So my family is big on Christmas, and even though I'm 30 years old, we still make christmas lists. Typically I have no real big wants, so I usually reserve a portion of my list to Disney Blu-rays I haven't yet purchased. I'm going through what's come out and what I have (I pretty much collected and have all the Animated Classics on DVD), and even though I never wanted to, I'm double dipping on Blu-Rays, but that's depending on what movie it is, the restoration (if any), and if there's any great new bonus features. I LOVE a good behind-the-scenes/making-of/etc featurette. So without further ado, here's a list of some that I'm contemplating, but am seeking advice on whether or not they're actually worth the upgrade.
Dumbo: I have both 60th Anniversary & Big-Top Edition (a previous xmas gift). Not really a favorite film of mine, but the restoration looks good, and I know both of the dvd releases were slightly disappointing to begin with.
Bambi: I have the Platinum Edition DVD. Love the making-of, but not a huge fan of the film. Worth the blu-ray diamond upgrade?
Lady & the Tramp: I have the Platinum DVD. I do enjoy this movie, but is the blu-ray upgrade worth it?
Fox & the Hound. I have the 25th Anniversary ed. The BR restoration looks good, but A) Combo Pack BLERGH, B) Seems like there's no movie-specific bonus features (not even carrying forward from the previous DVDs). Feels like a likely pass on this?
Aristocats - I have the Gold collection DVD. The bonus features look like they might make the jump worth it? I've actually never even seen the film :X
Great Mouse Detective - I have the dvd. The bluray (which isn't noted in the review), I assume has nothing extra from the new dvd. Plus the new featurette, again, seems actually unrelated to the film. But the notes on transfer/restoration look good.
Rescuers Combo Blu Ray - I have the 2 original dvds. The 10 minute featurette on the making of seems like it's nothing special, but I don't see it included on either of the previous dvds. Feeling passy on this, especially as I can't say i've watched either of these in over a decade.
Pocahontas, I have the 10th Anniversary DVD set. I'm annoyed about it being a combo pack (could care less for DTV sequels), but probably the only blu-ray treatment the original will get, and some of the new bonus features sound pretty good.
Dinosaur - is this blu ray worth getting? I'm still on the fence about this movie randomly being added to the 'animated classics' list, and I've never seen it.
Lastly -
Alice - I had the masterpiece DVD, but cannot find it (d'oh! I think an ex took it!). So I'll be getting the blu-ray. Is there any noticeable content missing, I remember the masterpiece dvd had SO MUCH bonus content!
Thanks!
In your opinion - are these worth the upgrade to blu-ray?
Hey,
Nice posting... Im an avid fan of bonus features, so I will give you just my opinion on this. But thats what it is, just my opinion.
Dumbo: restoration is great, and new bonus are worth the upgrade, but don't throw out yr old dvd, cause the new one has a new commentary, and not the old one!
Bambi: the change in bonus features is mild. Unless you are into HD BIG TIME, I wouldnt upgrade.
Alice: DEFINITELY get the blu ray. The visual commentary alone is wortth the upgrade.
Lady: only ream improvement is that its in HD, and the audio commentary. You decide if thats worth the uipgrade.
Rescuers: the transfer isn't great, but it looks better than the dvd. Not sure its worth it.
Pocahontas: if you get the blu ray, you need to hold on to the dvd as well cause its missing most of the special features. THis upgrade is only if you are REALLY into HD.
All the others, I dont know. let someone else chime in! :)
Nice posting... Im an avid fan of bonus features, so I will give you just my opinion on this. But thats what it is, just my opinion.
Dumbo: restoration is great, and new bonus are worth the upgrade, but don't throw out yr old dvd, cause the new one has a new commentary, and not the old one!
Bambi: the change in bonus features is mild. Unless you are into HD BIG TIME, I wouldnt upgrade.
Alice: DEFINITELY get the blu ray. The visual commentary alone is wortth the upgrade.
Lady: only ream improvement is that its in HD, and the audio commentary. You decide if thats worth the uipgrade.
Rescuers: the transfer isn't great, but it looks better than the dvd. Not sure its worth it.
Pocahontas: if you get the blu ray, you need to hold on to the dvd as well cause its missing most of the special features. THis upgrade is only if you are REALLY into HD.
All the others, I dont know. let someone else chime in! :)
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Christopher_TCUIH
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As of now I've all but given up on Disney blu-ray. They've gone WAY down in quality. The restorations (for the most part) look better & more detail can be seen, but the lack of bonus features really don't warrant the $30-40 asking price IMO. If you have the coupon that's fine. Cinderella was a big waste of my life. No disc art, nothing substantially new in terms of bonus features, & the same flawed transfer.
-Dumbo: Worth it. There's a new (and vibrant) restoration, a new making-of documentary, and a new audio commentary(but you lose the old one).
-Bambi: Probably not because it used the same making-of and you said you weren't a big fan of the film.
-Lady and the Tramp: They added a commentary and nothing else really.
-Fox and the Hound: The restoration shows improvement, but this film will always (for the most part) look grainy. There's nothing new except fluff.
-AristoCats: I didn't bother with this one. As far as I read there's no making-of or audio commentary. This one might depend on how much you like this film.
-The Great Mouse Detective: Everything's the same except the film's in 1080p
-The Rescuers: Again just newly restored films. Nothing worthy unless you love the films.
-Pocahontas: Nothing new except a featurette that's not a making-of, but of a shelved project.
-Dinosaur: I don't know much about the blu-ray, but the CGI dinosaurs have already aged badly & look fake. It can't look any better in HD. The Collector's Edition is a keeper if you have it.
-Alice in Wonderland: Worth it. The transfer is great, you get a visual commentary, plus the "Reflections on Alice" featurette is a nice retrospect.
-Dumbo: Worth it. There's a new (and vibrant) restoration, a new making-of documentary, and a new audio commentary(but you lose the old one).
-Bambi: Probably not because it used the same making-of and you said you weren't a big fan of the film.
-Lady and the Tramp: They added a commentary and nothing else really.
-Fox and the Hound: The restoration shows improvement, but this film will always (for the most part) look grainy. There's nothing new except fluff.
-AristoCats: I didn't bother with this one. As far as I read there's no making-of or audio commentary. This one might depend on how much you like this film.
-The Great Mouse Detective: Everything's the same except the film's in 1080p
-The Rescuers: Again just newly restored films. Nothing worthy unless you love the films.
-Pocahontas: Nothing new except a featurette that's not a making-of, but of a shelved project.
-Dinosaur: I don't know much about the blu-ray, but the CGI dinosaurs have already aged badly & look fake. It can't look any better in HD. The Collector's Edition is a keeper if you have it.
-Alice in Wonderland: Worth it. The transfer is great, you get a visual commentary, plus the "Reflections on Alice" featurette is a nice retrospect.
Hey Monks,
Not sure what you are aiming at with that question. But there is a difference: laserdisc was never widely accepted, while I dont know a single person who doesnt have a dvd player in some form (and I know people in many countries).
Blu ray isn't as widely accepted, and is still not the norm for home video.
That being said, if I had ever owned a laserdisc player and had the collectors editions of disney movies, no, I would not discard them in favor of dvds.
I have been tempted to get the Cinderella laserdisc, even though I don't have a player....
Not sure what you are aiming at with that question. But there is a difference: laserdisc was never widely accepted, while I dont know a single person who doesnt have a dvd player in some form (and I know people in many countries).
Blu ray isn't as widely accepted, and is still not the norm for home video.
That being said, if I had ever owned a laserdisc player and had the collectors editions of disney movies, no, I would not discard them in favor of dvds.
I have been tempted to get the Cinderella laserdisc, even though I don't have a player....
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FigmentJedi
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buffalobill
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Re: In your opinion - are these worth the upgrade to blu-ray
Yes, get the Blu-ray of Dumbo! It is very beautiful on Blu-ray. However, do keep your DVD's as well. Each disc had different bonus features.Dumbo: I have both 60th Anniversary & Big-Top Edition (a previous xmas gift). Not really a favorite film of mine, but the restoration looks good, and I know both of the dvd releases were slightly disappointing to begin with.
Bambi does look great on Blu-ray as well. However, if you are not a fan of this movie I would just stick with my Platinum Edition. You will be fine doing that.Bambi: I have the Platinum Edition DVD. Love the making-of, but not a huge fan of the film. Worth the blu-ray diamond upgrade?
The transfer is really nice on Blu-ray. I would pick this one up as well and safe your DVD too.Lady & the Tramp: I have the Platinum DVD. I do enjoy this movie, but is the blu-ray upgrade worth it?
Yes, this one is def a pass! I was so upset with how grainy it was on Blu-ray. I was like, hello Disney?! lol Def a pass for TFATH transfer alone. Although if you like the sequel and want to own it, it is with this, if not just pass.Fox & the Hound. I have the 25th Anniversary ed. The BR restoration looks good, but A) Combo Pack BLERGH, B) Seems like there's no movie-specific bonus features (not even carrying forward from the previous DVDs). Feels like a likely pass on this?
Def get it. The transfer looks great on Blu-ray and the bonus features are a nice treat. I own all the releases of this as well and This one is by far the best. Still hold onto your DVD.Aristocats - I have the Gold collection DVD. The bonus features look like they might make the jump worth it? I've actually never even seen the film :X
If you do not have the last DVD release then get this, if you do own it, then yes, PASS!Great Mouse Detective - I have the dvd. The bluray (which isn't noted in the review), I assume has nothing extra from the new dvd. Plus the new featurette, again, seems actually unrelated to the film. But the notes on transfer/restoration look good.
The Rescuers transfer on blu-ray IMO is worth the buy here. It is not perfect but this best it has ever looked. TRDU is a nice added treat too. Def a get lolRescuers Combo Blu Ray - I have the 2 original dvds. The 10 minute featurette on the making of seems like it's nothing special, but I don't see it included on either of the previous dvds. Feeling passy on this, especially as I can't say i've watched either of these in over a decade.
Def a HUGE PASS! Not worth the upgrade at all. Even if you wanted to open the sequel as well lol.Pocahontas, I have the 10th Anniversary DVD set. I'm annoyed about it being a combo pack (could care less for DTV sequels), but probably the only blu-ray treatment the original will get, and some of the new bonus features sound pretty good.
If you do not own this at all, then yes, get it. If you do own it, then no pass. This is a very nice movie. Very underrated in my book.Dinosaur - is this blu ray worth getting? I'm still on the fence about this movie randomly being added to the 'animated classics' list, and I've never seen it.
Def a go getter lol. Beautiful transfer on Blu-ray and great bonus features. I own the Masterpiece Edition as well and this transfer is great. I skipped in the Special Edition DVD, I didn't see owning that own.Alice - I had the masterpiece DVD, but cannot find it (d'oh! I think an ex took it!). So I'll be getting the blu-ray. Is there any noticeable content missing, I remember the masterpiece dvd had SO MUCH bonus content!
Clearly its a matter of tase. Personally I would and have upgraded all of them...but then my reason for doing so is so that I can just drool at the art in high def!
I must say Bambi in particular (as a work of art) I feel is definately worth the upgrade if you love high def. Yes the DVD is gorgeous if you just want to watch a movie...but the blu ray (I feel) is even better. I love the fact that you can almost feel the texture in the watercolor backgrounds...If you are looking at Bambi as a work of art then it is a must...but as I say it really is a matter of taste.
I must say Bambi in particular (as a work of art) I feel is definately worth the upgrade if you love high def. Yes the DVD is gorgeous if you just want to watch a movie...but the blu ray (I feel) is even better. I love the fact that you can almost feel the texture in the watercolor backgrounds...If you are looking at Bambi as a work of art then it is a must...but as I say it really is a matter of taste.
I felt the very same way about Dinosaur (I was very prejudicial against it, despite not even watching the film). BUT I did buy it and watched it and I found that it was an enjoyable movie. HOWEVER the PQ wasn't that great. It was worse than some DVDs imo. So make sure you're not paying a premium for HD!
Pocahontas was great. I loved it in HD. I hated it in DVD lol. People complain about it because it's missing the DVD-add-on "If I Never Knew You" music sequence. I personally found the scene cringe-worthy (Mel Gibson isn't a great singer). Check it out on youtube; if it's not important to you, then the BD is a great addition to your collection, because the visuals are absolutely stunning.
Pocahontas was great. I loved it in HD. I hated it in DVD lol. People complain about it because it's missing the DVD-add-on "If I Never Knew You" music sequence. I personally found the scene cringe-worthy (Mel Gibson isn't a great singer). Check it out on youtube; if it's not important to you, then the BD is a great addition to your collection, because the visuals are absolutely stunning.
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Christopher_TCUIH
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I'm not sure about laserdiscs. I just looked on eBay & the movies seem relatively cheap. The players looked pricey. The only downside to laserdisc is that you have to take out the movie & flip it over to watch the other half. At least vhs tapes played disney flicks in one shot.
What I find unfortunate is having to own the same movie 2-3 times just to have a good platter of bonus features. I for one am tired of owning Alice in Wonderland 3 times just to get the best of both worlds. Blu-ray is obviously the best for picture quality, but as of late not extras. Ironic isn't it?
What I find unfortunate is having to own the same movie 2-3 times just to have a good platter of bonus features. I for one am tired of owning Alice in Wonderland 3 times just to get the best of both worlds. Blu-ray is obviously the best for picture quality, but as of late not extras. Ironic isn't it?
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Christopher_TCUIH
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milojthatch
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It depends. As I think you can tell, most of the Disney Blu-ray's are inferior to the Disney DVD's in the extras department. If HD is important to you, you may want to pick the title you like up and keep the DVD's if you have them.
For me, I've slowly been picking the Blu-ray's up, but I could careless about the HD. The sticking point for me is that supposedly, the Blu-ray's are more scratch resistant then DVD's, and one day I hope to have kids. So, my feeling is when they want to watch a Disney movie and I'm not home, I'll make sure the Blu-ray's are what is available.
I've been keeping the vast majority of my Disney DVD's. Literally, if it wasn't about the scratch resistance issue, I'd only get new films in Blu-ray. I feel the DVD's are the better choices. But, it really depends on you and what matters to you.
For me, I've slowly been picking the Blu-ray's up, but I could careless about the HD. The sticking point for me is that supposedly, the Blu-ray's are more scratch resistant then DVD's, and one day I hope to have kids. So, my feeling is when they want to watch a Disney movie and I'm not home, I'll make sure the Blu-ray's are what is available.
I've been keeping the vast majority of my Disney DVD's. Literally, if it wasn't about the scratch resistance issue, I'd only get new films in Blu-ray. I feel the DVD's are the better choices. But, it really depends on you and what matters to you.
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All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.
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All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.
-Walt Disney
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Christopher_TCUIH
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Both tape & laserdisc have their flaws, but unfortunately they're the only way to get Cinderella sans the bastardizing.Marce82 wrote:Lol... dont have a VCR these days... one at my parents' house, but thats very far away.
And the quality of the laserdisc is better!
It says you're from LA under your avatar, I am too & I've seen many VCR/DVD&VHS combos in various thrift stores where I've bought the Disney tapes. They're all inexpensive really. Again it all depends on how much you love certain movies. Laserdiscs can actually rot whereas tapes cannot be scratched. You gain & you lose. I could honestly live with ther blu-rays if they were $19.99, but that's not how it works with Disney.