The Legacy Collection

[Disney's Divinity]

I bought Aladdin and Hunchback this morning using the library (re-Capcha's, whatever, won't work on the home computer). It was too high, but even the digital version for both is around $20, so... Might as well get a pretty album to go with it all. Especially since they're Menken soundtracks, I have all the others in the Legacy Collection (sans Toy Story), and who knows how many more they'll be able to make of these at this rate. So I'll try not to regret the $$$ spent--that shipping charge is freakin' ridiculous. I'm glad everyone here at least was able to get it!

So the only other Menken soundtracks they haven't done are Hercules, HOTR, and Tangled. I hope they at least give us Hercules, if nothing else. It, Mulan, and Tarzan are the only (original) Renaissance films they haven't done as it is. I think I might pull the other Legacy Collections out and re-read the booklets the next few days.

[Avaitor]

In anticipation of the then-upcoming Aladdin release at D23, I've started collecting these, and I'm planning to make a space to show them off at my place soon. Besides Aladdin, I'm collecting the CDs in release order, so I already have Lion King and Mary Poppins, while Sleeping Beauty will be arriving on Monday. I'll probably order The Little Mermaid in the next week or two.

Sadly, it seems like some of these aren't in print anymore, and at least one other besides Hunchback is only available on the Emporium site, so I'll try to purchase both there at some point. But these are lovely releases!

It would be nice if we could get Snow White, Jungle Book or Hercules for their anniversaries this year, but it seems like the budget for this series has decreased and we're lucky to still get one a year.

[Disney's Divinity]

I didn't know some of the older ones had started going out-of-stock. That's a shame.

I was just thinking about it, and I feel like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has the greatest likelihood now... Aladdin was the best bet before, but now SW's the biggest name left they haven't done (leaving aside the films released in the new century--which, who knows, I would buy releases for Tangled, Frozen, TP&TF, etc.). And then of course the SW remake is coming in a year or two at the same time.

If I were to put my biggest wants in order though, it would be The Sword in the Stone > Bedknobs & Broomsticks > Hercules > Mulan > Tangled > Snow White. After those, the older Walt classics they haven't done already (Dalmatians, Pooh, Alice, Dumbo, Bambi, TJB, Pan) or some things from the dark eras like The Rescuers.

[Vlad]

I was thinking the same thing. Snow White is the only big title they haven't yet released. I was hoping they'd do it this year, since it's the 85th anniversary. But I guess they would do it when the remake comes out.

[Avaitor]

It seems like they're still releasing these on anniversary years, so Snow White would either be this year or not until 2027.

But if we're not getting a new release until next year, my bet for the next release would be either The Nightmare Before Christmas, Peter Pan, or Mulan.

[Vlad]

Beauty and the Beast and Robin Hood were not released for their anniversaries, so anything is possible.

[Disney's Divinity]

Oooh, I didn't even think of The Nightmare Before Christmas. I don't believe there's much of any score on the soundtrack, so that would be a good release. I still think Snow White has the highest likelihood since the remake is on the way. The B&tB release came a year after the remake, I believe. TNBC would be a good Halloween release one year though since TNBC has a strong fanbase and also I think they're thinking of making shorts based off the film?

[Avaitor]

Beauty and the Beast and Robin Hood were not released for their anniversaries, so anything is possible.

Oop, really? Well, I was wrong,

But yes, I hope we see Snow White soon. It would be a shame if the series retires before the one that started it all gets its release.

[Disney's Divinity]

I got the CDs today! I haven't had time to read the booklets, but skimmed through to see all of Bove's artwork. Lots of pretty images--the shot of Esmeralda with the candles in front of her from GHtO, Jafar, etc.

As I was using the Wikipedia page to write out all the track information as I was burning them onto my player, I couldn't help noticing that Hunchback's discs come out at much longer times than Aladdin--I believe 77 minutes for both the first and second discs of Hunchback, whereas Aladdin is 60 minutes on the first disc and 50 minutes on the second. I don't mind the set's flaws, but I wish they'd at least maxed out their available time limits with as much of the other material not included people have discussed here as they could fit.

[Pasta67]

Yeah, it's really strange. When we first saw the tracklist, I assumed things were so barebones because they'd simply maxed out what room they had. Having seen the actual runtimes on the Legacy Collection and learning there's approximately 40 minutes of unused disc space if you combine both CDs, I'm honestly at a loss. They didn't feel like dedicating any of that to the song demos? The work tapes? The stuff we know they have? I suppose you could give them the benefit of the doubt and argue "Well, maybe they only wanted to assemble the material that was actually completed during the scoring sessions". But even that logic doesn't work because Bruce Adler's reprise of "Arabian Nights" is missing. The only reason I'm not more upset about this is because I already own all of the out-of-print Aladdin soundtracks released thus far. But a lot of fans don't.

I also noticed a handful of typos in Menken's liner notes, which aren't a dealbreaker by any means but indicate some sloppy QC.

Anyway, I did the same thing you did, Disney's Divinity, and used this opportunity to order both Aladdin and Hunchback. Both arrived over the weekend! Hunchback arrived in great condition, but Aladdin had some dents in the packaging. Worst of all, disc #2 has what appears to be a bit of dried glue on the "DO NOT TOUCH" side, which affects playback. I contacted Disney Music Emporium for an exchange, but the soundtrack is currently out of stock so they simply refunded me. Now I get to pray for it to become available again. The 30-year wait continues...

[Vlad]

I got my Aladdin and Hunchback CDs...Hunchback is great, but Aladdin is missing one disc. They refunded me, but didn't ask for the set back. So, now, I'm waiting for it to be back in stock to order it.

[carolinakid]

My dream list:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Dumbo
Bambi
Saludos Amigos
The Three Caballeros
Make Mine Music
Song of the South
Fun and Fancy Free
Melody Time
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr Toad
Alice in Wonderland
Peter Pan
Mickey Mouse Club
101 Dalmatians
Babes in Toyland
Summer Magic
The Sword in the Stone
The Jungle Book
Walt Disney World
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Pete’s Dragon

[Disney's Divinity]

Anyway, I did the same thing you did, Disney's Divinity, and used this opportunity to order both Aladdin and Hunchback. Both arrived over the weekend! Hunchback arrived in great condition, but Aladdin had some dents in the packaging. Worst of all, disc #2 has what appears to be a bit of dried glue on the "DO NOT TOUCH" side, which affects playback. I contacted Disney Music Emporium for an exchange, but the soundtrack is currently out of stock so they simply refunded me. Now I get to pray for it to become available again. The 30-year wait continues...

Aladdin's disc #2 also had an issue for me, too, unlike the other disc (or the Hunchback discs), although nothing in comparison to what you and Sicoe had to deal with. Mine merely has a smudge at the top where I first pulled it out. I've rubbed it, but it won't go away easy. I almost wonder if it might've touched something with glue like you mentioned now, that might explain it. Sort of like CDs you buy in a store, when you peel the plastic at the top off sometimes and it leaves a stickiness behind that is a pain to scrub away. Still, thankfully my CD played fine, I would've hated to have to deal with sending it back and all, I've only ever had to do that with a package one time before, luckily enough. I hope it becomes available again for you two. I feel sure it will.

@carolinakid: I did think it would be a nice way for them to do the package films, but with the line maybe close to petering out, there were others I'd prefer first. TBH, I wish all the films could receive soundtracks this way. I was really hoping that would be the case when the line started, not simply to pick up all the soundtracks I don't have copies of and get missing score for many that I already did, but I also couldn't help thinking how neat it would be to have the whole canon lined up with similar beautiful, book-like packaging. Perhaps they could release two package films together, one on the first disc and one on the second disc, if they ever got around to doing them? I think the days of 3-4 discs (as with the Mary Poppins and Disneyland sets) is gone otherwise I'd say put all the package films in one 4 or 5 disc set.

[carolinakid]

Good ideas, Div! I dont think I have any of the package films’ soundtrack materials except for a couple compilation CDs that had the songs Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros on them. I had some CDs made on Main Street at Disneyland about 15 years ago when they had the custom made music shop. Babes in Toyland and Summer Magic but they were recordings of the songs with the original casts and not the soundtracks. I had the Darlene Gillespie and Camarata Alice in Wonderland years before Disney released the soundtrack. Lady and the Tramp and 101 Dalmatians too. No soundtrack recordings released for YEARS.

[Vlad]

I messaged the official Disney Music Emporium Facebook page, asking them about Aladdin, but it seems they do not know when it will be back in stock, so we just have to wait. I subscribed to their newsletter, just to be sure I have the info at hand.

[Farerb]

Finally got The Legacy Collection of Aladdin and now my collection is complete:


I also got this cute D23 bag:

[singerguy04]

They do look nice all together! Now I'm fighting to urge to collect them myself haha!

[D82]

Yes, nice collection, Farerb! I have The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, plus a couple other titles, but not Aladdin or The Lion King. Though I think it's good, I've never been a big fan of The Lion King's music and I already have the regular soundtrack. However, I would love to have Aladdin's physical album, but it's quite expensive to order it from the US for me. I wish it was available on Amazon internationally, like past titles. By the way, it seems it's back in stock on the Disney Music Emporium, for anyone interested.

[Vlad]

Perfect. I've ordered my copy. Fingers crossed it'll be the good one now

[Farerb]

Yes, nice collection, Farerb! I have The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast, plus a couple other titles, but not Aladdin or The Lion King. Though I think it's good, I've never been a big fan of The Lion King's music and I already have the regular soundtrack. However, I would love to have Aladdin's physical album, but it's quite expensive to order it from the US for me. I wish it was available on Amazon internationally, like past titles. By the way, it seems it's back in stock on the Disney Music Emporium, for anyone interested.

Thank you
I also own Fantastia, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Mary Poppins and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

I understand what you mean about ordering from the emporium site, I only made an exception for Hunchback, Aladdin I managed to get from a friend of a friend who went to D23 (which is why I also got the bag), otherwise I would have ordered it from the emporium site, but that would have been an exception too, and truthfully if they'll release them only that way then I probably won't order anymore as much as I'd like to get Bambi, Alice or Peter Pan if they were ever released, I'd just get them digitally.