UltimateDisney.com: The Ultimate Guide to Disney DVD
FEBRUARY 1-14, 2005: NEWS ARCHIVES
February 14, 2005 - Disney has issued a formal announcement of Tarzan II, their next direct-to-video follow-up which will be presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen with dual Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 tracks. Bonus features will include pop-up "Matter-of-Facts", a jungle guide, the "Gorilla Grumble" game, a music video and "The Legacy of Tarzan" featurette. See full details in the press release.
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Tuesday's New Releases |
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Amazon.com |
BestBuy |
eBay |
| Disney Princess Stories: Vol. 2 - Tales of Friendship (Review) |
$13.99 |
$14.99 |
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| Disney Princess Party: Volume 2 (Review) |
$13.99 |
$14.99 |
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| Disneymania in Concert |
$9.98 |
$13.99 |
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• Amazon.com: Free shipping on all orders of $25 or more. (Buy both Princess DVDs.)
• BestBuy.com: Free in-store pickup.
For many, this may just be the third week in February. But here at UltimateDisney.com, it's 2-Disc Week. That's because we will be bringing you new DVD reviews of six two-disc DVD sets. To be covered are currently-available sets (Dinosaur: Collector's Edition, Who Framed Roger Rabbit: Vista Series), exciting new releases (Disney's Studio Ghibli wave Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Porco Rosso, and The Cat Returns) and a little thing called Bambi: Platinum Edition! Now we can't actually guarantee that all the reviews will be ready by the end of the week. But we'll certainly try our best to deliver the in-depth, screencap-laden reviews you've come to expect!
February 13, 2005 - Jack Seiley has thoroughly reviewed Pooh's Heffalump Movie, the new Hundred Acre Wood gang film which is now in theaters and "offers a delightful time" for Pooh fans.
Disney has opened up an official website for The Pacifier, their PG-rated comedy which stars Vin Diesel as a Navy SEAL assigned to protect a suburban family of five kids. Currently, it offers photos, wallpapers, a synopsis, the long-available trailer, and last Sunday's Super Bowl commercial for the film, which opens in theaters in three weeks. You can read our thoughts on The Pacifier here.
Tomorrow will see the latest issue of our free semi-weekly newsletter. To subscribe and have the latest and most important Disney DVD news delivered to your e-mail account, send a blank message to UltimateDisney-subscribe@topica.com. Subscribers gain access to all archived issues, as well.
February 12, 2005 - Our second and final review of Tuesday's new Disney Princess DVDs is now posted: Disney Princess Party: Volume Two delivers one good episode, one weak story, and seven games which mostly provide some inspired but brief diversion. There's certainly more to it than its Stories counterpart and the DVD at least makes for decent playdate entertainment or a nice supplement to a party.
On our forum, 'dizfan' reports that Dave Smith, founder of the Walt Disney Archives and author of Disney A to Z, revealed last night at a Disneyland Q & A that this December's fifth wave of Walt Disney Treasures DVDs will include a volume titled Disney Heroes. 'MPeriolat' echoes the mention and indicates that this set will contain some of "Swamp Fox", Disney's late '50s mini-series which starred Leslie Nielsen as Revolutionary War figure Francis Marion.
Disc art has just been added for March 22nd's four new Disney DVDs: Disney Learning Adventures Mickey and the Beanstalk and Mickey Around the World in 80 Days, plus JoJo's Circus volumes Animal A Go-Go and Take a Bow!.
Ice Princess has received a "G" rating from the MPAA, making it the third theatrical Disney film of 2005 to carry that all-audiences label.
February 11, 2005 - Pooh's Heffalump Movie opens in theaters today as the first Pooh film there in...less than two years, actually. While it's not expected to put up a fight for the top spot against the Will Smith romantic comedy Hitch, Heffalump has received mostly favorable reviews with the words "simple", "harmless", and "sweet" being thrown around in good ways. For more information on Pooh's Heffalump Movie, visit our Coming to Theaters page. For information on all that is Pooh, visit the newly-updated Ultimate Guide to Pooh. And in the spirit of Pooh, Jack Seiley has a new DVD review of the gang's last big-screen outing, Piglet's Big Movie (2003).
February 10, 2005 - Today we get our first look at "Jack Jack Attack", a new Pixar short film premiering on next month's DVD release of The Incredibles:
Meanwhile, Variety (registration required) reports that at a fourth quarter investor conference, Pixar CEO Steve Jobs said repeatedly that the powerhouse CGI animation studio "likely will not forge a new relationship with Disney beyond our current deal." In response to Disney CEO Michael Eisner's comment that the animation of humans in Pixar films is "pretty pathetic", Jobs offered some wry words: "I know our films don't stack up against Atlantis or The Emperor's New Groove or Treasure Planet."
Pixar will hold off deciding upon a distribution partner until after the anticipated executive shift at Disney, Jobs indicated. We can expect an announcement later this year, when Pixar also reveals details on their first post-Disney film which has begun production. Jobs also explained Pixar's reluctance to get involved with Disney's developing sequels such as Toy Story 3. For now, it looks like Cars, hitting theaters June 2006, may well be the last Disney/Pixar collaboration.
February 9, 2005 - Disney's website has released an enticing preview for Pocahontas: 10th Anniversary Edition, which you can view here. Thanks to 'Joe Carioca' for pointing this out on the forum.
We have two new DVD reviews for your enjoyment today, which cover Disney's first live action musical Babes in Toyland and Miramax's 2004 Hollywood remake Shall We Dance? starring Richard Gere.
Disney's official website for the upcoming Bambi DVD is now almost entirely active. It includes a couple of behind-the-scenes clips on the Disney of 1942 and the film's music, plus screensavers, buddy icons, wallpapers and printables. Thanks to Howard for the news.
The Lion King 1½ took home five trophies at last night's DVD Exclusive Awards in Los Angeles. The direct-to-video "in-between-quel" earned the award for Best Animated DVD Movie Premiere, as well as Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Editing honors for a DVD premiere. One of the film's lead personalities, sarcastic meerkat Timon (voiced by Nathan Lane, animated by Alexis Stadermann), was commended as Best Animated Character Performance. In other categories for DVD premiere movies, Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers received Best Original Song ("All For One and One For All"), while Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas accepted the prize for Best Score. Disney's twelve wins altogether was more than twice of any other distributor. Click here for a full list of winners.
February 8, 2005 - Some Disney DVDs due in the late spring are now up for preorder at Amazon.com with a 30% discount. Tarzan II, the direct-to-video follow-up which focuses on Tarzan's youth in the wild, arrives on June 14th. Coming on May 31st, are more low-priced compilations of animated shorts, as new Classic Cartoon Favorites Volume 5 - Extreme Sports Fun, Volume 6 - Extreme Music Fun, and Volume 7 - Extreme Adventure Fun are released. Meanwhile, our detailed Upcoming Release Schedule has been updated with everything we know.
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POOHsday's New Releases |
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Amazon.com |
BestBuy |
eBay |
Growing Up with Winnie the Pooh: Vol. 1
A Great Day of Discovery (Review) |
$13.99 |
$14.99 |
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Growing Up with Winnie the Pooh: Vol. 2
Friends Forever (Review) |
$13.99 |
$14.99 |
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• Amazon.com: Free shipping on all orders of $25 or more. (Buy both Pooh DVDs.)
• On sale this week at CircuitCity.com - Mulan SE, Home on the Range,
The Lion King 1 ½, The Three Musketeers (2004) - $14.99 each.
• BestBuy.com and CircuitCity.com: Free in-store pickup.
A press release has just been posted for May 17th's Season One DVD of "Scrubs", Touchstone's half-hour sitcom/drama. Like the studio's other sitcom season sets, this will be three discs (not four, as previously stated). Unlike those, this one looks to have some bonus features of substance, including six episode audio commentaries, a retrospective documentary, a gag reel, and more.
February 7, 2005 - We have a new DVD review today, and it's of Disney Princess Stories: Volume Two - Tales of Friendship. Despite the long name and the colorful cover, this DVD is light on substance and almost entirely comprised of old material. Specifically, you get two episodes of the Aladdin and Little Mermaid TV series. You can do much better for your princesses.
Yesterday afternoon, we experienced some trouble from a "hacker" on our forum. It's all been taken care of now, but we had to restore the forum to its status on this past Saturday morning, losing 2½ days worth of posts and new members. Posts that were made in that time were mostly copied and will be reconstructed. Members who have registered in that time will have to re-register. We apologize for all the inconvenience and for the two juvenile e-mails sent out by this "hacker." Thanks for your patience, understanding, and for making our forum the wonderful community it is.
February 5, 2005 - Our latest DVD review, a thorough critique of Growing Up with Winnie the Pooh: Volume 2 - Friends Forever, explains how the fluff-stuffed bear made the transition from children's literature to American television, why the "New Adventures" series which makes up the DVD worked so well, and why this DVD line is not likely to please Pooh's most ardent fans. Check it out!
Wondering what this highly-touted bonus feature "Inside Walt's Story Meetings" on the Bambi DVD is all about? Well, we've got some stills for you which illustrate a bit how this supplement takes the place of an ordinary audio commentary. Check out the latest additions to our Bambi preview page.
February 4, 2005 - Our latest review looks at Growing Up with Winnie the Pooh: Volume 1 - A Great Day of Discovery. While it's great to have the winning "New Adventures" television series on DVD, this compilation leaves much to be desired in its presentation. A light offering of episodes and subpar picture quality make this overdue Region 1 debut disappointing.
Last month, we reported on the next wave of Walt Disney's Classic Cartoon Favorites. A third DVD ("Volume 7" in the series) titled Extreme Adventure Fun will join the previously-mentioned Extreme Sports Fun and Extreme Music Fun short collections. While we're no longer sure if these will make it out by May (a month that has quickly filled up with major releases), when they do come, suggested retail price will be just $14.99. Full contents TBA.
We've just posted the unimaginative disc art from The Golden Girls: Complete Second Season.
February 3, 2005 - The Walt Disney Company's first Investor Conference of 2005 was held this past Monday and Tuesday in Orlando. You can listen to all the activities on the Disney investors site, but we've weeded through it all to summarize the DVD and film news items of interest to site visitors right here.
Disney has opened up the official website for Herbie: Fully Loaded. As of now, the site contains wallpapers, a gallery, the previously posted "Sizzle Reel" and some production notes. For our preview of this upcoming action/comedy (in theaters this June), click here.
February 2, 2005 - Cover and disc art for the long-awaited Pocahontas: 10th Anniversary Edition (due May 3rd) appears below:
  
Disney Princess Sing-Along Songs: Volume 2, the third DVD announced as part of this month's Disney Princess Wave 2, will actually be arriving this fall as one of the two DVDs in a third wave of the pink keepcase series centered around the studio's animated heroines. Sing-Along Songs: Volume 2 will feature an "Enchanted Tea Party" theme and most likely its previously-announced specs. Joining it is Disney Princess Stories: Volume Three - Seasons of Magic, which will include tales involving Cinderella and Jasmine, among others. No release date has yet been set.
| January's Most Popular DVDs on UltimateDisney.com |
February 1, 2005 - Disney has issued a press release for National Treasure, which will come to DVD on May 3rd. Specs for this blockbuster coincide with earlier material announced by Disney, but the press release includes some additional extras, including what looks like it could even be a trailer!
There's also a new press release and box art for the second season DVD of Touchstone Television's "The Golden Girls."
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Tuesday's New Releases |
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Amazon.com: Free shipping on all orders of $25 or more. (Any 2 of this week's DVDs.)
BestBuy: Buy Shall We Dance? (2004) and save $6 on Mr. 3000 or Shall We Dance? (1997).
BestBuy.com and CircuitCity.com: Free in-store pickup.
Lilo & Stitch 2 has taken on the rhyming subtitle Stitch Has a Glitch; it is due in the fall. Screencaps from its first preview are on the forum.
2004: Year in Review:
Part 1 - Catalogue • Part 2 - Trends • Part 3 - Lists • Part 4 - Looking Ahead to 2005
Recent Disney DVD Reviews:
• Mulan II - Capable animation and a returning voice cast, but it's light, predictable, and passable at best. It'd be a lot more offensive if the original film was older or better.
• Aladdin II & III Collection - Disney's two earliest direct-to-video works are crudely animated but mildly entertaining.
• The Great Locomotive Chase - Walt's excellent Civil War adventure released without extras and disappointing video, but at least it's in Cinemascope.
Recent Touchstone and Miramax Reviews:
• Shall We Dance? - The original Japanese version finally lands on DVD with no frills.
• Mr. 3000 - A likable comedy starring Bernie Mac as a former slugger who returns to the pros. Not a home run, but a solid hit, with some good extras.
• Ellen: The Complete Season One - A&E's basic 2-disc set contains the short but good first season of what began as a typical '90s sitcom centered around four singles.
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