Beauty and the Beast: Diamond Edition (October 5th!)

[Matt]

don't know if it is posted already, but here in the netherlands the two sequels are coming on special edition as well..i dont like them but anyway, they will be out on november 10th and december 8th, so ill suppose america is going to get these as well...

There was talk of some bonus material either on the enchanted christmas or belle's magical world, however it stopped before BATB diamond edition was released and there is also no word if it's coming out.
Did the netherlands get the first special editions with the platinum edition?

[Toky]

we actually did have dvd-editions of these movies here, i believed indeed with the platinum edition, dont know if they were that special since i never bought them, but the cover of the enchanted christmas BATB was almost the same as this new one...

[toonaspie]

I was just watching BatB. Am I crazy or did I notice the grinning skull in the pupils of Gaston's eyes as he is falling to his death?

Probably not old news but I just need some confirmation if this is just an easter egg I failed to catch up on till now.

[Stats87]

I was just watching BatB. Am I crazy or did I notice the grinning skull in the pupils of Gaston's eyes as he is falling to his death?

Probably not old news but I just need some confirmation if this is just an easter egg I failed to catch up on till now.

Yeah, I never noticed it before either until it was mentioned on the BatB DVD commentary.

I blame VHS and it's comparatively poor quality.

[DisneyJedi]

dont know if it is posted already, but here in the netherlands the two sequels are coming on special edition as well..i dont like them but anyway, they will be out on november 10th and december 8th, so ill suppose america is going to get these as well...

The one on the left STILL looks weird.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

^ What, you don't like torsos growing out of the ground?

[SpringHeelJack]

It doesn't look so much like a torso growing out of the ground to me as a giant Belle peeking over a hilltop. Maybe they're channeling the "Sound of Music" Blu-ray cover art.

Also, her pose is just sort of odd. Like she's part reveling in the enchanted objects cavorting in the meadow and part like "WHAT CAN YA DO?"

[Santana]

The Enchanted Christmas was first released on barebones DVD in 1998. A special edition DVD was released in 2002 alongside the Platinum Edition. The special edition DVD featured a new music video, a set-top game, and a 10-minute behind the scenes featurette.

Belle's Magical World was also first released on barebones DVD in 1998, with a special edition also being released in 2002 alongside the Platinum Edition. The special edition DVD actually included a new segment (which added 22 minutes to the film's running time) and a set-top game.

[Cordy_Biddle]

I do have a soft spot for "The Enchanted Christmas", one of the rare direct-to-video sequels which doesn't completely dissolve into "Saturday Morning Cartoon" territory, and which does retain much of the charm of the original movie. The 2002 Special Edition is still very good.

However, no amount of money will EVER pursuade me to get "Belle's Mundane World".

[stitchje1981]

I do have a soft spot for "The Enchanted Christmas":

Personally i don't like The Enchated Christmas that much...
I'm a villain fanatic and Forte sucks, the way he's computerized, the story, everything...
The only thing I do like i Angelique, I think she' adorable but apart from that I think it's a dvd that's I'll see very rarely

[Marky_198]

Quote:
BD: What are we going to notice on Blu-ray in particular?

DH: We color corrected the red tunic because it was intended to be this apple red and in the movie it came out rusty colored. So a lot of times we were able to go back to the original intent of the movie because you have to compromise when you go to film. It looks great on film, but this gives us the option to go back to the original color palette.


Does this put an end to the color debate, or will it simply add more fuel to the fire? I can see some camps saying "Well, it's from the horse's mouth, it must be true" whilst others are saying "That's what he's saying NOW but in ten years he'll say something else for the next release!".

Now where did I put my Milk Buds?

albert

Well, obviously he's talking rubbish. And let me tell you why.

They had a lot of experience in making these animated classics. In the Little Mermaid they experimented with many different shades of red for Ariel's hair, and they were perfectly capable of getting the right shades of red they wanted for each scene. From apple red to dark red.

So now, suddenly for Gaston they were completely surprised that his tunic turned out brown on film? I don't think so.....

[rodis]

Well, obviously he's talking rubbish. And let me tell you why.

They had a lot of experience in making these animated classics. In the Little Mermaid they experimented with many different shades of red for Ariel's hair, and they were perfectly capable of getting the right shades of red they wanted for each scene. From apple red to dark red.

So now, suddenly for Gaston they were completely surprised that his tunic turned out brown on film? I don't think so.....

Good point. Even if they did encounter problems when transferring it to film, the red thing is not a good example.

[SWillie!]

Quote:
BD: What are we going to notice on Blu-ray in particular?

DH: We color corrected the red tunic because it was intended to be this apple red and in the movie it came out rusty colored. So a lot of times we were able to go back to the original intent of the movie because you have to compromise when you go to film. It looks great on film, but this gives us the option to go back to the original color palette.


Does this put an end to the color debate, or will it simply add more fuel to the fire? I can see some camps saying "Well, it's from the horse's mouth, it must be true" whilst others are saying "That's what he's saying NOW but in ten years he'll say something else for the next release!".

Now where did I put my Milk Buds?

albert

Well, obviously he's talking rubbish. And let me tell you why.

They had a lot of experience in making these animated classics. In the Little Mermaid they experimented with many different shades of red for Ariel's hair, and they were perfectly capable of getting the right shades of red they wanted for each scene. From apple red to dark red.

So now, suddenly for Gaston they were completely surprised that his tunic turned out brown on film? I don't think so.....

The Little Mermaid was the last film to use hand painted cels. Beauty and the Beast was the first to use CAPS.

It's a completely different process, and so of course there are going to be surprises along the way. Yes, even for the experienced filmmakers that they were.

[Elladorine]

The Little Mermaid was the last film to use hand painted cels. Beauty and the Beast was the first to use CAPS.

Actually the first to completely use CAPS would be The Rescuers Down Under. But yes, Beauty and the Beast was very early in the game.

It's a completely different process, and so of course there are going to be surprises along the way. Yes, even for the experienced filmmakers that they were.

Exactly! Do we have any experts here on the process of transferring a digitally produced image to film? It was an extremely new process in the early 90's, and since there was a time crunch I can definitely see getting the correct colors being an issue. Printing out accurate colors on physical media can be extremely difficult with digitally-produced art even these days.

[SWillie!]

The Little Mermaid was the last film to use hand painted cels. Beauty and the Beast was the first to use CAPS.

Actually the first to completely use CAPS would be The Rescuers Down Under. But yes, Beauty and the Beast was very early in the game.

Haha jeez. I feel bad that I always just push The Rescuers Down Under out of the way!

But anyways. You got the point.

[jpanimation]

Now that I finished everything on the Blu-ray, I have to say I found the Beauty and the Beast Diamond Edition supplements to be unsatisfying. I’ve never watched any of the Platinum Edition extras, any documentaries on the movie or read any books on the making of the movie and yet I feel like I learned nothing from the entire Beyond Beauty experience. IDK, it just felt like they left a lot out (I didn’t see David Ogden Stiers anywhere).

[Loomis]

My own humble contribution to the review canon:

http://www.dvdbits.com/reviews.asp?id=3880

Thought the disc was wonderful. I understand why some people may be underwhelmed, but there is a wealth of information in the bonus features there if you go looking for it.

Also, the real attraction for me is the superior picture and sound. On that level alone, this is a stellar release!

[Escapay]

Well, obviously he's talking rubbish. And let me tell you why.

Took you long enough, Marky.

They had a lot of experience in making these animated classics.

Yes, they do. You don't.

They have access to a vast amount of storyboards, sketches, pencil animation, CAPS files, and technology that brings it all together, be it in 1991 or 2010. They've worked extensively on these films from conception to animation to release, to revisiting them again ten years later, and again ten years later.

You spent the past 19 years watching a laserdisc. Which came from a film print. Which itself is not a true representation of the movie they were making. Re-read Hahn's first statement:

• Back then you went through all these processes of digital intermediates and cobbling prints and by the time it gets to the theater it looks a little muddy and scratchy.
  
  I think what's fun about having it on Blu-ray is you get this pristine image that looks exactly as it looked when we were sitting at these CAPS monitors seeing the movie and making it.

As others pointed out, there was a trial-and-error process for the first few CAPS films when transferring it from one media (original CAPS files) to another (physical home video).

Color timing and color correction is done on all movies, regardless if they're shot digital or 35mm. Watch this interview excerpt with director David Lynch. It's a great example of what happens in post-production:

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It's a completely different process, and so of course there are going to be surprises along the way. Yes, even for the experienced filmmakers that they were.

Exactly! Do we have any experts here on the process of transferring a digitally produced image to film?

Marky seems to think he is. I eagerly await for Disney to hire him to consult on making proper transfers of their films from laserdisc to Blu-Ray. Should be exciting!

I’ve never watched any of the Platinum Edition extras, any documentaries on the movie or read any books on the making of the movie and yet I feel like I learned nothing from the entire Beyond Beauty experience.

So without any prior knowledge on the making of the film...you already knew how they made the film? I'm confused. I can understand if it's something like "Alan Menken's told the 'Streisand it up and say aLARming' story a million times", but you think the entirety of supplements offered nothing you didn't already know?

(I didn’t see David Ogden Stiers anywhere).

I was annoyed at that too. There were several crew members I would have loved to have seen interviewed as well, but they weren't featured either. Some of it may be understandable (Chris Sanders noticeably absent), but when they've got Brenda Chapman one building away (well, one town away since Pixar is in Emeryville) directing Brave, surely they could have scheduled an hour of her time to interview her.

albert

[SpringHeelJack]

Exactly! Do we have any experts here on the process of transferring a digitally produced image to film?

Marky seems to think he is. I eagerly await for Disney to hire him to consult on making proper transfers of their films from laserdisc to Blu-Ray. Should be exciting!

I myself can hardly wait for that day and the releases it will bring...

[TheSequelOfDisney]

So, I got home today and got my copy of the Blu-ray and my mother got the DVD case by mistake (apparently she didn't see any other kind at Toys R Us). Hopefully we'll exchange it tomorrow (and that the $10 coupon transfers over) and get the Blu-ray case instead. I've waited 10 days, so I think I can handle waiting just one more day.