James and the Giant Peach

[Daniel]

Didn't even know it was coming, or if I did somehow forgot! Oh well, enjoy:



Not really a movie I watch often, so will probably pass on the BD.

[Randall]

Wow, first I've heard, too. It's not my favorite of Selick's features for sure, but it still has some fabulous stuff in it. I've watched my laserdisc with the kids a couple of times, and we all enjoy it; but I've longed to have it in hi-def, especially since I never picked up the DVD.

[EricJ]

Didn't much like Disney's corporate studio-screenwriter take on it either, but it's now been bumped up to the second-most obnoxious adaptation of Dahl ever animated...Which isn't so bad.

[Ben]

It's not always consistent, but there are moments of this film that I absolutely adore, and Paul Terry (no, not that Paul Terry!) was a great little actor.

Didn't know anything about this...but happily it's on Blu and not just another squeeze for a 2-disc DVD edition. If only all Disney's upcoming new deluxe discs could be this way.

[American_dog_2008]

I had this on VHS once, but did the movie fail!?

[Ben]

It wasn't a major smash hit for sure, but it didn't "fail" exactly. The problem was that Disney co-financed with two other companies (Allied Filmmakers and Pathe Pictures), which split the three companies' take on the returns. When sliced down, the thirds didn't amount to much (I think Disney made $36m) which is why there weren't any further stop-motion films for a while. Allied and Pathe have each gone on to further animated features, though using CGI.

So not a flop, but not, after considering the breakdowns, a big earner for any of the three companies.

[EricJ]

The reviews, also, wanted to like the visual and stop-motion, but were frustrated that the script had pasted in artificial screenwriter "believe in yourself" message after message, turning the story preachy and predictable, and the characters into just soapbox symbols to lecture our hero--
Which disappointed some fans of the book, who had been hoping for more offbeat Dahl whimsy, and less 90's-Disney marketing.

[Macaluso]

When I first saw it as a kid, my mind was blown when the grasshopper said "You sir, are an ASS"

[GeorgeC]

It's not always consistent, but there are moments of this film that I absolutely adore, and Paul Terry (no, not that Paul Terry!) was a great little actor.

Didn't know anything about this...but happily it's on Blu and not just another squeeze for a 2-disc DVD edition. If only all Disney's upcoming new deluxe discs could be this way.

At least the Disney Blu rays aren't upscales of existing DVD releases unlike a certain anime distributor's Blu ray re-releases of TV series...

Yup, the bulk of anime Blu rays released in the US (and probably a good chunk of Japan's) are fuzzy, "out-of-focus" upscales of 480p material...

My big complaint with Disney now are all the DVD re-releases when a good chunk of material should be redone for Blu ray before they bother doing new (re-)releases to home video.

We've seen that action with the more recent DVD-only re-release of Mary Poppins and now the upcoming Alice in Wonderland (#3!) re-release on DVD only, too.

Probably going to pass on that one, too. No point in getting the exact same DVD that was out just 2-3 years ago! I've also seen plenty of that most recent Wonderland DVD edition still available in many video stores to this day...