How Cinderella's 2005 Release was Restored Very Wrongly

[Disney's Divinity]

It sounds to me like they are partly considering it disappointing because they are comparing it's sales to The Lion King the previous October.

Probably. I almost wish TLK had never been made if it's going to constantly ruin things for every other Disney film for the next half a century. It already got the TLM theatrical re-release canceled. That movie...

[ProfessorRatigan]

On a restoration-related note, something's bothering me about The Rescuers, namely the backgrounds. I think it was scrubbed a bit more than it seemed like given the grain, so they may have added some grain back in to mask the discrepancies.

Yeah, I heard similar complaints around the time the blu-ray came out. I'm not familiar enough with the film to know what it's supposed to look like though. Maybe someone can do a comparison thread like this one for it?

Probably. I almost wish TLK had never been made if it's going to constantly ruin things for every other Disney film for the next half a century. It already got the TLM theatrical re-release canceled. That movie...

Amen, dude. I'm sick and tired of EVERYTHING being compared to this fucking movie. Oh, "Pocahontas, Hunchback and Hercules suck!" "Why? I happen to love them." "Well, the numbers speak for themselves!" I can't tell you how often I see this line of thinking on various discussion boards. "I don't like your movie, so I will compare it to The Lion King to prove that no one else did either." Give me a fucking break.

And now they're throwing Cinderella to the wolves because of it, too? I really never thought I'd see the day. Shit, if Cinderella's sales are disappointing, I'd hate to see what they think about The Rescuers, The Great Mouse Detective, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Mulan!

[cms382]

I still don't get their TLM3D cancelation because if anything, BatB exceeded expectations given the original movie wasn't as popular as TLK and it had already been out of the vault for over a year when it was released (and the 3D Blu-ray was already out). Almost $50 million? Were they really expecting more than that?

[Jay]

Why would they compare Cinderella to the Lion King in the first place? I agree that most of the general public just view it as a silly princess movie and nothing more. But it' Disney's fault for marketing it as such. Plus it doesn't have the historical significance of Snow White being the first or a cool villain like Sleeping Beauty. But Cinderella herself is more popular than Snow and Aurora. I guess with how much they push Cindy they figured she would sell better..

It is really annoying how everyone is constantly on TLK's dick. I can not ell you how many people say that LK changed their life and how it's the greatest animated film ever made period. It gets pretty annoying. Whenever I talk anyone around my age they always go on and on and on and on and on about it. Then I bring up any other Disney film from the era like BatB, LM, HoND, Aladdin, Hercules, Pocahontas. They do everything they can to make it seem like LK is the best and nothing will ever top it. Sometimes I just want to punch them.

[cms382]

The Lion King was the only one of the Big Four that I didn't have on VHS on a kid, so I've never really had the attachment to it that a lot of people do. The first half of the movie is amazing but it all falls apart once Timon and Pumbaa show up (not the characters' fault, it's just bad pacing), and the last act is rushed.

Disney has put itself in a corner regarding Cinderella, where they let the princess marketing overtake the artistic and historical merits of the film, which as has been pointed out, doesn't affect Snow White and Sleeping Beauty as much.
It doesn't help that they changed her hair and dress color completely.

***
I tried comparing the (included) DVD copy to the Blu-ray of The Rescuers, same transfer. The pics I've found online from the previous releases are too compressed to see what I'm looking for (something akin to Photoshop's median effect being used on the backgrounds, or, well, just a lighter version of The Aristocats' blurstoration).

[disneyftw1]

Well, I haven't spoken yet, so I'll state my view of this
1) In all honesty, despite the restoration looking different than it did in the past (VHS), it really did impress me on how an ink-and-paint film can be newly remastered to the point that it was made recently. Does it affect how it should affect its historical look? Yeah. But guys: can you just enjoy the film as it is? I think some of the users are taking this a bit too harshly. It's not like it was given the "Lucas-enhanced" treatment or anything... we shall not go there. So if my eyes say that it look great, even in HD, then it's okay by me.
2) DVD/Blu-ray sales not doing so well? ... glad I supported by buying this film's Blu-ray and the 3D copy of Brave.
And thus, I would like to blame the bad economy, instant streaming/digital copies, and pirating for the not-so-great DVD sales. Thanks, modern reality. Seriously, whatever happened to the good ol' days when all this (the restorations, the digital life, the better economy) didn't matter?

[thelittleursula]

The Lion King was the only one of the Big Four that I didn't have on VHS on a kid, so I've never really had the attachment to it that a lot of people do. The first half of the movie is amazing but it all falls apart once Timon and Pumbaa show up (not the characters' fault, it's just bad pacing), and the last act is rushed.

This so much. I think that Lion King gets a lot of attention because most of it's fanbase grew up with it and hence they have massive nostalgia. Not that the movie is awful, just over hyped. My Brother's older friend when he came in to watch the Lion King with us he got bored and walked out half way through and he loves Disney. He said that it was " annoying and slow " and that he was glad that he missed out on it.

[Marky_198]

He said that it was " annoying and slow " and that he was glad that he missed out on it.

This is really interesting.

I find the Lion King to be quite annoying and slow too. A few weeks ago I watched it again and tried to figure out why this is, because there is a lot happening in the film. I found the answer. It is because of the hundreds of slapstick jokes.
From the hyena's with their endless word-jokes and slow reactions, to Timon and Pumba with an annoying stretched joke in every sentence, which is followed by silence, and eventually a reaction from another character, either laughing or disapproving. And then there are the jokes of Zazu and the main characters. After all these hundreds of jokes there is a little silence and then another character reacts on it. That is really tiresome to watch.

I felt the same about Tangled.

Now, when I watch a film like Sleeping Beauty, I am on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. Even if there is a 15 minute scene where she just walks through the forest, peacefully, singing, and basically nothing happens, will never be as boring as The Lion King.

[thelittleursula]

^ Agree with you so much.

I think the main issue with the Lion King though that it's so much better when you're younger and not when your older. When you're younger you love the jokes and Simba being a little rebel and you find the death of Mufasa sad and also really pushing the envelope. " Wow a death on a cartoon " ! "And Mum didn't get paranoid about it and let me watch " ! " So Edgy " !

Then the silliness of Timon and Pumbaa and then Adult Simba being a rebel again and defeating Scar. While movies like Sleeping Beauty can last for a lifetime and feel special no matter how old you get. In fact some Disney movies feel better as a adult hence why I loathe it so much when people call Disney movies " Kids only "

I hated Pinocchio growing up, but now I love it because it feels like a more realistic fairy tale. The villains get away with what they do, good people get punished, the kids turned into Donkey's don't get saved at all and Pinocchio feels like a real kid despite being puppet for most of the movie and he's not some super action Hero that saves the day. It doesn't feel childish like the TLK does.

Is TLK a bad movie ? No. But it is overrated by it's fanbase ? Hell yes.

I loved it when Doug did Disneycember and he thought that the Lion King was pretty flawed. Of course the fans hissed at him like a angry cat getting tossed into a bath but you know...


Yeah Tangled does seem to be suffering the same problems. I hated Rapunzel's late 90's " Omg this is so totally awesome, like totally " ! " Best Day ever " ! Speak.

[Marky_198]

In fact some Disney movies feel better as a adult hence why I loathe it so much when people call Disney movies " Kids only ".

Absolutely! I think that some films, like Bambi, Sleeping Beauty and The Hunchback of Notre dame are only suitable for adults and I love that! These are pieces of art. And the whole merchandise, kids thing is ruining it.

Yeah Tangled does seem to be suffering the same problems. I hated Rapunzel's late 90's " Omg this is so totally awesome, like totally " ! " Best Day ever " ! Speak.

I agree, the filmmakers fall into this stereotypes, trying to be popular kind of "mode". While the solution to a timeless film lies in other things.

[thelittleursula]

^ Sigh only if Disney could see this.

See that Disney movies are for all ages and not just for " Your little Princess or Prince ".

IMO sells of Cinderella would've been better if it didn't have that little girls only label stuck on it and Lion King would've sold tons more anyways.

[Musical Master]

The only thing I really liked about the Cinderella "restoration" was that they got the original RKO Radio Pictures logo back in it's original place.

Beauty and the Beast's restoration doesn't bother me that much and Sleeping Beauty's restoration especially the ORIGINAL widescreen format was FANTASTIC!

[MeerkatKombat]

Regarding the report that this sold below Disney's Expectation, I don't suppose it helped that here in the UK we got Cinderella: Royal Edition in 2011. Disney kind of shot themselves in the foot there as people who missed out on the Platinum probably bought this and didn't bother waiting for the Diamond. Silly Disney.
I wasn't going to get this on bluray as I'm not in love with the film (the mice REALLY jar me and ruin the film in my opinion. Gus may be one of the worst, most infuriating animated characters ever) but got it from DMR so at least I didn't pay for it.

[my chicken is infected]

Ok... so I had a little surprise this Xmas. Some of you might recall I found a torrent of the UNRESTORED Cinderella, which had been sourced from the LASERDISC.

It downloaded 25%, and then it stopped. On Xmas day, it started downloading today, and finished yesterday. I burnt it onto a DVD today, and indeed, I now have the unrestored Cinderella.

First, let me say that DisneyDuster's comparisons are all 100% accurate.

Second, this transfer is DEFINITELY more faithful, and the colors make WAY more sense now, and are much more pleasing. Does not mean that it is without flaws...some shots seem a little too bright, and there is some color bleed. It could use a PROPER restoration, but it does look and feel like a movie made in 1950.

Now, this being said... does anyone know how to capture the film from the DVD and turn it into an AVI file? Or Mov? Or anything playable from a computer?

Is anyone interested in copies of this dvd?

I just grabbed that same one. Great quality transfer, and they even de-interlaced it and turned it into a progressive transfer. Only issue, and I didn't know this till I'd already burned a copy, is that they've set it to automatically crop if you're playing it on a widescreen TV. At least it did in my Blu-Ray player, my preferred player of choice. Plays properly in my TV's built-in DVD player. No matter, I can fix it in IFOEdit.

I have a similar preservation project for Beauty And The Beast, also taken from the laserdisc, and am still hoping one day that a laser rip of Fantasia will find its way online. I love the restored DVD and Blu-Rays too, but I also like the versions from analog video formats for nostalgia.

[Marce82]

Wow... how do I get a copy of that Beauty and the Beast sourced from the laserdisc???

[my chicken is infected]

I'm not sure anymore. I found it a long long time ago on a file sharing messageboard. Doing a search for torrents is turning up bupkiss. It's a great project too. Chapter stops, menu, 256 KBPS DD 2.0 audio, deinterlaced and progressive 23.976 fps, anamorphic.

[Lnds500]

I'm not sure anymore. I found it a long long time ago on a file sharing messageboard. Doing a search for torrents is turning up bupkiss. It's a great project too. Chapter stops, menu, 256 KBPS DD 2.0 audio, deinterlaced and progressive 23.976 fps, anamorphic.

Hmmmm... that would be nice. Not that I prefer it to the BD, but I'd like to have something similar for future reference.

[GreatGreg]

Hmm.. maybe it is because 2D animation is dead?

[akhenaten]

in conjunction with the release of frozen or as it is called in malaysia frozen: anna and the snow queen (anna dan permaisuri salji), disney and a theater chain are having a disney princess film festival every weekend. screening aladdin, cinderella, mulan, pocahontas, the princess and the frog and tangled. i watched aladdin and cinderella last weekend. it was a digital presentation and i think they used the same master from the blurays. as i watched cinderella, i noticed that the stepmother's eyes were yellow after she locked cinderella in the tower. has anyone else noticed this? duster can u help me on this? what was the original color? this seemed bright yellow.


on another note, it was nice seeing the audience fully captivated by film six decades old.

[Disney Duster]

I never noticed the stepmother's eyes being yellow in that scene until I saw the 2005 restoration, but the burned DVD of the laserdisc I have shows she did have yellow eyes before that restoration, meaning she probably always had those yellow eyes. They're just more notable noticeable in this restoration. The yellow eyes are meant to show her evilness and make her look scary as she performos the evil act of locking Cinderella up so she can't try on the slipper.