Jim Hill reveals next 18 months of Disney DVDs

[Loomis]

Ok, is anyone willing to contribute to the Loomis-Will-Be-Going-Broke-From-All-These-DVDs-So-He-Needs-Lots-of-Money-to-Buy-and-Re-Buy-All-This-Grooviness-Fund?

Anyone?

Fine, I'll get them myself. But I'm not happy

Seriously, if the SEs are worthy purchases, there are only 10 out of the 30-odd that I won't consider picking up.
Is this some kind of sickness?
Is there a cure (apart from buying them all)?
HELP!

[Paka]

Uh, Loomis? I've observed your mania for a while now, and I must ask - are you going to actually watch all these films frequently enough to warrant blowing all your money on them, or are your hoarding instincts working overtime?
I mean, I'm as much of a Disney whore as the rest of you, but it seems like you buy anything with a "Disney" label - even if it's another abominable cheapquel. Can't you pick and choose a little? O_o

Hehe. Anywho - I'm confident in Jim Hill, and I'm sure this isn't a bullshit schedule. I mean, obviously it could change - some titles could get pushed back or be cancelled altogether, but that's why they call them tenative schedules now, isn't it? LOL
I think the Platinum titles aren't included there because frankly, they don't have a solid schedule for those yet. I betcha they're still playing mix-'n-match, just like the rest of us.

I'm definitely buying Finding Nemo, Brother Bear, Lion King, Sleeping Beauty, Wartime Disney, Donald Duck, Alice in Wonderland, and Lilo & Stitch SE (finally!). I'm holding on Mary Poppins, Pocahontas, and Mickey Mouse Color v2. If they're "special" enough, then I'll get 'em. Hopefully MP will get a 2-disc set worthy of its magnum opus title.
I'm interested to see what will be on the Simba's Pride SE, though. If it has those 5 cut scenes (or even more), and some other sophisticated stuff like a commentary (maybe the filmmakers will finally be able to untangle the fubar story for us) and substantial making-ofs, I'd be impressed. I'd never buy it, of course - I loathe that "king" of cheapquels - but I'd be impressed after renting it.

Everything else - I won't even bother. I'm peeved that they're making a Mulan 2 - but maybe that live-action one will make up for its existence. And I'm still trying to cope with the fact that they're making a cheapquel to Bambi...

*must... fight... nausea........ ughhhh.......* >_<

[Porce]

01/27/04: Alice in Wonderland - Special Edition-IS THE SKY BLUE?! IS THE GRASS GREEN?!! IS JESUS THE SON OF GOD?!?! IS SADAAM INSANE?!?!! I'M BUYING THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, and I thought that I get enthusiastic about DVD announcements!

[Loomis]

Uh, Loomis? I've observed your mania for a while now, and I must ask - are you going to actually watch all these films frequently enough to warrant blowing all your money on them, or are your hoarding instincts working overtime?
I mean, I'm as much of a Disney whore as the rest of you, but it seems like you buy anything with a "Disney" label - even if it's another abominable cheapquel. Can't you pick and choose a little? O_o

Watch the DVDs? Who ever heard of such a ridiculous thing? I keep them in a vacuum sealed vault until the time comes to pass them onto those who deserve it - eBay shoppers.
In all seriousness, my hoarding instincts do go a little overboard whenever a new list comes out. I will more than likely only buy those major releases (Nemo, Brother Bear, Aladdin, Lion King, Treasures Sets) when push comes to shove.

I agree that the cheapquels do suck for the most part (I have 2 I think, but can't bring myself to buy most of them), but I will buy the Pooh related ones for sure, and the Stitch stuff. I try not to re-buy anything unless there is something extra special included (i.e. the first Bug's LIfe re-release or a 30th Anniversary Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars CD...)

Ok, so I've narrowed my list of 24 down to about 7.
Hey, that wasn't so hard...

Glad to see my mania is being observed though . Left unchecked, it could be dangerous to the general public.
Like a virus.
Or lemurs.

[2099net]

Not having seen the R1 Pocahontas transfer I have nothing to compare the R2 transfer to, but I have heard it said many times that the grain is worse than the grain on the Limited Edition Little Mermaid release. If that is the case than the PAL disc is a vast improvement. Grain is still present, but I honestly wouldn't notice it on normal viewing (I only saw it when I was looking for it after reading about the R1 transfer). The UK disc is widescreen, but not enhanced for widescreen televisions.

As for the January releases: Yes, I think these will be 2 disc releases after all - after doing some research I've found these were on the LD releases (and of course, we already know the full supplements were assembled for a 2 disc Lilo and Stitch):

Alice In Wonderland
Television special "One Hour in Wonderland"; excerpts from specials aired on the Ford Television Show and the Fred Waring Television Show; Radio Show; Preliminary designs and deleted concepts (including 2 complete storyboard presentations of eariler film treatments); The history of the original story; Theatrical trailers; Television spots; Publicity materials; characters designs.

Pocahontas
"Making of" documentary[*], deleted musical number : "If I Never Knew You" [*] - exclusive to laserdisc, running audio commentary and a one hour audio essay (by producer James Pentecost, directors Mike Gabriel and Eric Goldberg, screenplay writer Michael Giamo and composers Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz), deleted song demo : "In The Middle Of The River" - done with storyboards[*], original theatrical trailer, character designs[**], conceptual art, background on the story development and more

* Present on the UK Disc
** Part present on the UK Disc - Pocahontas Character Design Featurette

[Jake Lipson]

James - I hope you're right about Pocahontas and Alice in Wonderland being double-disc special editions; they deserve it. Of course we know the only reason they would re-release Lilo & Stitch outside of HD-DVD is because it is the two-disc version, so that's it no questions asked; but I have to wonder about Alice and Pocahontas all the same. From what I've heard there have been plenty of Disney classics that have stellar laserdiscs but haven't had all that mateerial ported over to DVD. Still, the fact that the date is identical to that for the Lilo & Stitch SE, which is obviously a two-disc version, suggests that the earlier releases that day will also be double-disc sets, perhaps part of a new line. I hope you're right!

[wicked valmont]

Im really looking foward to buying

07/29/03 Piglet's Big Movie
08/12/03 The Lizzie McGuire Movie (Haven't seen the movie but Im starting to love the series)
08/19/03 Chicago
08/26/03 Stitch! The Movie (One word STITCH!)
09/09/03 Sleeping Beauty (been looking foward to it for a long time)
10/07/03 The Lion King - Platinum Edition
11/04/03 Finding Nemo ( I know I will love this movie, PIXAR movies are just fun)
12/02/03 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Love the Disney World attraction, so I will love this movie)
12/02/03 Walt Disney Treasures, Wave 3 (Depends on what they released)
12/09/03 Lizzie TV Series (Depends on my $$$$)
(Already have these but wont mind replacing them with 2 discs collectors edition)
01/27/04 Pocahontas - Special Edition
01/27/04 Alice in Wonderland - Special Edition
01/27/04 Lilo & Stitch - Special Edition
02/13/04 Lion King 1 1/2
03/30/04 Brother Bear
04/20/04 Haunted Mansion (I also love the WDW attraction, just hope this movie is as good as the ride)
06/01/04 Pocahontas II - Special Edition (This one depends on whats gonna be included as features because I already have the Gold Collection)
08/03/04 Mickey's 3 Musketeers
08/17/04 Mary Poppins - Special Edition
08/31/04 The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride - Special Edition
09/14/04 Mulan 2 (love MULAN)
10/05/04 Aladdin - Special Edition
11/09/04 Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas


I think im gonna be broke before I buy half of these

[2099net]

03/30/04 Brother Bear

Does anyone think this is right? I hope not. According to IMDB this is the release dates for Brother Bear:

USA 7 November 2003
UK 5 December 2003
France 28 January 2004
Sweden 6 February 2004
Belgium 11 February 2004
Netherlands 12 February 2004
Germany 25 March 2004

This means some European countries will be importing the disc before it opens in their country. People on this forum know that R1 imports are common in most European countries. Countries like France even sell R1 imports in high street stores like Virgin and HMV.

Is this another move to reduce the takings of a traditional animated film? What do you guys think?

[Luke]

I think that'd be a pretty quick turnaround for Brother Bear. Might be closer to April like Treasure Planet, but then it opens in theaters earlier in the month. So it's not impossible.

But of course, things might very well change if it performs above or below expectations.

[philipp616]

03/30/04 Brother Bear

Germany 25 March 2004

I hate Disney Germany so much... Finding nemo opens here in Germany in December an Brother Bear in March... Its a shame.

[Loomis]

Who knows when Australia will be getting the film here.
The release date for Finding Nemo does not seem to be until late August (!!!), and that is one I am really looking forward to.
It is strange becaue there are school holidays before then (not to mention my uni break!), and they are not releasing it June/July here.

This means that Brother Bear could be ANY time. However, given the history of US November releases, we should get the new Disney film on Boxing Day (day after Xmas, 26th Dec) , as we did with Treasure Planet.
Of course, I will be watching The Return of the King that day...

But it is frustrating. Although we are not quite as late as Germany (as philipp616 pointed out), it is still frustrating not knowing exactly when half of these films come out or even why there is a release delay.

If the sucky new Matrix film can be released globally on the same day, why can't Disney do the same*.
Bah!



*Any logical financial or logistical reasons will fall on deaf ears. Loomis is in rant mode, and has thus waived any form of logic or reason in lieu of a soapbox to stand on.

[Matty-Mouse]

UK 5 December 2003

Hooray we only have to wait a month to see "Brother Bear", we had to wait 3 months before we saw "Treasure Planet". I feel sorry for you German's having to wait so long

[philipp616]

I think I will buy the R1 DVDs... like I always do .. I don't need german Sound. anyway.. the german Disney DVDs are often very bad compared to the R1 oder the UK Discs... awful coverart, only 1 Disc Versions of Snow White, tarzan, Fantasia, New Groove, a few fims are cut and the discs are too expensive

[Luke]

Really strange that they'd put little Tarzan on the cover, since he's probably only a young boy in the movie for about 20 minutes.

[philipp616]

Really strange that they'd put little Tarzan on the cover, since he's probably only a young boy in the movie for about 20 minutes.

i think the german covers are even more for 'little kids' than the US Covers

The german titels of the films are also very much for kids under the age if ten I would say . Many of them features the names of the main characters...

The Rescuers - Bernard und Bianca
The Fox and the Hound - Cap und Capper
The sword in the stone - Merlin und Mim
The great Mouse detective - Basil der große Mäusedetektiv
The black cauldron - Taran und der Zauberkessel
The little mermaid - Arielle die Meerjungfrau

[Eeyore]

I'm a bit more picky (read as cheap), so I'll only be getting:

Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Tentative release schedule

September 2003
09/09/03 Sleeping Beauty Most beautiful Disney film ever.

October 2003
10/07/03 The Lion King - Platinum Edition Best Disney film ever. Don't talk to me about BatB.

November 2003
11/04/03 Finding Nemo Looks great. Pixar has a 100% great film release history, not expecting that to change now.

December 2003
12/02/03 Walt Disney Treasures, Wave 3 I have four, will likely add some more.

January 2004
01/27/04 Pocahontas - Special Edition Great film, great songs.
01/27/04 Alice in Wonderland - Special Edition Has never done much for me.
01/27/04 Lilo & Stitch - Special Edition I enjoyed this, only saw it the once. Refused to buy the stripped down DVD.

October 2004
10/05/04 Aladdin - Special Edition Any chance the original lyrics show up? Flat and immense, bah. I spit upon those lyrics.

[Disneykid]

I'm confused. You say Alice didn't do much for you, yet you plan to buy the SE? Is it only because you want the definitive DVD in your collection or were you referring to the original DVD not doing much for you?

[Eeyore]

Would you believe I'm the one that's confused? I forgot I was only listing ones I was planning on purchasing.