Dumbo: Special Edition Blu-ray and DVD Discussion

[Heil Donald Duck]

Just got my UK Dumbo now and all I can say is:

What a terrible menu system!

It's slow, unclear, counter intuitive to navigate. Do disc producers actually run tests to see how annoying and crappy they can make some of these Blu-ray menus?

I don't know why they can't just stick to the 3 column layout used by the majority of Disney Blu-rays. It clear, simple and consistent, unlike this mess.

I agree, buts this makes me wonder if someone should be fired.

And by the way I just checked the original print (of How to play football) that I found on the web and the reissue print on the WDT and to my surprise the original had less picture information than the DVD. Thats makes me wonder if the print i found on the web was just a erliest hometheater format of the film (i.e 16- mm film print) thus not as wide as the original negative.

[ajmrowland]

The menu does take a second to learn, but it's not that hard.

I like the menu, if only for the nice-looking Casey Jr. I can't really complain about that.

[2099net]

The menu does take a second to learn, but it's not that hard.

I like the menu, if only for the nice-looking Casey Jr. I can't really complain about that.

But is s-l-o-w, you can't see every option, let alone when you select one of the menu menu items all of the sub-menu items for that menu heading - you have to wait for the new ones to scroll into view (which moves the currently visible options out of view) and - just to repeat, its s-l-o-w. S-L-O-W.

Who cares about a dull cycled animation taking up 90% plus of the screen when the menu itself never takes up more than 10% (in fact, I'd be surprised if it was 5% of the screen)?

It's not clear, not easy to use and a majorstep backwards.

[ajmrowland]

the "dull" animation has a charming look about it. No one in their right mind will sit through it recycling itself. Also, the opening of the disc, and the cell-painted cg train looking only marginally different from its 2d version is a factor.

[GrinwithoutaKat]

If anyone wants a UK copy of this, check out Amazon's Buy One Get One Free offer for Disney.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.html ... tedisne-21

It might not last as it seems to be too good to be true, but every Blu Ray in the offer is £12, so with BOGOF, it's £6 each, and includes Toy Story and Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc, Cars, Ratatouille, Wall-E, Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Sleeping Beauty...

[Duckburger]

I have good news for the dutch members here - well the ones who care about blu-ray. The president of Disney's Benelux branch has officially said in an interview with some dutch blog-website (D-Log to be exact) that the Dumbo blu-ray will still come out later this year, he claimed that the reason the blu-ray was delayed while the dvd wasn't, was because the product was inferior to what the people at Disney's Burbank headquarters had in mind. I wasn't even aware that literally all of the decisions concerning home entertainment were made in Burbank. Kinda odd if you think about it.

Of course you can also import, but still... good news. And usually I only import the movies I want really badly, which this one isn't. It's much easier to just pick it up in stores anyway. Most of you probably don't care , but there seems to be quite a few dutch members here.

[yamiiguy]

When does the BOGOF end?

[GrinwithoutaKat]

I'm sure I saw April 19th somewhere, which would mean it's up for 4 weeks.

[ajmrowland]

Why did the Dutch of all people consider the blu-ray inferior, and no one else did? I mean, they're identical, are they not?

[Duckburger]

Why did the Dutch of all people consider the blu-ray inferior, and no one else did? I mean, they're identical, are they not?

Yeah, I'm not sure if the whole "inferior" part needs to be taken seriously, I think it had something to do with the special features or the lack of them but I'm not sure. Then again Disney in Holland apparantly doesn't make the decisions. My guess is they just don't want to admit that the Dutch market for blu-ray isn't that big yet - mainly because of very high prices. But at least it's coming later this year - now only North America needs a release.

[2099net]

Well the European/UK B&C disc already has a Dutch subtitles and soundtracks so its extremely unlikely that another region B Blu-ray will be authored and pressed (espcially when there's already at least one alternative region B disc out for France and other countries/languages).

While I'll admit on paper the disc doesn't sound that impressive, it has a decent CineExplorer (why Snow White never got one I don't know), extensive picture galleries at last (but not to the level of some other releases), a few new features including deleted scenes!, the shorts in 1080p and most of the "classic" DVD features. I can't really think of what else can be added. Considering how many DVD releases the film's had, its amazing they managed to find something new for this!

It is a shame that the old "classic" commentary has been removed, even off the DVD in the package (it includes a commentary, but its the CineExplore track without the PiP).

[marlan]

But is s-l-o-w, you can't see every option, let alone when you select one of the menu menu items all of the sub-menu items for that menu heading - you have to wait for the new ones to scroll into view

I just tested the menus with my BD player (Sony BDP-S350) and an HTPC. They didn't seem by any means slow. But if you have a slow model, then the menus probably move slower, too. Also the "brisk" menu music may make the menus feel slow. I prefer quiet menus. (I suppose the Scandinavian disc has similar menu structure as your copy.)

There is also "BD Live" on my disc, but no content available at the moment.

[Deco King]

Has Dumbo not come out in the US yet ? It came out on March 22nd over here in the UK , I have yet to buy my copy, but am looking forward toseeing the quality improvements wrought by Lowry Restoration Laboratories when I finally watch it!!

I really love this movie particularly the Pink Elephants/Crows and Baby Mine sequences!

[marlan]

he claimed that the reason the blu-ray was delayed while the dvd wasn't, was because the product was inferior to what the people at Disney's Burbank headquarters had in mind.

Probably that doesn't, then, refer to the framing because the new DVD and Blu-ray are identical in this respect.

I wasn't even aware that literally all of the decisions concerning home entertainment were made in Burbank. Kinda odd if you think about it.

For instance, all the voice casts of the foreign dubs are checked by the Disney HQ. There is a wonderful "multi-language reel" on The Hunchback of Notre Dame DVD which demonstrates the similarities of the different casts.

[ajmrowland]

Deco King, the delay was announced two days after the initially announced Feb. 2nd release date. Some of us caved and imported from Mexico.

The question is, why would the delay only happen in two countries, and only the Dutch representative give a reason, Disney continues to screw the Americans by not justifying it directly from Burbank?

[Duckburger]

Deco King, the delay was announced two days after the initially announced Feb. 2nd release date. Some of us caved and imported from Mexico.

The question is, why would the delay only happen in two countries, and only the Dutch representative give a reason, Disney continues to screw the Americans by not justifying it directly from Burbank?

My guess would be, that the only reason the Dutch representative did speak out about the delay was because the dvd was put out at the same date the rest of Europe got it, yet the BD got shafted. So only the blu-ray was delayed here, which pissed people off since there was absolutely no logical reason (seeing how almost every one of those versions had Dutch audio/subs).

The US however didn't even get a dvd, and an even more half-assed reason than we got. I mean anniversary edition, puh-lease. That's BS. They screwed up... yet don't want to admit it, which I don't blame them for - no company would ever admit to something like that.

[Heil Donald Duck]

Deco King, the delay was announced two days after the initially announced Feb. 2nd release date. Some of us caved and imported from Mexico.

The question is, why would the delay only happen in two countries, and only the Dutch representative give a reason, Disney continues to screw the Americans by not justifying it directly from Burbank?

My guess would be, that the only reason the Dutch representative did speak out about the delay was because the dvd was put out at the same date the rest of Europe got it, yet the BD got shafted. So only the blu-ray was delayed here, which pissed people off since there was absolutely no logical reason (seeing how almost every one of those versions had Dutch audio/subs).

The US however didn't even get a dvd, and an even more half-assed reason than we got. I mean anniversary edition, puh-lease. That's BS. They screwed up... yet don't want to admit it, which I don't blame them for - no company would ever admit to something like that.

If anniversary then the DVD/Blu-ray shouldn'T have come out until next year in first place. Why to often we have seen anniversary set adverted two years before or after the actual anniversary.

[yamiiguy]

My guess would be, that the only reason the Dutch representative did speak out about the delay was because the dvd was put out at the same date the rest of Europe got it, yet the BD got shafted. So only the blu-ray was delayed here, which pissed people off since there was absolutely no logical reason (seeing how almost every one of those versions had Dutch audio/subs).

The US however didn't even get a dvd, and an even more half-assed reason than we got. I mean anniversary edition, puh-lease. That's BS. They screwed up... yet don't want to admit it, which I don't blame them for - no company would ever admit to something like that.

If anniversary then the DVD/Blu-ray shouldn'T have come out until next year in first place. Why to often we have seen anniversary set adverted two years before or after the actual anniversary.

If you think about it we could release the 100th anniversary edition of Snow White now. Just because it is the anniversary edition doesn't mean that it has to be released on the anniversary. Sort of how a birthday party doesn't need to be on your birthday (but it usually pretty close).

I missed out on the 2 for £12 deal it looks like, a pity I was looking forward to it.

[marlan]

Movies were always made to make sure the edges weren't really necessary.

Exactly. It's like working with a bleed area when designing a printed product.

However, the "bleed area" of an Academy aspect ratio film frame is standardized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This is how Wikipedia explains it:

"In 1932, in refining this ratio, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expanded upon this 1930 standard. The camera aperture became 22 mm by 16 mm (0.866 in by 0.630 in), and the projected image would use an aperture plate size of 0.825 by 0.600 in (21 by 15 mm), yielding an aspect ratio of 1.37:1."

Also: "All studio films shot in 35mm from 1932 to 1952 were shot in the Academy ratio." Dumbo: 1941.

Therefore, the restoration of Dumbo shoud have used the 21 mm × 15 mm area of the film frame, and mask (crop) 0.50 mm from every edge. It is obvious that this did not happen with any of the video releases, and that the AMPAS standard was not observed in the restoration process. I suspect that much more that 0.50 mm has been cropped from the original film frame edges.

This issue could easily be solved by looking at the original negative or at a theatrical print, and measuring it. All theatrical prints are identical, they are manufactured using a standard, and also all theatrical screenings are similar and will show the edges of the legendary bubble as I saw it. The projectionist cannot (and doesn't need to) change the framing, he only needs to see that the correct aperture plate is in use and that the picture is in focus.

[yamiiguy]

Just watched my rental, looked great to me.