question about restorations on platinum ed. dvds?

[disneystarsfan]

i know i saw this before, i can't seem to find it anymore. but, does anyone remember who restored Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast? i thought it was lowry digital. and who restored The Little Mermaid? i think it was someone like techni-color, but please correct me if i'm wrong

[Disneykid]

You're right with The Little Mermaid; it was restored by Technicolor. Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, though, didn't receive restorations because they were animated via the CAPS process (a digital way of inking, painting, and color timing). So what you see on DVD are directly transferred from the original source with no film in the way. Because Beauty and the Beast was released in IMAX and Aladdin was planned to, both films had extra tweaks made by Disney itself so they would look detailed on such a large format (so things like background characters with dots for eyes were re-done with more detail). Beauty and the Beast also had its color scheme tweaked for some reason so that it was brighter and more pastel-looking than the original CAPS files. So to break it down...

Films that have received extensive DVD restorations:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Pinocchio (not seen in R1, yet, but will be used for the Platinum release)
Bambi
Cinderella
Alice in Wonderland
Peter Pan
Lady and the Tramp
Sleeping Beauty
One Hundred and One Dalmatians (already complete and will be seen next Spring)
The Jungle Book
The Little Mermaid

Films that have received partial restorations or minor adjustments:
Dumbo
The Aristocats (already complete, I suspect, and waiting for a release)
Robin Hood
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
The Fox and the Hound? (debatable)
The Great Mouse Detective

Everything from The Rescuers Down Under onward was done digitally and don't need restorations. That film, though, along with Hunchback and Hercules, have not gotten digital transfers. Their current DVDs are from film prints.

I'm also expecting Fantasia to receive a digital overhaul for its Platinum release since the current DVD is rather grainy. I also think that if Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros are re-released like we suspect, they'll receive at least some minor adjustments. Every over film is pretty much up in the air.

[Escapay]

but, does anyone remember who restored Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast? i thought it was lowry digital.

Disney films restored by Lowry Digital Images (officially known as DTS Digital Images since it was acquired by DTS in 2005, though most people still just call it Lowry):

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Pinocchio (1940)
Bambi (1942)
Cinderella (1950)
Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Peter Pan (1953)
Lady and the Tramp (1955)
Sleeping Beauty (1959)
101 Dalmatians (1961)
Mary Poppins (1964)
The Jungle Book (1967)

The DVD presentations of Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin are their IMAX versions, <strike>though I'm not sure if they've been Lowry-ized or not, and I'm inclined to say they have been.</strike>

ETA: looks like Kelvin beat me to it!

and who restored The Little Mermaid? i think it was someone like techni-color

Technicolor, no hyphen.

Escapay

[jeremy88]

Hmm I'm not sure who restored Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast, I wouldn't think they needed it since they were both shot digitally...perhaps they were cleaned up a bit and the colors slighty altered, but then again I'm not really sure at all...Anyone else know? Lowry did do a lot of other restorations like: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bambi, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty. The Little Mermaid was done by Technicolor Digital Services.

Oh nevermind, DisneyKid and Escapay already answered! I was over here on the same message box for like 20 mintues with a second window open trying to find out who the heck restored everything lol.

[disneystarsfan]

oh,ok thanks guys for clearing things up

[Pasta67]

I wasn't aware that movies animated via the CAPS system didn't require any restoration work whatsoever. So all the Post-The-Little-Mermaid films need is a digital transfer without using film as a middleman and we'd have perfect picture quality? Argh! That just makes the lack of proper Hunchback and Hercules DVDs even more frustrating!

[Jules]

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Pinocchio (1940)
Bambi (1942)
Cinderella (1950)
Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Peter Pan (1953)
Lady and the Tramp (1955)
Sleeping Beauty (1959)
101 Dalmatians (1961)
Mary Poppins (1964)
The Jungle Book (1967)

Escapay, please correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Sleeping Beauty restored by Technicolor? I remember reading that Lowry had no involvement in that. I remember reading something along the same lines for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, too. Wasn't that digital restoration that appears on DVD done in the mid-nineties, outside of Lowry? I believe Snow was also the first film ever in the history of cinema to receive the digital treatment.

I wasn't aware that movies animated via the CAPS system didn't require any restoration work whatsoever. So all the Post-The-Little-Mermaid films need is a digital transfer without using film as a middleman and we'd have perfect picture quality? Argh! That just makes the lack of proper Hunchback and Hercules DVDs even more frustrating!

You know, throw as many cabbages and tomatoes as you want at me, but I find Hunchback's visual presentation on DVD to be very pleasing. True, it has a bit of grain, but it's that very same grain which gives it a bit of character and personality.

I'm also expecting Fantasia to receive a digital overhaul for its Platinum release since the current DVD is rather grainy.

Is the current DVD very grainy? I was thinking of getting it.

[Escapay]

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Pinocchio (1940)
Bambi (1942)
Cinderella (1950)
Alice in Wonderland (1951)
Peter Pan (1953)
Lady and the Tramp (1955)
Sleeping Beauty (1959)
101 Dalmatians (1961)
Mary Poppins (1964)
The Jungle Book (1967)

Escapay, please correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Sleeping Beauty restored by Technicolor? I remember reading that Lowry had no involvement in that. I remember reading something along the same lines for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, too. Wasn't that digital restoration that appears on DVD done in the mid-nineties, outside of Lowry? I believe Snow was also the first film ever in the history of cinema to receive the digital treatment.

Yeah, that was my mistake. I took the list from wikipedia, and didn't think to actually check the discs for SW and SB. I don't have time at the moment to check the discs now (like, check the restoration credits or try and find anything about it online), but I'm sure I read the same thing for SW (being done in the mid-90s, which explains why it still looks less-than-pleasing to me during some portions).

Escapay

[2099net]

I believe Sleeping Beauty and Snow White were restored in-house by Disney (presided over by Scott McQueen).

Of course, they no longer have such a facility. Not when it can be outsourced.

[Pasta67]

You know, throw as many cabbages and tomatoes as you want at me, but I find Hunchback's visual presentation on DVD to be very pleasing. True, it has a bit of grain, but it's that very same grain which gives it a bit of character and personality.

Actually, I agree. I was skeptical about buying Hunchback's DVD as well, since everybody here had been saying the picture quality was bad. After I bought it, though, I was very pleased. It's a very good transfer, but finding out that it could be much better just by giving it a new digital transfer without any effort from Disney just shocked me.

Yeah, that was my mistake. I took the list from wikipedia, and didn't think to actually check the discs for SW and SB. I don't have time at the moment to check the discs now (like, check the restoration credits or try and find anything about it online), but I'm sure I read the same thing for SW (being done in the mid-90s, which explains why it still looks less-than-pleasing to me during some portions).

Sleeping Beauty doesn't have restoration credits attached to the movie in the Special Edition, so those discs won't do you any good. There isn't any name-dropping in Disc 2's restoration featurette either, so that doesn't help. Netty's probably right about it being an in-house remaster.

[Escapay]

You know, throw as many cabbages and tomatoes as you want at me, but I find Hunchback's visual presentation on DVD to be very pleasing. True, it has a bit of grain, but it's that very same grain which gives it a bit of character and personality.

Actually, I agree. I was skeptical about buying Hunchback's DVD as well, since everybody here had been saying the picture quality was bad. After I bought it, though, I was very pleased. It's a very good transfer, but finding out that it could be much better just by giving it a new digital transfer without any effort from Disney just shocked me.

I like the transfer too. (And I just wanted to give Pasta a silly quote-name!)

Yeah, that was my mistake. I took the list from wikipedia, and didn't think to actually check the discs for SW and SB. I don't have time at the moment to check the discs now (like, check the restoration credits or try and find anything about it online), but I'm sure I read the same thing for SW (being done in the mid-90s, which explains why it still looks less-than-pleasing to me during some portions).

Sleeping Beauty doesn't have restoration credits attached to the movie in the Special Edition, so those discs won't do you any good. There isn't any name-dropping in Disc 2's restoration featurette either, so that doesn't help. Netty's probably right about it being an in-house remaster.

OMG, you remembered my Zulu phase???

Anyways, thanks Pasta and netty for confirming about SW and SB. BTW, does anyone know what Scott MacQueen is up to these days?

Escapay

[Jules]

I'm sure I read the same thing for SW (being done in the mid-90s, which explains why it still looks less-than-pleasing to me during some portion.)

Don't get me wrong - I think SW looks stunning on DVD. But I agree, there are some tell-tale signs which show it wasn't done by Lowry. The restoration is actually very much like those of Lowry (or DTS, whatever ...) It's just that the computer wizards seem to have, very very rarely, missed correcting the rare speckle or blemish. You can also see some strange distortion in the video in the opening book sequence. I believe the area of the pages closest to the spine sports a strange grainy look. Wonder what it could be ...

Actually, I agree. I was skeptical about buying Hunchback's DVD as well, since everybody here had been saying the picture quality was bad. After I bought it, though, I was very pleased. It's a very good transfer, but finding out that it could be much better just by giving it a new digital transfer without any effort from Disney just shocked me.

Do you think it would be a good idea to have two versions of the film? One taken direct from the digital source, and the other transferred from a film print. That way everybody'd be happy - the picture freaks and the film purists.

[2099net]

From what I can remember reading at the time, the problem with the Hunchback disc isn't so much grain, but compression artifacts. That said, I never noticed any of them myself, and thought it was an excellent transfer - but I probably will now that I have my new(ish) HD TV.

[Disneykid]

I don't think the Hunchback disc looks that bad, either. That said, there IS a lot of grain and speckles, as well as some edge enhancement, though they're only really noticeable on my HDTV. The film looks flawless on my analog TV. I honestly don't recall seeing any compression artifacts, though. Really, the movie looks pretty decent, but knowing that Disney can easily make it flawless with a directly digital transfer (and readily available supplements) is frustrating.

[Jules]

I have to admit the Hunchback DVD has a ripping DTS track. Leaves the Dolby track in the dust.

Escapay

[disneystarsfan]

disney could've made 2006 a great year last year by simply giving us a 10th anniversary edition or better yet, 2-disc special edition of hunchback with a new transfer, even though the 2002 one is looks pretty good i also admit. i would have wanted to see a trailer(if the current one dosen't already, i have to check).

[Jules]

Well disneystarsfan, if it's any consolation - at least the 2002 Hunchback release doesn't come with a tree-killing DVD condom.

Escapay

[EricMontreal22]

I agree Hunchback needs a special edition--they left off some great stuff (notably the song demos) from the gorgeous laserdisc--I still haven't bought the dvd though I suppose I shouldn't hold my breath.

Was the tenth anniversary Pocahontas a digital transfer?

[Escapay]

Was the tenth anniversary Pocahontas a digital transfer?

Yep, and it was a markedly superior quality compared to its Gold Collection disc.




Escapay

[Jordan]

I would like to add that, if I'm not mistaken:

Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and Pinnochio (even on the exclusive edition released in Europe) DID NOT RECEIVE A DIGITAL RESTORATION but were only remastered from the films. The Jungle Book and 101 Dalmatians' first digital presentations will be on the upcoming Platinum Editions. As for Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, probably when the movies are rereleased on DVD and Blu-Ray in 2008.

And I think that when you watch the Special Editions DVDs of Snow White or Sleeping Beauty now on a HD display, you can clearly see that it's NOT a digital restoration since the picture quality really doesn't look stunning as it seemed to look on an older and non-HD TV set. After all, Snow White was released on DVd already 6 years ago...

As for Dumbo (the last release), it had a digital transfer but was not digitally remastered.