Cheapo Walt Disney Treasures

[Jules]

Um guys ... everyone's always commenting on the rarity of these discs.

I just bought 4 Treasures off Play.com. I got Donald Vol.1 and Silly Symphonies Vol. 1 for 7 Euros each. Don't believe me? Check out play. I then got Disney Rarities and Donald Vol. 2 from Play USA for about 22 Euros each. Still cheap if you ask me.

Oh, and I didn't get them from Playtraders.

Play.com had them in stock.

[darth_deetoo]

Yeah, these are Region 2 editions of them, and I suspect, without tins. They are not particularly rare and have been on sale for some time. The R1 versions are a different matter.

[Jules]

Yeah, these are Region 2 editions of them, and I suspect, without tins. They are not particularly rare and have been on sale for some time. The R1 versions are a different matter.

But I bought 2 of them from Play USA, hence they are the Region 1 versions.

[eggy]

Your Donald Vol.1 and Silly Symphonies Vol. 1 are region 2 versions, and do not come with the tins or the certificate or inserts. They are not rare. Though I agree they're a better option than shelling out huge amounts on ebay.

[darth_deetoo]

Didn't read your post correctly. The one's you got for 7 euro's are the R2 versions, sans tins. The one's you got for 22 euro's will be the standard R1 versions. PlayUSA does still have some of them in stock.

Donald vol 2 and Disney Rarities are only a couple of waves back.

[Jules]

I'm aware of the fact that the Region 2 Treasures have no tins and no frills, but ultimately they still have the same content, with the same remastered shorts from Region 1. AND 7 EUROS EACH IS JUST DARN GIVEAWAY!!

Anyhow, so far I've only had "Walt Disney on the Front Lines", "Mickey Mouse in Living Color Vol. 2" in Region 1, and "Mickey Mouse in Living Colour Vol. 1" in Region 2, sans tins, because I found them at a DVD rentals store, and the store keeper threw the tins away.

[PixarFan2006]

I thought for a minute that this topic would be about bootleg Disney Treasures.

[Jules]

I thought for a minute that this topic would be about bootleg Disney Treasures.

Well, now that you mention it - it certainly suggests that! Good news though. These are REAL Walt Disney Treasures REALLY REAL low price tags.

[PixarFan2006]

Too bad I don't have a Region 2 DVD player.

[Jules]

Too bad I don't have a Region 2 DVD player.

Go ahead and get one. Save a bit of money - DVD players are so cheap nowadays . Or if you have a DVD-ROM drive on your PC, you could get stuff like "AnyDVD", which gives you multi-regional functions.

[Jules]

Hey guys! I received Silly Symphonies in Region 2!

I have just one question. Do all the shorts here have the same transfer as Region 1? I couldn't help noticing that they were a little fuzzy / soft looking, and with some apparent digital distortion.

They still look pretty good, considering their age - but not as wowing as other shorts of the same age or older on my Mickey Mouse in Living Colour Vol. 1 Disc.

Flowers and Trees, Three Little Pigs and Father Noah's Ark all look great.

But others, like Babes in the Woods, or The Old Mill look either soft or unstable and have strange artifacts.

[Jules]

Hey guys! I've started watching The Chronological Donald Vol. 2 and I'm horrified with the picture quality! Were these shorts restored at all? They look just like the bonus shorts on Gold Collection discs. The Chronological Donald Vol. 1 has stunning picture quality, but these! Not only are the shorts littered with artefacts (and brightly coloured ones at that ) but on most occassions they're soft and dark. Edges also have this strange flickering quality to them and the frame wobbles.

Seriously, I do not believe these shorts were given even a mild restoration. What we have on Donald Vol. 2 are raw, unrestored shorts.

The audio is lacking aswell, as it sounds rather muffled in comparison to Donald Vol. 1. How disappointing. The UD review says the the set mostly upholds a good level of quality in the picture department. Why?

[Lars Vermundsberget]

It's quite well-known that a few cartoons Treasures from a couple of years back were somewhat lacking in terms of restoration and quality. It was discussed at length at the time.

[Jules]

It's quite well-known that a few cartoons Treasures from a couple of years back were somewhat lacking in terms of restoration and quality. It was discussed at length at the time.

Do you know of a good (old) thread here at UD which specifically discusses The Chronological Donald Vol. 2? Incidentally, I'm returning from viewing more shorts from that set. I've given up. My poor eyes are sick of seeing vividly coloured spots sweep the screen like carnival ticker tape. It's disgraceful. As I've already said, I don't believe these shorts were restored at all.

Proof?

1) Well, they just don't look restored!
2) "Lighthouse Keeping" looks better on my Pete's Dragon DVD than it does on the Walt Disney Treasures set. Convinced yet?

I am soooo not looking forward to my Disney Rarities set. A couple of weeks ago, I was dying to see it. Now I'm not sure I actually want to take it off the shelf.

[Lars Vermundsberget]

Well, Julian, you are basically "kicking in unlocked doors" here (translation of a proverb that may not exist in English). But I must admit I have difficulties finding old threads dealing specifically with the DD2 problems. They are hinted at, though, in the UD review.

As for myself, I never found the Wave 5 cartoons sets (DD2 and Rarities) to be quite as painful to my eyes as they "should have been" based on the experiences of others, but I nevertheless agreed that the sets of 2005 weren't quite up to what we'd come to expect from the Treasures.

[dvdjunkie]

Julian, could you possibly have 'bootlegged' copies of these sets. I own most all of the WDT and "Silly Symphonies" that I own doesn't have the impurities that you mentioned, nor does my "DD2". While not as sharp as the Vol 1, the Donald Duck cartoons look pretty good for their age. I am no authority on bootlegs, or 'second issues', that might be your problem.

[Jules]

Hmm ...

Well, my DD Volume 2 is certainly legit. I have the tin and the certificate of authenticity inside containing my personal copy number.

As for the Silly Symphonies, I have the Region 2 release of that Treasures set. It's housed in a normal DVD keepcase with a flapper, and has similar cover art to the Region 1 set, only the picture with the Ugly Duckling is larger, and under the "Walt Disney" of "Walt Disney Treasures" there's the design of the star that you normally see on the official "Walt Disney Home Entertainment" logo. I'm sure it's legit, as it has the hologram and all.

Maybe in Region 2 some shorts got different transfers to their Region 1 counterparts? I doubt it though.

Interestingly, my Region 2 Treasures (MM Vol.1, DD Vol. 1 and SS) all contain a number of shorts without their original title cards, but rather, with just their name on a background with notes, indicating the re-issue. In contrast, all my Region 1 Treasures show all their shorts with their original title cards.

Strange, no?

[MK Sharp]

Maybe in Region 2 some shorts got different transfers to their Region 1 counterparts? I doubt it though.

There's at least one that did - Three Little Pigs. In the R1 version, the infamous Jewish Pedlar scene uses the redone 1940s animation. In the R2/4 versions, the original 1933 animation is used.

Interestingly, my Region 2 Treasures (MM Vol.1, DD Vol. 1 and SS) all contain a number of shorts without their original title cards, but rather, with just their name on a background with notes, indicating the re-issue. In contrast, all my Region 1 Treasures show all their shorts with their original title cards.

The title cards on the R1 versions of the R2 sets you mention are the same.

For that matter, the titles on Grasshopper And The Ants and Funny Little Bunnies on SS:1 aren't original either, but that's less obvious unless you know what you're looking for.

Don't forget, also, that any short from the 1940s that doesn't have "RKO Radio Pictures" in the main titles has been fiddled with in some way. Usually the remade titles are pretty close to the originals, but there's a few examples (Symphony Hour springs to mind) that are completely different.

[Jules]

There's at least one that did - Three Little Pigs. In the R1 version, the infamous Jewish Pedlar scene uses the redone 1940s animation. In the R2/4 versions, the original 1933 animation is used.

Now it makes sense!

UD's review of SS Vol. 1 shows a screencap of the censored footage from a bonus feature (having something to do with Lennie Maltin). When I saw it, I thought "But I saw that in the short ... wasn't it censored after all?"

Thanks for clearing that up. BTW, it's sad that Region 1 didn't get the unaltered short, especially since that set would be far more collectible than its Region 2 counterpart. As I was telling Aaron a couple of days ago, it's maddening that Americans face such a problem with discs from other regions. I guess multi-regional players are hard to find in the USA and you will always have the PAL problem.

It's not really fair when you consider that where I live (Malta) multi-regional DVD players are sold like bubble gum, PAL TVs are NTSC compatible, and even if they weren't - the players can convert NTSC to PAL and vice-versa.

[Heil Donald Duck]

For me is the cartoon thats mater the most not the tins so I hopes disney re-relise the Disney Treasure with out the tins the old waves.