What will be the fate of the barebones Bug's Life?

[Jake Lipson]

Now that the Collector's Edition has reappeared with the more affordable $29.99 list price, what will happen to the various other versions? Other studios (most notably Sony/Colombia TriStar) have certian titles that they keep reissuing over and over and over and over with various small modifications to try and get people to double dip for no reason, and the closest Disney has ever come to being a studio like that is their "Bug's Life" with their releases of A Bug's Life, but I think that pattern has finally been put to rest.

The <a href=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... ance&s=dvd target=blank>original April 1999 release</a> with five different covers (Flik, Dot, Francis, Himlich, and Hopper) is long out of print and will not reappear; the Gold Collection version (which was reissued as a part of the <a href=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... ance&s=dvd targety=blank>now-out-of-print Pixar 3-pack</a>) is a straight reissue of that edition. In the weeks following the demise of the Gold Collection staple, Disney reportedly took that edition out of print and replaced it immidately with an identical edition minus the Gold Collection labeling. In any case, that version is currently shown as <a href=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... 65-7365638 target=blank>out of stock on Amazon</a> and has been for about a month or so thaat I know of. Now, that could just be due to them selling out, but it's more likely that it has been taken out of print, too.

There are 3 ways I can see Disney going with the Bug's Life releases.

1) The single-disc edition will remain in print alongside the Collector's Edition at the same retail price. UNLIKELY.

2) The single-disc edition will remain in print alongside the Collector's Edition but will recieve a huge price drop (possibly as a part of next year's Movie Showcase lineup) to $19.99, $14.99, or maybe even $9.99. POSSIBLE.

3) The single-disc edition will be taken out of print and slowly will disappear from stores. The revised Collector's Edition will become the mass-marketed, widey-owned Bug's Life DVD and we won't see another facelift for the movie until we get to HD-DVD. (However, once Finding Nemo is no longer a major new release they might remove the Fishy Facts, or more likely just remove the Nemo promotional sticker from the cardboard box cover for later printings.) PROBABLE.

What do you think wil happen to the single-disc Bug's Life DVD? I have the new Collector's Edition so it's of little concern to me, but it's a topic worth pondering for a few minutes if you're bored.

[Papa Bear]

Did the new collectors edition come with a $5.00 rebate for previous owners of the other editions???

[Luke]

The single disc will probably go out-of-print. By the way, the different covers were only for the VHS, not for the original DVD I believe.

[Jake Lipson]

Did the new collectors edition come with a $5.00 rebate for previous owners of the other editions???

Unfortunately no. The only thing that came in my copy was a single-page insert, one side was the chapter listing and tech specs and the other was a list (not a guide to a la MI, just a list) of the special features.

By the way, the different covers were only for the VHS, not for the original DVD I believe.

Oh. I guess that explains why I can only find the Flik cover for the original DVD online.

[Porce]

Actually, this new disc isn't very mass-marketed, from what I've seen. Ive seen it barely anyway except Costco, where I got it for $18.99.

Did I mention that I HATE HATE HATE the packaging? A box? I'm tired of the boxes, they are a waste of paper. (At least the box is not as bad as the one which came with Roger Rabbit. This one is less breakable and the DVD actually fits inside the box.) Also, like Monsters, Inc., this collector's edition is housed in a 1/2-inch thick case. As soon as I opened mine the little plastic thingie holding Disc 1 broke off. The previous edition was 1 inch thick, why did they need to mess it up this time?

And the insert... It is not like a regular CE. No notes from directors or producers, no navigational overview... Just a regular boring insert.

The Finding Nemo thing can be seen on TV and adds nothing to this Collection. Wouldn't that stuff be on the Finding Nemo DVD, not this one?

[Porce]

Did the new collectors edition come with a $5.00 rebate for previous owners of the other editions???

Why would you re-buy? The previous one is actually better--better packaging. The only difference content-wise is a game and a promotion for Finding Nemo, which are completely useless and do not make this edition any better.

[Bella Notte]

The change in the packaging does not surprise me considering the lower price of the new CE.

I don't think that many people who own the original CE would re-buy, but I have the first barebones edition of A Bug's Life and I am debating on whether I want to buy the new CE, so a $5 rebate would have been a great incentive.

[The Lizard King]

Why would you re-buy? The previous one is actually better--better packaging. The only difference content-wise is a game and a promotion for Finding Nemo, which are completely useless and do not make this edition any better.

It is my understanding that the new 2-disc version corrects a defective frame from the original CE. The bad frame in the original CE is supposedly in chapter 23, about 1:02:54 (the part where the ants were piling up food. It's just before Princess Atta says, "That's it? But there's just gotta be more food on the island!"). The bad frame is supposed to have a thick, horizontal band of tiny black spots. My CE copy is in storage at the moment, so I cannot confirm whether this defect is actually on the original CE, or not.

Anyone? Luke?

If anyone bought the new 2-disc version, could you please see if any frames around the point in the film described above have this putative defect? Thanks in advance.

TLK

[Jack]

The change in the packaging does not surprise me considering the lower price of the new CE.

I don't think that many people who own the original CE would re-buy, but I have the first barebones edition of A Bug's Life and I am debating on whether I want to buy the new CE, so a $5 rebate would have been a great incentive.

I highly recommend getting the CE. It's got so many great SFs, its worth a double-dip, even without a $5 rebate.

[Jake Lipson]

I have the first barebones edition of A Bug's Life and I am debating on whether I want to buy the new CE

In a word: YES! I upgraded to the new Collector's Edition from my original 1999 Dot VHS earlier this week. I've only seen a sample of the supplimental material but this is easily one of the most incridible discs in the history of the format. Literally every single step in the process of making the movie is covered somewhere on the disc, from the original story pitch to Disney all the way through recomposing the entire movie for a 1.33:1 video version (and literally everything in between.) The CE blows any other version away, period. It must be owned, and now that it has an affrodable $29.99 list price, you have no excuse if you truly enjoy the film. The extras as a whole truly deepen your appriciation for the movie itself, and the transfer is 16x9 anamorphic (which the barebones versions are not.)

I really can't reccomend this disc enough.

The Lizard King - I watched the 2.35:1 OAR version on the new CE when I got it Wednesday night and didn't detect this defect. Then again, I wasn't looking - I'll check for you the next time I watch and report back if I can.

[The Lizard King]

The Lizard King - I watched the 2.35:1 OAR version on the new CE when I got it Wednesday night and didn't detect this defect. Then again, I wasn't looking - I'll check for you the next time I watch and report back if I can.

Thanks for checking, Jake. With only one frame being problematic in the original CE, there is no way that you could see it when run at normal speed on the newer 2-discer (sp?).

TLK

[Bella Notte]

Hi Jack and Jake,

Thanks for the recommendations, now I am always hesitant about buying dvds as soon as they are released b/c it seems like few months after you buy the original dvd a special edition comes out.

I will probably get the new Bug's Life CE. A Bug's Life is my favorite Disney/Pixar film so I'm sure the extras will be worth it. But I'll probably wait until I can get a gift card from my cashback bonus award, so I won't feel too bad about double dipping.

Carrie

[The Lizard King]

The Lizard King - I watched the 2.35:1 OAR version on the new CE when I got it Wednesday night and didn't detect this defect. Then again, I wasn't looking - I'll check for you the next time I watch and report back if I can.

Jake,

Have you been able to look at the new A Bug's Life 2-discer to try to locate the putative bad frame?

TLK

[Eeyore]

It is my understanding that the new 2-disc version corrects a defective frame from the original CE. The bad frame in the original CE is supposedly in chapter 23, about 1:02:54 (the part where the ants were piling up food. It's just before Princess Atta says, "That's it? But there's just gotta be more food on the island!"). The bad frame is supposed to have a thick, horizontal band of tiny black spots. My CE copy is in storage at the moment, so I cannot confirm whether this defect is actually on the original CE, or not.
TLK

Yup, it's on my original US version. Never noticed that before, can't see it at regular speed.