DVDizzy Forum

I meant to respond. Sorry. Anyway, this IS great news! Thanks Julian. I wonder what this new widescreen version is going to be like and if the full screen version will have a new transfer?

Thank GOD they're going to offer the original 4X3 version.

Hm, sounds great. Since I'm a big animation aficionato, I'll probably get this one on Blu-ray. (Though, I've never seen it before )

Toon Zone has given us another report as well as the press release for the new Gulliver's Travels DVD!:

http://news.toonzone.net/article.php?ID=28602

Koch Entertainment and E1 Entertainment have officially announced their release of Max Fleischer's Gulliver's Travels on DVD and Blu-ray on March 10, 2009. The movie was the second feature-length animated film, and made groundbreaking use of rotoscoping techniques and exploited the considerable technical skill of the Fleischer studios to retell Jonathan Swift's classic novel. The movie has been restored and remastered with the assistance of the Fleischer family, North Hampton Partners, and animation expert Dr. Thomas R. Reich, although the decision to re-format the film from its original 4x3 aspect ratio to a high-definition 16x9 format has drawn much criticism from the general animation community.

Both the DVD and the Blu-ray will also include a documentary "The Making of a Cartoon" and two Gabby shorts from the Fleischer studios as extras. The full press release follows.

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E1 Entertainment breathes new life into ONE OF
THE MOST BELOVED ANIMATED CLASSICS OF ALL TIME





MAX FLEISCHER’S GULLIVER’S TRAVELS





Digitally Restored and Re-mastered, the 2-Time Academy Award Nominee Arrives on DVD and, for the First Time Ever, Blu-ray – Featuring Breathtaking, Newly Enhanced Picture and Sound –





Plus Bonus Features!





Port W ashington, NY– In 1939, animation pioneers Max and Dave Fleischer (Betty Boop, Popeye, Superman) made motion picture history when Paramount Pictures released their masterpiece, Gulliver’s Travels, the second feature-length animated film produced by a U.S. studio. This enchanting adaptation of Jonathan Swift’s classic 18th century novel went on to earn two Academy Award nominations for Best Original Song (“Faithful Forever”) and Best Score, and is considered one of the greatest achievements in animation history. Seventy years later, E1 Entertainment proudly presents a digitally restored, re-mastered and enhanced MAX FLEISCHER’S GULLIVER’S TRAVELS on DVD ($14.98 SRP) and – for the first time ever in any HD format – Blu-ray ($19.98 SRP). This painstakingly crafted edition includes the complete 77 minute feature plus two fully restored “Gabby” cartoons and the Fleischer Studios documentary short “The Making of a Cartoon” – all contributing to make this the most definitive version of the film ever released on any home entertainment format.



Truly a feast for the eyes and ears, Swift’s ageless fant as y comes to life in this cel-animated Technicolor musical. In the film, Gulliver washes ashore on the mysterious island of Lilliput, where all the inhabitants stand no more than a few inches tall. Gabby, the Lilliput town crier, discovers Gulliver unconscious on the beach, and alerts King Little who sends a mob of townspeople to capture the “giant.” Once awake, Gulliver’s size and strength frightens the Lilliputians, but they soon realize that befriending Gulliver gives them a powerful advantage over their rival neighbors, the equally tiny Blefuscudians. Caught in the feud between the two kingdoms, Gulliver resolves the conflict and reunites a prince with his princess before sailing away in one of the “hap-hap-happiest” endings of all time.



Backed by Paramount and utilizing the talents of 600 of the best artists, Max and Dave Fleischer created Gulliver's Travels, one of the most complicated and detailed animated features ever produced. Their staff toiled for over two years, using twelve tons of paint and 39,000 pencils to create over 639,000 celluloids and 115,000 composite scenes. The “gigantic” titular character was animated using rotoscoping, a process which involves tracing live-action footage frame-by-frame – one of several innovative animation techniques developed by the Fleischers and Fleischer Studios. Popular songs composed for the film include “All’s Well,” “It’s a Hap-Hap-Happy Day” and “Faithful Forever,” all of which later became well-known standards.



By the late 1990s this animated gem had sadly fallen into disrepair, but thanks to a close relationship with the Fleischer family, North Hampton Partners and animation expert Dr. Thomas R. Reich were able to secure a long-lost 35mm source print. State-of-the-art technology enabled the film to be meticulously revived, removing years of dirt and restoring damaged portions of the frames. Gulliver's Travels was then color corrected using 100% historically accurate palettes at Technicolor and was re-mastered for the first time ever in 16x9 (1080p High Definition). This entire process was done frame-by-frame without stretching characters or losing any image beyond standard vertical safe areas – and the use of proprietary techniques actually enables more picture to be visible on the left and right sides of the frame than ever before. Additionally, the original soundtrack was fully restored and supplemented by two newly enhanced sound options (Dolby Digital and 5.1) utilizing multi-track Foley techniques. The bonus Fleischer documentary “The Making of a Cartoon” as well as the two Gabby cartoons featured on the DVD and Blu-ray (“Swing Cleaning” and “King for a Day”) were also restored, making MAX FLEISCHER’S GULLIVER’S TRAVELS a must-own for fans of
cl assic animation and children of all ages.



About E1 Entertainment U.S.
E1 Entertainment U.S. (formerly KOCH Vision) is the U.S. home video label of E1 Entertainment (AIM: ETO), a leading independent entertainment content owner that acquires film, television and music rights and exploits these rights in all media in more than 190 countries. Boasting a diverse library of feature films, television series, award-winning children’s programs, live music concerts and more, E1 Entertainment U.S. is the home of such notable properties as Soundstage, McLeod’s Daughters, Wire in the Blood, Popular Mechanics for Kids, Faerie Tale Theatre, The Best Years, Ballet Shoes starring Emma Watson and Nickelback Live at Sturgis. For more information on these and other releases from E1 Entertainment U.S., please visit www.kochvision.com.


It dosen't mention that the original full screen version is included, but rest assured (thanks to Julian for telling us), it WILL be included.

In 3 days we will know if it's cropped or not. I hope for best.

I'm looking forward to watching this one again.

DVDbeaver hasposted their review on the new Gulliver's Travels Blu-Ray:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDRevie ... lu-ray.htm

DVD Talk has posted their review of the new DVD:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/36545/ma ... s-travels/

So it's cropped and crappy. Well, that puts it into perspective.

Well shit. I won't be picking that one up. I'll sooner pay for a used copy of the Winstar. Or stick to my other PD DVD releases, one of which I'm convinced stole the entire video contents of Image Entertainment's release anyway.

That's a travesty that they decided to "enhance" the film in widescreen in the 16:9 ratio when it wasn't filmed that way AND could not have possibly been presented that way in theatres in 1939.

There are 2 schools of thought about the 60's and 70's DACs (animated film negative ratio vs matted projected ratio) but this one is cut and dry and was clearly done just to make the image conform to a wide TV, by their own admission.

I suspect we'll be seeing a lot more of this in the HDTV age, with matting pictures that are UNDISPUTABLY 4:3 becoming the new "pan and scan" of the HDTV age.

On the bright side, at least there are other transfers available in 4:3, and maybe with the heat the animation community has put on this release, it will make this particular company consider correcting this on future releases of this title, and make them think twice about doing it to other films.

I'd actually thought that the new widescreen version was going to be really impressive. I thought Koch was going to add 50% of background using original sources, a newly clean, sharp, and rich in color transfer. But after seeing some screencaps, I was told otherwise. I guess we can't trust Koch to deliver the goods (though it is harsh.). Come the film's 80th or 100th anniversary, someone will come along and give us an awesome transfer, the original full screen version restored, a newly created widescreen version , and a whole lot of extras.

It looks, from the caps, as though they've both squashed AND cropped the film for widescreen. Seriously, what a mess.

I just rented this disc, and let me say, it's awful. This Blu-Ray isn't even DVD quality. I compared it to my DVD copy that I've had for a few years. On my DVD, the animation is smooth where on the Blu-Ray, it's all jerky. And my God! I've never seen so much DNR! People have complained saying that all Disney does to restore their classics is apply a bunch of DNR to it. I know that's not true, but it looks like that's all that was done here (besides cropping the movie to fill widescreen TVs).
I'm definitely glad I rented this instead of buying it.

I'm so mad about this. I was so happy to see a PD title go Blu, but this is just making me annoyed.

Here's Animated Views' review:

http://animated-views.com/2009/fleische ... -ray-disc/

ajmrowland wrote:So it's cropped and crappy. Well, that puts it into perspective.

Considering this is on the topic of aspect ratio, that's quite an amusing comment.

And I have to say that I hope that they don't start doing this to various other 1:33:1 films. I know that pretty much everyone put up with cropping through the video age, but times have changed, haven't they?

Everyone should read this amusing blog, that shows the emails sent between Peter Rosenberg (the president of the company who released this pile of garbage) and Jason Vargo, a blu-ray reviewer. Rosenberg makes so many wrong statements it isn't even funny anymore.
And the best part was that apparently a soft-core porn star works at the same company, and she urged her 'clients' to give the blu-ray five stars at Amazon and other similar sites. There is a movie in all this, I think