Fantasia/F2K: 2-Movie Collection Discussion: Nov. 30, 2010

[BK]

Disney can't even get one catalogue title right so spare me the big business bullshit.

Recent releases are okay but we're not even talking about them.

They released Dinosaur stripped of everything.
Then came Chicken Little whose BR exclusive commentary was actually just not put on the DVD release the year prior.
Sleeping Beauty was again not the definitive release, no matter how solid it was, leaving of things from the most recent set and more.
Pinocchio came along and though it was the best US release, it still failed to include shorts appearing on European releases.
Snow White brought in the Diamonds but yet again had the most inexplicable failure yet choosing to leave out many features.
The Dumbo farce was next, still not yet released and dropped a few of the already few features in it.
Now we've got Fantasia being stripped from Diamond status, of all it's extras and of all the newly marketed extras.

I think a very big FCUK YOU is what Disney deserves.

(Here I haven't even mentioned the silly, pointless and disappointing releases of GMD & Cauldron or the exclusion of LaserDisc features)
Honestly we should just resolve to being happy if they decide to release anything because clearly they are incompetent at actually making people happy. Oh, and of course, not to say that the releases of MTR, Bolt or PATF were great either.

Also, by being f-tards, Disney encourages the pirating of their films. I mean, if I could find the Anthology with it's features even being fake, I'd buy/download it and rip the damn special features out rather than going out to buy another sub-standard, shoddy, illogical and insulting DVD set.

[miniroll32]

Sleeping Beauty was again not the definitive release, no matter how solid it was, leaving of things from the most recent set and more.
Pinocchio came along and though it was the best US release, it still failed to include shorts appearing on European releases.
Snow White brought in the Diamonds but yet again had the most inexplicable failure yet choosing to leave out many features.

I would have to disagree with this, as all 3 of these films were packed to the brim with extra features and rightly needed an extra disc. In particular, Sleeping Beauty was a tremendous package and had features on just about everything; music production, remastering, 'Making of...', Disneyland, over 3 pages worth. Pinocchio followed in a similar vein, and Snow White, while focussing more on audio elements accompanied by stock footage, was still an incredibly insightful release with a great Hyperion Studios menu system.

We also have to remember that the reason why films like Sleeping Beauty can have a more 'full' release is simply because they're more modern. More documents still survive from the production, and of course episodes of Disneyland were available focussing on the film.

However, after the standard that Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Pinocchio have set, I really expected Disney to follow in a similar vein with Dumbo and Fantasia, two of the studio's most important films. But alas, it wasn't to be. It therefore goes that there was nothing stopping Disney from giving these two films beefed up releases - they just didn't want to, for whatever reasons... I could perhaps understand with Dumbo a bit more since its only a short film and isn't particularly glamorous (though this shouldn't deny what a beautiful film it is), but Fantasia was important for theatre history too, much more so than even Pinocchio.

Popularity obviously has a big say in these releases.

[JustOneBite87]

Disney can't even get one catalogue title right so spare me the big business bullshit.

Recent releases are okay but we're not even talking about them.

They released Dinosaur stripped of everything.
Then came Chicken Little whose BR exclusive commentary was actually just not put on the DVD release the year prior.
Sleeping Beauty was again not the definitive release, no matter how solid it was, leaving of things from the most recent set and more.
Pinocchio came along and though it was the best US release, it still failed to include shorts appearing on European releases.
Snow White brought in the Diamonds but yet again had the most inexplicable failure yet choosing to leave out many features.
The Dumbo farce was next, still not yet released and dropped a few of the already few features in it.
Now we've got Fantasia being stripped from Diamond status, of all it's extras and of all the newly marketed extras.

I think a very big FCUK YOU is what Disney deserves.

(Here I haven't even mentioned the silly, pointless and disappointing releases of GMD & Cauldron or the exclusion of LaserDisc features)
Honestly we should just resolve to being happy if they decide to release anything because clearly they are incompetent at actually making people happy. Oh, and of course, not to say that the releases of MTR, Bolt or PATF were great either.

Also, by being f-tards, Disney encourages the pirating of their films. I mean, if I could find the Anthology with it's features even being fake, I'd buy/download it and rip the damn special features out rather than going out to buy another sub-standard, shoddy, illogical and insulting DVD set.

I love this rant. I want to take this rant home and hang it above my kitchen counter.

This is exactly how I feel minus that I am actually grateful for the new Black Cauldron DVD despite the usual disappointing lack of features. Otherwise you are spot on!

Way to go yet again Disney home video! I just love the delaying of a supposed Diamond edition title for nearly a year and then stripping it of the honor it deserves and leaving most of the worthwhile features in the vault before trying to convince me it's an upgrade from the beautiful turn of the century anthology set! BS I SAY! B...S.

[MJW]

Would it surprise anyone if Disney released a more distinguished/loaded Fantasia/2000 set in the near future, following the SE release this year?

I'm wondering if Disney got ahead of themselves with this release, and after pushing it back and back, they didn't want to announce another delay so they're releasing this "Special Edition" almost as if to say "with all the promises, we have to give them SOMETHING!" Maybe they are well-aware that this is not the definitive set, but they just want to put out what they have now, figuring they could always release another set in the very near future, or even a supplemental set, with the originally promised Fantasia World.

It's almost like turning in an incomplete assignment; sure you might get a grade that was lower-than-expected, but at least it won't be marked as an F.

[JustOneBite87]

Would it surprise anyone if Disney released a more distinguished/loaded Fantasia/2000 set in the near future, following the SE release this year?

It sure as heck would shock the pants off of me!

I'm not sure how familiar you are with Disney's home video release patterns of their films, but the animated classics usually get one release every few years if they are lucky. For Fantasia it's been a decade. Not so lucky. Unlike some studios which release regular editions of their films then come back a year later and release an "ultimate" edition or whatever, Disney pretty much says "Here, this is what you get. Check back in 5-10 years and we'll review your case again".

The only exception I can think of would be the first Narnia film which got an extended cut and larger set.

I'm wondering if Disney got ahead of themselves with this release, and after pushing it back and back, they didn't want to announce another delay so they're releasing this "Special Edition" almost as if to say "with all the promises, we have to give them SOMETHING!" Maybe they are well-aware that this is not the definitive set, but they just want to put out what they have now, figuring they could always release another set in the very near future, or even a supplemental set, with the originally promised Fantasia World.

I'm just going to take a wild guess and say absolutely not on the topic of another set coming out in the near future for reasons stated above. If only Disney DID think that way. Then perhaps we could at least have learned to predict their release schedule pattern by now and guard our wallets accordingly. But sadly, there is no pattern and their releases have proven to be all over the map with no rhyme or reason in recent years outside of the Platinum/Diamond collection. Oh wait, and now we can't even be sure when the Diamond editions will come out!

Is Disney aware that this release is not up to snuff in comparison to some of their past releases? Probably not. There are many different people working in the DVD/Blu department now than there were a decade ago. Based on recent output, it's probably not too outrageous to assume that they are not doing sharp comparisons between the content of prior releases and those that are being issued now. Sure, they have old features contained in computer files that they are cherry picking and titling "classic dvd features" but that hardly constitutes a rise in quality. After all, isn't blu-ray supposed to be everything the DVD was and more?

It's almost like turning in an incomplete assignment; sure you might get a grade that was lower-than-expected, but at least it won't be marked as an F.

I guess that will all depend on the teacher/consumer grading the assignment now won't it? I have a strong feeling that aside from the marvelous restoration, most will consider the rest of this release to be a big fat FAIL.

[miniroll32]

By the way... Disney have removed the 'Fantasia' Blu-Ray/DVD page from their website, and its now gone back to the previous 2000 DVD edition; 'In The Vault' page...

http://www2.disney.co.uk/DisneyDVDs/DVDs/fantasia.jsp

Thoughts?

[Alcazam]

Dear Mr Iger, oh omg pretty please don't make us miss Mr Eisner

[singerguy04]

By the way... Disney have removed the 'Fantasia' Blu-Ray/DVD page from their website, and its now gone back to the previous 2000 DVD edition; 'In The Vault' page...

http://www2.disney.co.uk/DisneyDVDs/DVDs/fantasia.jsp

Thoughts?

It's still on the US Disney page

http://disneydvd.disney.go.com/fantasia ... ition.html

along with a new trailer that doesn't label it as a Diamond Edition, and makes no mention of Fantasia World but does mention Destino.

[Disney Duster]

I could perhaps understand with Dumbo a bit more since its only a short film and isn't particularly glamorous (though this shouldn't deny what a beautiful film it is), but Fantasia was important for theatre history too, much more so than even Pinocchio.

Dumbo is a full-length film. It's a good amount of minutes over the minimum. And I think all movies contributed about the same to movie and Disney history.

[Haddad28]

I still don't see the big deal with people complaining about the bonus features.

Just be glad that we're getting both Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 fully restored, on blu-ray with 7.1 lossless sound. We are being provided with several bonus features, and Destino. Try comparing the amount of bonus features any Disney Animated Classic compared to another major studio.

Who cares what's been promised. How do we even know what was to be on Fantasia World? It's not us to know what's happening within the studio... Just be grateful.

People always wanting more, regardless of what they've got or are going to be given...

Disney treats their blu-rays and dvd's with Constant Restorations! I'm just glad that we're getting these two movies on blu-ray...

[SmartAleck25]

^^ Ditto.

[Raphdude]

^^ Ditto.

Double Ditto!!

I am so glad that we are getting the high quality transfer for these two that we are.

[jpanimation]

How do we even know what was to be on Fantasia World? It's not us to know what's happening within the studio...

All I know is at the start of this year, we got a trailer saying we would get Fantasia World and it would feature never-before-seen-shorts. Before that we had Don Hann hinting at D23's animated rarities presentation towards Lorenzo's eventual release as part of the Fantasia Blu-ray (he wouldn't commit to anything at that point). It was later at the Fantasia 2000 screening at the El Capitan theater that the panelists, including Don Hann, confirmed Destino's inclusion on the Fantasia Blu-ray (where he continued to hint at the shorts he produced showing up on the set). Finally we have him telling people with certainty at Waking Sleeping Beauty screenings that we WILL see The Little Match Girl, along with other shorts he produced, on the upcoming Fantasia Blu-ray.

So we had quite a few hints as to what Fantasia World included and it's a shame that something happened between now and then to change their attitudes towards this release. Still, the most upsetting thing is the lack of Deems Taylor's original recordings. The soundtrack isn't so much 'restored' as it is 'revised.'

[miniroll32]

Even the 1991 release had a half-an-hour 'Making of...' documentary

[KubrickFan]

I still don't see the big deal with people complaining about the bonus features.

Just be glad that we're getting both Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 fully restored, on blu-ray with 7.1 lossless sound. We are being provided with several bonus features, and Destino. Try comparing the amount of bonus features any Disney Animated Classic compared to another major studio.

Who cares what's been promised. How do we even know what was to be on Fantasia World? It's not us to know what's happening within the studio... Just be grateful.

People always wanting more, regardless of what they've got or are going to be given...

Disney treats their blu-rays and dvd's with Constant Restorations! I'm just glad that we're getting these two movies on blu-ray...

What the hell? We should be glad that Disney is releasing these at all? Oh yeah, we should be thankful for Disney, who as a company wants us to buy things from them.
We weren't complaining about the restored picture, or the 7.1 sound (although it's a bit redundant), but about the lack of extras that were promised, and the lack of extras that were included in previous versions.
Comparing Disney Classics with movies from other studios is ridiculous. Disney basically has only 49 titles, over a span of more than eighty years. Restoration, if needed at all, is probably only necessary for the ones up until the 70's. After that, every title is in fine shape. Most before that won't be in terrible shape, either, probably.
They could (and should) release every one of those movies completely intact, with at least one disc of bonus materials included. But instead, Disney re-releases the top ten, with the others left to rot, basically. This release would break the mold. Fantasia was a surprise choice for the Diamond Collection, and too good to be true. It turned out to be too good to be true, when it was postponed, when there wasn't anything known about it at all, when supplements were left off left and right. Now you can't even buy the two separately. It's a disappointment because so many things from the previous dvds have been left off. Because so many promised things have been left off. I care about what they promised, because Fantasia is the best movie Walt Disney made, and they're absolutely not treating it the way they should.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

What the hell? We should be glad that Disney is releasing these at all? Oh yeah, we should be thankful for Disney, who as a company wants us to buy things from them.
We weren't complaining about the restored picture, or the 7.1 sound (although it's a bit redundant), but about the lack of extras that were promised, and the lack of extras that were included in previous versions.
Comparing Disney Classics with movies from other studios is ridiculous. Disney basically has only 49 titles, over a span of more than eighty years. Restoration, if needed at all, is probably only necessary for the ones up until the 70's. After that, every title is in fine shape. Most before that won't be in terrible shape, either, probably.
They could (and should) release every one of those movies completely intact, with at least one disc of bonus materials included. But instead, Disney re-releases the top ten, with the others left to rot, basically. This release would break the mold. Fantasia was a surprise choice for the Diamond Collection, and too good to be true. It turned out to be too good to be true, when it was postponed, when there wasn't anything known about it at all, when supplements were left off left and right. Now you can't even buy the two separately. It's a disappointment because so many things from the previous dvds have been left off. Because so many promised things have been left off. I care about what they promised, because Fantasia is the best movie Walt Disney made, and they're absolutely not treating it the way they should.

<a href="http://photobucket.com/images/glee%20pr ... rtie%20gif" target="_blank"><img src="http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e236/ ... 6jko4m.gif" border="0" alt="glee preach artie gif Pictures, Images and Photos"/></a>

We have a right to be mad. This is a wonderfully spectacular film and Disney really is treating it as a second-rate cheapquel. It's actually really embarrasing. One of, if not the, best Walt Disney films and they're treating it like garbage. Yes, the restoration is important and will look beautiful, but Disney has (in the recent past) produced wonderful sets of their films. As I've said a billion times in this thread, this was a wasted opportunity and Disney should be ashamed of putting out such a crap-tastic release. The only reason I might get this is because of the restoration (thank goodness I still have my Anthology set!)

[KubrickFan]

We have a right to be mad. This is a wonderfully spectacular film and Disney really is treating it as a second-rate cheapquel. It's actually really embarrasing. One of, if not the, best Walt Disney films and they're treating it like garbage. Yes, the restoration is important and will look beautiful, but Disney has (in the recent past) produced wonderful sets of their films. As I've said a billion times in this thread, this was a wasted opportunity and Disney should be ashamed of putting out such a crap-tastic release. The only reason I might get this is because of the restoration (thank goodness I still have my Anthology set!)

Your gif doesn't seem to work

[TheSequelOfDisney]

Your gif doesn't seem to work

Really? It's working on my end. I'll try and use a different one in my previous post.

Edit: I changed it so hopefully it's working now.

[KubrickFan]

Your gif doesn't seem to work

Really? It's working on my end. I'll try and use a different one in my previous post.

Edit: I changed it so hopefully it's working now.

Nope, it still doesn't work. Says the bandwith's exceeded.

[TheSequelOfDisney]

I wonder why it's working on my end and not yours?

http://media.photobucket.com/image/glee ... 4m.gif?o=1

It's not too important, but I pretty much just agree with Artie and you.