Based On Popular Demand: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Extends Worldwide Blu-ray Combo Pack Efforts through December 2010 Exceptional Value, Quality & Versatility Included In The Purchase of Any Disney-Branded Blu-ray Disc BURBANK, Calif.— August 11, 2009 – In a time when price, quality and value… Read More »Disney Extends Blu-ray Combo Pack Efforts through December 2010
For many years Tinker Bell had a huge following among Disney fans, but almost no merchandise featured the pint sized fairy. Eventually someone at Disney marketing figured out they were missing out on a steady line of guests willing to shell out for their favorite pixie. Since that moment (about the late 90s) Tink has been just about everywhere.
The culmination of this trend is the series of direct to DVD movies that are under production. The first came out last year and was actually a small gem of a story. The second is scheduled for this fall and looks to repeat the magic. Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com, but released October 27, 2009.
The full press release is below the cut:
Read More »Tinker Bell returns on DVD and Blu-ray this October in “The Lost Treasure”
I’d like everyone to welcome Mike to The Disney Blog as guest author. Mike comes to us from The Pixar Blog, where this review may seem a little out of place.
Walt Disney’s second animated feature production Pinocchio arrives tomorrow on 2-Disc Platinum Edition DVD and Blu-ray Disc, in celebration of its 70th anniversary. I got an advance copy of the Blu-ray this morning and, well, I’m thrilled. Pinocchio is one of Disney’s most enduring classics, and a personal favorite for me, so it’s good to see it receive such a high-quality home video release. (The only thing better would have been a special theatrical re-release.)
Everything about the Pinocchio: 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition, from the (very shiny!) packaging to the included extras, demonstrates the work Disney put into preparing it. As for the film itself —hate to use a cliché— it’s never looked and sounded better.
Overview (Region 1)
DVD
The DVD version presents the newly digitally restored film in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.33:1 (that’s full screen) with a new sound mix in Dolby Digital 5.1, specially enhanced for home theaters. Included are 5.1 French and Spanish language tracks.
Disc One includes trivia and sing-along bonus features, as well as audio commentary by film historian Leonard Maltin and others. Contained on Disc Two is a documentary entitled No Strings Attached: The Making of Pinocchio that follows the production of the movie, two never-before-seen deleted scenes and an alternate ending from the Disney Archives, a featurette about Walt Disney’s ‘sweatbox’ artistic review process, live action reference footage, art galleries, a collection of deleted songs, and games. (Whoa! Have to take a breath!)
Blu-ray Disc
The Blu-ray version offers everything found on the DVD (like all the bonus features mentioned above) plus more, spread across two discs. Pinocchio is presented in stunning 1080p high definition video (1.33:1 aspect ratio) with up to 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (48 kHz/24-bit). French and Spanish tracks are in 7.1 DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and 5.1 Dolby Digital respectively. This marks the first time that Pinocchio can be enjoyed in hi-def.
Bonus features are in 1080p, 1080i, and 480i resolutions, with audio in Dolby Digital 2.0. Included are several Blu-ray exclusive functions such as Cine-Explore and the Disney BD-Live Network.
Additionally, bundled in the Blu-ray package is a supplementary third disc, a DVD of the movie, for playing in regular, old-fashioned DVD players. Specs are the same as for the 2-disc DVD version. The inclusion of a standard DVD with Blu-ray titles is set to become the norm for Disney, as it encourages consumers to buy the Blu-ray version even if they don’t currently own a Blu-ray player. Quite smart if you plan on upgrading, but beware that there’s no extras on the DVD —they’re all on the two Blu-ray discs.
(Note: Blu-ray.com, among others, has an excellent review geared toward enthusiasts of the format.)
And now, for your enjoyment, three short previews of some of the bonus material after the cut:
Mike is the “very nerdy” writer of The Pixar Blog, a blog dedicated to news about Pixar. He resides near Toronto.
Read More »Pinocchio: 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition Review
Disney has announced the release dates for the Bolt DVD and Blu-ray editions. I did say dates because for some reason the Blu-ray edition will arrive two days before the DVD version. Did they have to bake the DVDs longer in the oven?
Actually, I think their plan is to get you to buy the Blu-ray now even if you only own a DVD player as that version contains the movie, all the specials of the DVD, a digital file of the movie to watch on your computer, and the Blu-ray edition. In theory, this should get you to buy the Blu-ray player eventually.
Personally, I’m still holding out.
The Bolt Disney Blu-ray + DVD + Digital File Combo Pack arrives March 22 while the Disney DVD arrives March 24.
The full press release is below the cut.
In addition to the theatrically released short “Presto” Pixar and Disney have decided to include an additional short on the WALL-E DVD and Blu-Ray releases. They did this with Tow Mater and the Ghostlight on Cars to great effect. Here WALL•E is partnered with BURN•E.… Read More »WALL-E DVD available for pre-order; includes exclusive animated short BURN-E
Reuters is claiming that a "source" has said Toshiba will be announcing the end of their HD DVD push soon, conceding defeat to Sony’s Blu-ray format. High definition DVDs are being used not only for movies, but for interactive games as well. Sony learned from it’s loss in the 1980s VCR wars, where VHS beat… Read More »Toshiba to Give Up on HD DVD?
Blu-ray’s victory in getting Warner Brothers to drop the HD-DVD may not be enough to fend off obsolescence. As Dawn C. Chmielewski reports in the Los Angeles Times, downloads, cable, and satellite delivery of HD movies might make the whole HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray battle moot anyway. But sales of these next-generation discs fell short of… Read More »Is Blu-ray Victory Too Late?
Warner Brothers Entertainment (including, presumably, New Line Cinema) has been supporting both the HD-DVD and Blu-ray formats in the high definition DVD market. However, the company is now dropping HD and continuing to support Blu-ray, the same format Disney supports. Blu-ray got a big boost in June when Blockbuster Inc. announced it would stock only… Read More »Warner Drops HD, Stick With Blu-ray