If you’ve noticed that I haven’t been linking out to Amazon very much here on the blog, it’s because Amazon has been making it very difficult to pre-order DVDs through its service. It’s been in a dispute with Disney over pricing, promotion, and whether Disney… Read More »Amazon and Disney kiss and make up. DVD’s available for pre-order again
Perhaps I had low expectations, but I left the theater feeling impressed with the “inspired by a true story” movie “Million Dollar Arm.” Not only were the performances good, the story wasn’t cookie cutter, and the emotions all one note. The movie will be available… Read More »Million Dollar Arm Swings Onto Blu-Ray and DVD
For some time, Disney has been returning to their core animated classics and remastering them then releasing each with a new set of bonus features. The call them the Diamond Edition set and the newest movie to get a DVD / Blu-Ray release is Sleeping Beauty. Finally releasing from the Disney Vault, Disney’s ultimate princess fairytale classic “Sleeping Beauty” will be available for the first time on Diamond Edition Blu-ray, Digital HD and Disney Movies Anywhere on October 7, 2014. The good news is it is now available for pre-order from Amazon.
Once Upon A Dream:
Creating the ultimate at-home viewing experience, Disney’s 2-Disc Diamond Edition Blu-ray Superset (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) contains digitally restored picture and sound, a digital copy of the film, and a variety of magical new bonus features, including “Once Upon A Parade,” in which “Modern Family” star Sarah Hyland tells us the tale of Walt Disney World’s new Festival Of Fantasy Parade, “Art of Evil: Generations Of Disney Villains,” a legacy piece spotlighting Disney’s favorite villain animator and Maleficent creator Marc Davis, and “Disney Animation: Artists in Motion,” in which Walt Disney Animation Visual Development artist Brittney Lee goes through the process of creating a three dimensional sculpture of Maleficent, completely out of paper.
Additional all-new bonus features include never-before-seen deleted scenes “The Fair” (with Deleted Character The Vulture,) “The Curse is Fulfilled” and “Arrival Of Maleficent,” plus the Beauty-Oke sing-along to “Once Upon A Dream.” The Blu-ray Superset also includes classic DVD bonus features and more!
“Sleeping Beauty” tells the wondrous tale of a princess cursed by an evil fairy, protected by three loving fairies and, ultimately, saved by “true love’s kiss.” Featuring the voice talents of renowned opera singer Mary Costa as Sleeping Beauty and Disney stalwart Eleanor Audley as the evil fairy, Maleficent, the film’s vibrant visuals were created by a team that included Milt Kahl and Ollie Johnston, two of Disney’s legendary Nine Old Men and an Academy Award-nominated score, 1959, adapted from the incandescent music of Peter Tchaikovsky. “Sleeping Beauty” is the sixteenth animated feature in the Disney animated features canon and was the last animated feature produced by Walt Disney to be based upon a fairy tale. It is the tenth film released as part of Disney’s prestigious Blu-ray Diamond Collection.
Watch more clips below the jump to be reminded what a wonderful classic this movie really is:
Read More »Disney’s Sleeping Beauty available in Diamond Edition for Limited Time
Once again, Amazon is picking a fight with a company over sales of a product, and this time, they’ve chosen to go up against Disney. According to a story by Deadline.com, Amazon is trying to renegotiate its contract terms for a bigger slice of the… Read More »Amazon in Sales Dispute with Disney Over Upcoming DVD Releases
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has updated there release schedule for the spring of 2013. It’s an impressive line up with a range of TV animation, feature animation, and live action TV shows that many fans will want to own. Which of these are you adding to your shelf?
February 2013
Released this week:
Ultimate Spider-man: Avenging Spider-Man (DVD)
Over the past year, Peter Parker has been saving New York City from evil villains as the masked hero, Spider-Man while balancing his heroics with homework and friends. When S.H.I.E.L.D. Director, Nick Fury, offers Peter the chance to raise his game to the next level…to become The Ultimate Spider-Man, Midtown High becomes a secret operations base for young heroes under the watchful eye of Fury and the school’s new principal, Agent Coulson. Spidey takes on S.H.I.E.L.D. missions across the Marvel Universe, encounters new villains, and battles his biggest threat yet…teen high school drama, in this funny and action–packed new series!
Peter Pan: Diamond Edition (Blu-ray Combo Pack, Digital & On-Demand) (Rated: G)
The Walt Disney Studios celebrates the 60th Anniversary release of Walt Disney’s classic, “Peter Pan,” as it soars to all-new heights – with a new digital restoration and high definition picture and sound – for the first time on Blu-Ray. The classic tale that taught us all “to believe” and first introduced us to the Darling children – Wendy, John and Michael – as they flew with Peter Pan and Tinker Bell past the second star to the right and straight on ‘till morning to the enchanted world of Never Land. Rediscover the magical adventure and relive childhood memories of this great bedtime story.
Read More »Disney Updates DVD Release Schedule for Spring 2013
On March 12th, Disney will release the following titles on Blu-ray for the first time! Pre-order them today for some great savings. Who Framed Roger Rabbit: 25th Anniversary Edition Mulan & Mulan II: 15th Anniversary Edition – 2 Movie Collection The Hunchback of Notre Dame… Read More »Disney Announces Four New Classics Coming to Blu-Ray in March
I excitedly picked up the John Carter Blu-ray combo pack last week, popped it into my player, and then fell asleep about 40 minutes into the film. Suddenly, a week went by and I realized I didn’t really have the urge to finish the film. Not a good sign. But, you know, I owed it to myself, and to the creative team (who I like!), to finish the film and then develop an opinion.
John Carter, based on the novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs and directed by Wall-E’s Andrew Stanton, is a befuddling work. It’s ambitious, chock full of characters, special effects, and a fairly dense plot, but in so many ways it just doesn’t work. The civil war between Helium and Zodanga is convoluted right from the first scene; both forces wear nearly the same uniforms, save a batch of blue or red here and there to distinguish them. Carter’s motivations and acceptance of his status on Mars seems all too convenient. Odd edits, especially during Dejah’s first “damsel in distress” moment (I mean, really, how many times did Carter need to catch her while falling in this movie?), make following the action difficult. The acting, especially from lead Taylor Kitsch, is adequate but far from the kind of engaging you need to launch the kind of franchise Disney was looking for here.
Unfortunately, the biggest sin against the film is its lack of emotion, which is surprising, given Stanton’s (not to mention his fellow screenwriters, who include Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon) pedigree. The romance between Carter and Dejah just sort of happens, since it’s supposed to, and the objectives for other characters, like Dominic West’s Sab Than or William Defoe’s Tars Tarkus, are barely addressed. If you were unfamiliar with Burrough’s stories, as I was, you probably aren’t going to find yourself invested in these characters.
I really wanted to like this movie. I disregarded a lot of the negative buzz, which had more to do with the film’s financial failures than its creative ones. I suppose that’s why, once I finally got around to finishing it, I was ultimately disappointed. It’s clear that John Carter had a lot of ambition and there are elements to like, like the Tharks, Dejah, and some of the less cumbersome mythology, but the film is weighed down by its many flaws.
A few months ago there was some talk of an animated tv show set in the world of Pixar’s Cars but focusing instead on the life of aircraft. Looks like that rumor was almost true. It’s not a TV show, but instead a direct-to-DVD and… Read More »Disney to release ‘Planes’ Direct to DVD in 2013