Jack Skellington wrote:I'd give it an F, coz I didn't get it in Blu-ray and i have to wait till 2014 or more, goes to show you how Disney can be the biggest company run by jerks !!!
It would have been a nice Blu-ray release, but I don't see Disney releasing a lot of the animated classics on Blu-ray until Blu-ray sales pickup. I'm interested in seeing how they will handle the classics after Sleeping Beauty gets a Blu-ray release in 2008. I highly doubt we will see a lot of them real soon.
As far as the "line" issue with Jungle Book I haven't noticed it at all. Now that I know about it I'm sure I'll see it next time I watch the DVD.
Finally checked my copy of The Jungle Book on DVD today and unfortunately, I too could readily see the horizontal lines. I was indeed surprised how easy they were to spot. My TV is a Mitsubishi 65” Rear Projection CRT HDTV, self-calibrated using Digital Video Essentials. I checked the DVD on both my upscaling Oppo (at 1080i) and my HD-A1 (at 480p) (both connected via component video). The lines were equally visible when played from either unit.
Didn't notice the lines either, to me, looks better than ever and much more fun to watch *laughs* I'm glad Disney was able to handle Jungle Book with great care. As for the bonus feats. I noticed that Closed Captions is opitonal for all the bonus feats, now being a CC buff, I decided to watch the feats with closed captions, it was so fun... anybody else use Closed Captions??
So...the new platinum dvd has been out for quite a while now and I was wondering how's the general reaction to the picture quality and restoration? I haven't heard too much about that yet.
The new dvd hasn't been released here yet (end of the month I think), but I do have the old, limited edition from '99 or something and I noticed that the colors are way different from the latest restoration. Way different.
UPGRADE? [/i]
edit: then again, this looks awfully newish and bad hah, no? Eh...I'll be glad to have both versions, as both will probably have its ups and downs.
edit 2: Ahum...I was just watching a bit of the 99 limited edition dvd again, and I must say the colors look absolutely spot on and natural to me. It's only a pitty that the video quality isnt so sharp, but still way better than vhs. I think this is closest to the original, theatrical release.
The Jungle Book has long been one of my favorite movies. The songs, score, characters, humor, animation, and so much more combine for a fun, heartwarming adventure. It may be episodic, but that's not a problem since all of the episodes are so well done. The vulture scene in particular stands out to me since my sister and I used to act that one out all the time.
Picture and sound are just fine to my eyes and ears. I don't go looking for errors, though, so they have to be pretty glaring for me to spot. That's what I rely on this site and HTF for.
The bonus features are very much in line with the Bambi and The Little Mermaid Platinum Editions. The commentary is always lively and interesting, and the mix of live and archival remarks is handled expertly. The documentary, featurettes, and gallery are all worth a look and meet my expectations. Unfortunately, the games and updated music video met my expectations, too; they aren't worth the disc space.
I love the Platinum Edition concept, and I am happy to see these great movies come to DVD. However, from an artistic standpoint, the change from one to two a year and the decision to include the standard section names (Backstage Disney, Music and More, etc.) were not good for the line. Starting with Bambi, the Platinum Editions have only reached the level of other Disney Special Editions at best. They have felt more like "product" and less like masterpieces. I really hope that Disney will take a closer look at the first four Platinum Editions (minus The Lion King's navigation scheme) and try to match their scope and ambition.
That said, The Jungle Book Platinum Edition is an excellent DVD and worthy of your consideration.
"Mustard? Don't let's be silly!"
--Mad Hatter, Alice in Wonderland
Well having read the complaints about the 1.75:1 ratio, I decided I's wait and see and give it the ratio a chance.
After having seen it, all I can say is the framing of this dvd sucks. Original theatrical ratio or not, it looks bloody awful.
The incredibly cropped picture along with the slight overscan on my 16x9 TV meant I had to endure scenes where one of Hathi's eyes were missing and during Baloo's dance with Louie, the top half of Baloo's head was missing. And that's just to name a few.
It was at this point I switched rooms to a 4:3 TV to see if that was an improvement, then at least I'd be able to see the top and bottom of the image, and it still sucks.
Disney should have offered an open matte transfer for this and it's a good job that at least that is available on the limited issue DVD.
Looks like the limited issue will still be the one that gets watched.
Just this saturday I bought The Jungle Book Platinum Edition (or rather my dad, who paid it for me ) in the AH supermarket, with airmiles. Already saw the movie, now I have to watch the extras. And I can replace my VHS tape now.
Princess Rosie wrote:I bought it today, but the one with the SteelBook case. I love it!
These steelbook are they sold with the regular keepcased dvd? So you get both the keepcase and the steelbook in one buy? Or is this just for comparison...
Princess Rosie wrote:I bought it today, but the one with the SteelBook case. I love it!
These steelbook are they sold with the regular keepcased dvd? So you get both the keepcase and the steelbook in one buy? Or is this just for comparison...
Princess Rosie wrote:We get both keepcases in 1 buy!
But they don't both contain the DVDs, do they?
I have now watched the DVDs and I must say I prefer the 16:9 version. The framing works and makes the visual composition of the film more dynamic. True, there are a couple of tight framings, and a few shots might look weird if you stop to have a closer look, ie. if you freeze the frame. But honestly, I wouldn't have noticed them if I hadn't paid close attention to the framing.
I love the Hindi soundtrack on the UK DVD. It's weird and appropriate for the film at the same time.
My copy of the Jungle Book did not have the fold-open DVD Guide showing a paragraph on each key bonus feature and a layout of the two discs' contents with a scene selections list.
Could someone possibly post a copy of it, so I can print a copy?.. It would be very much appreciated.
I just received the Jungle Book collectors DVD gift set via amazon.co.uk. Although the book contains no texts (thats bad) the packaging looks fine and makes this platinum edition look cool in my DVD collection. My all time favourite is Cinderella Colletros Gift set...
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) in the AH supermarket, with airmiles. Already saw the movie, now I have to watch the extras. And I can replace my VHS tape now. 
