UltimateDisney.com: The Ultimate Guide to Disney DVD
JUNE 16-30, 2006: NEWS ARCHIVES
Click here for Tuesday's New Release Chart
July 1, 2006 - Now through the middle of the month, J&R Music and Computer World is offering hundreds of Disney and Buena Vista DVDs for just $5.99 a piece. From cartoon compilations to Sing Along Songs, from live action hits to 2-disc sets, the possibilities to save are endless. Plus, any orders placed provide support to UD at no extra cost to you! Click here to start saving.
June 30, 2006 - Cover art, or rather something close to it, has been added for September's DVD debut of Sing Along Songs: Happy Haunting - Party at Disneyland!.
Last February, a Buena Vista Home Entertainment representative informed us that despite what director Andrew Adamson was quoted as saying in USA Today, there were no plans for the Disney/Walden mega-hit The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe to be re-released in an extended version DVD. Now, thanks to a super-secret, reliable inside source, UD has learned that either this was not true or plans have been changed. Plans are now in place for Wardrobe to be revisited in a deluxe four-disc edition sometime soon. While details are very much in development, you can expect an extended cut of the already-substantial 143-minute fantasy, perhaps stretched over two discs, along with some all-new extras. The set could arrive as soon as this holiday season or might be held off closer to the release of sequel Prince Caspian, which is currently scheduled to reach theaters in the summer of 2008. Keep in mind that, like everything else that hasn't been announced (or even has), this information is subject to change. We'll be bringing you a variety of additional exclusive DVD scoops in July!
The same source has informed us that a DVD release is also in the works for the recently-debuted Disney Channel Original Movie Wendy Hu: Homecoming Hero starring Brenda Song of the network's DVD-bound sitcom "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody."
"Gargoyles" creator Greg Weisman has posted in his blog that no Season 2, Volume 2 DVD release is scheduled for the cult mid-'90s cartoon. The simple reason: last December's three-disc Season 2, Volume 1 DVD did not sell enough copies to make more sets worth Disney's while. As is always the case, the decision is not final, so if you've been planning to buy "Gargoyles" but have been putting it off, you may want to pick up S2V1 and 2004's Season 1 set. As Weisman bluntly puts it, "The ONLY remedy is to find a way to sell more.... SPREAD THE WORD!!!"
June 29, 2006 - With the theatrical release of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (expected to become Disney's biggest movie of the season) just one week away, we take a look ahead at this forthcoming film's in-production sequel, now titled Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and the next pairing between the studio and Jerry Bruckheimer, National Treasure 2, with updated and new preview capsules on our Coming to Theaters page.
June 27, 2006 - Today's second DVD review looks at Leroy & Stitch, the feature-length conclusion to the Disney Channel's popular "Lilo & Stitch: The Series." In it, Lilo and her three closest extraterrestrial pals get commended and go their separate ways, until the evil Dr. Hδmsterviel escapes prison and demands the creation of a red, evil version of Stitch (named Leroy) who is then countlessly cloned. The entertaining movie should delight fans of the show, as it pleased a newcomer unacquainted with the series. While the disc skimps on extras (providing only a spotty game and a never-before-aired episode), it does well in the audio and video departments. Read on...
Aaron Wallace is back again with another new DVD review! This one looks at Cow Belles, the Disney Channel Original Movie which arrives in stores today. The comedy stars teens Alyson and Amanda Michalka (known to music fans as Aly & AJ) as spoiled sisters whose father puts them to work on the family dairy farm for the summer. Far from high art, the movie suffers from a lacking script, a weak supporting cast, and other common DCOM flaws, but ends up in the middle of its class with a solid story and a surprise or two. The disc could use some improvement, with unexceptional picture and sound, just three brief bonuses, and an alternate ending that apparently replaces the broadcast conclusion. Click here for the full review.
Aaron is also giving Disney fans more to enjoy on his free weekly podcast Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Pod. This week's new episode discusses this very site, UltimateDisney.com, with Aaron discussing the various features as well as the different Disney ages in an interview with UD reviewer Renata Joy. Click here to subscribe to Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Pod, here to download this week's episode on UD, and here to visit the podcast's informative official website.
This Week's Bargains Amazon.com's Hot List (Amazon's most popular DVD deals)
Select Disney/Pixar/Buena Vista DVDs on sale for just $18.99 at DVD Empire
BestBuy.com Bargains (Support Ultimate Disney: buy online, free in-store pickup.)
 Preorder The Little Mermaid Platinum Edition and save $5 on any Disney DVD
 Preorder Lost, Desperate Housewives, or Grey's Anatomy and save $10 on Season 1
Buy  Eight Below or  Lady and the Tramp II and save $3 on any Disney DVD
 Select Disney/Pixar/Touchstone/Dimension/Miramax DVDs are 50% off ($14.99 each)
 "Home Improvement" Seasons 1-3 and ESPN box sets are just $24.99.
Final week:  Buy Meet the Orchestra and save $3 on any other Baby Einstein DVD
 Buy High School Musical, Pooh's Grand Adventure, or Little Einsteins: Team Up and save $3 on a Disney DVD (choose from over 300 titles)
June 24, 2006 - Our Summertime Screencap Challenge came to a close on Thursday and now we're happy to reveal the full screencaps, the Disney movies from which they originated, the randomly-selected winner, and the prize they chose. Click here for all of the above.
With his critique of this week's Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure reissue, Aaron Wallace brings UD to a total of 450 DVD reviews. As far as 2001's direct-to-video follow-up to Walt's 1955 CinemaScope classic goes, he points out there are two ways to look at it: as a clearly weaker film which doesn't compare to its predecessor or as an imperfect but fairly entertaining coming-of-age tale on its own merits. Alas, there is only one way to look at the new DVD, which is that it offers neither an upgrade or downgrade from the movie's original disc. While the two minor additions barely merit mentioning, nothing has been lost or impaired, leaving this one of Disney's better single-disc affairs and well worth consideration for anyone who missed the earlier disc's brief time in print. Click here to read the full review.
June 23, 2006 - Last year, Buena Vista Home Entertainment announced plans for two DVD/board game sets to reach stores on November 1, 2005: Disney's Princess Fantasy DVD Game and Disney Channel Showdown DVD Game. They were quietly delayed, but one of those two appears to have been reworked (making the "board" entirely virtual) and is now back on the schedule for this holiday season alongside a newly-announced volume. On December 5th, under the banner Disney DVD Game World, BVHE will release Disney Princess Edition and Disney Dogs Edition. Each promises abundant hours of fun for up to 4 players with multi-level boards, trivia questions, thousands of mini-games, and newly created animation. Ensuring replay value is built-in randomization and a vast fountain of material to avoid repeat. See the Disney DVD Game World press release for more information on each interactive disc.
Glory Road, the subject of our latest review, marks the 4th union of producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Walt Disney Pictures and the pair's first misstep. Road follows Remember the Titans, the producer-studio's hit debut collaboration, to a T, giving the viewer a severe case of dιjΰ vu. But where Titans succeeded, Glory falters. This tale of Texas Western College's significant path to the 1966 NCAA basketball championship does not develop compelling individuals, has its way with widely-recorded key facts, and undermines its intentions by resorting to generic formulas. Despite these faults, Glory is not outright a bad movie and its robust supplemental offerings (including two two-member commentaries, three featurettes focused on the real team and their coach, a handful of deleted scenes, and a music video-type deal) definitely add value to the package. Read on...
June 22, 2006 - Our Frequently Asked Questions page has been given a long overdue update. Check it out for answers to all kinds of Disney DVD quandaries.
June 21, 2006 - We've got a first look at the packaging and complimentary jewelry for this September's Disney Princess DVD gift set reissues. Click here to view them.
Receiving a review copy about as late as possible has barely put our Eight Below review off schedule. Check out our critique of Disney's surprising first box office hit of 2006, which melds the animal-driven adventure common for Walt's time with modern sensibilities, with hardly any complications. The DVD boasts nothing of the true story that very loosely inspired the film, but it does deliver a worthwhile lot of deleted scenes, two commentaries, and a serviceable featurette.
It's long been known that DisneyToon Studios is at work on a direct-to-video movie centered on Tinker Bell, due in stores a little over a year from now. It's also been known that in this movie, the spunky pixie would be given a voice and fairy friends, all part of efforts to advance the multi-billion dollar Disney Fairies franchise. Yesterday at the Licensing International 2006 expo in New York, it was announced that actress Brittany Murphy will be voicing Tinker Bell for the fall 2007 release, which has now been titled Tinker Bell and the Ring of Belief. Click here to discuss this controversial development and to see two pictures of Murphy's strategic unveiling.
This Week's Bargains Amazon.com's Hot List (Amazon's most popular DVD deals)
Select Disney/Pixar/Buena Vista DVDs on sale for just $18.99 at DVD Empire
BestBuy.com Bargains (Support Ultimate Disney: buy online, free in-store pickup.)
!  Buy Eight Below and get Dumbo: BTE or Lady and the Tramp II for just $9.99
Online-only:  All Disney/Buena Vista DVDs are 15% off! (choose from over 1300 titles)
Preorder The Little Mermaid Platinum Edition and save $5 on any Disney DVD
Preorder Lost, Desperate Housewives, or Grey's Anatomy and save $10 on Season 1
"Home Improvement" Seasons 1-3 and ESPN box sets are just $24.99.
Select Disney/Pixar/Touchstone/Dimension/Miramax DVDs are 50% off ($14.99 each)
Buy High School Musical, Pooh's Grand Adventure, or Little Einsteins: Team Up and save $3 on a Disney DVD (choose from over 300 titles)
Buy Meet the Orchestra and save $3 on any other Baby Einstein DVD
June 20, 2006 - A reminder: our Summer Screencap Challenge will end this Thursday night. Enter by then for your chance to win one of over 70 Disney DVDs.
June 16, 2006 - This fall, two existing Disney Princess DVDs are about to get more...special. Beginning September 19th, stores will sell Disney Princess Sing Along Songs: Volume One - Once Upon a Dream and Disney Princess Stories: Volume One - A Gift From the Heart in "collectible jewelry gift sets." While the prices will remain what they are now ($19.99 SRP, i.e. "too much"), the DVDs will offer either a bracelet or a necklace (featuring Aurora, Cinderella, and Snow White) inside the reworked packaging. The discs themselves will remain unchanged. [Disney Princess DVD List]
An official fact sheet has come for Twitches, which ever so slightly elaborates on the three previously-reported bonus features, while at the same time raising questions of whether the September 5th DVD debut of the Disney Channel's movie will be called a Bewitched or Betwitched Edition. Ponder and discuss here.
Recent Disney DVD and Movie Reviews:
Dumbo: Big Top Edition - Thorough analysis of Walt's straightforward but highly affecting masterpiece includes comprhenesive critique of video/audio and extras, with comparisons to the film's 60th Anniversary Edition. Related Report: Back on the Big Screen: Dumbo's Opening Night at El Capitan
Cars - Upon assessment of the comedy, voice cast, pacing and plotting, Pixar's seventh feature film feels "too much like a low-end rental after ten years of riding around in luxury class." Still, it boasts cutting-edge animation and the studio's fans will want to give it a fair shot all the same.
Growing Up with Winnie the Pooh: It's Playtime with Pooh - Like the line's earlier discs, this DVD compiles episodes of "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh." It holds four installments, loses their original openings and adds a couple of tot-oriented puppet shows. With spotty picture quality, one measly game, and a sub-hour running time, the beloved TV series deserves far better treatment than this.
High School Musical: Encore Edition - The Disney Channel's surprise phenomenon boasts ecclecti musical tastes and contemporary charms. The disc scores points for serving up two versions of the film plus four brief but good bonuses, but loses some for excluding a widescreen presentation and other readily-available content. Related Report: High School Musical DVD Launch Party in Hollywood
Recent Touchstone, Miramax and Buena Vista DVD Reviews:
"Power Rangers Mystic Force" Volume 1: Broken Spell - This 14th installment of the long-running boy-oriented franchise finds a quintet of small town teenagers summoned to do battle with baddies of a dark magic dimension. Unlike "S.P.D." compilations, this disc holds just a trio of episodes (the incarnation's first three) and curiously includes only one "S.P.D."/"DinoThunder" crossover episode as a bonus.
"Home Improvement" The Complete Fourth Season - The family sitcom was again a major ratings force in 1994-95, while star Tim Allen and co-star Jonathan Taylor Thomas found success in other parts of the Disney studio. Season Four introduces a number of recurring characters to be a part of the Taylors' world and though it again takes some time for the show to hit its stride, the set includes some of the show's most memorable episodes. Video and audio are solid, the price is acceptable, but again, bonus features leave plenty to be desired.
Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows - The latest installment in Lego's computer-animated, direct-to-video saga finds races of anthropomorphic Lego figures at war again. Though the audio/video should please a home theater enthusiast, the movie will only satisfy those in search of a good mind numbing.
May 2006 DVD Roundup - Capsule-sized reviews of 6 recent DVDs originating from other parts of the Disney company, this article looks at unrated extended editions of three Jerry-Bruckheimer-produced '90s blockbusters (Enemy of the State, Con Air, Crimson Tide), the Miramax/BBC aquatic documentary Deep Blue, and two independent films (Everything You Want and Shadows in the Sun) that ended up debuting on ABC Family.
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