The Black Cauldron special edition?

[ajmrowland]

Disney Movie Club put this up early and I just received my copy. I'm too tired to post pictures, but I will try to do it tomorrow. I was surprised that my copy didn't come with a slipcover. New releases through the club usually have them, so I wonder if Disney has finally listened to Escapay and left it out of this release. The deleted scene is 9 and a half minutes long and uses a mix of rough animation and storyboards with the original audio elements and score elements from elsewhere in the film. The new game is a mix of answering riddles and finding hidden items. It kept me occupied for about 10 minutes and wasn't as stupid as other DVD games that Disney has made in the past.

The real reason to upgrade of course is the new transfer. I haven't watched the film in it's entirety, but I jumped around to a few scenes. The excess grain is gone and I didn't notice any flickering like I did on the Gold Collection version. It looks MUCH better than recent restorations on films from the same era, like The Great Mouse Detective and Oliver and Company. I'm surprised to see how much care was given to this film vs. others that have proven themselves as top sellers for Disney.

The trailers found on the disc are mostly the normal ones being put on everything right now. The disc opens with Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue, Beauty and the Beast and the same Tangled teaser. From the menu you can also find Prince of Persia, Oceans/Crimson Wing and A Christmas Carol. I'm surprised that Disney auto plays trailers for more girl-oriented releases on a release that skews more towards boys. I think they missed an opportunity to promote Tron: Legacy on this disc.

The case is pretty flimsy because it's made from recycled plastic. Inserts include a DMR code and an add for Disney Blu-Ray. The annoying Dylan and Cole Sprouse Blu-Ray promo and the "How to take your digital copy with you" featurette are redundantly added, even though there isn't a Blu-Ray or digital copy version of The Black Cauldron available.

I'm really happy that I decided to double dip on this release. The restoration alone makes it worth shelling out $15 (Amazon's sale price) and I was able to pick this up for $8 with the current DMC promotion. The added deleted scene and game in addition to the previous bonus features definitely make this re-release a worthwhile upgrade for fans.

Is the widescreen anamorphic?

if it were otherwise, there wouldnt be a restoration.

[blackcauldron85]

rough animation

The excess grain is gone and I didn't notice any flickering like I did on the Gold Collection version. It looks MUCH better than recent restorations on films from the same era, like The Great Mouse Detective and Oliver and Company.

The added deleted scene and game in addition to the previous bonus features

Does it have the same photo gallery as the Gold Collection disc? And was everything else ported over?

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[IagoZazu]

The deleted scene is 9 and a half minutes long and uses a mix of rough animation and storyboards with the original audio elements and score elements from elsewhere in the film.

That's nice to know.

The new game is a mix of answering riddles and finding hidden items. It kept me occupied for about 10 minutes and wasn't as stupid as other DVD games that Disney has made in the past.

Good!

The real reason to upgrade of course is the new transfer. I haven't watched the film in it's entirety, but I jumped around to a few scenes. The excess grain is gone and I didn't notice any flickering like I did on the Gold Collection version. It looks MUCH better than recent restorations on films from the same era, like The Great Mouse Detective and Oliver and Company. I'm surprised to see how much care was given to this film vs. others that have proven themselves as top sellers for Disney.

Wow, that's wonderful! I wouldn't have thought they would give it more care than the other 80's films.

The added deleted scene and game in addition to the previous bonus features definitely make this re-release a worthwhile upgrade for fans.

Sounds like this DVD is really good. Now I can't wait for September!

[goofystitch]

Disney Jedi wrote:

Is the widescreen anamorphic?

The new transfer is anamorphic and it looks great.

blackcauldron85 wrote:

Does it have the same photo gallery as the Gold Collection disc? And was everything else ported over?

The photo gallery appears to be identical in every way to the previous release, including the menu for it which is in fullscreen. Everything else was ported over, so you don't have to worry about hanging on to your Gold Collection version.

And now for some photos. Here is a shot of the new animated menu. Gurgie and the fair folk enter and exit as they please.


Here is a screencap of the new deleted scene:


And a few comparisons. The Gold Collection is on top, 25th Anniversary Edition on bottom:

[IagoZazu]

Wow, those 25th Anniversary screenshots look so good! The brightness makes such a big difference!

[DisneyJedi]

Then I suppose I shall be getting it, then.

[Flanger-Hanger]

Is it just me or do certain shots look cropped? Like the new DVD is 2.35:1 (maybe 35mm print) and the old one was 2.2:1 (70 mm print)?

Thanks for all the updates goofystitch. Is the theatrical trailer from the old DVD there too?

[goofystitch]

Is the theatrical trailer from the old DVD there too?

I didn't realize there was one on the old DVD. I didn't see a theatrical trailer in the bonus features section.

[DisneyJedi]

Is it just me or do certain shots look cropped? Like the new DVD is 2.35:1 (maybe 35mm print) and the old one was 2.2:1 (70 mm print)?

I just compared the screenshots, and saw that the newer ones are only slightly cropped.

[tlc38tlc38]

The new screenshots almost look like Blu-ray quality. I honestly didn't think the new restoration would be that much of an improvement over the GC edition, I guess I was wrong.

[Heartless]

goofystitch, thank you SO much for the screenshots! It looks absolutely fantastic, this is honestly my most anticipated release this year.. I cannot wait to get my hands on it.

So the only possible way of getting a copy of this right now is through the Disney Movie Club? They made it available early, is that right? I saw a few copies of it available on eBay (there were more yesterday), but I'm just assuming they got it through the Disney Movie Club as well..

It would be shocking to me if this actually did not come with a slipcover, though.. I'd be disappointed.

I'm SO excited for this.. gimme now!!

[ajmrowland]

preordered this last night-along with a Half-Blood Prince poster from that film's theatrical campaign.

anyway, it took me a moment to notice some of the differences in the restoration-having not seen the film at all-but it really does look great. I just hope it can live up to the hype that all you UDers have.

[fatcake]

I can't wait to get this! But the only thing I don't like is the menu, cause I was expecting the menu to be an animated cg cauldron enstead of that one, well I hope the feature release will feature that

[Heartless]

goofystitch, if possible, do you think you could possibly get some pictures of the packaging (esp the back) and a pic of the disc? I'd appreciate it so much!

[Escapay]

Is it just me or do certain shots look cropped? Like the new DVD is 2.35:1 (maybe 35mm print) and the old one was 2.2:1 (70 mm print)?

I measured the two shots and the new DVD is 2.35:1, but the old DVD is (strangely) 2.29:1, so it's not even the 70mm 2.20:1 ratio. Odd.

I didn't realize there was one on the old DVD. I didn't see a theatrical trailer in the bonus features section.

Aoww. Reason enough for me to hold on to the old DVD.

*sigh* The things I do for a one-minute thirty-seven-second trailer.

goofystitch, if possible, do you think you could possibly get some pictures of the packaging (esp the back)

I second the bold. A low-quality picture of the back packaging is on Amazon.com (it's somewhere in this thread too). I wouldn't mind being able to read it.

and a pic of the disc?

I have a feeling it's dull grey like nearly every other Disney DVD since 2008.

albert

[Khonnor]

No slip, no sale

[KubrickFan]

Granted, it's hard to judge them since they're so small, but to me it simply appears sharper. They're just somewhat darker, making it appear sharper than it actually is.
I assume that this is the same as the French version? Doing a new restoration only in SD would be stupid, and doing a new one in HD but not releasing a Blu-ray would be too.

[blackcauldron85]

Thanks again for posting everything, Alex!!!

Wow, it's a lot shinier. Literally. I mean, in the GC picture, Gurgi's apple is just dull, but in the new picture, it's shiny. And wow at the brightness of the Fairfolk picture, but some colors appear to have been changed...

And I was going to keep my GC disc anyway, thanks to some minor scratches, but if I had been planning on selling it, I wouldn't, too, because of the missing trailer...

[Jules]

It should be noted that the Black Cauldron restoration was carried out by Lowry Digital (or DTS Digital Images ... whichever is the current name), so that probably accounts for the pleasing pictures. Also, if the restoration was carried out post-2004 then I can't imagine it not being HD. Actually, even if it was done pre-2004, I'd still expect it to be HD, so Disney can slap the Black Cauldron on Blu-ray whenever they feel like it ... no problem.

Btw, is it normal for Mozilla Firefox to mess up on the UD boards when I'm trying to format text, like adding bold, italics, colour, etc.? I doesn't work properly for me.[/b]

[goofystitch]

So the only possible way of getting a copy of this right now is through the Disney Movie Club? They made it available early, is that right? I saw a few copies of it available on eBay (there were more yesterday), but I'm just assuming they got it through the Disney Movie Club as well..

That is correct. Disney Movie Club released it early. They've done this a few times before. I got the new edition of Pete's Dragon a month early last year through the club.

goofystitch, if possible, do you think you could possibly get some pictures of the packaging (esp the back) and a pic of the disc? I'd appreciate it so much!

Here are some pictures. Lighting in my apartment is poor, so I had to use flash. They aren't the best shots, but you can get the general idea. The disc is the same gray that we have come to expect from Disney DVDs.