Peter Pan: Platinum Edition DVD Press Release and Discussion

[Nandor]

Well, that does it. A waste of 77 minutes on Disc Two (79 minutes if you count T-Squad's music video).

I've just read the first review of the Dutch DVD, and it's the same here. One minor thing, though. It's called 'Read along and learn English' over here. They couldn't even be bothered to make a Dutch version

[Escapay]

I mean is the world of world wide electronics getting so complicated that its hard to select Subtitles on the DVD Remote

ITA, disneyboy. I mean, 20th Century Fox has the highlighted-subtitles option available for their R&H musicals! Why the hell does Disney have to choose instead to re-encode the movie on the second disc???

Then again, they did it before (Sing-Along versions of High School Musical and Cheetah Girls 2 are re-encoded on disc with burned in subtitles that get highlighted). But still, it's not THAT hard a concept for Disney to grasp, and they've completely f***ed up what should have at least been a half-way decent Platinum. The extras would be forgivable since the transfer is much better, but now, just *knowing* that 77 minutes on Disc Two is a COMPLETE WASTE, it truly sinks this release in terms of quality.

Now this is just a guess and probably just a very hopeful wish/dream that the Christmas Special could be on...the re-release of Peter Pan in Return to Neverland

Now, that idea I like. If only because I missed out on Return to Neverland and it could be *the* worthwhile feature that allows me to pick it up.

Now, that being said I'm actually kind of glad this happened to a film like Peter Pan and not one like Pinocchio.

Still, if Pinocchio is expected to get the same treatment as Peter Pan (simple port of previous edition materials with a few good stuff thrown in), then we can expect the "Pinocchio: The Making of a Masterpiece" documentary (a whole 47 minutes!), cool collection of stills, several split-screen Storyboard/Animation comparisons, and 3 trailers (yes, three! original theatrical, 1984, and 1992!).

So I would rather Disney give poor treatment to Peter Pan than the other remaining titles. (I know that might sound selfish or however you might view it, but it is my opinion!)

You're killing me, Smalls. You're killing me.

And I might sound crazy, but it actually gives me a little hope for the upcoming Platinums. Who knows. Jungle Book might actually recieve a really kick-butt Platinum Release!

Continuing with my expectations of simple-laserdisc-ports, we'll likely get the 15-minute featurette from the 1997 laserdisc, the short Frank Thomas/Ollie Johnston featurette also from the 1997 laserdisc, and the original theatrical trailer. They'll probably also throw in 400+ still galleries and a "deleted materials" featurette, since deleted materials are the main selling points for general consumers (who otherwise couldn't be bothered with commentaries or insightful documentaries )

Then again, the dismal set-up of The Lion King gave way to the sheer "genius" of EasyFind (and a kickass Aladdin DVD). One can only hope the pathetic *quantity* of extras for The Jungle Book will improve over Peter Pan.

Escapay

[yamiiguy]

I'm really dissapointed in this release, I'm going to get it because I don't own Peter Pan on DVD but it could have been alot better. I mean the Christmas Show was announced (for the UK anyway) and they drop it for the movie again just with subtitles, that could have been on Disc 1 which had no extras with a full disc of extras on Disc 2.

Look at what the announced extras were for the R2 edition:

Disc 1:

Audio Commentary – With Animation Historian John Canemaker
Sneak Peek of the all-new movie Tinker Bell
Peter’s Playful Prank: Story Book – Animated Storybook
Disney Song Selection
New Music Video: “Second Star To The Right” (TBC)
Sneak Peeks


Disc 2:
Camp Neverland – ‘Train to be a lost boy’ Interactive games including:
Smee’s Sudoku Challenge – Interactive
T-"argh"-et Practice – Interactive game with three different levels of difficulty
Tink's Fantasy Flight – Interactive game

Backstage Disney
The Walt Disney Christmas Show (1951)
The Peter Pan Story (1952 Featurette)
"You Can Fly: The Making of Peter Pan"
Tinker Bell: A Fairy's Tale
Reconstruction Of An Alternate Opening for “ Peter Pan”
“Neverland” lyrics with music by Richard Sherman
In Walt’s Words: "Why I Made Peter Pan"
Deleted Song – “Pirate Song”

I would have been really happy with that compared to what we are getting now

[Barty]

These are comparison shots from the previously mentioned Dutch review of the new platinum edition, with the old SE release. Note that all screenshots are from the PAL dvd, but the used transfers for those dvds are exactly the same as their American dvds.

props to dvd.nl!

shot1 - Special Edition
shot1 - Platinum Edition

shot2 - Special Edition
shot2 - Platinum Edition

shot3 - Special Edition
shot3 - Platinum Edition

shot4 - Special Edition
shot4 - Platinum Edition

[wildphantom]

All out rave

http://dvdfile.com/index.php?option=com ... 9&Itemid=3

very excited all of a sudden

[Disneykid]

Thanks for the comparisons, Barty! While it's true that the SE's sharper than the PE, I find the SE's sharpness to be very artificial looking, like when you use the sharpening tool on Photoshop. The PE is sharp without being harsh on the eyes, and its colors are far more natural (look how the reds in the SE caps are blooming). Everything's a lot smoother and velvety in the new one. At least we have a great transfer to look forward to with this release, which is really what matters in the end.

[Escapay]

All out rave

http://dvdfile.com/index.php?option=com ... 9&Itemid=3

very excited all of a sudden

I've been let down so many times by this release now that I was almost hesitant to read it, but I figured I might as well face another disappointment...

Which I only found a couple times. Otherwise, yes, the review was great, especially the very-technical-but-still-enough-for-me-to-understand Video and Audio section. As usual, the bonus materials seem to still be glossed over (and once again no love for the devote-only-one-sentence-out-of-the-review-to-them games, yet the guy says he's trying to be objective when he discusses the merits of T-Squad's music video...).

One fault I found was with his discussion of "Never Land". Richard Sherman was brought on to set the newly-discovered lyrics to music, though he did make a couple artistic changes (changing a line from "Never Land" to "Never Never Land"). So technically, he composed it, not wrote it.

Also, ITA with Kelvin concerning the new transfer. It's got much better and defined colors and is not as sharp as the SE, thankfully. I think the first comparison is best, as you can see the difference between the greens on Peter Pan's clothes.

Escapay

[BackgroundActorman1976]

Disappointing. Well, since the reviews have been in for a while, I guess all we're getting is:

Disc 1
- The Uncut Movie
- Original Aspect Ratio of creation
- Disney Enhanced 5.1 Home Theater Mix
- Commentary (Recycled)
- Disney Song Selection
- Storybook: "Peter's Playful Prank" (Recycled)

Disc 2:
- Deleted Song: "The Pirate Song"
- Lost Song: "Never Land"
- Paige O'Hara Music Video for "Never Land"
- T-Squad Music Video: "Second Star to the Right"
- Movie Read-Along
- Camp Never Land
- "You Can Fly:" The Making of Peter Pan (Recycled)
- In Walt's Words: "WIMPP"
- "Tinker Bell: A Fairy's Tale"
- "The Peter Pan that Almost Was"
- "The Peter Pan Story"
- Art Gallery
- Peter Pan's Virtual Flight

Good Lord, that's skimpy. First of all, wasn't it confirmed that the original theatrical audio mix was going to be included? I could have sworn it was, but that review didn't mention it. Has Disney given up on giving purists remastered versions of the original, untweaked audio?

This thing had so much potential, especially back when we thought the Christmas Special was going to be included before it was confirmed otherwise. The movie read-along has got to be the most pointless bonus feature in Disney DVD history, and I don't understand why it just didn't occur to Disney that the movie was already on Disc 1. They didn't even include a single trailer for the film. Definately disappointing; this could go down as the worst Platinum yet. I'll still be picking it up, but I'm not going to like looking at the DVD and dreaming of what could have been.

well the following quote below from the review link above says that they have included the original mono audio track on the dvd.

"The audio presentation on this new disc also offers improvement over the previous single-disc special edition release. Not only is the Dolby Digital 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater mix an improvement over the 5.1 mix on the older disc, but this new disc also contains the film’s original mono presentation."

[eggy]

All UK sale sites are still reporting that it will include The Walt Disney Christmas Show, as are dvdaficionado. Will the region 2 release maybe have it then?

[yamiiguy]

All UK sale sites are still reporting that it will include The Walt Disney Christmas Show, as are dvdaficionado. Will the region 2 release maybe have it then?

No, it has not been rated by the BBFC but the sites have it listed because it was announced in the press release

[eggy]

[Pasta67]

well the following quote below from the review link above says that they have included the original mono audio track on the dvd.

Yeah, you're right. I was worried because the review on the previous page didn't mention the original monaural track. I will probably listen to the 5.1 Surround track most of the time, but it's always great to have the original version as an option.

[Matt]

- Paige O'Hara Music Video for "Never Land"

OMG This is worth the purchase in my book!

[Big Disney Fan]

These are comparison shots from the previously mentioned Dutch review of the new platinum edition, with the old SE release. Note that all screenshots are from the PAL dvd, but the used transfers for those dvds are exactly the same as their American dvds.

I couldn't really find any differences between, save for Capt. Hook's skin tones. Whereas in the SE shot, it's got a pink tinge to it, the PE shot shows it more natural. But otherwise, I was hard-pressed to find any significant differences between them.

[Disneykid]

I couldn't really find any differences between, save for Capt. Hook's skin tones. Whereas in the SE shot, it's got a pink tinge to it, the PE shot shows it more natural. But otherwise, I was hard-pressed to find any significant differences between them.

The differences are more obvious if you open each screenshot in its own window or tab and alternate between the SE and PE.

[Escapay]

The differences are more obvious if you open each screenshot in its own window or tab and alternate between the SE and PE.

I'll do you one better, Kelvin...

A closer look at the two versions based on the caps Barty provided...

Peter's costume is less dull and significantly brighter. Also, we can see that they are two much-more-different shades of green now. His skin tone equally is a more realistic color (though if you think about it, the darker dull version could seem more realistic in this nighttime scene, as Wendy had not turned up the oil-lamp fully yet.). Also, the background is not as sharp, making it blend better with the animation.


In this one, the sky is a more truer shade of blue that better fits the scene, and again, Peter's costume is a slightly different green. Also, the lights at the bottom are softer, and not as bright (is that a good or a bad thing? I guess it looks better in motion...)


Here, we can see that Hook's coat is a richer shade of red, with a background that's not as dull as before. The five o'clock shadow does seem rather diminished, but no longer looks like a ridiculous mix of purple and grey (IMO).


Finally, we're treated once again to a much nicer green in the costume for Peter and a much brighter and vibrant picture as a whole. Compare Peter's hair in both versions as well, it's a shade lighter and doesn't make him seem like a redhead.


All in all, this transfer definitely looks better (better isn't strong enough of a word to describe it) than the SE, and feels truer to the look of the film and the style of the film. Still, I kinda liked having that slightly-darker look during the nursery scenes, but it's just a small complaint that will likely be forgotten once I watch the rest of the film.

Escapay

[numba1lostboy]

I would like to share with you all that, after years of waiting, I am finally watching my favorite film ever.
Peter Pan is amazing.

[Luke]

Aaron's review of the DVD has been posted here:
http://www.ultimatedisney.com/peterpan- ... ition.html

[Atlantica]

Wow! That was a wonderful review! Well done!

I'm so glad this DVD is surpassing everyone's expectations, after all the dissapointment that has been associated with it. I'm so excited to get my copy when it comes out in the UK next Monday.

And, I'm also thrilled that the restoration rocked as well, unlike Cinderellas.

SO EXCITED !! !! !! !! !!

[yamiiguy]

Wow! That was a wonderful review! Well done!

I'm so glad this DVD is surpassing everyone's expectations, after all the dissapointment that has been associated with it. I'm so excited to get my copy when it comes out in the UK next Monday.

And, I'm also thrilled that the restoration rocked as well, unlike Cinderellas.

SO EXCITED !! !! !! !! !!

Me too i'm so excited!!! I'll probably get it on Friday or Saturday though since I've ordered it off the net