| Disney Animation Arrives: I guess I don't have to say that the big news
this week is the arrival of real classic Disney animation this Christmas.
The press release is now up, and overall I must say I am impressed with
the title selection. There are nine titles in all, and as Disney promised,
a good mix of old and new alike was chosen. The titles are: Pinocchio, Lion
King 2: Simba's Pride, 101 Dalmatians, Mulan, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid,
Hercules, Lady & The Tramp and The Jungle Book. Judging by email and general
forum reaction, you all generally seemed pleased with this, in terms of
selection and number of titles. Also big news is some changes in Disney's
moratorium policies towards their animated titles. In the past, generally
all of their VHS releases were pulled for seven years, and then reissued
over and over (great marketing concept, by the way). However, and there
are plenty of theories as to why Disney is now altering their approach with
the arrival of the DVDs (see the Web Wire to the right for lots of links
to other Disney stories on the web about this). Now, they are switching
to a "two tier" like approach, where some of what may be considered their
"mid-level" titles will generally always be available, while the "A-list"
stuff like Lion King, Little Mermaid, Beauty & The Beast, etc., now has
a moratorium of ten years between releases. From a marketing standpoint,
I must admit, this seems pretty sound. They now have a consistently bankable
standard catalog of animated titles available, while the big guns get recharged
every ten years. Of course, this may still not sit well with some of you...
Also, the fact that most (but not all) of these first nine titles will only
be available for 60 days is certainly an eyebrow raiser. Again, great marketing.
Let's face it, the preorders for these will be monstrous. Personally, I'm
really excited, because now I can order multiple copies of these and then
sell 'em on Ebay for outrageous prices in few years (cue big smile). However,
60 days is an awfully short time frame; 6 months or so seems more appropriate,
but that is just my opinion. Now, I did put in a call to Buena Vista, and
will hear something more substantial today I hope. However, a few things
from my brief correspondence. First, again, not all the titles will be put
on moratorium after the 60 days (expect Simba's Pride, for example, to be
among these). Also, this brief period is only for dealer orders...it doesn't
mean that all the retailers suddenly have to send them all back as soon
as this window closes. Thus, you probably will be able to find some copies
throughout the beginning of next year, though I'm sure they will go fast
(I ain't gonna take it for granted!) Second, another exciting bit of news
is that this is not "it"...i.e., there will be more Disney animation, including
day & date support with VHS. And one of the things I noticed in the press
release and on the phone was that there seems to be more of a genuine excitement
about this than what I personally felt was apparent in previous Disney announcements
and releases. I hope the continue to be excited after those first sales
numbers come in...and I'm sure they will. Lastly, I hope to get more information
soon on four key and currently unclear points: the actual price for these
discs, what, if any features there are on the disc, what titles exactly
are gong on moratorium, and if they are 16x9 enhanced (ahem). I wil certainly
post anythng new ASAP. I also hope some other sites can dig up this stuff,
too. I also think it is odd Disney would offer widescreen on the discs,
but lock in a ten-year period with no Pan & Scan version available, though
again maybe they have both, I'll just try to get more info. Beyond that,
to be honest, some are worried about the ten-year moratorium period, because
it would seem to preclude any chance for special editions of some of these
to be released, as well as locking in the quality of the upcoming releases
for the whole time period. But, personally, I'm very suspicious of anyone
making claims ten years in advance. Let's face it, HDTV is already here,
and so much can happen in the next decade that I'm not going to hold anyone
to any ten-year plan they come up with now... Anyway, I will hold off on
any further comments until more full-featured specs come in for the discs.
I will be adding them to the database today with as much info as is available.
But, though I do wish that maybe they would have thrown a couple of animated
titles out sooner, overall I'm pleased with the number of titles and selection
Disney has chosen. I think this is tremendous boost for the format, and
in a way this helps continue to invigorate all my excitement about DVD once
again. Also, feel free to check into the forum, where I have put in two
new topics on Disney Animation and HD-DVD in the Editor's Choice column.
Though I still like to get email, I'm finding the forum is a great way to
get feedback, too, so feel free to stop by and share your thoughts there.
|
