ALADDIN: RETURN OF JAFAR and KING OF THIEVES Press Release

[2099net]

No, there are no plans to release the "Aladdin" TV series to DVD at this time. Popular thought seems to be that Disney is waiting to see how "Gargoyles" Season 1 sells before coming forth with season sets of other animated series on DVD. But that's never been confirmed, or even mentioned by anyone at Disney.

I don't really understand this logic at all. I know it is "corporate wisdom" but really it sucks.

I really don't know how much people are paid to make their marketing decisions, but it's far too much. And I'm talking about all studios in general.

Warners is probably the worst. The obviously expected their cut-down Looney Tunes set to outsell the 4 disc Golden Collection, and were "amazed" by how well that sold.

OK. I can understand that. But then they make the exact same mistake with Batman: TAS - apparently Warners are "staggered" by how many copies of the 4 disc first volume they sold and fast tracked the second volume and other superhero sets as a result. But they only released something where there was already a high demand (just look at all the petition pages there were). It really should have been a no-brainer. Hordes of people were demanding such a release.

Disney are the same. Nobody can deny the demand is there for resonably priced and reasonably large sets of their TV cartoons. But they still dither. They only have to look at everybody else's success, they don't even need to assess their own sales.

[Jake Lipson]

Why does the Aladdin franchise always get screwed!?

I don't think there's much to get upset about. Yes, we are getting a package with very slim bonus features for the sequels. However, the DVD of the original Aladdin will contain their original trailers, which is amazingly cool, since Disney never puts old DTV trailers on DVDs. And honestly? Yeah, the Lion King sequels got 2-disc sets, but there wasn't much on them. A few deleted scenes, short EPK making ofs, and the One By One short on Simba's Pride were the only meaty features, plus the original 1998 music video for SP, really. Everything else was games and we didn't get too much from the rest.

Aladdin's sequels are being treated on the level of any average DTV, really. Yeah, they're not great extras...but what were you expecting?

[Christian]

Odd that it's one release though. They could easily make more money by selling them seperately.

Then maybe they don't do everything for money.

[Evil Genie Jafar]

I don't think there's much to get upset about. Yes, we are getting a package with very slim bonus features for the sequels. However, the DVD of the original Aladdin will contain their original trailers, which is amazingly cool, since Disney never puts old DTV trailers on DVDs. And honestly? Yeah, the Lion King sequels got 2-disc sets, but there wasn't much on them. A few deleted scenes, short EPK making ofs, and the One By One short on Simba's Pride were the only meaty features, plus the original 1998 music video for SP, really. Everything else was games and we didn't get too much from the rest.

Aladdin's sequels are being treated on the level of any average DTV, really. Yeah, they're not great extras...but what were you expecting?

Thank God, those are the only good things they've included in The Lion King sequels.

[Just Myself]

Oy...

Aladdin owns, it's sequels don't.

[shdwrlm3]

Popular thought seems to be that Disney is waiting to see how "Gargoyles" Season 1 sells before coming forth with season sets of other animated series on DVD. But that's never been confirmed, or even mentioned by anyone at Disney.

Presumably, another one of the reasons that Gargoyles is getting the DVD treatment in the first place is because of its older, extremely loyal fanbase (who hold a Gargoyles convention every year). It's sorta like SpongeBob Squarepants. Paramount were aware that SpongeBob attracts a lot of older viewers, which is why the season sets actually contained extras like commentaries and featurettes. Unfortunately, most companies seem to think that their "kiddie" cartoons wouldn't sell well as boxed sets (as 2099net mentioned, WB is a great example of this), and Disney seem to think that most of their TV cartoons wouldn't appeal to people who have the money to actually buy them.

Which isn't to say that there aren't a lot of older fans of the good ol' Disney Afternoon days. Don't Disney know that the people who grew up watching those cartoons are now grown up and have money to spend on sweet, sweet nostalgia?

[2099net]

Which isn't to say that there aren't a lot of older fans of the good ol' Disney Afternoon days. Don't Disney know that the people who grew up watching those cartoons are now grown up and have money to spend on sweet, sweet nostalgia?

Not just that. These people now have children of their own, and I'm sure they would love to watch DVD boxsets and enjoy the shows with their own children.

That's why I think the sets for Looney Tunes and Batman et al are selling so well. Its a generational thing.

[TheMadHatter1983]

Down in Australia we're getting the Aladdin Trilogy in November.
But i'm more excited because kids of today, under 18 anyway, don't even know who or what Aladdin is.

And it makes me sad.

All they want is Nemo or Buzz.

Aladdin, at the time, was the best movie ever for everyone concerned.
I know its 10 years ago now but still....

So all the youngins should get into it, POST HASTE

[Evil Genie Jafar]

Why does the Aladdin franchise always get screwed!?

I don't think there's much to get upset about.

Prince Phillip is right.

-Take for example the fact that we were supposed to have Aladdin on 2003

- Aladdin was the first movie (and ever since) that didn't make it to the theaters

-As said above most people don't understand/appreciate the movie because it fell right in the middle of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King

-When thinking about the movie most people don't remember other thing than the Genie/Robin Williams; and what is even more frustrating is the fact that Disney just contributes with this idea; the Dvd cover is an example: since when a Platinum Ed. (or other for that matter) has a secondary character that takes most of the cover? And by the size of Aladdin (and Jasmine) they might as well ended up not adding them and changing the title to The Genie (special guest star Aladdin)

Let's wait and see if with The Little Mermaid they make Sebastian the same size.

-Even tough I admit the Aladdin sequels are not good ones, take in consideration the treatment they've got in contrast to all the others Dvd sequels

-Where is the Aladdin merchandise? Disneystore has had always a lack of it. And even now with the Dvd I've seen nothing.

So yeah, Prince Phillip is right. They always mess up with Aladdin. And there IS a reason to be upset about.

[ichabod]

Where is the Aladdin merchandise? Disneystore has had always a lack of it. And even now with the Dvd I've seen nothing.

Here in the U.K my local Disney store has tons of Aladdin merchandise. Towels, dolls, plush toys, beanies, the window displays are full of it!

[Evil Genie Jafar]

Where is the Aladdin merchandise? Disneystore has had always a lack of it. And even now with the Dvd I've seen nothing.

Here in the U.K my local Disney store has tons of Aladdin merchandise. Towels, dolls, plush toys, beanies, the window displays are full of it!

Could you give me a link to the site?

[2099net]

www.disneystore.co.uk It's not exactly rocket-science!

[pinkrenata]

www.disneystore.co.uk It's not exactly rocket-science!

We can't all be smart like you, JR!

[Evil Genie Jafar]

well, the page doesn't help much.

[2099net]

well, the page doesn't help much.

No, well. it's another triumph of Disney UK's determination not to actually sell many products. See Disney isn't just about money. They don't actually want to sell anything in the UK!

Sorry, but its the best you're going to get regarding Disney Stores in the UK.

[ichabod]

well, the page doesn't help much.

There really doesn't seem to be much merchandise an the site, all i could find was three 14" plush toys.

[Jake Lipson]

Prince Phillip is right.

Okay, my mistake for using that perticular quote, but I meant there's not too much to get upset about in regards to the treatment of the sequels on DVD. Though The Lion King sequels got 2-disc sets, if you actulally look at their content, except for a few scattered things, there's not much more there than Aladdin's sequels will get.

As for the movie not coming to IMAX theaters, yeah, that does suck. We got screwed there and I'm NOT happy about it. But the delay of the DVD? When it was originally delayed I was extremely annoyed about it -- Aladdin is my favorite movie of all time, until December, after all -- but, now, I'm actulally kind of glad that it was delayed. From the quality (or lack thereof) of a lot of the stuff on The Lion King DVD, it was obviously a rushed effort with most people offering self-congratulatory comments and not much else. Aladdin, however -- yes, it (and its sequels, for that matter) had to wait an extra year in the vault, but look what it has to show for it! A two hour making of doccumentary, two commentaries, musical talent featurette, gallaries, art review, vintage trailers for all three films including the sequels, posters, etc. -- and an untampered with film (okay, yes, it has been "enhanced," but no entirely new footage a la Morning Report.) None of that was present on The Lion King, as I recall. So, I'm not too upset about the delay anymore.

As for Robin Williams and lack of merchendising, you do have a point. Still, I expect to be seeing this reved up in the next year or so as a result of the sure success of the DVD.

[Evil Genie Jafar]

Jake Lipson:

I was also going to say that dvd was worth the wait, it got so much improved over The Lion King

And about the sequels, you can't deny the fact of the lack of features. But yet again I was also implying the presentation and the publicity. I know it is soon to talk about it but being sold as a pack I can't help to think they're going to end up in the same case as the Toy Story 2 Pack. And regarding the publicity well even tough they're still a "long" way to come out, I think you got to know more about the upcoming sequels of The Lion King long before they were out.


PS

Now I know Aladdin is your favorite movie, the same as for me.

[Today4U]

I'm sick of people saying people only remember the Genie. My former neighbor and I once spoke of Aladdin and the first (and only) thing he did was jump back and pretend he was Aladdin, singing the "one jump" part. No mention of Genie anywhere.

[Prince Eric]

I think that it really sucks that these are getting NOTHING in the way of bonus features! and the stuppid games don't count!

I mean RoJ, whether you hate it or not, was the first DTV sequel and I'm sure there is a lot they could have included for this, including a feature about the tv series that spun off of it...

And KoT was leaps and bounds better, and I'm sure there is a lot they could have done for this one as well... Why does the Aladdin franchise always get screwed!?

Knowing Prince Phillip, I think he means in general, the character of Aladdin is often cheated out of his deserves. Therefore, the whole franchise usually suffers. I mean, Aladdin enthusiasts like Prince Phillip and I would have really liked to see a cover art with a huge headshot of Aladdin around the title screen, like all the other Platinums. Instead, Genie gets the limelight again. Also, when Genie isn't the star of the franchise, they pivot off of Jasmine and get the movie in the "Princess" line-up. That leads to mixed marketing, with few items focusing on the hero himself. I think the DVD is great, the art is sufficient, if not good, and I don't plan on buying the sequels, so I'm not as upset as he is.