Sleeping Beauty Confirmed for DVD AND BLU-RAY in 2008 !!!

[Wonderlicious]

I know lots of people are divided on this, but with regards to the new restoration and the new DVD content (I don't own a bluray player), is it worth me hanging onto my UK Collectors Edition DVD, and not getting this new version ? Or keeping both ? Or selling on my older edition, and just buying the Platinum Editition ?

Personally, I'm planning to keep the old version, though will not forget about the new version at all. I don't have a Blu-Ray player, and probably won't for a good two years (what with being a student and all ), but I will buy Sleeping Beauty on Blu-Ray before it goes back in the vault. Same with Pinocchio and (I know that it's been out, so I should get off my bum and get it in any format) Enchanted. If I have a major craving to see the new bonus features before I get a Blu-Ray machine, I'll probably rent the DVD before hand.

Looking at your situation, I would keep the old DVD and get the new version, but maybe not straight away. If you feel that you're going to get a Blu-Ray player at all within the next two to three years, then I would get Sleeping Beauty in that format sometime between now and vault-time. If you aren't, then I would get the new DVD, but perhaps when it's reduced or in a BOGOF offer.

[a-net-fan]

Is it just me or do the lines look less defined in the new restoration (like with Aurora's supposedly golden hair or Maleficent's flames)? It makes the film look 'dreamy' that way.

Yea I agree. Im really disappointed in the restoration. I mean its nice that you can see more of the picture in the upcoming release but if I had to choose between that and sharper image and vibrant color......Ill take the latter.......but thats just me.

[Disneykid]

Umm...you guys do realize that we can't use this video as a means of judging the color and definition, right? The quality of it is very subpar, and if you're going to be avoiding this release based on that video, then you might as well avoid Narnia and WALL-E since those two also looked pale and fuzzy. Wait until we get some decent quality footage from the restoration before lambasting it. Hopefully someone will have recorded that ABC sneak peek and will post it online.

[yukitora]

Is it just me or do the lines look less defined in the new restoration (like with Aurora's supposedly golden hair or Maleficent's flames)? It makes the film look 'dreamy' that way.

And the lines on Malefedragon's face. I think it may just be the quality. I certainly hope so.

[Disney Duster]

THANK YOU Disneykid!

Sorry but...did you opposers just look at the screencaps and not read what I said? I said I got the restored images from low-quality, blurry video! Just look at how blurry it is, seriously. Obviously it looks bad, it's not a question of less defined lines, everything is less defined. Defined. DEFINITION. HIGH-DEFINITION. Everything will be highly defined on the DVD, sharper, clearer...I can't believe anyone thought this new high-def transfer for DVD and high-def Blu-ray would look less sharp than a standard-def DVD!

Now, it's true that when we finally see the official thing, with the larger ratio, the picture may be smaller, and that, along with the high-definition, may make lines look finer, and thus, perhaps, thinner and smaller. And then maybe we can complain. But we will have to wait and see. I only meant this to be a rough idea of the new restoration, and a very good idea of the new ratio!

A-net-fan, specifically...the Platinum Edition DVD and Blu-ray will no doubt, 100% for sure, be sharper and more vibrant. What I have posted in here was a low-quality, blurry video of the new restoration.

[steven132]

Yes there should be no worries about the clarity of the transfer, the images you posted show just the new aspect ratio, not the new quality of transfer which I think is much better. A member of the Disney family was in the audience and said to the Rep that the quality might be better than when he first saw it at the premiere. This is a quote from DVDfile.com about the image quality.

Oh Yeah, so how did that Sleeping Beauty Blu-ray Disc actually look?

Wow. Folks, the pathetic-quality trailer that you’ve seen on Disney Blu-ray Discs with its blurry out-of-focus images and annoying fluctuations from dark-to-light is gone. Apparently, that trailer was prepared from older elements before Disney had the new digital files from this all-new transfer properly restored. What we saw from the clips of Sleeping Beauty in this demonstration was nothing short of awe inspiring. The 1080p picture was razor sharp, not a hint of edge halos, colors were rich, saturated, and rock-solid, and there was no noise and no contrast fluctuations whatsoever. Detail was incredible, and black levels were spot on. It looked like perfection and was like staring at painted animation cels right in front you. It reminded me of the Cinderella DVD, which also has a stable and noise-free picture, but with the wealth of added detail and color dimension of high definition. The new Blu-ray Disc images look nothing like the compromised and edge halo ridden picture of the existing standard definition Sleeping Beauty DVD, and DTS Digital Images (formerly Lowry Images) has worked their magic to clean each frame to the point of revealing every detail of the original hand-painted artwork without anything in the way. Stunning!

Oh yes, and that 2.55:1 aspect ratio you may have heard about... I received assurances that this aspect ratio is in fact the native aspect ratio of the original photographed negatives and was not achieved by cropping any picture content. For those of you wondering why I’m making a point of this, there’s a bit of controversy among Sleeping Beauty aficionados about this 2.55:1 choice for the Blu-ray Disc since the original theatrical aspect ratio was actually narrower given 70 mm and 35 mm projection at the time. Disney’s choice to go with 2.55:1 may be controversial with regard to original theatrical aspect ratio, but it’s not controversial with regard to the original filmed aspect ratio. Once we can get our hands on some real image captures to compare among the various incarnations we’ll confirm (our review of the Blu-ray Disc in the fall will try to clarify issues related to aspect ratio).

I also did my part to let the Disney representatives know how important it is for fans to be provided with the original soundtrack mix presented in lossless fidelity on Blu-ray Disc. This is important because Disney’s trend is to provide new mixes that are optimized (a debatable term) for home theater, although Disney is generally very good about providing the original sound mix in addition to any new mix on a disc. Alas, there have been some painful exceptions, The Little Mermaid being one. Let’s hope that our desires for both new and original mixes to be provided in lossless fidelity is taken seriously when Disney begins to release their classic library on Blu-ray Disc. In the case of Sleeping Beauty, Disney recently discovered original source recordings in Germany that were used for the historic multi-channel mix, so I’m optimistic for some spectacular sound (the demonstration venue didn’t provide an adequate way to judge sound quality or to compare alternate mixes).

Some interesting trivia from the presentation was that Marc Davis was atiment that Maleficent should be red and black not the purple the designers changed her to. Also Milt Kahl originally designed Prince Philip with a more angular nose and shorter hair and Walt made him change up which angered Kahl. The best part of the evening I think was I was able the meet, talk and get an autograph from Alice Davis. She is a gracious lady who said her favorite costume design she did for pirates is the auctioneer. She even shook my hand. Oh on the backgrounds I mentioned that one part with the fairies because of the value and shading looks so realistic, but the other backgrounds look just as detail but they arent meant to be as realistic. Coming up in August El Capitan theater is going to show the film and on the first night Mary Costa is going to be part of the pannel discussion.

[2099net]

It looked like perfection and was like staring at painted animation cels right in front you. It reminded me of the Cinderella DVD, which also has a stable and noise-free picture, but with the wealth of added detail and color dimension of high definition.

Uh-oh!

[Disney Duster]

It looked like perfection and was like staring at painted animation cels right in front you. It reminded me of the Cinderella DVD, which also has a stable and noise-free picture, but with the wealth of added detail and color dimension of high definition.

Uh-oh!

LIKE the Cinderella DVD, but not the terrible missing lines, fairy dust, and other details! He only mentioned the stable and noise-free picture, not the changing colors!

[yukitora]

THANK YOU Disneykid!

Sorry but...did you opposers just look at the screencaps and not read what I said? I said I got the restored images from low-quality, blurry video! Just look at how blurry it is, seriously. Obviously it looks bad, it's not a question of less defined lines, everything is less defined. Defined. DEFINITION. HIGH-DEFINITION. Everything will be highly defined on the DVD, sharper, clearer...I can't believe anyone thought this new high-def transfer for DVD and high-def Blu-ray would look less sharp than a standard-def DVD!

Now, it's true that when we finally see the official thing, with the larger ratio, the picture may be smaller, and that, along with the high-definition, may make lines look finer, and thus, perhaps, thinner and smaller. And then maybe we can complain. But we will have to wait and see. I only meant this to be a rough idea of the new restoration, and a very good idea of the new ratio!

A-net-fan, specifically...the Platinum Edition DVD and Blu-ray will no doubt, 100% for sure, be sharper and more vibrant. What I have posted in here was a low-quality, blurry video of the new restoration.

oh I hope you weren't referring to my post. I might have not expressed my self the best possible way.

[2099net]

Uh-oh!

LIKE the Cinderella DVD, but not the terrible missing lines, fairy dust, and other details! He only mentioned the stable and noise-free picture, not teh changing colors!

Well, Cinderella doesn't have a stable picture as it's compression noised to heck in some places! (I'm really quite shocked how badly in some places, almost - but not quite - as bad as Beauty and the Beast). And I think noise free goes back to DNR and your complaints about missing fairy dust.

Of course the Blu-ray has a more advanced compression codec, much more bandwidth and disc space, so nobody should be worried.

[Disney Duster]

WOWZERS! I'm happy!!!

Steven 132, thank you for all of that, especially explaining the photorealistic background. I also really liked the mention of trivia, I wondered how much the artists cared about every detail of their characters, and now I know! Makes me think they put so much into it! Also, like Marc Davis, I also wish Maleficent had red instead of purple, as well as red and yellow flames.

Yukitora, after the disappearing lines in Cinderella, trust me, I care very deeply about that issue. I was speaking to everyone, not just you, that we must wait for the DVD or official, actually good quality screencaps.

Netty, oh, yea, Cinderella looks so bad, but maybe on Blu-ray and later DVD they will fix it and all the lines and details and fairy dust will come back! Also, you and me both have problems with DNR (you helped me realize it's bad, bad, bad!). And we will have to see Sleeping Beauty to judge if the same thing happened to the lines and fairy dust as well.

[Matt]

Here is the track list for the Sleeping Beauty & Friends CD:

1. Once Upon a Dream
2. I Wonder
3. The Art of Dressing Well
4. Colors of the Wind
5. Reflection
6. Something There
7. I Won't Say (I'm in Love)
8. Riddle Diddle 1, 2, 3
9. Hero of the Story
10. You Dream It


So yeah, we will be double dipping if you buy this CD. I think Riddle Diddle 1, 2, 3 is the deleted song from the fairs. You Dream It sounds familiar too. I think Hero Of The Story is new too.

[PrincePhillipFan]

Not sure if anybody else has heard yet, but on July 17, Disney just announced that there are plans to be reopening the Sleeping Beauty castle walk thru at Disneyland by November/December. They're planning to go back to the 1957-77 original version, and adding new and enhanced scenes to it as well.

Imagineers Tony Baxter, Chris Merritt, and John Gritz held a presentation for it at Disneyland where they discussed the upcoming DVD, what the virtual walk-thru will be like, and what the newly refurbished walk-thru will acutally be like here. Here's a few videos and pictures from the show at the link. Enjoy!


http://www.laughingplace.com/Lotion-View-704.asp

[yukitora]

by jove! Disney really is going at length to please! I think it's just fabulous that one of the "latter added members" of the platinum line is getting such an extensive treatment. I mean, breaking into the Blu-ray platform, headlining the interactive blu-ray player features such as movie chat and now the reinstatement of the 1957 disneyland walkthrough

Thanks, PrincePhillipFan, for the heads up!

[Princess Forever]

Just curious, since I've never been, is this the park in Florida? If so, is the big castle they always show in commercials the one? I thought that was Cinderella's. I would definitely take a trip to see this though. It's nice they provide a virtual tour for the disabled (my mom is in a wheelchair) but I don't think it will feel the same for her

[Wonderlicious]

Just curious, since I've never been, is this the park in Florida? If so, is the big castle they always show in commercials the one? I thought that was Cinderella's. I would definitely take a trip to see this though. It's nice they provide a virtual tour for the disabled (my mom is in a wheelchair) but I don't think it will feel the same for her

The Sleeping Beauty Castle (which we're referring to in this topic) can be found at Disneyland in California. The Cinderella Castle is the one at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Florida, which I'm guessing is what I think you're referring to as being the big one in the commercials (that one often gets shown in Disney theme park adverts over here in the UK). There's also a Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Paris (albeit a more fairy-like one).

[Voiceroy]

Animation/Comics Writer/Voice Director Mark Evanier blogs on the new restored edition from a recent theatrical presentation:

http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2008 ... tml#015555

[yukitora]

Thanks for the read Voiceroy.

Though I rather I didn't read it. I didn't much care of his negative tone regarding the plot, but then I'd be very hypocritical because I thought very much the same after my first viewing. Only after I realized how beautiful the plot really is in encapsulating what medieval fairytales are all about, whilst mixing in modern themes which is where the fairies come in.

Though honestly, Snow White's and Cinderella's romanticism are far more superficial imo. Philip actually goes out and does something brave to save his damsel in distress. The Prince and Charming only need to make an appearance or two and tada! Your romance story of the year. I think it is unfair of him to compare todays standards of a romance to these films of past generation.

[KubrickFan]

Animation/Comics Writer/Voice Director Mark Evanier blogs on the new restored edition from a recent theatrical presentation:

http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2008 ... tml#015555

The article is wrong about one thing: it wasn't some technical error that the film ended up in 2.35:1, it's supposed to be that way for 35mm prints. Original 70mm prints even had an aspect ratio of 2.20:1, so actually that would be the original aspect ratio, and the way it should be on the dvd. Oh, well.

[AlwaysOAR]

Animation/Comics Writer/Voice Director Mark Evanier blogs on the new restored edition from a recent theatrical presentation:

http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2008 ... tml#015555

The article is wrong about one thing: it wasn't some technical error that the film ended up in 2.35:1, it's supposed to be that way for 35mm prints. Original 70mm prints even had an aspect ratio of 2.20:1, so actually that would be the original aspect ratio, and the way it should be on the dvd. Oh, well.

You're so right about that, and the reason I'll wait till the next release to purchase SB. Hopefully Disney will get it right by that time. Though they really have no excuse, for the Blu-ray at least, not to have the original aspect ratios, along with the animated ratio.
I'm afraid also that on the next Black Cauldron release they'll do the same thing they've done to SB, as it also was animated at a 2.55:1 ratio, but projected for 2.20:1(70mm) and 2.35:1(35mm) ratios.