DVDizzy Forum

The thread on So Dear to My Heart got me thinking, what other bonus features are on non US releases of DVDs that are not on the Region 1 version of the same title? I'm seriously considering seeking some of these out. Are any out of print or as hard to find as some returned to the vault region 1s?

One other question. When converting a DVD from Pal to Region one are there any hiccups in the footage since Pal is a different frame rate than region 1? If you have a region free player will you notice any difference either? Just asking.

UncleEd wrote:One other question. When converting a DVD from Pal to Region one are there any hiccups in the footage since Pal is a different frame rate than region 1? If you have a region free player will you notice any difference either? Just asking.

DVD regions and framerates are two different things. On the whole, R1 discs will be encoded in NTSC (the American TV standard). R2 (UK, Europe) and R4 (Australia, New Zealand) discs will usually be encoded in PAL. However, Japan is an R2 country, but uses NTSC, and discs from South Amercia may also be in NTSC, despite being R4.

So what you actually need is not just a multi-region DVD player, but also a multi-standard one that can handle both NTSC and PAL. Ideally, you should also have a TV set capable of both NTSC and PAL operation, so that you can view any disc in its native encoded standard. There are DVD players that can convert NTSC to PAL and vice versa, but the conversions tend to be a bit on the basic side (although usually still quite watchable).

Whilst multi-standard equipment is quite common in PAL countries, I'm told that it's not so readily available in the USA. However a quick browse on Amazon suggests that some of these DVD players might be what you need.

Wow some of those are pretty cheap. Does cheapness reflect the play quality?

I still wonder if it would be easier to copy a Pal disc and convert it to Region 1. It seems like there must be software that could do that to so you don't get playback glitches a player might do.

UncleEd wrote:what other bonus features are on non US releases of DVDs that are not on the Region 1 version of the same title?

To the best of my knowledge, here's a few that I know of...

Pinocchio: Special Edition (R2//R4)
IIRC, this was released in 2003 and has a Lowry Digital restoration.

A Wish Come True - a very brief making-of featurette, only about 5 minutes or so.

Storyboard to Film Comparison - likely recycled from the Deluxe Laserdisc, 4 minutes.

Original Theatrical Trailer - 1940. Laserdisc also had trailers for its 1984 and 1992 re-releases, but they're not included on this disc.

Cartoons - a selection of cartoons
--"Cat Nap Pluto"
--"I'm No Fool With Fun"
--"I'm No Fool With Fire"

The Search For Jiminy Cricket - a game

Sing-Alongs
--"Little Wooden Head"
--"Figaro And Cleo" - not from Pinocchio, but from the "Figaro & Cleo" cartoon.

Peter Pan: Collector's Edition (R2 France)
This isn't the Platinum Edition, but an earlier two-disc set (I think circa 2003, after the US SE) that separated the film from the extras, mainly due to two substantial ones exclusive to this French release:

John Canemaker Presents: Nine Old Men & The Art of Animation - a 27-minute monologue of sorts (according to netty's description in a thread that I can't be bothered to find right now) by animation historian John Canemaker, as he discusses the Nine Old Men. There are a variety of film clips and stills that help illustrate the monologue. This featurette has yet to be seen in R1, which is disappointing, to say the least, as it sounds really worthwhile and definitely could have improved Peter Pan's paltry supply of bonus features (and a new doc would've helped too, but I've griped about it enough...).

1924 Paramount Silent Film - the silent film version (with no chapter stops), which is seen in brief extracts in the 1998 featurette (which, in all international releases, is shortened by about 4 minutes). The same film is available in R1 by Kino Video, with a couple noteworthy extras (namely a new orchestral score and an interview with one of the actors).

In addition to the aforementioned two, a couple minor extras also were exclusive to the original French Peter Pan DVD:

Silly Symphony: "Playful Pan" - it's colorized, as opposed to the original black and white. It should be available in R1 in one of the Treasures sets.

The History of Peter Pan - I think this is a series of text-based stills. I'll have to check netty's review of the set later to confirm.

Also, a Japanese release bundled this two-disc set with Return to Never Land (though the Japanese disc included a "You Can Fly" Sing-Along too).

The Aristocats (R2/R4)
Should be noted that we're getting a new SE of Aristocats next year.

The Sherman Brothers: The Aristocrats of Disney Cats - a brief 7-minute featurette about the Sherman Brothers.

Sing-Along: "Ev'rybody Wants To Be A Cat"
O'Malley's Singing and Painting Game
Scrapbook - a still gallery
Silly Symphony: "The Country Cousin"

The Fox and the Hound (R2/R4)
R1 got pretty much the same thing (plus a lil bit more) last year, though the earlier international releases had different bonus cartoons (I think).

The Black Cauldron (R2 France)
Nothing new in terms of bonus features, but it does have a remastered anamorphic transfer. (R1's is unrestored and non-anamorphic).

The Rescuers Down Under (R2/R4)
There's not much added to the international releases, though it's still more than the R1 Gold Collection disc:

The Making of The Rescuers Down Undera 10-minute featurette about the making of the movie.

Mickey Mouse Short: "Mickey Down Under"
Donald Duck Short: "Daddy Duck"
Sing-Along: "Rescue Aid Society"
Scrapbook - a still gallery
Outback Rescue - a game

Pocahontas (R2)
Whilst R1 got a paltry GC disc, the first release for R2 had a few extras that were latere carried over to the new 2005 two-disc (which actually was released in 2004 in some parts of Europe). However, one notable exception was...

Deleted Song: "If I Never Knew You" - the actual pencil animation for the song, with commentary and an introduction. I'm guessing with its re-instatement in the film, they felt it redundant to include the pencil animation version.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (R2)
With the exception of the Progression Reel, the rest are all featurettes from the Deluxe Laserdisc.

History of Notre-Dame de Paris
History of Production
CGI Demo
Early Presentation Reel
Deleted Song: "Someday"
Progression Reel

Hercules (R2/R4)
A few substantial featurettes, along with the GC features (The Making of Hercules, Ricky Martin music video)

Hercules Video Art Gallery - I'm assuming it's a still gallery in video montage form.
DisneyPedia: Greek Mythology
Art Attack: How To Make A Grecian Urn - while I haven't seen it, I'm wondering what household products they chose to use...
Sing-Along: "Zero to Hero"

And of course, there's a variety of live-action Disney movies that get widescreen DVDs but are P&S hackjobs in R1. Not to mention the two-disc extras-packed Lilo & Stitch set that was released everywhere except in R1. However, if you're willing to import, the Brazilian release is dual-coded for R1 and R4.

Scaps

Escapay wrote:The History of Peter Pan - I think this is a series of text-based stills. I'll have to check netty's review of the set later to confirm.

I think this is the Peter Pan Story featurette. I don't recall any text stills on the dvd.

Escapay wrote:Deleted Song: "If I Never Knew You" - the actual pencil animation for the song, with commentary and an introduction. I'm guessing with its re-instatement in the film, they felt it redundant to include the pencil animation version.

And, they showed most of the pencil scenes in the new "making of" featurette for the scene, anyway.

Thanks for that list!

How about the Sleeping Beauty DVD that was released over a year before the R 1 version? Also are these other region bonus features in English?

Strange about Blacl Cauldron's transfer. I wonder if we'll see that in R1 any time soon.

But why move this to the international section? While this is a question about internation Disney DVDs it is from the perspective of contrast to US versions and importing them to the US. I believe this is a valid Disney DVD topic.

Billy Moon wrote:

Escapay wrote:The History of Peter Pan - I think this is a series of text-based stills. I'll have to check netty's review of the set later to confirm.

I think this is the Peter Pan Story featurette. I don't recall any text stills on the dvd.

Thanks for confirming. I wasn't really sure what it was, since I was going by memory and remembered the French set had "The History of Peter Pan". I wonder why they renamed it though.

Billy Moon wrote:

Escapay wrote:Deleted Song: "If I Never Knew You" - the actual pencil animation for the song, with commentary and an introduction. I'm guessing with its re-instatement in the film, they felt it redundant to include the pencil animation version.

And, they showed most of the pencil scenes in the new "making of" featurette for the scene, anyway.

[/quote]
True, true. Still, I wouldn't have minded seeing it complete in its pencil animation (and few-and-far-between final animation) form.

Uncle Ed wrote:Thanks for that list!

No problem!

Uncle Ed wrote:How about the Sleeping Beauty DVD that was released over a year before the R 1 version? Also are these other region bonus features in English?

I think the Sleeping Beauty DVD is the same everywhere (though some countries may have gotten a pared-down single-disc version), but the US is the only one to have gotten the commentary.

Uncle Ed wrote:Strange about Blacl Cauldron's transfer. I wonder if we'll see that in R1 any time soon.

Given that the Gold Collection discs have been slowly-but-surely been replaced witih newer editions, I'm sure if/when Disney gets to a re-release of Black Cauldron, they'll use this new transfer. Of course, I'd rather the film get a nice features-packed multi-disc set, but that's doubtful.

Uncle Ed wrote:But why move this to the international section? While this is a question about internation Disney DVDs it is from the perspective of contrast to US versions and importing them to the US. I believe this is a valid Disney DVD topic.

I guess so it doesn't confuse people who don't understand the difference between a US DVD and an international DVD? I'd have kept it in General Discussion as well, as to me this discussion is a comparison between R1 and R2/R3/R4 DVDs, as opposed to being strictly about R2/R3/R4 DVDs.

Scaps

Don't know about the bonus features, but the audio and/or video is sometimes much better in R2. Examples:
The Lion King DEHT track is in DTS (and it sounds sweet ). Treasure Planet also has DTS, and Finding Nemo too.
The Nightmare Before Christmas is anamorphic. So is the short The Little Match Girl, on the Little Mermaid dvd.
Some strange differences. But I try to find the best releases possible, and that means getting your dvds from different parts of the world.

China R6 Beauty and The Beast, comes with new Mandarin music video.. very cool.

Jackie Chan in Mulan.. is cool too

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