The New DVD and Blu Thread

[EricJ]

I'll likely get NIMH (MINH? )

(Apparently, some of the animation must have been outsourced in Asia.)

and Anastasia in sales, but the Robots DVD is enough for me upscaled for the two or three times I'll ever likely watch it again.

It would be nice to get some kids titles on Blu as good-looking as the Disney ones, but Fox, MGM and even Warner treat their competing family labels as "bulk" catalogue titles to be marketed at the lowest Target/Walmart parent-shopper bid.
The best we can hope for is that they at least get a nice clean remaster from the original print.

[droosan]

Today I got The Incredibles on Blu-ray. Had to get up early to do it, too; Disney/Pixar releases (and, to an extent, even Dreamworks or Cartoon Network titles) usually 'sell-out' before noon in local Burbank shops on the release date (only to be 're-stocked' by the following weekend), because every animation artist in town is trying to buy it. Why these stores don't just simply order a larger supply of these titles for that first Tuesday, I can't imagine.

I also got the Car 54, Where Are You? season 1 DVD boxed set. Oooh! Oooh! I can finally retire those VHS cassettes of this show that I'd taped off Nick-At-Nite, over 20 years ago..!

And last night, through a fortuitous circumstance, I happened to be browsing the Barnes & Noble in Glendale when an announcement came over the PA system that -- for the rest of that evening, only -- children's DVD and Blu-ray titles would be 40% off their marked price. I decided to finally spring for the Shrek: The Whole Story Blu-ray set, which already had a '10% off' sticker on its case. With my additional 10% B&N membership discount, I effectively got this 4-BD boxed set at 60% off-of its MSRP .. just a bit over US$30!

[Rodney]

That's a good deal on Shrek. I've been meaning to at least upgrade Shrek and Shrek 2 to Blu-ray, but the Pixar ones are definitely getting an upgrade. I can't wait to see Incredibles on BD.

[droosan]

While browsing DVDs at the Fry's Electronics in Burbank, I noticed that Disney seems to have hastily re-released several of its Princess features in 'Royal Wedding Edition' packaging .. which basically consists of a white cardboard outer window sleeve with gold trim.

I saw The Princess and the Frog and Beauty and the Beast in both Blu-ray and DVD 'Royal Wedding' packaging, and a Cinderella 'Royal Wedding' package on DVD only.

I'm assuming Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid, and Aladdin are either also 'out there' in RWE's, or on their way soon.

[Ben]

Make sure those editions actually have any special features! We got a Cinderella Royal Wedding Edition out over here around a month ago...and it has the feature and very little else! Talk about a cash-in!

[GeorgeC]

...

And the timeliness of these cash-in's surprises you how???

Capitalism is alive and well despite naysayers. 'Tis human nature to capitalize on sparkly distracting events with tackier tie-ins that can be sold to tourists and families who are guilted into providing a smaller-scale "princess experience" for their daughters!

(Still, it's gotta be cheaper for Disney to rebrand some old unsold DVD's and Blu rays with "wedding" packaging than the rumored amounts being spent on the real wedding...! Still, the tourist dollars generated from the people interested in that sort of thing WILL more than make up for the tax bill the UK will momentarily have...)


****

My hat's off to Disney...

They really DID figure out how to make the older films relevant to younger girls again!

[Daniel]

Recieved an email promoting these:

Disney Royal Wedding.jpg (155.49 KiB) Viewed 11429 times

Look Snow White! Droo got one.

[Randall]

Hard to imagine too many going for these versions if they didn't previously, but to each his or her own, I guess. These may appeal more to royalty fans than hardcore Disney fans (except for the true compulsives who want to get every version out there).

[Ben]

Even I draw the line as those kind of repackagings, though interesting that they have started to officially lump Enchanted in there (and hilarious at how they're still trying to plug that awful Princess' Enchanted Dreams thing)!

[Whippet Angel]

I'm confused... Are these actual new editions, or are they just putting a new slipcover on the old ones? Plenty of other studios have done this with old editions of films to tie in with holidays.

[EricJ]

I'm confused... Are these actual new editions, or are they just putting a new slipcover on the old ones? Plenty of other studios have done this with old editions of films to tie in with holidays.

Given that even the slipcovered version of Snow White still gets retired on 4/30, I'm guessing it's just a slipcover.
As in, literally just a slipcover over the existing disks (as you can see from the obscured cover art on P/F). But, if it gets a few more sales in before the deadline...

[GeorgeC]

I'm confused... Are these actual new editions, or are they just putting a new slipcover on the old ones? Plenty of other studios have done this with old editions of films to tie in with holidays.

They're just new slipcovers put on to capitalize on the Royal Wedding happening on Friday.

It's just a way to rope in collectors that have to have every last packaging variant.

They're the same BD's that got released months ago.

Get the tie-in? New Royal Princess (Katherine), Disney Princesses?

Ah, the marketing geniuses that think this stuff up!

(Take the last comment as you will... I'm not pooh-poohing the real wedding itself -- everybody's got to relax and just have a good day...)

[Ben]

It's Catherine with a C, but we get the point.

Actually, from the looks of the specs in the UK, these are just Disc One of those sets, so they're not loaded with extras and are basically movie-only reissues. At least the UK ones are...

[droosan]

Why no RWE of Robin Hood..? That movie actually ends with a royal wedding!



---------------------

re: the actual Royal wedding .. most of it certainly did look like a Disney fairy-tale come-to-life.

I might @ Disney's attempt to 'cash-in' on the event .. but the event, in itself, was quite something.

This is a happy day.

[EricJ]

Why no RWE of Robin Hood..?

Eh, they would just be recycling the Snow White release...
(animation in-joke)