UltimateDisney.com/DVDizzy.com Reviews: Discussion Thread

[Escapay]

Well, having finished the holiday pretzels a couple hours earlier than we planned, I was able to get home sooner, and I've been posting here and there during a few breaks from working on the TLAV1 review, leaving a couple comments on other things but oddly forgot to leave one here after reading two reviews.

Lukester, I loved the RH review, and even though it seems like a totally unnecessary double-dip, I know I still want it, lol. Also, IA with MichaeLeah about the Video/Audio section, especially the matting. It's probably more out of my freakish devotion to differences of aspect ratios than to "Hey, is missing picture good or bad?", but it was my favorite part of the review. Great job, and as usual, pink elephant time!



Aaron, instead of skipping the episode summaries for any TV series review, I actually read them thanks to your paragraphs analyzing the sixth season altogether! As I was reading them I realized that some of my absolute favorite episodes are from Season Six, like "Mrs. George Devereaux" and "There Goes The Bride" (both parts). Loved the review, and now I'll probably pick up Season Six sooner than I planned. Originally I was going to wait until Season Seven came out, then finish up my Golden Girls sets by getting seasons three, six, and seven all at once, but now I may just pick it up before Christmas. Great job, and again, more pink elephants!



Okay, now it's back to WordPad, Media Center, and Disc 2 of TLAV1.

Escapay

[Simba3]

Excellent Robin Hood review Luke! I found your opinions and insite very interesting. I agree that Robin Hood is not one of Disney's strongest films in anyway, but everyone has their favorites and I know a lot of people that adore this movie and consider it one of their most favorite. I am glad that Robin Hood was able to get an upgrade (no matter how insignificant the "upgrading" actually was.) I did not yet own this movie on DVD so I was quite pleased to pick it up and add it to my growing collection of Disney movies.

Again, excellent review, as usual!

[DisneyFreak5282]

I may get both discs, the MWE and the GC. I want to make it like a 2-disc set. One will have the fullscreen version with Ye Olden Days in color, and the other one will have the widescreen version with YOD in b&w.

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

Can't wait for the Moira Kelly interview, guess it didn't need to be a secret anymore?

And I noticed quite a lot of reviews to be coming from Mr. A Gutierrez, even an interview! Oooh, is Mr. Gutierrez becoming a moderator now or something?

Oh yeah, almost forgot, great review Lukester!

[Escapay]

And I noticed quite a lot of reviews to be coming from Mr. A Gutierrez, even an interview!

Which should have been done earlier in November, but scheduling conflicts between me and the interviewee kept getting it delayed!

Oooh, is Mr. Gutierrez becoming a moderator now or something?

You know what would happen if I were mod? I'd abuse the editing privileges and start editing any thread that had the word "slipcover" and replace it with "tree-killing DVD condom". We wouldn't want that to happen, now would we? One reason that I'll will stick with being ordinary blue instead of kickass green (and even I don't get blue, since I'm always hidden from the list!)

Escapay

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

Well, I don't think any man could ever predict this statement would get ever get written at some point in time, but, here it is right now:

"Albert Gutierrez was born to write a review of the famous Disney film about suicidal lemmings".

Great reivew Al! This really is probably your highlight review on UltimateDisney.com so far, and will be for a while, as it wonderfully entertains readers as you go into depth when critiquing Disney's latest new home video franchise, and your the first to do so, so you got an incredible opportunity and got very lucky in succeeding it!



Well okay, I have to be honest, I don't think you were the UD member that should've wrote the review for this set; "Richard Gray was born to write a review of the famous Disney film about suicidal lemmings".

[Escapay]

Well, I don't think any man could ever predict this statement would get ever get written at some point in time, but, here it is right now:

"Albert Gutirrez was born to write a review of the famous Disney film about suicidal lemmings".

And it's GutiErrez.

Great reivew Al! This really is probably your highlight review on UltimateDisney.com so far, and will be for a while, as it wonderfully entertains readers as you go into depth when critiquing Disney's latest new home video franchise, and your the first to do so, so you got an incredible opportunity and got very lucky in succeeding it!

Thanks, Justin! That really means a lot to me!

Well okay, I have to be honest, I don't think you were the UD member that should've wrote the review for this set; "Richard Gray was born to write a review of the famous Disney film about suicidal lemmings".

Aw gee, just take it away from me, why doncha!

Escapay

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

And it's GutiErrez.

What are you talking about? I know that!



Well, the funny thing is, I tried to copy and paste your last name, but then, I would lose the rest of the statement I had copied and pasted, so I simply tried to look at your name and tried to remember it.

Hey, I got the r's and z right, give me SOME credit.

Random question: How do you pronounce Gutierrez? Do you pronounce it like it's spelled gut-ier-rez?

[Escapay]

Hey, I got the r's and z right, give me SOME credit.

Random question: How do you pronounce Gutierrez? Do you pronounce it like it's spelled gut-ier-rez?

Yeah, I'll give you the r's and z, usually people forget those!

If you remember Mark Consuelos' character on Hope and Faith, his last name was Guchares, which is an extreme variant of my last name, and is slightly closer to how I pronounce my last name. Instead of Goo-char-es, though, I've always pronounced it as Gut-chair-es. There was also a character on The Young and the Restless named Raul Guittierrez, which is another variant of the last name, and was pronounced phonetically.


Escapay

[TheSequelOfDisney]

Great job on the new Legacy Set V. 1, Mr. Al (if that's all right with you). I guess I'm going to have to borrow some money from my mom so I can get it. Thanks again!

[Escapay]

Great job on the new Legacy Set V. 1, Mr. Al (if that's all right with you).

Hehe, just calling me "Escapay" is fine. Or even Escap-Al, which is how I sign off many UD related e-mails. Justin is the only one allowed to call me Mr. Gutierrez, and I call him Mr. Smith.

And thanks for reading the review! Even more thanks for considering buying it! You won't be disappointed.

Lukester, just finished up reading your Disney Dogs DVD Game review. Loved it, very informative as usual. And it took me awhile for my brain to register which movie had the last name "Coates"! I played a demo version of this game on the check disc, and while that was rather stimulating, it was disappointing that it only lasted a few questions. I don't know if I'd want to get the full version though (even with that guarantee), but the review as usual was very well-written.

And woohoo, according to the last screen cap, I get a gold medal!

for the DVD review

for a gold medal

(And to answer your e-mail question, yes, I love how TLAV1 turned out online , especially that you decided to use my "Squirrel named George" cap!)

Escapay

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

Very informational review Luke! While I still have no intention of ever buying it, I'm always thankful for the info! There was even one question in one of the screencaps I didn't know! And of course I also love and agree with the last line. That'd be something I'd pick up!



And yay for Mr. Gutierrez! He's on a roll with his reviews! <strike>Even if he had to get tortured while reviewing one of his round shineys.</strike>

Really good review! Though I still haven't seen HSM, it's a shame a DCOM is getting better DVD treatment than most of their animated films released in recent memory.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

Great job on the new HSM: RE, Mr. Albert! And yes, the villians are the best part!

Also,

Wonderful job on the new Legacy Collection, Mr. Al (again, it has so much info!). I only wish I had enough money to purchase even one of them. Sadly, I don't even have enough for the biggest blockbuster of the summer. But, it's going on my Christmas/Birthday list (Christmas and my B-Day are only 2 months apart )

[tyger81382]

It's been weeks and Gummi Bears and Rescue Rangers have gotten their reviews but where's DT? It has "Treasure of the Golden Suns" as a big selling point but the review is coming after ten different ones? Why can't we keep the cartoon series sets in closer order rather than have two new cartoon series releases and wait after a dozen reviews for DuckTales. Sorry for being impatient but I keep checking the site and the DT review STILL isn't up!!! I'm surprised nobody else has asked about it?!

[MickeyMousePal]

Relax Luke is working on the review.

[Luke]

It's been weeks and Gummi Bears and Rescue Rangers have gotten their reviews but where's DT? It has "Treasure of the Golden Suns" as a big selling point but the review is coming after ten different ones? Why can't we keep the cartoon series sets in closer order rather than have two new cartoon series releases and wait after a dozen reviews for DuckTales. Sorry for being impatient but I keep checking the site and the DT review STILL isn't up!!! I'm surprised nobody else has asked about it?!

I've merged your thread with the review feedback thread which exists for queries precisely like yours. Think about it a bit and you'll probably realize just why "DuckTales" V2 has been bumped down the "Upcoming Reviews" list. Essentially, when it wasn't done by the last week in November, I chalked it up as a loss and decided that it was more important to get to newer releases that have been given more attention by the readership (<i>Robin Hood</i>, the True-Life Adventures, <i>Pirates</i>, and <i>Narnia</i>) than falling behind on everything. There's more to say about those titles and more of a surprise factor. With "DuckTales", you know you're getting 24 episodes and no bonuses - while there's still definitely a need for commenting on the episodes and the picture/sound, there's more to say about everything else and again there's more of a demand for the other reviews. Plus, as I told you earlier, I definitely needed a break from the half-hour '80s cartoon format after doing the big "Gummi Bears" box set.

Now, I'm hoping to squeeze out "DuckTales" sometime before getting to the Treasures (which I haven't yet received), but I can't make any guarantees. There's also a contest, one or two interviews, and three reviews I plan on getting to by Thursday, when I'd like to see "DuckTales" done. What's left to do on "DuckTales" isn't that considerable but it's also not the most exciting stuff to do - taking screencaps, etc.

Thanks for your interest and for your patience. I think only so much of the blame can lie with me - I've been working on this site around the clock since the middle of November (with only a tiny break for Thanksgiving). If Disney had spread their schedule out to incorporate say, mid-June through mid-August, it would have been infinitely easier to keep on top of things.

[Timon/Pumbaa fan]

Luke, how exactly do you use to help determine the star-rating system? Just curious, as Cars had a total of 16 minutes of bonus material, unless you want to include those shorts and music videos. Dead Man's Chest, on the other had, required a whole 2nd DISC to contain the material on it. Not to mention the transfers are the same, so I don't see how you can possibly give both 4.25/5 stars for both.

Unless of course, there's that possibility where Luke actually liked Cars MORE than Dead Man's Chest and... oh let's don't be silly! Certainly that couldn't be possible.

[Escapay]

Luke, how exactly do you use to help determine the star-rating system? Just curious, as Cars had a total of 16 minutes of bonus material, unless you want to include those shorts and music videos. Dead Man's Chest, on the other had, required a whole 2nd DISC to contain the material on it. Not to mention the transfers are the same, so I don't see how you can possibly give both 4.25/5 stars for both.

Comparing a single-disc DVD rating to that of the two-disc DVD rating wouldn't be fair to either. The new Funny Factory discs ranked higher than High School Musical, despite offering far less content (an hour of 'toons vs. two discs). Also, a nearly-barebones release like The Straight Story got the same ranking as Cars and DMC because of the high merits of the movie. Ratings aren't always determined by the bonus features, it's an even balance of the reviewer's thoughts on the film (is it worthy of purchase or not for someone who's never seen it) and of the DVD presentation. While I would've loved for Chicken Little to get a higher ranking, it's understandable given the fact that not many people will like the movie (and yet they like Cars. ), despite the bonus features being pretty much the same amount in style and substance.

DMC is a well-done set (and well-done review as well, pink elephants are below...), that could have EASILY gotten five stars, but I'm sure (and I'm sure Luke's sure) that it lost the 0.75 stars for several reasons. I for one would have given it four stars, without the 0.25, mainly because the movie was slightly too long for me (honestly could have been two hours tops, not two and a half), and that I had to go out of my way just to get a bonus disc at BestBuy. While it was a nice surprise that it had the trailers, trailers should already be required on any DVD, and not a bonus bonus disc. Plus, I want deleted scenes, dammit!

- For Lukester's kickarse Pirates review.

Escapay

[Luke]

Luke, how exactly do you use to help determine the star-rating system?

As Escapay pretty much said, each disc is taken on its own merits and rated based upon both its feature presentation and its DVD presentation. As a DVD, the bonus material on <i>Dead Man's Chest</i> unquestionably puts it heads and shoulders above <i>Cars</i>. As an overall package, I think they come out even - <i>Cars</i> being the better movie. Both leave some room for improvement. In my opinion, more bonus features would probably only yield an extra quarter star for <i>Dead Man's Chest</i>, whereas a typical Pixar 2-disc set could get <i>Cars</i> higher.

Obviously, expectations have to be different for a sing-along volume and a Classic Cartoon Favorites disc from a blockbuster film. A 3½-star Platinum Edition is still going to surpass a 4-star Disney Channel Original Movie in terms of bonus features and 2-star <i>Air Buddies</i> obviously satisfies more in picture and sound than something like <i>Ichabod and Mr. Toad</i> which would merit a higher score.

So, it's not an exact science, but do know that sufficient thought go into the ratings. They'll never be a substitute for a full review, but they do give some numeric assessment, something most people seem to like.

Thanks for the elephants and kind words, Escapay.

[CJ]

It has been a while since I last commented on the reviews, but I have been reading them all. You all are doing a wonderful job writing them. I appreciate the time and effort you all put into them.

Reading the Walt Disney's Legacy Collection: True-Life Adventures, Volume 3 review reminded me of something that I have been meaning to comment on for a while now, but keep forgetting. I have always liked the movie poster images in the reviews, and I like that they are links to posters on moviegoods.com.