Disney movies on Laserdisc?

[blackcauldron85]

I don't know much about Laserdics, but eBay has a bunch of Disney films on Laserdiscs for only a few dollars, and the Laserdisc players on eBay are pretty cheap. Are these worth having? I can't find any info on the bonus features of the Disney Laserdiscs...does anyone have any knowledge about Laserdiscs and the bonus features? Thanks!!!

[dvdjunkie]

If "Song of the South" is in that bunch of LaserDiscs, don't hesitate to get them. Even if you don't have a player, that Disc alone is worth a ton of bucks right now, and there are a lot of people who don't know that.

Most of the Disney LaserDiscs had commentaries that the DVD's didn't have. Some of the extras on the LaserDiscs have never been duplicated to DVD, so there are some that have things that the DVD version doesn't have.

I'd say get them. Good investment.

[blackcauldron85]

The auctions with "Song of the South" are (obviously) going for more money than the non-SOTS films...I would have to wait until after Christmas probably to buy some (I'm just a poor college student), but, if the bonus features are worthwhile, it might be a good investment (I'm not going to sell them, so I'm not looking to make $ on them).

[Mr. Toad]

Watch out for disc rot which plagued laserdiscs.

[blackcauldron85]

I glanced over the laserdisc page on Wikipedia- how would I know if a laserdisc had rot? Would a seller on eBay say that? A lot of the laserdiscs on eBay are "very good" or "new" condition, some still wrapped.

[Lars Vermundsberget]

Someone offering a "bunch" of laserdiscs for sale together, including SotS, would probably be the only way of getting that particular title at a low price on eBay. As for Disney laserdiscs offered in general, I think it's hard to tell whether they're worth buying - as long as there is no additional info. A lot of them (or most) don't offer anything in terms of extras. But the box sets are great, and there are also extras on most of the 2-disc or CAV editions.

[blackcauldron85]

Someone offering a "bunch" of laserdiscs for sale together, including SotS, would probably be the only way of getting that particular title at a low price on eBay. As for Disney laserdiscs offered in general, I think it's hard to tell whether they're worth buying - as long as there is no additional info. A lot of them (or most) don't offer anything in terms of extras. But the box sets are great, and there are also extras on most of the 2-disc or CAV editions.

Do you know anything about the extras? I didn't know there were separate laserdiscs and box sets...and I don't know what CAV is, but I know that a copy of B&tB mentioned CAV...

is there a website like UD, but for Laserdiscs, that mention the different laserdisc releases and what's on them?

Oh, and by "bunch", I meant that there are 2 or 3 pages of Disney Laserdiscs on eBay, plus the ones on eBay Stores. Would Amazon sell laserdiscs? Some laserdiscs on eBay are sold as sets, some just by themselves.

[Lars Vermundsberget]

I don't remember particular sites with thorough info about these discs, although I guess there should be...

I've got a good collection of Disney laserdiscs myself, although I'm far away from my collection for the time being - so I know quite a few of the better ones very well.

Laserdisc basics: There were two different techniques of storing the material on the discs - the more common CLV, and CAV, that offered perfect still images, but less running time on a disc side.

[blackcauldron85]

I don't remember particular sites with thorough info about these discs, although I guess there should be...

I've got a good collection of Disney laserdiscs myself, although I'm far away from my collection for the time being - so I know quite a few of the better ones very well.

Laserdisc basics: There were two different techniques of storing the material on the discs - the more common CLV, and CAV, that offered perfect still images, but less running time on a disc side.

Do you know how different the bonus features are? For example, what made me originally ask this question was someone posted something about how the "Alice in Wonderland" laserdisc has many more deleted songs than the Masterpiece Edition DVD. So, that made me wonder what bonuses the laserdiscs have that were never ported over to the DVD releases...

[Hennie]

Maybe this helps?

http://www.lddb.com
http://www.geocities.com/disney_laserdiscs/
http://www.disneyinfo.nl/laserdiscdatabase.php

[Disneykid]

Here are scans I've found online of some of Disney's laserdisc boxed set back covers:

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Pinocchio
Cinderella
Peter Pan
Sleeping Beauty
The Little Mermaid
The Lion King
Pocahontas
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Mary Poppins
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Toy Story

The site didn't have a scan for Alice in Wonderland, but I was able to find it elsewhere. Since I can't remember where I found it, here's the rundown of its features:

* Music-and-Effects-Only Track

History
* The History of Alice in Wonderland
* Sir John Tenniel's Illustrations for the Lewis Carroll books
* An Alice Comedy: Alice's Wonderland (1923)
* A Mickey Mouse Cartoon: Thru the Mirror (1936)
* 1939 Storyboards for Unproduced Feature Version (Artwork by David Hall and Ray Jacobs)
* 1943 Storyboards for Unproduced Feature Version
* Final Sequence Breakdown
* Deleted Storyboard Concept: Alice Daydreams in the Park

Song Demos
* The Caucus Race
* I'm Late (Song Demo)
* I'm Late (Test)
* The Unbirthday Song
* "Tea Party" Dialogue
* Alice in Wonderland
* In a World of My Own (Piano Instrumental)
* In a World of My Own (Song Demo)
* Dream Caravan
* If You'll Believe in Me
* The Jabberwocky Song
* Beware the Jabberwock
* Twas Brillig (Piano Instrumental)
* The Walrus and the Carpenter Part 1 (Version #2)
* The Walrus and the Carpenter Part 2 (Version #1)
* The Walrus and the Carpenter Part 2 (Version #2)
* The Walrus and the Carpenter Part 3 (Version #1)
* Garden of Live Flowers Dialogue Sequence
* Rose Garden Scene
* How Doth the Little Crocodile
* Paul Frees Audition: Dodo Bird
* Paul Frees Audition: White Rabbit #1
* Paul Frees Audition: White Rabbit #2
* The Lion and the Unicorn
* Beyond the Laughing Sky (Song Demo)
* Beyond the Laughing Sky (Gloria Donovan Audition)
* Everything Has a Useness
* Instrumental Demo
* "Dance" Instrumental Demo
* "Entrance of the Walrus and the Carpenter" Instrumental Demo
* Alice and the Cheshire Cat
* Gavotte of the Cards
* Mock Turle Soup Song
* So They Say
* Humpty Dumpty
* Entrance of the Executioner
* When the Wind is in the East
* Braham's Lullabye Kathryn Beaumont Test
* Beautiful Soup
* The Carpenter is Sleeping
* Speak Roughly to Your Little Boy
* Will You Join the Dance
* Finale

Galleries
* Design Concepts by Mary Blair
* Design Concepts: Wonderland
* Design Concepts: Tulgey Wood
* Character Design: Alice
* Character Design: The White Rabbit
* Character Design: The Queen of Hearts
* Character Design: Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum
* Character Design: Flowers
* Character Design: The Cheshire Cat
* Character Design: The Mad Hatter
* Character Design: The Caterpillar
* Character Design: Miscellaneous Characters
* Character Design: Deleted Characters
* Main Title Designs
* Photo Gallery: Live-Action Reference Filming
* Photo Gallery: Studio Production
* Voice Talent

Publicity
* Posters
* Lobby Cards
* Press Book
* Trailers

Walt Disney TV Introductions
* Disneyland Television Show (Excerpt)
* The Wonderful World of Color (Excerpt)

Television Specials
* One Hour in Wonderland
* The Fred Waring Show (Excerpt)
* Operation Wonderland (1951 Promotional Film)

Radio Specials
* "Alice in Wonderland" BBC Radio Broadcast of July 4, 1951.
* BBC Christmas Radio Broadcast (1951)

[Escapay]

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Pinocchio
Cinderella
Peter Pan
Sleeping Beauty
The Little Mermaid
The Lion King
Pocahontas
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Mary Poppins
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Toy Story

Interesting! It's odd to see the features grid for laserdisc, especially having seen DVD grids for so long, it just looks so complex!

Looks like Pocahontas's DVD truly is a port of the laserdisc, for which I'm forever grateful.

I can see Sequel now adjusting all his Ultimate DVDs to include all these features

Escapay

[blackcauldron85]

Thanks soooo much, Hennie and Disneykid! I'll look those over and see if it's worth getting! I appreciate it!!!

[TheSequelOfDisney]

I can see Sequel now adjusting all his Ultimate DVDs to include all these features

Escapay

No, I think I'll stick with my original ideas! But thanks though!

[The Lizard King]

Most of the Disney LaserDiscs had commentaries that the DVD's didn't have.

This is NOT true. Most Disney LDs did not have a commentary track at all.

Some of the extras on the LaserDiscs have never been duplicated to DVD, so there are some that have things that the DVD version doesn't have.

This is true.

I'd say get them. Good investment.

Don't treat it like an investment at all. If you are entertained by the added content from LDs, then buy them plus a player. If the added content is no big deal to you, then pass. Nearly all LDs (Disney and otherwise) have lost value since they were released, and more then likely, they will continue to lose value as technology moves toward HD.

TLK

[The Lizard King]

I don't know much about Laserdics, but eBay has a bunch of Disney films on Laserdiscs for only a few dollars, and the Laserdisc players on eBay are pretty cheap.

If you are going to buy an LD player, buy a Pioneer CLD-D704, or if you like the "urishi" finish, an Elite CLD-79 (same internals as the D704). There are, of course, better players than the D704/79, but these players give you the "best bang for the buck."

Are these worth having? I can't find any info on the bonus features of the Disney Laserdiscs...does anyone have any knowledge about Laserdiscs and the bonus features? Thanks!!!

http://www.lddb.com/query.php
http://www.imdb.com

TLK

[blackcauldron85]

The Lizard King-
thanks for the info! And, I wouldn't get a player and laserdiscs for an investment, moneywise- I love bonus features!

I signed up with the first link you gave, and I typed in "Snow White", but the one I clicked on didn't give any bonus features info, and then I typed in "Pinocchio", and the Collector's Edition had some info. I still have to do lots of research to see if it's worth it. Thanks very much for the model numbers of players to get- that's hugely helpful, seeing as I know nothing about electronics!

Question- Do laserdiscs and laserdisc players have regions, like DVDs do?

It's funny- I've been going to IMDB for years, and I never noticed the "laserdisc details" link! Silly me!

Thanks again for your help! If I have any more questions, which I will, I'll post them here!

[Lars Vermundsberget]

Question- Do laserdiscs and laserdisc players have regions, like DVDs do?

No regions - they were invented for DVD. And no time-consuming menus or anti-functional "button-disable" functions, either. These are among the good things, IMO.

[Lars Vermundsberget]

Don't treat it like an investment at all. If you are entertained by the added content from LDs, then buy them plus a player. If the added content is no big deal to you, then pass. Nearly all LDs (Disney and otherwise) have lost value since they were released, and more then likely, they will continue to lose value as technology moves toward HD.

You have a valid point there, but most LDs have dropped so much in value that one couldn't really expect them to drop much further. SotS, on the other hand, is going to drop if it's ever released on DVD (or newer and better format).

[feedmelinguini]

...does anyone have any knowledge about Laserdiscs and the bonus features?

Most of those branded Exclusive Archive Collection would be worth your while, at least in terms of bonus features. This is especially true of the Three Caballeros/Saludos Amigos set, but less true of the earlier titles, like Mary Poppins.

-Lon