybe, they'll finally mine the animation caves. Let's hope that happens!

By the way, that cover artwork is splendid. It fits the film better than the current Blu-ray edition's cover…

Yeesh…

Rising Again?

DreamWorks might want their ill-fated, ambitious animated feature Rise of the Guardians to make its money back somehow...

A new Blu-ray edition is hitting shelves on November 5th, with cover artwork that plays up the Christmas angle of the film.

Fortunately for DreamWorks, they were able to release this film on Blu-ray earlier in the year because it's not truly a Christmas film (unlike something like The Polar Express, which they waited a year after its theatrical release to put out on DVD for obvious reasons) and it actually takes place around Easter. But since Santa Claus and Jack Frost are in it, this release was inevitable. I had actually thought way back when that DreamWorks could re-release this film on Blu-ray with different packaging for a Christmas release, and perhaps a Halloween release focusing on Pitch. (Probably a no-go since Pitch was the villain and he supposedly scared many kids.)

Like the original Blu-ray cover, this doesn't present our childhood heroes as badasses. The more they promote it as cutesy fluff, the more people will scoop it up. Unfortunately, in America, you have to market animation as cutesy or comedic. Just look at Frozen's new trailer...

Anyways, this might help the film get more fans and hopefully those who didn't see it get to check it out. Will it put the film in the black? Probably not... That'll probably take a while, though I heard that the DVD and Blu-ray sales have been good for this one. Long live Rise of the Guardians!

August Animation Tidbits

More tidbits for ya...

Planes once again proves that animated films that don't have much adult appeal won't fare too, too well. Planes is unabashedly a children's film, so it didn't set the box office on fire over the weekend unlike something like Monsters University or Despicable Me 2. You know, animation that's both for kids and adults.

But others (such as are ever-so-accurate press) would lead you to believe that Turbo, The Smurfs 2 and Planes underperformed because there's "too much animation", implying that people are getting sick of feature animation... No, they are getting sick of bland animation and animation that's aimed at kids only... Plus, with all these films opening so close to each other, families got super-choosy. I hope this summer teaches distributors a lesson: Don't open so many animated films so close to each other. 2 or 3 is fine, but 5 or more? A big no-no.

Opening with a small $22 million, Planes already made Disney very happy since the film only cost $50 million to produce. Plus, it's bound to make a good amount overseas given some foreign locations they cover in this film. All I can say is... Ehhhhhhhhhh. Why oh why does the sequel have to be a theatrical release?

~

DreamWorks, in a rather surprising move, pushed their highly anticipated How To Train Your Dragon 2 a week forward. The film is now set to open on June 13, 2014, but honestly... I can kind of see Kung Fu Panda 2 happening all over again. Sort of.

If you remember, Paramount and DreamWorks for some reason felt that the sequel to their 2008 blockbuster would put up a good fight against The Hangover Part II. But what happened? The teens and adults flocked to The Hangover Part II, leaving Kung Fu Panda 2 to rely on family audiences and those who have no interest in The Hangover franchise... The result was a very disappointing $47 million opening while The Hangover Part II took in $85 million for the weekend. Its opening was certainly no major take off, especially when you consider that its predecessor opened 3 years earlier with $60 million... Without 3D ticket prices!

What opens the same weekend as How To Train Your Dragon 2? 22 Jump Street...

Let's see... A sequel to a sleeper hit R-rated comedy? Need I say more?

How To Train Your Dragon 2's opening may not be spectacular unless Fox plays their cards right. The teaser for this was fabulous, unlike the lazy "staring contest" teaser for Kung Fu Panda 2. Its official trailer better deliver and make audiences want to see it opening weekend, because Kung Fu Panda 2's underwhelming trailers and marketing didn't succeed in doing that. Hopefully Fox's marketing shows audiences why they should definitely see DreamWorks' epic sequel to their very good film and make the audiences think, "Hmmm... Yeah I'll see that instead of 22 Jump Street!"

I mean, this is supposed to be a very big follow-up to the leggy original. The original was lucky to have many weeks all to itself, so that the incredibly strong word-of-mouth was able to help the film climb to $200 million at the domestic box office. This sequel underperforming and making less would be terrible, especially since it's supposed to be like the series' Empire Strikes Back. I wouldn't doubt that, because DreamWorks went the darker route for their sequel to Kung Fu Panda but yet the poor handled of that stalled it from doing better than its predecessor at the box office. Let's hope the same mistakes aren't made again with this sequel, because DreamWorks needs a big hit and I don't quite think Mr. Peabody & Sherman will be a box office bonanza.

But apparently Fox and DreamWorks are confident in this, so it's possible that the dragons may outwit the cops that summer weekend. Personally, I think these poor choices of release dates are what's are partially killing most animated films these days. (Bolt and Winnie the Pooh, anyone?)

~

On the home media front, we got word of the postponed Tom and Jerry Golden Collection Volume 2 set. In case you didn't know, this series was meant to give us - the animation enthusiast - the complete, fully uncensored collection of the entire Tom and Jerry filmography from the Golden Age to the post-Hanna-Barbera films. Volume 1 delivered the goods and then some, everything on there was uncensored and there were even a couple lovely bonus features.

But this upcoming set is a disaster in the making. Warner Bros. legal department will not allow two particular Tom and Jerry cartoons to be released in any form. The problem is, both are supposed to be on Volume Two since the series is going in chronological order. Mouse Cleaning and Casanova Cat are the two shorts in question. The legal department want to avoid a PR nightmare, but they are hypocrites because Warner Bros. has released material that's just as offensive for general consumers, from the uncensored Looney Tunes collections to the uncensored Popeye sets to the first volume of this series... And they all have warnings saying that they're for the "adult collector", and they also give viewers an explanation of the content in these films: Again, some of the certain gags in these shorts are offensive, but censoring them out is just as offensive. They're a part of history. The first set and all their other adult-oriented cartoon collections from Warner make this very, very clear.

However, WB's legal department doesn't want these two particular shorts to see the light of day for some probably stupid reason, not even through the WB Archive, thus contradicting everything the other sets stood for. So we can't have those two shorts on an "adult collector" set, but yet we can have other offensive material. The legal department apparently thinks that we're children or something.

Let that all sink in for a minute...

PR nightmare, alright. They created a new one just by playing this game with us. We're adults, we know why these cartoons are the way are, so stop trying to hide them from us when you've released other equally offensive cartoons to general consumers, general consumers! Anyone who has seen Mouse Cleaning and Casanova Cat will tell you that they are no more offensive than The Milky Waif and The Truce Hurts, or any other Tom and Jerry cartoon with a blackface gag that's readily available uncensored in the US for general consumers. Warner Home Video really wants all of these pieces of history to be released, but no, the legal department has something against those two particular shorts...

Anyways, this pointless and unfair censorship lead to (much-deserved) backlash, and it's made the news, too! The set was then postponed, though a December 17th date somehow got out there. Jerry Beck (in case you don't know, he's a great animation historian and has worked on many of these sets, including this one) appeared on Stu's Show not too long ago. The set was brought up and he outright confirmed that WB's legal department is giving Warner Home Video trouble, and they're not going to let those two cartoons see any form of release in America (note: They're available uncensored in the UK). He says that we shouldn't expect the set until 2014 at the least. I'm not holding my breath for a complete set.

Insert rant here...

~

Speaking of home media, on October 15th, the surprisingly very good and well-written Disney Channel animated series Gravity Falls will be hitting some form of home media... Unfortunately, it's a DVD-only release with six episodes. "Six Strange Tales"... Yeah, because we can't have our full season just yet. Or ever, maybe... Given Disney's track record when it comes to these things.

If Warner Bros. and Cartoon Network can give us the full seasons of shows like Adventure Time and Regular Show, Disney can damn well do the same for Gravity Falls. Heck, where are the full season sets for Phineas and Ferb?! What they're failing to realize is that like those two Cartoon Network shows, Gravity Falls has a teenaged and adult fanbase that makes it very successful. People would also scoop up a season boxset of Phineas and Ferb, from families to fans to many others. However, it is possible that this is a set geared towards the kids and that they're saving the goods for the fans. (Making this show an exception to their TV shows on home media business model.)

Well, maybe. Here's hoping they do the same for TRON: Uprising, since they did a good job sending that show to the grave. At least Blu-ray sales or the fact that it's on Netflix could gain the series new fans... Though the third TRON film doesn't seem to be a go anytime soon. Director Joseph Kosinski has signed on to direct The Twilight Zone movie. Looks like that franchise is slowing down once again...

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Animated Views recently interviewed Jimmy Hayward and Aron Warner. Hayward, as you may know, is the director of Reel FX Creative Studios' debut theatrical feature-length animated film Free Birds (formerly known as Turkeys), which will hit theaters on November 1st. Warner is a big-time producer, and he's well-known for producing the Shrek films, as Free Birds' fun trailer mentions.

Hayward talked about some of its production history, and also said that the film's plot is "all in good fun" and that they aren't trying to send some PETA-esque "don't eat turkey" message. (Phew!) He also explained the title change, saying that they wanted something that would have international appeal. Then he also explained the release date change, the movie was pretty much in the can last summer and November 2014 was too much of a family film mine (Big Hero 6, Home, Night at the Museum 3, etc.)

Warner talked about Reel FX's plans, things I speculated about months ago. I'm in support of this studio because they've got risky things planned for the future (Hayward himself elaborated on that), and they also plan on spending reasonable budgets on their films. Hmmmm, maybe other studios should follow suit, yes? For the record, Free Birds has pretty good-looking animation if you ask me. See, I like this idea. Lower budgets mean greater risks can be taken, LAIKA and Aardman don't thrive for nothing.

He also mentioned a few things about Jorge Guiterrez's Book of Life...

"The movie is unlike any computer animated film I’ve ever seen. It looks different; it feels different; it sounds different. It’s definitely Jorge’s – it is so much a project from this guy’s heart."

Now see? That's what studios should be doing, making lower budget films that take some major-league creative risks. Book of Life might just change the industry if Free Birds is a hit, and prove that good computer animation can be done for less than $100 million and it doesn't have to come from someone like Disney, Pixar or DreamWorks. Again, Free Birds looks fun despite some formulaic elements, but it's a safer film for a reason. It's the debut, it's the kick-off feature. Safe film first, risks later!

No word on Beasts of Burden, though...

~

What do you think of Reel FX? Do you think the studio has a lot of potential? Do you anticipate what they have to offer? Do you think Disney will eventually give us season box sets of shows like Gravity Falls, Phineas and Ferb and TRON: Uprising? Do you think Warner Home Video will triumph over the legal department? Or will they lose and all we'll end up getting is a censored set? Do you think DreamWorks and Fox moving How To Train Your Dragon 2 up a week was a good idea, or not?

Sound off below!

So Much Space...

In this age of digital means of watching films and entertainment, some have worried (myself included) that physical media would be on its way out by around 2015. Blu-ray Disc has been around since 2006, but it's battled with the likes of Netflix and Vudu recently. Now, as an avid Disney fanatic, I've been noticing a decline in the quality of their Blu-ray releases... Even the prestigious Diamond Editions have been lacking in some way.

In 2011, we started seeing releases where an animated classic would be paired with its cash-grab direct-to-video sequel, taking up space and in some cases, possibly compromising the image quality of the first film whilst leaving not so much room for bonus features. It didn't help that they were titles that Disney didn't really give the tip-top bonus features treatment either.

Then slowly but surely, Disney put out some double-packs that had no bonus features at all such as The Emperor's New Groove and Lilo & Stitch's two-movie collections... You had to pop in the included DVDs to see some bonus features... Because the DVDs weren't updated! They were the same masters from the previous release! For instance, New Groove last hit DVD in 2005... The DVD in the combo pack has that version of the film, complete with previews from the era! Disney probably does this because DVD-only versions of films are becoming more and more of a rarity, so they figure... "Who is going to buy The Emperor's New Groove on DVD if Cinderella and Brave didn't sell enough units?"

Picture quality on the individual titles was erratic too, as evidenced by some recent releases and the right-around-the-corner release of The Sword in the Stone. Live action titles? Some have received very poor transfers, a lot of the sets just come off as cheap. Disney has been cranking so many films out left and right, but at the expense of good quality. Disney did do this for a good batch of films during the DVD era, but I've been thinking that Disney knows something that we don't know...

Enter Sony and Panasonic, who are working on a new physical media format... One that'll specialize in discs that can hold 300GB! That's right, discs holding 300GB! That trumps Blu-ray's usual 50GB with a lead hammer! Now... Think of how much Disney can cram onto a single disc for one of their animated features. Just think about it for a second...

Maybe Disney has been slacking on their recent Blu-rays because of this. Maybe they knew of this format for a little while, or had predicted that a greater physical media format would come about in the next couple of years.

On the other hand, Disney can put a ton of films on the same disc, which I really hope they don't do. I'd rather buy The Emperor's New Groove with boatloads of bonuses and The Sweatbox (pipe dream) than "The Emperor's New Groove plus 2-3 other movies!" That would just be cheap, and it won't make the individual classics or films stand-out.

Another opportunity they can take... Their television shows. Complete series of the Disney Afternoon shows, all of them! Wouldn't be it awesome to not only own all of DuckTales (and possibly the movie, which can only be obtained on a Region 1 DVD through the Disney Movie Club?) on one set, but also the other Disney Afternoon cartoons you never got on DVD? Or how about programming that's never seen a physical release? Archives? The list goes on and on... And on...

So much potential... Like cracking open a treasure chest...

Branching Out on Blu

In a rather strange move, Disney's home entertainment division announced that two titles that are hitting stores on November 5th... But they aren't full-length features!

That's right... A featurette and a cash grab holiday special assembled from a television episode and other footage.

According to DVDizzy, Mickey's Christmas Carol will come with two other cartoons that are currently unspecified. My guess is that The Small One will be one of the two, being a holiday-themed roughly half hour-long short subject. Coincidentally, both films were products from the then-young turks at the Disney studio. Don Bluth worked on The Small One - which was released in 1978 to accompany the holiday re-release of Pinocchio - one of the last projects he completed work on at the Disney studio before leaving in 1979. Mickey's Christmas Carol was another safe project for the animators, as the executives weren't willing to let them tackle the likes of a big budget Snow White-type epic - something like The Black Cauldron - just yet.

Though it may be criticized for being a watered down version of the classic story, I always thought it was a good short. I particularly liked the surprise appearances of characters from some of the classics, including the package features. I'll happily pick it up. If the Blu-ray contains The Small One, what else will it contain? Supposedly the main feature runs 95 minutes, and that's 52 minutes down so... I'm guessing a package of Christmas Mickey short subjects (Cartoon Classics-style) or maybe a special from the 90s or something... Can't really guess at the moment.

A Very Merry Pooh Year was a 2002 special cobbled together from "Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too" (a special from the New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh television series that ran from 1988 to 1991) and newly-created animation... All I can say is this: Does this really warrant a Blu-ray release? Why can't Disney just do the right thing and release the entire first season of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh on Blu-ray... Oh, and while they're at it, seasons for every Disney Afternoon cartoon. Consumers may not demand it, but many other folks do! Plus, if they forget the special and just release seasons of New Adventures, parents will snatch them up for their tykes. Heck, even Pooh's Grand Adventure is more deserving of a Blu-ray release than this!

Anyways, if Disney is willing to release short subjects and specials on Blu-ray as standalone titles, then what could they possibly churn out next year? Cartoon compilations, maybe? More shorts? What do you think?

P.S. - I saw Monsters University yesterday and I thought it was very, very good... Review should be up soon, but I'd prefer if I gave it another watch... Until then, stay tooned!

June Animation Tidbits [#2]

More animation tidbits! Looks like this month is picking up a bit! Oh, and check out that nice Frozen teaser poster...

Well how about that... The teaser for The Lego Movie has finally arrived! Just in time for a certain big animated film that's opening on Friday...



One thing I liked about the trailer was the beginning, parodying most trailers for big blockbusters and humorously implying a Justice League movie is what's in store. I also love the animation of the individual Lego people, it was almost stop motion-like in a way. But the film is said to be an all-CG production, hmmmm...

The jokes? A lot of them worked, but what really thrilled me was the look of it and the glimpses of the action. All in all, it looks like it'll be a whole lot of fun. 2014's animation slate just got more and more exciting...

~

Speaking of 2014 animated films, a new image from DreamWorks' Mr. Peabody & Sherman. It's just another look at the titular duo, so hopefully we'll get a poster or a teaser sometime soon.

Here's hoping it's fun one! This DreamWorks production will hit theaters nationwide on March 7, 2014.

~

Thanks to a recent press release from Disney, we now know what the Fall 2014 Diamond Edition title will be... Sleeping Beauty!

Though I had thought that Aladdin and One Hundred and One Dalmatians would follow The Jungle Book (Spring 2014), it seems like Disney will do whatever with this line now despite the fact that this title is already on Blu-ray unlike the other titles that haven't been released as Diamonds yet, sans Pinocchio. The home entertainment division is probably doing this because Disney's big budget tentpole Maleficent hits theaters in the summer of 2014, and the Blu-ray should hit stores in the autumn.

So basically, I have to revise my predictions!

~

Animation Fascination and HitFix have some great details about Walt Disney Animation Studios' upcoming Mickey Mouse short Get A Horse!, which premiered at the Annecy eighteen days ago. The presentation was held by Disney legend Eric Goldberg and animator Adam Green. Hitfix's Drew McWeeny had this to say...

“Evidently, they opened the presentation by talking about how storyboards had been found for an unfinished Mickey Mouse short, and then the classics ‘Plane Crazy’ and ‘Steamboat Willie’ were shown. Perfect way to set the stage for what happened to those recently discovered storyboards. As Get A Horse! begins, it appears to be an actual 1928 Disney cartoon, but at some point, the screen shakes and a full-color 3D rendered Mickey Mouse appears in the cartoon. From that point on, the film mixes the ’20s style hand animation and modern cutting edge 3D work, with the beginning of Disney’s legacy colliding to what sounds like hilarious effect with the latest and most technically polished expression of Disney’s vision.”

McWeeny also states that the short will be attached to Frozen, though there hasn't been much of an official confirmation... Strange, considering that Disney announced that Paperman would precede Wreck-It Ralph in theaters.

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What do you think of the teaser for The Lego Movie? Are you anticipating the film? Or not? When do you think we'll get a trailer for Mr. Peabody & Sherman? Or better yet a proper first look? What do you think of Sleeping Beauty hitting Blu-ray as a Diamond Edition before Aladdin and One Hundred and One Dalmatians? Are you hyped for Get A Horse!?

Sound off below!

What's The Deal?

Time and time again I've stated my views on what Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has been doing... I've complained endlessly about the fact that they are packaging the non-Diamond Edition animated classics with their direct-to-video sequels. I've ranted about the treatment that certain films get on the format and countless other things...

On my last rant on the 2-movie bundles (which focused on the inconsistencies of the cover artwork of each different release), I admitted that I'll probably buy them anyways since... Well... It's still the Disney classics in high definition, crappy sequel inclusion or not. It's possible that Blu-ray may be replaced by something in less than 5 years, so a better release down the road may be out of the question. So I finally said, "I'll cave in and get them" despite my attitude towards the way they are being packaged and presented.

In a few days, three Disney animated films come to Blu-ray for the first time. You probably know what they are... They also happen to be 2 Movie Collections: The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis: The Lost Empire and Lilo & Stitch. All three are packaged with their respective DTV sequels, inevitably.

What are the problems with these three releases?

1. The Emperor's New Groove and Lilo & Stitch have no bonus features. Yes, you heard that right... Absolutely none. Zero. Nada...

2. Atlantis: The Lost Empire has questionable picture quality. Blu-ray.com's Kenneth Brown gave it a 3.5 out of 5 in his review, a cut below the usual for a Disney animated feature. It's also a CAPS film produced from 1999 to 2001! And yet it's picture quality is just okay enough?! This should be 4.5 out of 5 good! Heck, even Treasure Planet, problems and all, still got a better score and looked very good. This is a bit inexcusable... Even for Home on the Range it wasn't right. Also, the Atlantis Blu-ray has a good portion of the bonus features that were from the stellar Collector's Edition DVD...

This all makes no sense to me, especially since the next batch of Disney Blu-rays coming after these three releases (The Sword in the Stone, Robin Hood and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh) are going to have bonus features! Some of them even have brand new bonus features!

The Emperor's New Groove might not have been a huge hit at the box office for Disney, but it was a home video hit. Disney delivered the goods with the 2001 Collector's Edition DVD, showing that they wouldn't slack off on one of their then-recent films... Even if it flopped! Treasure Planet's original DVD, anyone?

Special Edition? Yeah right!

Lilo & Stitch was a big hit film for Disney and it spawned a massive franchise... The lack of bonus features is just shocking and puzzling! I mean, the last DVD release of Lilo & Stitch was a 2-disc set with tons of bonus features! They couldn't port anything, not one thing, over from that set?!

Yet they had no problem doing it for Atlantis. What... The... Hell...

It makes no sense, literally. It makes no sense. It's another woe in Disney Home Entertainment's recent history. Why skimp on these two films but everything else gets at least one bonus feature? I understand that these companies are cutting back, but porting features from DVDs shouldn't be too, too hard or expensive I assume. I mean, they can do it for Atlantis, Robin Hood, Sword and Pooh, they can sure as hell do it for Groove and Lilo. I'm also well aware that both releases' included DVDs contain bonuses (because they are reprints of earlier editions, rather than brand new ones), but still. Bonuses should be on the Blu-ray. Inexcusable...

Unless they have better editions for both films planned, I can kind of see why, though it still gives physical media fans the shaft. With digital media pretty much taking over the world of home entertainment, I don't see Disney re-releasing any of their films on Blu-ray in the next 5 years... That is, if Blu-ray is still a choice format by 2018 or whatever. Well I hope it is, because I'm a physical media kinda guy! If some digital format comes along that stores bonus features with a movie in a special little file, then I'd somewhat understand. Maybe Disney is predicting that, or knows something we don't know...

But in the mean time, leaving features off of these two films' respective Blu-ray editions is just... Wrong. Some features may be on the DVDs, but they should be on the Blu-ray disc. Questionable picture quality? Also wrong, these are the Disney animated classics! All of the films should get great picture quality, an excellent selection of bonus features and more! No low quality cash cow direct-to-video sequel that's only for kids should even be allowed to share a BD-50 disc with the classic, making hardly any room for more bonuses and also possibly compromising the picture quality on the original!

What they're doing now is the antithesis of what they used to do for their films. On Blu-ray no less! They're scaling back, big time. Anything that's not a Platinum these days? Crumby treatment at best. Packaging the films with their direct-to-video sequels was insulting enough, but this is a new low...

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment... What are you doing?

Update: Blu-ray.com's review of the Emperor's New Groove double pack is now in, and the picture quality on the original film is given the same score that Atlantis was given...

[UPDATE] Four In August

A few weeks ago, Disney quietly put it out there that Oliver & Company was coming to Blu-ray on August 6th, which was almost in line with some predictions I made a while ago. Since Oliver was one of those Disney animated films released on DVD only between 2009 and 2010, I figured it would get a release sometime this year since Pete's Dragon and The Great Mouse Detective got Blu-ray releases last year that were essentially upgrades of their previous DVD editions with the same cover artwork and edition names to boot. Also, Oliver turns 25.

Oliver & Company, in my eyes, certainly isn't one of Disney's better animated classics though it's an important one. It was a safe way for Disney to regain their audience after the suits had seen how well Don Bluth's An American Tail did at the box office two years earlier. That very film was a record breaker for the animation industry, and it was released at a time when the higher ups didn't see much of a future for Disney's feature animation (imagine that!) despite Roy E. Disney's insistence to keep the studio afloat. It appealed to audiences back in 1988, as it had attitude, 80s pop music-styled songs and a rather grungy animation style. Nowadays it's a fun watch, but definitely not all there in the story department and a lot of it is forgettable aside from the good songs. Its record-breaking success at the domestic box office enabled the studio to keep going.

So with its August 6th release date, I figured that Disney would put two or three more titles out on the same day since they've picked up this new routine where they'll release multiple classics on the same day. This started in August 2012 with The Aristocats, the Rescuers films and Pocahontas alongside other titles. Disney repeated this two months ago with the releases of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan and Brother Bear. A week earlier, the non-canon Who Framed Roger Rabbit hit Blu-ray.

Now, Disney has announced that The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh will be hitting Blu-ray, but not on August 6th... But rather August 27th. I would've assumed that it would hit store the same day as Oliver, but it looks like Disney is willing to release multiple classics the same month but not on the same day. The Digital Bits also report that Robin Hood is being prepared for a Blu-ray release here in the states, since the film is turning 40 this autumn and it's already available in other countries. It's possible that Disney will also release The Sword in the Stone on Blu-ray around this time, since that film is turning 50 this year and it's so similar to Robin Hood in many ways.

That being said, those two, Oliver and Winnie would round off a strong August. Bedknobs and Broomsticks and The Black Cauldron are the last two post-2008 DVD only releases that are due for a Blu-ray release, so we may end up seeing those two in October. It would be perfect for Cauldron too, since Disney seems to like promoting that film as a Halloween film as evidenced by the 2000 and 2010 DVD releases.

Anyways, I'm glad both of these titles are coming and I hope to hear about any other August Blu-ray titles soon. Updates shall come!

Update! Sword and Robin Confirmed For August 6th!

Disney has confirmed that The Sword in the Stone and Robin Hood have been confirmed for an August 6th release!

The cover for The Sword in the Stone is lovely, fresh and once again... It's simple and great. I also like how the "50th" and "40th" Anniversary headers are great because they don't use some generic fountain, instead they're stylized to look like the middle ages... Goes perfectly with the settings of both films. Disney didn't seem to bother creating brand new artwork for Robin Hood, instead modifying the cover used for the 2006 Most Wanted Edition DVD.

Either way, I'm excited to pick up all four of them in a couple of months!

A "Tom and Jerry" Update

Warner Bros. might be listening to us animation fans after all...

Of course, as many of you may know, Tom and Jerry Golden Collection Volume Two was to arrive to stores this summer but without two controversial cartoons: Mouse Cleaning and Casanova Cat. This was, of course, contradictory to the fact that the series was aimed at the adult collector and not for children, and that the series would contain all of the short subjects uncut. A representative for WB went as far as justifying the removal of the two cartoons on WB Classic Animation's Facebook page, saying that they were "inappropriate" for the "intended audience" - the adult collector. We sure got angry. Blog posts, forum posts and even close to 100 one-star reviews of the forthcoming set on Amazon.com ensued... Us animation fans weren't going to be robbed like this, especially after what we got with the excellent first volume.

What we know so far is that a higher up in Warner Bros.' legal department doesn't want these two shorts released in any form, not even through the WB Archive! Apparently this person has been there for a while and has something against these cartoons, I mean... Why else would Warner Bros. release equally controversial and potentially offensive cartoons in the Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies and Popeye series on home media formats whilst keeping these two and the Censored 11 locked up?

All hope seemed lost. It looked like we were not going to get these two uncensored cartoons on Blu-ray and DVD in the United States, but... TV Shows On DVD has confirmed that Warner Bros. has postponed the second volume of this series! This makes sense, because Home Theater Forum owner Ronald Epstein collected questions from animation aficionados and sent them to Warner Bros. Apparently they had a meeting about these cartoons, so maybe the postponement of this set may bring good things. However, we can't get our hopes up too high... Yet.

Anything can happen now...

Here's my theory: Warner Bros. (or more specifically, that person in their legal department) will drop all of this opposition to Mouse Cleaning and Casanova Cat. Thus, those two cartoons will be added to the line-up and the packaging will be altered. It'll say 44 shorts instead of 42, or the last 2 cartoons on the set (chronologically) - Puppy Tale and Posse Cat - will be left off for time constraints and will be the opening shorts on the third Golden Collection volume. The liner notes will mention both formerly missing cartoons. This is of course the win-win situation, the one everyone hopes will happen. Well, it better happen!

Why do I think it might happen? Well, WB announced that the set was postponed after those questions were sent... Plus it came off of a slew of negative reactions. I haven't seen such reaction to a home media release in a long while. Tom and Jerry Golden Collection Volume One has less than 40 reviews in total on Amazon.com, Tom and Jerry Golden Collection Volume Two has nearly 100 one-star reviews warning consumers to stay away from the butchered set whilst also calling WB out for their unnecessary censoring of a set that's meant for adults.

Also, WB can't just re-insert the shorts between now and June 11th, or make liner notes mentioning them. It's also possible that Mouse Cleaning and/or Casanova Cat had audio commentaries, so it'll take some time to put those back in as well. So maybe the delay does mean that WB gets it.

Now it's also possible that we will end up getting the butchered set later this year, which would only anger fans more resulting in a bigger backlash. The fans are now willing to give WB a chance to correct the mistakes they have made, and to not omit Mouse Cleaning and Casanova Cat from this set. If a new announcement for the set shows that the two cartoons won't be in the line-up... Well then, expect more heat, WB! And weaker sales, too!

Right now, we have no clear idea why the set was postponed. All we can do is speculate right now, but personally, I'm going to try to be optimistic here and believe that WB delayed the set to do the right thing: Include Mouse Cleaning and Casanova Cat, and never attempt to censor this set or any forthcoming adult collector set (whether it's Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies or Popeye) ever again.

Hopefully everything will turn out alright. If Tom and Jerry Golden Collection Volume Two arrives to stores complete and uncensored with Mouse Cleaning and Casanova Cat, then... Immediate sale!

News Roundup: LEGO Update, Tom and Jerry, and More Disney Blu-rays

Looks like some more animation news has come over the last forty eight hours!

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Warner Bros. has officially unveiled the new title and the logo for their upcoming animated film based on LEGO.

Yes, the film is now called The LEGO Movie. The logo looks pretty sweet if you ask me, though I did kind of like LEGO: The Motion Picture. Oh well, this one is simple and it works. Definitely looking forward to seeing the trailer for this Phil Lord-Chris Miller film... It should be right around the corner!

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Speaking of Warner Bros., it looks we're getting some answers concerning Tom and Jerry Golden Collection Volume Two, which is coming to Blu-ray and DVD on June 11th. Of course, as you all know, two full cartoons were omitted from the upcoming set due to potentially offensive material - despite the fact that the first volume and this release are intended for the "adult collector".

Animation historian and Cartoon Research author Jerry Beck, who was closely involved with the first volume and other Warner Bros. classic animation releases, was interviewed on Stu's Show last night. He has confirmed that Warner Bros.' home entertainment division has listened to our complaints and they are on the same page as we are. The higher ups at the company are responsible for the removal of the two cartoons. So does this mean that CEO Kevin Tsujihara, a suck-up to the powerful force of political correctness, was responsible for this along with the other bigwigs? Seems like it!

During the show, the idea of releasing classic cartoons through distributors like Shout! Factory was brought up... What if Warner Bros. sublicensed their classic animation to them for adult collector releases? That would work, because the company can release the sanitized versions of Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry for general consumers, while the smaller company gives us the goods.

One can only hope...

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Last but not least, Disney has added three more animated classics to their Blu-ray release schedule. Remember how Atlantis: The Lost Empire was supposed to come out on March 12th? Well now it's coming out on June 11th alongside... The Emperor's New Groove and Lilo & Stitch!

But you know me... I won't be buying them, because they'll be packaged with their direct-to-video sequels. Lilo & Stitch's pack will contain Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch, so I assume the other two direct-to-video Stitch films will get a double pack later this year. But still... Packaging The Emperor's New Groove with Kronk's New Groove... Just NO.

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What's your take on the new title for Warner Bros.' LEGO film? Do you think there's still a possibility that we'll get Tom and Jerry Golden Collection Volume Two uncensored? Are you excited that those three Disney films are getting a Blu-ray release? Or will you avoid them because they have the sequels included?

Sound off below!

A Suggestion to Disney Home Entertainment

Next week, fans and consumers will be able to own three Disney animated films on Blu-ray for the first time in stunning high definition: The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan and Brother Bear. Of course, they are going to be released the same way The Fox and the Hound and Pocahontas were on Blu-ray. They're being packaged with their direct-to-video sequels and each release will be billed as a "2 Movie Collection".

Of course, you all know how I feel about this business model for the not-so-successful Disney animated films. People are split. Lots of fans are fine with this and will buy the sets no matter what. Other fans refuse to purchase the titles because they feel that including the direct-to-video sequel cheapens the importance of the original and is overall insulting. I won't go any further, because I've already ranted about this time and time again.

I don't speak for the majority of Disney fans. Again, they have their purchasing preferences, as I am no different. However, I think what should be done could work for both fans and those who want to own the direct-to-video sequels alongside the originals. I understand that parents buy these sets up for their kids, and having the sequel on there is convenient for them. However, many fans object to the idea of Disney putting it on the same set (and same disc) as the original. Right now, this way of releasing these films on Blu-ray has Disney fans divided. Rightfully so, if you ask me.

So here's my ultimate suggestion to Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment...

A) Release [insert film here] on its own. No sequel included. Instead, pack this release with all the bonus features you can afford or port from earlier editions. Give it a nice slipcover, include a DVD copy as always, and sell it for the usual price. Make it no different from your typical home media release of a Disney animated film.

B) Release a double pack of [insert film here] and its direct-to-video sequel. But this time, don't put many bonus features on it. Put very little on there. The set should also include the 2 DVDs for both the original and the sequel. Also, don't give it any snazzy packaging. No slipcover is necessary. Sell it like one of those budget Blu-ray releases; you know - the ones that have two or three movies on them and are called "Double Feature" or "Double Pack". They also usually have decent packaging, nothing crazy. That way, you can sell it for a very good price and satisfy consumers.

If Disney does that with every other non-Diamond Edition animated feature that happens to have a direct-to-video sequel, then it will be a win-win situation for everyone. Fans can own the original on its own complete with bonuses, while parents and consumers looking for a great value can buy the budget "double feature" release.

In all honesty, I believe this would be the best of both worlds for fans and those who are buying these films on Blu-ray.

More Diamond Confusion

Those who have gotten their hands on the upcoming Diamond Edition of Peter Pan have confirmed that the Spring 2014 Diamond Edition will be The Jungle Book. Oddly enough, the UK and most of Europe are getting both The Jungle Book and The Little Mermaid as Diamond Editions this autumn. Certainly some strange changes have been going on with Disney's home entertainment division, that's for sure.

Last year, we found out that titles such as Pinocchio and One Hundred and One Dalmatians were dropped from the Diamond line in various countries. Whatever the reason, be it sales or Disney's desire to quickly phase the line out, it came as a shock. The Platinum/Diamond collection consist of Disney's best-selling films, so sales might have to do with something. Not much is known, but it is strange nonetheless. Disney fans are certainly trying to make heads or tails of the situation.

So I have a question: What will be the Autumn 2014 Diamond Edition? Aladdin or One Hundred and One Dalmatians?

Disney only has four titles left to issue as Diamond Editions: Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, One Hundred and One Dalmatians and Aladdin. Dalmatians and Aladdin have never been released on Blu-ray before. Pinocchio and Sleeping Beauty have, when the line was still the Platinum Edition collection. Both Blu-ray releases were excellent, so will they be re-issued as is but with the Diamond moniker? Maybe. Maybe not.

I have a feeling that Aladdin will be the fall 2014 title. Why? Well, Disney has proudly announced that a Broadway musical adaptation of the 1992 film is coming in spring 2014. With that, I and many others assumed that Aladdin would be released to coincide with the play. Well, now that The Jungle Book is confirmed for Spring 2014, then my best guess is that Aladdin will hit stores in autumn 2014. That would be ten years after its last home media release, the Platinum Edition DVD.

It would also be perfect because it could follow a 3D theatrical re-release.

Now I am well aware that Disney (wrongly) cancelled the 3D theatrical re-release of The Little Mermaid, which would precede its Blu-ray release this autumn. Now it's quietly being suggested that Disney didn't outright scrap the re-release, but instead they are going to release it another time. The Little Mermaid in 3D had some pretty tough 3D competition ahead of it. Family-friendly competition: The 3D re-release of Attack of the Clones and Sony Animation's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. Now if Disney were smart, they'd give it an August release, maybe a few weeks after Planes. But there's the other frustrating thing; Disney gave that direct-to-video film a theatrical release. If Planes wasn't on track for an August 2013 release, I think Mermaid would've occupied that slot.

The Little Mermaid 3D, if released, would be very successful. It would possibly rival the gross that The Lion King 3D took in. Why? The Little Mermaid has been in the vault for a while; whereas Beauty and the Beast was readily available on home media when the 3D re-release came out. Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc. went out of print shortly before the re-releases, so there was probably no rush to see those two films in theaters. Plus, I think people wanted to see the classics on the big screen, not the Pixar films. That's not a jab at Pixar; I loved the 3D in Finding Nemo. But I think audiences wanted to see something like Mermaid or Aladdin or maybe something like Cinderella in theaters.

If anything, Disney should not be so quick to cancel the theatrical re-release. There's still an opportunity for them in an August 2013 release. It may be cut off of by Planes, but it'll have the first weeks of September all to itself. I'd personally prefer if Disney scrapped the theatrical release of Planes, but we know that's not going to happen. So it looks like Mermaid 3D is done for.

Disney could do that with Aladdin in September 2014, but since they scrapped Mermaid 3D, I have a feeling that they have lost faith in 3D rereleases.

So if Aladdin comes in fall 2014, that means we have to wait to spring 2015 for One Hundred and One Dalmatians. Or vice versa. The film is available in Europe on Blu-ray, and has been since this past autumn. It's no longer a Diamond title there, so it was given a release already, ditto Peter Pan. That's the only thing... I don't want to have to wait until 2015 for Dalmatians.

Disney probably wouldn't release two Diamonds at the same time here in the states, though they are apparently content with doing so in Europe. Again, The Jungle Book and The Little Mermaid debut on the format over there in the fall. After that, there are no more titles. Aladdin might not be in the Diamond line in Europe anymore. Australia, France, Germany and the United Arab Emirates get it in the spring as a stand-alone release. The UK must be getting it soon, too, I assume. They appear to have no spring 2013 Diamond Edition, but there's no signs showing that Aladdin is a Diamond over there.

Here's another theory: What if Disney all of a sudden just drops Aladdin from the Diamond collection here and releases it on Blu-ray this year? The demand is pretty damn high, and the film remains popular. It's always on ABC Family a lot for some reason, too. Also, if they give it a release sometime this year, it'll be a great way to promote the upcoming Broadway musical. That could really pay off. Just remove that damn Diamond label, keep the boatloads of bonus features, make a prestigious release and release it as a "Special Edition" of sorts. That way, Disney can plug the play while also satisfying those who really want the film on Blu-ray.

If they don't, we'll have to wait till 2015 for the last Diamond (that's not on Blu) to show up. If one title was dropped, Disney could finish the line ahead of schedule. Heck, they could even drop Dalmatians and give that a prestigious release while ending the line with The Jungle Book. Quicker too, because, will Blu-ray still be a choice format in 2015?

Rant: Where's That Other Disc?

Every time a Pixar film comes to Blu-ray, it gets the best possible treatment. On the first disc, aside from the main attraction, you'll get a few bonus features. Not just a commentary, but some featurettes and a few short films to top it off. Disc two? Tons and tons of bonus features about the story, production process, casting and almost everything else. The films get sets that are filled to the brim with bonus features.

Now, what about the recent films from the rejuvenated Walt Disney Animation Studios? All of them have one-disc sets with a minimal amount of features. That's right. One-disc sets with less bonus features, and ones that aren't extensive or detailed as much as the Pixar ones.

To start off: Meet The Robinsons can be excused, because Pixar's Ratatouille had a one-disc Blu-ray that year as well. Ratatouille's Blu-ray had just a few more bonus features than its DVD counterpart. The same happened with Cars' DVD debut, and its subsequent Blu-ray release isn't loaded either. Both sets have a satisfying amount of bonus features, particularly the brilliant Cine-Explore commentaries. Pixar returned to the two-disc set routine with WALL-E and the films that followed have two-disc sets, even the derided Cars 2.

Now that Pixar returned to that format and Walt Disney Animation Studios was getting back on track, you'd think that their 2008 release Bolt would have a good amount of bonus features. Right? The Blu-ray appeared in early 2009; only one disc. No second disc with more bonus features. What was on the disc? A few brief featurettes, some of which that focused on Miley Cyrus' minimal role in the film and its production. There's an also an art gallery on there, but that's about it really.

No commentary from directors Chris Williams and Byron Howard, or anything else. No mention of what the film used to be, or any other behind-the-scenes featurettes. Now I understand one thing: We all know that Bolt was a retooled, heavily simplified reworking of a Chris Sanders film called American Dog. We all know that John Lasseter and Sanders had their differences and Sanders ultimately left Disney. I'm not expecting them to go in-depth with American Dog, because let's face it; Disney doesn't like mentioning those dodgy production stories on the bonus features of their films' home media releases.

This is why I suspect something like The Rescuers or The Fox and the Hound usually doesn't come with tons of bonus features. You know me, I'd love Disney to come clean with these stories and just present them in an honest manner. Fallouts and differences happen during production of animated films; just look at Pixar's recent film Brave. That's something that's going to be mentioned in books and websites outside of the home media releases.

That being said, Bolt could've used a little more bonus material and perhaps a mention of American Dog or some kind of allusion to it. Disney shouldn't ignore it completely, but they probably wouldn't get into it out of respect for Chris Sanders. They're not in the business of publicly blacklisting their ex-employees-turned-competitors.

Then along came the Blu-ray of The Princess and the Frog. Now this was an improvement!

Despite having one disc, it had an audio commentary, a cool picture-in-picture track with the rough cut elements in addition to having featurettes, deleted scenes, art galleries and other things. It didn't have too much; but it was a respectable amount for a Disney animated film on home media. It's a good Blu-ray release.

Now this film was no box office blockbuster, but Disney still gave the set some care. With that, you'd think that box office superstar Tangled would get a set that was just as packed if not bigger. Think again.

Tangled's Blu-ray was a frustrating release at best. There are less bonus features on the disc than what was on Bolt! Here's Disney's biggest film since the Renaissance and a critical hit, but with a few bonus features. What do we have? Deleted scenes. Check. A few quick featurettes? Check. Anything else? Errr... Extended songs. Okay... The 50 Disney Animated Features countdown. Nice I guess, but that was on Walt Disney Animation Studios' official YouTube before the film hit theaters. Teasers for the film. Umm...

Yes. This set was lacking. Tons of Disney fans wondered why, too. Where was all the material concerning the various incarnations of the Rapunzel project? Why no featurette about the groundbreaking painterly art style? Surely that alone deserves a small mini-documentary, no? Not much on Alan Menken's songs either or the music in general. Yeah, it's kind of empty.

Now that's a dreadful cover.

Winnie the Pooh was a minor, cheap effort that probably didn't warrant a boatload of bonuses. The Blu-ray is given an okay amount of bonus materials: A featurette, some deleted scenes and the short (The Ballad of Nessie) that was attached to the film.

But... If this was such a passionate return to what made Walt Disney's Winnie the Pooh work so well, why not have some more material focusing on the production? Maybe I'm asking too much, but if the cash-grab Cars 2 could get a second disc focusing on small little things, this could as well.

Now I thought that the whole Tangled deal would be a one-time thing, and as some had suggested, it was just a way to get us to double-dip for a future release. Of course, it's a smart marketing strategy. Disney did it before. When DVD first came about, then-current films like Tarzan and The Emperor's New Groove were given one-disc sets with a few bonus features. Then Disney would release big Collector's Edition sets not too long afterwards. That strategy paid off, so maybe in 2014 or 2015, they'll give us a two-disc set of Tangled. Or maybe not.

Disney seems content with not producing extensive bonus features for the Blu-rays of their own animated films. I don't know if they are only trying to get people to double-dip, or that they just don't care. My money's on the latter, given Disney's treatment of some of their animated films on home media as of late.

Wreck-It Ralph comes to Blu-ray on March 5th, and the details that Disney revealed don't inspire much confidence. It looks like the usual: A few quick featurettes, deleted scenes, a short and one other thing. Nothing big or extensive, no art galleries even! Wreck-It Ralph, much like Bolt, Frog and Tangled, went through several incarnations and the finished project itself warrants a lot of meaty, detailed featurettes. Some "Ultimate Collector's Edition" this will be...

From where I stand, it looks as if Disney tailor-made the Pixar Blu-ray sets for animation fans and aficionados while making the Disney Animation Blu-ray releases for the general consumer at best. But why? The current Walt Disney Animation Studios films are more than just good and I think they deserve big sets full of features. Animation nuts like myself want to see this stuff, and I feel that Disney is making their own work seem less important.

Again, I may be wrong three years later and Disney will release big, packed special editions of the last five films Disney Animation has produced. That is, if physical media is still a dominant format. The question is: If Disney will make us double-dip, then why do they make an exception for Pixar? You'd think that they'd do it for their films too since they are typically more successful at the box office.

Do you think Disney gives their recent animated films that short end of the stick when it comes to Blu-ray? Do you think they can do better? Or are you okay with the sets that have been given to us? Sound off!

Return to the Jungle?

Given some of the talk on Blu-ray.com's forums and the BBFC's recent classification of a trailer, it appears that The Jungle Book will be getting the Diamond Edition treatment sometime soon!

The Jungle Book, despite many warts in the story, is a personal favorite of mine and the Platinum Edition DVD from 2007 certainly did the title justice in the bonus features department. The aspect ratio choice was questionable, leaving a lot of fans who were used to previous versions (presented in 1.33:1) upset. My biggest problem with the DVD was the audio mix that was created for it; a few pieces of the score were missing for some strange reason. It's no different from the missing "Right!" that Jiminy Cricket shouts on the Platinum Edition of Pinocchio.

The question is, of course, when will it come out?

Personally, I'm thinking early 2014. With The Little Mermaid still on track for a fall 2013 release, this seems like the logical choice for that release slot. The classification says it's a Diamond Edition in the UK, so we know that it hasn't been dropped from the line over there unlike Peter Pan and One Hundred and One Dalmatians. UK Diamond Editions always come out around the same time as the US ones, so it won't be a case where Europe gets it months before we do. But... Here's one thing? Why has the trailer been approved so early? It almost implies that will come out this year in the UK. What about The Little Mermaid? Is that still a Diamond title in the UK?

What do you think?

What's Next? Predicting Disney Blu-ray's Future Again...

This year, Disney released a ton of their animated classics on Blu-ray alongside several live-action films from the Touchstone titles to films released under their name. Earlier this year, I had made predictions for what animated films would come out on the format next year.

Well it looks like we are already getting a massive helping on March 12th: Who Framed Roger Rabbit (I know, not a Walt Disney Feature Animation film...) is finally hitting the format for its 25th anniversary. Will it be the original, uncut 1988 version? Who knows. That film has been mangled and altered in some way ever since its first home video release, so I'm not getting any high hopes. Four animated titles are being released this day, two of which being films that were supposed to come out earlier this year (Atlantis: The Lost Empire* and Brother Bear). Mulan will be a 15th anniversary release, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame will finally stun in high definition.

Of course, Disney will be releasing the films as double-packs with their degrading direct-to-video sequels, but again, Blu-ray.com and Amazon list separate releases that'll just contain the first film. I sincerely hope this happens...

Now with four canon animated features announced for a March release, this tells me that 2013 will be as big as, if not even bigger than this year's line-up.

First off, what happened to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh? Booklets in Disney Blu-ray releases that appeared earlier this year said that the film would hit the format in Spring 2013. Apparently it's still going to come, but when? April? May? We haven't heard anything since, so I'm hoping that Disney didn't drop the title from the schedule.

Earlier, I had predicted that August 2013 would be the big month for Disney. This past August, Disney released The Aristocats, The Rescuers, The Rescuers Down Under and Pocahontas on Blu-ray. Released the same day were DTV sequel Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure and The Tigger Movie. Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World was packaged with the original, so seven titles were released that day. Throw in Disneynature's Chimpanzee, and that's eight. I thought the same would happen next August, but apparently Disney will release a ton of titles any month now.

So what am I predicting now? Well, everything is mostly up in the air at this point. Disney really is cranking out titles left and right, probably because of the uncertain future of physical media in an age of digital media and online streaming.

The UK Tarzan Blu-ray.

I have a feeling that Disney will definitely release Hercules and Tarzan sometime next year, since the latter is currently available in other countries. They only have those two out of the 1990s features to release with the exception of Aladdin, which should still be a Diamond Edition release. The Diamond Edition line still seems like it'll continue here in the states, despite the fact that Peter Pan was released in Europe as a stand-alone release, ditto One Hundred and One Dalmatians, though we don't know what that'll be released as when it shows up here. 2013's Diamond Editions are of course Peter Pan and The Little Mermaid (which will follow its 3D theatrical re-release), so that's all set.

What else? If Disney chooses another month this year to release a ton of titles, then we'll probably see the remaining post-90s Disney films on Blu-ray: The Emperor's New Groove and Lilo & Stitch. In addition to that, we may see the remaining 80s films: The Black Cauldron and Oliver & Company.

Oliver & Company is a strong candidate since the latest DVD was released in 2009, the time when Disney was really getting into Blu-ray and giving those who had the format the goods. Oliver & Company was released alongside DVD-only releases like Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Pete's Dragon. The latter was released on Blu-ray this year, alongside The Great Mouse Detective, which got a DVD-only release in 2010.

It seems like those 2009-2010 DVD-only releases will hit Blu next year. Bedknobs should definitely be out, and Oliver & Company will probably appear too. The Black Cauldron is still up in the air, as Disney continues to ignore that film. However, it could show up next year. If not, 2014 should be the latest.

Two other strong candidates are The Sword in the Stone and Robin Hood, since both films will turn 50 and 40 respectively. Both films will probably be released the same day, being films with a medieval setting and weak (all subjective, don't get upset!) storytelling, films that appealed more to younger audiences than anything. I won't be surprised if that happens, plus both films have their fans. Their last DVD releases came before Disney really jumped onto the Blu-ray train.

That leaves the package features, from Saludos Amigos to The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. Like I said before, these will probably be released with other films on the set. Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros is obvious, since they are both goodwill films made for South America during World War II, and the last DVD was a two-movie set. Make Mine Music would probably be packaged with Melody Time, since both are similar in structure (vignettes set to songs). Fun & Fancy Free and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad are both composed of two stories, so they probably will be released together. The question is, will it happen next year?

Disney only has a few titles left to crank out on Blu-ray, so it's possible that we'll have the whole animated library (sans the Diamond Edition titles) on the format next year. Will it happen? There's a big possibility that it will. Or maybe Disney will hold a few titles off until 2014, but we'll find out soon enough!

As for the remaining Diamond Editions, I believe this is what will happen:

After Mermaid streets in October 2013, it'll be followed by One Hundred and One Dalmatians in spring 2014. Why? Disney can't make us wait too long, since the film has been available on Blu-ray in Europe since October.

Following that will be Aladdin. It's been suggested that this film will get a 3D theatrical re-release somewhere down the road, given its popularity. It's very plausible because it's one that's always a hit, it's the second highest grossing Disney animated film (unadjusted) and it's a Renaissance film. The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King were converted, so I believe they won't leave this one out. Whenever I have talked to someone about Disney's 3D re-releases, I always got "They should do that with Aladdin!" as a response. People love Aladdin, despite the rather iffy claims about the last DVD release and how it fared.

So if they do convert Aladdin, it'll follow the Lion King/Little Mermaid pattern: It'll hit theaters for a limited time in September 2014, then the Diamond Edition will street in October.

Then after that, we'll get The Jungle Book in spring 2015. If Disney plans to re-release Sleeping Beauty and Pinocchio on Blu-ray as Diamond Editions, those should be out in fall 2015 and spring 2016 respectively. However, The Jungle Book may show up in 2014. Maybe. But I can't see that happening, since Dalmatians is out overseas. I don't think Disney will make us wait till 2015 for Dalmatians.

Having covered all of the canon animated features, what else? A Goofy Movie is long overdue for a suitable home media release, so a Blu-ray release may show up next year since Disney is content with releasing non-canon animated films alongside the main animated films. It will probably be packaged with its sequel (An Extremely Goofy Movie) as well. Other Winnie the Pooh spin-off films should show up soon as well, from Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin to Piglet's Big Movie. How about other films based on Disney animated shows? DuckTales The Movie - Treasure of the Lost Lamp was released as a Disney Movie Club exclusive for some strange reason, it never got a proper in-store DVD release. The other films based on their own animated shows will probably not see a release anytime soon either, as they are mostly forgotten, though something like Recess: School's Out could be released.

What about The Reluctant Dragon, So Dear To My Heart and Mary Poppins? Well, Mary Poppins will most likely street in 2014 for the film's 50th anniversary. There's no way Disney will avoid this. The Reluctant Dragon's last release (I'm talking about the film of course, not the short subject) was part of the Walt Disney Treasures set Behind the Scenes at the Walt Disney Studio in 2002. So Dear To My Heart is currently a Disney Movie Club exclusive. Why that film was never given a regular DVD release is beyond me, since it was issued on VHS a few times in the 1990s.

The last two films containing animation that I haven't covered are Victory Through Air Power and Song of the South. We know the latter isn't getting a release anytime soon (Disney, just release it, will ya?), the former is a product of its time. It's certainly not something for family viewing, and not mainstream in any way. The only way we can own this film is by getting the Walt Disney Treasures set On The Front Lines. Will Disney launch a new collectors' series of Blu-ray releases containing this kind of stuff? Probably not, since the format may very well be on its way out by 2015 or so.

As for Song of the South, there is a way Disney can release it. Last year, Warner Bros. put out the first volume of the Tom & Jerry Golden Collection. All of the shorts on the set are unaltered with the politically incorrect humor, complete with a warning at the beginning of each disc that can't be skipped. I said this before in a Blu-ray update video on YouTube: Disney should do this with Song of the South, release it as an adults-only collector's release and put a warning on it. That way, it can finally be seen! But since this is Disney, a corporation so hell-bent on keeping such a squeaky-clean image, my hopes are nothing more than a pipe dream.

Now that I've covered animation, what about live action?

This year, Disney put out some live action titles. Some of which were Touchstone titles like The Color of Money, Adventures in Babysitting, Dick Tracy and the Father of the Bride films. Titles released after the 1980s like Newsies, Hocus Pocus, the Santa Clause films, Heavyweights and The Princess Diaries films also came out. The Muppets films that they own are also coming out as well, which kicked off with the release of The Muppet Christmas Carol last month. Now the quality and content of these releases are debatable, but let's face it, Disney is really starting to release everything.

However, only one pre-1980 live action Disney film is on Blu-ray, Babes in Toyland. Other classics such as The Absent-Minded Professor (and it's sequel, Son of Flubber) are slated for next year, so this means that we may see more of the live action classics on Blu-ray soon. When will we get classics like 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Darby O'Gill and the Little People, Pollyanna and The Love Bug? Since Disney's live action library is massive, we'll probably see tons of them coming out in the next two years or so.

That makes me wonder though, what about the not-so-beloved live action titles? Disney has had several live action clunkers that didn't really appeal to anyone other than children, so will those ever get a release? Or will those simply show up on Netflix? Will we also see long buried live action titles like Trenchcoat and Midnight Madness? Perhaps, Disney has no reason to give them to another distributor (i.e. Anchor Bay), so they should get a suitable (if quiet release) sometime soon.

TV shows? Hopefully we'll be getting some of the classic Disney animated TV shows on Blu-ray sometime soon, but Disney didn't really fulfill fans' wishes during the DVD era. They started with releasing The Adventures of the Gummi Bears and then got as far as getting halfway through Darkwing Duck, releasing 52 out of the series' 91 episodes on DVD. So we did get a good amount of the Disney Afternoon material like Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers and Talespin, but not everything. Will they give us all of this plus what they haven't on Blu-ray? Probably not.

Other 80s and 90s-era TV shows like Dinosaurs and Boy Meets World may or may not get a release as well, and I don't see them releasing anything afterwards as complete sets anytime soon. Again, they'll probably just save that for Netflix.

From the looks of it, the future of Disney Blu-ray seems pretty predictable. Disney will release things all at once and as quickly as they can, as online streaming continues to dominate. A few of the classics are already available on Netflix, but they are some of the not-so-successful (sales-wise) titles like The Aristocats and The Great Mouse Detective. Disney making that deal with Netflix pretty much adds to the predictability of their home media division's future. This makes me worry a bit.

A few years ago, when DVD had no competition from any home media format (Blu-ray took some time to really take off), Disney released almost all of their library whether it was in the form of Treasures sets or stand-alone releases. Almost all of the live-action titles were eventually released, including obscurities left and right. Unfortunately, a lot of them were issued with poor picture quality and some weren't even presented in their correct aspect ratio! They were just released, but with no bells or whistles. I feel the same may happen for their Blu-ray releases as well, but this time, poor image quality just won't cut it.

Again, a good number of their recent Blu-rays either have poor picture quality (The Color of Money is a fine example), picture quality that could've been much better (The Fox and the Hound) or don't have enough bonus features (The Rescuers two-movie collection). While Blu-ray may not last much longer (I hope it lasts long enough!), Disney should still take their time with these releases and give fans and casual viewers the goods.

Only time will tell...

Update (1/2/13): Atlantis: The Lost Empire was quietly removed from Disney's current release calendar. Originally slated for a March 12th release alongside The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mulan and Brother Bear, it is now unscheduled. So now it can come out any time this year. I think we'll get it during the summer alongside Hercules and Tarzan.

Update (1/25/13): The Jungle Book is confirmed as the Spring 2014 Diamond Edition title. The Little Mermaid's 3D re-release was cancelled a few days ago, but the Blu-ray is still coming this autumn.