Comparing Home Releases Cover Arts

[Disney's Divinity]

1. 3-Movie Collection (UK) ~ I like how it looks sort of like one of Lilo's photos and the titles look like license plates.
2. DVD/VHS
3. Prestige Case (France)
4. Big Wave Edition DVD
5. Second Blu-ray
6. Japanese VHS
7. First Blu-ray ~ Stitch looks great and I love that he's holding the ukulele and that Cobra is featured. I wish Nani looked better though.
8. 2-Movie Collection (UK)
9. Villains Cover
10. Heroes Cover (France)
11. Collector's Edition (France) ~ I know it's unintentional, but it gives me a Christmas vibe.
12. 4-Movie Collection (Japan)
13. 2-Movie Collection (Germany)
14. 2-Movie Collection (Brazil)
15. Special Edition (Brazil)
16. Heroes Cover
17. Collectible Tin

@D82: The Special Collector's Edition (France) for Atlantis looks even nicer in-person, thanks for posting that! I really like the concept cover you posted also. It never crossed my mind until now that the flying robots aren't featured on any of the Atlantis covers. That's a shame.

[D82]

^You're welcome, Disney's Divinity. Yes, it's a really nice edition.

Interesting. That's quite evident in The Hunchback of Notre Dame too (the film, not its covers).

They said it about the smash cut from Belle (Reprise) to Belle arriving at the castle. They also mentioned the crane shot of the ballroom sequence. They said these were methods that hadn't been done in animation very often (probably before Beauty and the Beast. I think it's harder or even impossible to do a crane shot in animation without using a computer. They used it in Hunchback when Quasimodo saves Esmeralda).

Thanks for the info. I need to watch the movies with the commentaries again because I've forgotten many of those details. The crane shots in both Beauty and the Beast and Hunchback are very impressive. Yes, I think it must be very difficult to do that in traditional animation because they would need to animate the entire background and not just the characters. They did it, though, in The Black Cauldron in a couple of shots from this scene when Hen Wen is running from the dragons, but with a relatively simple background. Maybe in some other film too, but I don't remember it now.

There's also these two covers for a Read-Along DVD and a DVD/Game set.

Welcome back, JeanGreyForever! We've missed you these last few weeks. And thanks for posting those covers! I had never seen the second one, and I had forgotten about the Read-Along DVD. Here's also the French version, which is different from the domestic one:



I've also noticed that the French version of the 2-Movie Collection is a bit different from the UK one (the image on the left is with the slipcover and the one on the right without it):



And I've now discovered that there's also a 3-Movie Collection from the UK, which is like the German one, but it also features Nani:

The regular DVD cover is just okay. I wasn't a fan of how Kida was put in her dress from the very end of the film and how all the other female characters from the expedition weren't included but the male ones were. Audrey at least should have been on there as well.

I agree that Audrey should've been included, and yes, it's weird that Kida is in that dress that she only wears at the end, maybe it's to make the cover more appealing to little girls.

And I love how the French Collector's DVD looks with all its packaging. I don't think the Deluxe US DVD had packaging nearly as interesting.

Here you can see the US Collector's Edition packaging. It's far less special, as you thought. I didn't know before that France had such beautiful sets and so many different editions for each film. French Disney fans are very lucky. I guess Disney movies must sell really well there and that's why they make a bigger effort with the releases. Here in Spain, many times they don't even release the collector's editions.

[JeanGreyForever]

There's also these two covers for a Read-Along DVD and a DVD/Game set.

Welcome back, JeanGreyForever! We've missed you these last few weeks. And thanks for posting those covers! I had never seen the second one, and I had forgotten about the Read-Along DVD. Here's also the French version, which is different from the domestic one:



I've also noticed that the French version of the 2-Movie Collection is a bit different from the UK one (the image on the left is with the slipcover and the one on the right without it):



And I've now discovered that there's also a 3-Movie Collection from the UK, which is like the German one, but it also features Nani:

The regular DVD cover is just okay. I wasn't a fan of how Kida was put in her dress from the very end of the film and how all the other female characters from the expedition weren't included but the male ones were. Audrey at least should have been on there as well.

I agree that Audrey should've been included, and yes, it's weird that Kida is in that dress that she only wears at the end, maybe it's to make the cover more appealing to little girls.

And I love how the French Collector's DVD looks with all its packaging. I don't think the Deluxe US DVD had packaging nearly as interesting.

Here you can see the US Collector's Edition packaging. It's far less special, as you thought. I didn't know before that France had such beautiful sets and so many different editions for each film. French Disney fans are very lucky. I guess Disney movies must sell really well there and that's why they make a bigger effort with the releases. Here in Spain, many times they don't even release the collector's editions.

Aww thank you D82!

I own the Read-Along DVD for Lilo & Stitch although I remember nothing about it. Never got the Island of Adventures DVD game although it would be exactly the type of thing I would have wanted back then. I saw that French cover you posted but I didn't see the French text so I assumed it was a preliminary US cover before they finalized the design. I always liked hula outfit Lilo and they promoted her a lot back then but they don't really use that design for her much anymore. For that matter, they don't use Lilo in general much anymore.

Never seen that French 2-Movie Collection cover with its slipcover. A bit generic for my taste although I actually prefer it with the slipcover.

And that 3-Movie Collection cover from the UK is my favorite clipart of the characters.

I heard that Disney got flack for how revealing Kida's outfit was which is why on the rare bits of merchandise for her, she tends to be fully covered up in that dress. Also in the Disney Parks, that was her outfit.

Thanks for posting the US Collector's Edition packaging. I need to purchase that one of these days because it's widely been said in these forums that Atlantis had one of the best 2-Disc DVD sets that Disney ever made, if not the best. I might have to try and find that French version as well though just for the gorgeous packaging. I can see France being huge Disney fans especially since so many Disney films are set in France or have source material that comes from there. Poor Spain I don't think has ever been a Disney film setting especially with Gigantic being cancelled. The only thing I liked about Gigantic was the Spanish setting so I hope they repurpose that for a future film. And that's a shame that Spain barely releases the collector's editions although if it makes you feel better, it's not like the US really gets them anymore either.

[blackcauldron85]

^ The Atlantis Blu-ray has the impressive long documentary from the 2-disc DVD, the audio commentary, and deleted scenes.

[D82]

I've also found what I believe are the preliminary covers for the domestic and French original DVD/VHS releases and the film frame in which the artwork is based on. I think it's interesting to see the evolution from the film still to the final cover:

1. Original frame from the movie / Promotional still



As you can see, they made the wave smaller, added a splash of water under the surfboard and gave the image brighter colors in the promotional still.

2. Poster (US) / Poster (Sweden)



They gave the image a vertical format and shaded the characters for these posters. Also, in the first poster Stitch is grabbed on to Nani's leg while in the second he's grabbed on to Lilo, placing both characters closer to each other like in the following covers.

3. Preliminary cover (France) / Preliminary cover (US) / Final DVD cover



For the home video covers, they replaced Stitch's pose for a new one and swapped his and Lilo's places. They also added the island in the background, and made the wave smaller again in the second preliminary cover. In the final cover, Lilo's pose is slightly different than in the preliminary ones and the spaceships in the top left corner of the American preliminary cover have disappeared.

Speaking of this cover, the Zavvi steelbook also used this same artwork, but it included a lenticular magnet as well.

I heard that Disney got flack for how revealing Kida's outfit was which is why on the rare bits of merchandise for her, she tends to be fully covered up in that dress. Also in the Disney Parks, that was her outfit.

Oh, OK. That's the reason then.

I can see France being huge Disney fans especially since so many Disney films are set in France or have source material that comes from there. Poor Spain I don't think has ever been a Disney film setting especially with Gigantic being cancelled. The only thing I liked about Gigantic was the Spanish setting so I hope they repurpose that for a future film. And that's a shame that Spain barely releases the collector's editions although if it makes you feel better, it's not like the US really gets them anymore either.

France also has a Disneyland park, so maybe that makes them feel more connected to Disney too. Well, to be fair, lately they've been releasing most of the collector's editions in Spain too, though they're always sold in a steelbook and are much more expensive than the regular editions. But they haven't released any title from the Signature Collection here.

[JeanGreyForever]

I've also found what I believe are the preliminary covers for the domestic and French original DVD/VHS releases and the film frame in which the artwork is based on. I think it's interesting to see the evolution from the film still to the final cover:

1. Original frame from the movie / Promotional still



As you can see, they made the wave smaller, added a splash of water under the surfboard and gave the image brighter colors in the promotional still.

2. Poster (US) / Poster (Sweden)



They gave the image a vertical format and shaded the characters for these posters. Also, in the first poster Stitch is grabbed on to Nani's leg while in the second he's grabbed on to Lilo, placing both characters closer to each other like in the following covers.

3. Preliminary cover (France) / Preliminary cover (US) / Final DVD cover



For the home video covers, they replaced Stitch's pose for a new one and swapped his and Lilo's places. They also added the island in the background, and made the wave smaller again in the second preliminary cover. In the final cover, Lilo's pose is slightly different than in the preliminary ones and the spaceships in the top left corner of the American preliminary cover have disappeared.

Speaking of this cover, the Zavvi steelbook also used this same artwork, but it included a lenticular magnet as well.

I heard that Disney got flack for how revealing Kida's outfit was which is why on the rare bits of merchandise for her, she tends to be fully covered up in that dress. Also in the Disney Parks, that was her outfit.

Oh, OK. That's the reason then.

I can see France being huge Disney fans especially since so many Disney films are set in France or have source material that comes from there. Poor Spain I don't think has ever been a Disney film setting especially with Gigantic being cancelled. The only thing I liked about Gigantic was the Spanish setting so I hope they repurpose that for a future film. And that's a shame that Spain barely releases the collector's editions although if it makes you feel better, it's not like the US really gets them anymore either.

France also has a Disneyland park, so maybe that makes them feel more connected to Disney too. Well, to be fair, lately they've been releasing most of the collector's editions in Spain too, though they're always sold in a steelbook and are much more expensive than the regular editions. But they haven't released any title from the Signature Collection here.

I love when they use clipart or poster images that come straight from the movie! Very thorough tracking of how that shot of Lilo, Stitch, and Nani has been altered over the years for various reasons. Another difference is that Stitch doesn't have a collar in the film or the promo still but in all the posters, they added that. Not surprised they put Stitch front and center of the DVD covers. I guess they chose to do that after he became a marketing phenomenon, I never even noticed the spaceship on the American DVD cover in the top left corner.

Yeah, I forgot that Disneyland Paris would also boost Disney enthusiasm in France. The collectors editions in the US are more expensive than the regular editions as well but you said yours are much more expensive so I assume they are unreasonably priced. I would say it's a shame that the Signature Editions haven't had anything special released in your country but then again, that's about on par with the substance of the Signature Editions themselves. Did the Diamond Editions at least get anything special?

[Farerb]

The Diamond Edition releases in Europe are the same as the US ones, though I think Beauty and the Beast had one disc instead of two?

The reason the Signature Collection is not released in Europe is because the films never returned to the Vault after their Diamond Edition release. The Signature Collection is basically rereleases in order to get the films back into circulation in the US market.

[JeanGreyForever]

The Diamond Edition releases in Europe are the same as the US ones, though I think Beauty and the Beast had one disc instead of two?

The reason the Signature Collection is not released in Europe is because the films never returned to the Vault after their Diamond Edition release. The Signature Collection is basically rereleases in order to get the films back into circulation in the US market.

Oh I forgot that Europe got rid of the Vault so they wouldn't even need these re-releases. The same reason that several of the Diamond Edition films were released earlier without the Diamond label like Aladdin and 101 Dalmatians I think.

[Jules]

The Diamond Edition releases in Europe are the same as the US ones, though I think Beauty and the Beast had one disc instead of two?

I have the original UK Diamond Edition blu-ray of BatB and I am pretty sure it has two discs like its US counterpart. What happened was that when the vault system was cancelled in Europe they rereleased all the previous Diamond titles with no restrictions, making owning these films much less of a hassle. However, these editions came with just the first disc of the Diamond set. (I wonder if people who bought these discs were confused when Disc 1 would make specific reference to Disc 2 ... but obviously there was no Disc 2!)

I'm pretty sure this affected other Diamond titles like Snow White and Pinocchio, as well as the earlier Sleeping Beauty. Well, basically anything which originally came on a 2-disc set!

To make matters more confusing for consumers I believe these initial reissues kept the original Diamond Edition covers (minus the Diamond Edition moniker) so that at first glance they seemed to be the 2-disc releases!

[Farerb]

Yeah, I wasn't sure about that.

To make things worse the Diamond Edition of Beauty and the Beast has an awful menu.

[Jules]

Yeah, I wasn't sure about that.

To make things worse the Diamond Edition of Beauty and the Beast has an awful menu.

Haha! It's ironic that sometimes when Disney makes a sincere effort and pours money and resources into a product they end up making something worse or completely impractical compared to a simple and inexpensive approach. Yes, the menus for the BatB Diamond Edition are kind of slow and a chore to navigate. Yet it's obvious they are this way because Disney Home Video were really trying!

[JeanGreyForever]

To be fair, this is when Disney was trying out more interactive menus for their Blu-Rays and I really did like how the BATB Diamond Menu was essentially a tour of the castle and segued into the castle game. Alice in Wonderland's Blu-Ray had a similarly problematic menu though.

[D82]

Another difference is that Stitch doesn't have a collar in the film or the promo still but in all the posters, they added that.

It's true! Good catch!

I never even noticed the spaceship on the American DVD cover in the top left corner.

That's because it's not on the final cover, just on the preliminary one.

The collectors editions in the US are more expensive than the regular editions as well but you said yours are much more expensive so I assume they are unreasonably priced. I would say it's a shame that the Signature Editions haven't had anything special released in your country but then again, that's about on par with the substance of the Signature Editions themselves. Did the Diamond Editions at least get anything special?

I guess the collector's editions are not unreasonably priced in Spain for being in a steelbook. They cost around 30-35€ (32-38$), while the regular editions are around 20-22€ (22-24$). But what I see a bit unfair is that they always have to come in a steelbook now. Before, they came in a regular case and weren't more expensive than the regular editions. At least from what I remember, maybe they were a couple of euros more expensive, but not more than that. Anyway, we're fortunate that at least they release them now, because as I said, in the past several weren't released here (like the collector's editions for Fantasia, Fantasia 2000, Dinosaur, The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis, The Princess and the Frog and some Pixar titles) and some Platinum Edition releases came with just the first disc (Snow White, Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, The Little Mermaid and Pocahontas). But that was just in Spain, because in the UK (where I got all these editions from) or France they were made available.

Regarding the Diamond and Signature editions, as farerb said, the former were the same here, while the latter have never been released in Europe. Though, as you said, it's not a big shame because the bonus features are not very substantial.

What happened was that when the vault system was cancelled in Europe they rereleased all the previous Diamond titles with no restrictions, making owning these films much less of a hassle. However, these editions came with just the first disc of the Diamond set. (I wonder if people who bought these discs were confused when Disc 1 would make specific reference to Disc 2 ... but obviously there was no Disc 2!)

I'm pretty sure this affected other Diamond titles like Snow White and Pinocchio, as well as the earlier Sleeping Beauty. Well, basically anything which originally came on a 2-disc set!

To make matters more confusing for consumers I believe these initial reissues kept the original Diamond Edition covers (minus the Diamond Edition moniker) so that at first glance they seemed to be the 2-disc releases!

Wow, I've checked it online and you're right, Jules. I hadn't noticed it before because I bought the titles in the Diamond line the first time they were released here. I thought they still sold them with the two discs. I'm very glad now that I bought them all back then and didn't wait to buy any later.

[Disney's Divinity]

That's horrible they would do that with the Diamond reissues overseas. Still, I can't say I'm surprised and only wonder if they've started that in the U.S. as well unbeknownst to me.

[JeanGreyForever]

Another difference is that Stitch doesn't have a collar in the film or the promo still but in all the posters, they added that.

It's true! Good catch!

I never even noticed the spaceship on the American DVD cover in the top left corner.

That's because it's not on the final cover, just on the preliminary one.

The collectors editions in the US are more expensive than the regular editions as well but you said yours are much more expensive so I assume they are unreasonably priced. I would say it's a shame that the Signature Editions haven't had anything special released in your country but then again, that's about on par with the substance of the Signature Editions themselves. Did the Diamond Editions at least get anything special?

I guess the collector's editions are not unreasonably priced in Spain for being in a steelbook. They cost around 30-35€ (32-38$), while the regular editions are around 20-22€ (22-24$). But what I see a bit unfair is that they always have to come in a steelbook now. Before, they came in a regular case and weren't more expensive than the regular editions. At least from what I remember, maybe they were a couple of euros more expensive, but not more than that. Anyway, we're fortunate that at least they release them now, because as I said, in the past several weren't released here (like the collector's editions for Fantasia, Fantasia 2000, Dinosaur, The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis, The Princess and the Frog and some Pixar titles) and some Platinum Edition releases came with just the first disc (Snow White, Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, The Little Mermaid and Pocahontas). But that was just in Spain, because in the UK (where I got all these editions from) or France they were made available.

Regarding the Diamond and Signature editions, as farerb said, the former were the same here, while the latter have never been released in Europe. Though, as you said, it's not a big shame because the bonus features are not very substantial.

Oh ok, that makes me feel better about never noticing the spaceship then!

$32 isn't too bad for a steelbook although I agree that it is pretty pricey if that's your only alternative for a regular edition and you don't want a steelbook. And $38 is quite a lot. As for regular editions, that's just around how much they cost in the U.S., maybe slightly more expensive but I tend to get Disney titles during the first week of release when they are cheaper because otherwise, they never go down in price. So I can understand your issues with the steelbooks. I had no idea that even the Platinum Editions only came with one disc so that's pretty annoying. I could maybe understand those first few Disney DVD titles like Fantasia, Dinosaur, Atlantis, etc. but not the Platinum Editions considering how heavily they were marketed with those bonus features. Did Tarzan come as a 2-disc DVD in Spain? When the DVD was re-released in 2005, the US was promised a 2-Disc DVD but we only ended up getting a 1-disc one. However, the UK still got the 2-Disc DVD.

[blackcauldron85]

D82, you mentioned TP&tF having a Collector's Edition; was that in the UK? We didn't get a Collector's Edition in the US ( I didn't buy Blu back then but I don't remember one!).

[JeanGreyForever]

It would be really cool to one day do the live-action film remake covers in comparison to the animated film covers. Although that may pose an issue with the live-action Cinderella because the single mod of this forum and his partner in cahoots have an issue whenever that film is mentioned in any thread. I suppose they would have no qualms about covers for the live-action films of Mulan and The Little Mermaid as long as we trashtalk them.

[D82]

Did Tarzan come as a 2-disc DVD in Spain? When the DVD was re-released in 2005, the US was promised a 2-Disc DVD but we only ended up getting a 1-disc one. However, the UK still got the 2-Disc DVD.

The first time it was released on home video in Spain it came as a single-disc DVD, but like the UK, we got a 2-disc edition when the film was re-released in 2005.

D82, you mentioned TP&tF having a Collector's Edition; was that in the UK? We didn't get a Collector's Edition in the US ( I didn't buy Blu back then but I don't remember one!).

I was referring to this edition, but you're right; though it has bonus features like an audio commentary, a making-of featurette or art galleries, it's not labeled a collector's edition. And I was mistaken, that edition was released in Spain. I don't know why I thought the edition I have was from the UK the other day. Maybe because I've put the menu in English more times than in Spanish, as lately I've been watching the films and extras in English more often than not.

[D82]

There are so many covers for Lilo & Stitch that I find it difficult to rank all of them, so I'm going to post just my top 7 this time:

1. Japanese VHS: I had never seen this cover until now and I love it. It was also the artwork for the Japanese poster. It's simple, but it's well-drawn, it features the titular characters, and reminds of the poignant scene in the movie with Lilo and Nani.

2. DVD/VHS: This one's also really good in my opinion. The characters are on-model again, and I like the concept, the fact that the background is in the style of the ones in the movie, and the wave serving as background for the title, which is a cool detail.

3. First Blu-ray: I think this one's better than other 2-Movie Collection covers of the same style. Using the surfboard to separate the sides devoted to each movie is clever and the characters in general don't look bad. I'm not sure if Nani's size is right, though. She seems too small compared to Pleakley.

4. Special Edition (Brazil): It's a cool idea. It seems inspired by this theatrical poster.

5. Prestige Case (France): It's similar to the First Blu-ray. I like how the "bad guys" lean out of the surfboard behind the main characters, but Lilo's outfit looks quite bad and it's not movie accurate. By the way, here's a look at the content of the case.

6. Big Wave Edition DVD:

I didn't like how Stitch was on there twice, David featured instead of Nani, and how the top image of David and Stitch was their modern shaded clipart while the below image was heavily pixelated.

I agree with all of that, and not only is Stitch twice on the cover, but so is the beach. Plus I don't know why the top half fades into a different background on the right. Probably because the artwork of the wave they borrowed from the DVD/VHS cover wasn't longer and they had to hide the fact that the wave wasn't complete. I don't rank this lower despite all these flaws because I like the promotional still they used for the lower half, which is quite prominent in the cover.

7. Heroes Cover (France): The poses are nice and I like that it features both Lilo and Stitch and not just Stitch like the Heroes cover from the UK.

Collector's Edition (France) - Anyone else get a totally wrong for the movie Christmas vibe from this cover?

Collector's Edition (France) ~ I know it's unintentional, but it gives me a Christmas vibe.

Same here. I even thought it was a Christmas-themed cover at first. I guess it's the colors. I like the background with the flowers, but it doesn't look as sophisticated as other previous Collector's Editions from France. This one is only a slipcover, by the way, and not a complete packaging like the one for Atlantis.

As for my least favorite cover, I think it's the second Blu-ray. It's not horrible, but I don't like the strange water effects in the background.

[JeanGreyForever]

Did Tarzan come as a 2-disc DVD in Spain? When the DVD was re-released in 2005, the US was promised a 2-Disc DVD but we only ended up getting a 1-disc one. However, the UK still got the 2-Disc DVD.

The first time it was released on home video in Spain it came as a single-disc DVD, but like the UK, we got a 2-disc edition when the film was re-released in 2005.

At least you guys got the 2-Disc DVD eventually. I think it ported over most of the original 2-Disc DVD's features.

I didn't like how Stitch was on there twice, David featured instead of Nani, and how the top image of David and Stitch was their modern shaded clipart while the below image was heavily pixelated.

I agree with all of that, and not only is Stitch twice on the cover, but so is the beach. Plus I don't know why the top half fades into a different background on the right. Probably because the artwork of the wave they borrowed from the DVD/VHS cover wasn't longer and they had to hide the fact that the wave wasn't complete. I don't rank this lower despite all these flaws because I like the promotional still they used for the lower half, which is quite prominent in the cover.

I agree with you especially the part about the lower half which is quite nice by itself. It would work well as the interior art of a steelbook.