DVDizzy Forum

I don't know if this has been discussed on here or not, and if it has, I do apologize.

What does everyone think of Disney's "Family Friendly Widescreen" they use on certain DVDs? I have noticed this on "Return to Neverland" and, most recently, "The Jungle Book 2". Does this mean that these movies are only slightly cropped... were they originally produced for a 1.85:1 aspect ratio and cropped to a 1.66:1 so the bars would be smaller?

I can understand people not liking the dreaded "black bars", but why not offer both fullscreen and real widescreen versions? Disney is not winning anyone on this way of doing things -- they still get people mad by having the "black bars", and they also upset the movie purist as well by not having the movie in its original aspect ratio.

Unless the movies were really made that way, and the "Family Friendly" tag is just some sort of marketing ploy.

What are everyone's thoughts on this?

Eric

souldog wrote:Unless the movies were really made that way, and the "Family Friendly" tag is just some sort of marketing ploy.

Bingo, you've got it. I covered the topic in the FAQ section.

I really don't get the "Family Friendly" distinction, but as long as we're getting the original aspect ratio, I really don't care what they call it.

Hello,

Thanks for directing me to the FAQ. As a new visitor to the site and message board, it looks like I have become one of those annoying "newbies" who just blurts out already-asked/discussed questions that I often hate on other boards I go to. For that, I do apologize.

I love this site though. It is brilliant, and offers so much information.

Eric

The only annoying newbie is one who doesn't return.

In fact, most of the FAQs aren't asked all that frequently.

Thanks for the compliments!

I think Disney needs to worry about "Customer-Fan Friendly Original Theatrical Aspect Ratio"

Sulley wrote:I think Disney needs to worry about "Customer-Fan Friendly Original Theatrical Aspect Ratio"

Amen to that!

I still wonder why Disney gives their sequel drek Widescreen transfers when The Muppets are considered to have no adult appeal. Give me a freaking break, Disney. Muppet Christmas Carol is a masterpiece, Muppet Treasure Island is a hilarious comedy. These great films deserve better treatment than they are getting. For them to be released edited on DVD and then drek like "The Jungle Book 2" or "Return To Never Land" to be widescreen makes no sense at all.

Dacp wrote:I still wonder why Disney gives their sequel drek Widescreen transfers when The Muppets are considered to have no adult appeal. Give me a freaking break, Disney. Muppet Christmas Carol is a masterpiece, Muppet Treasure Island is a hilarious comedy. These great films deserve better treatment than they are getting. For them to be released edited on DVD and then drek like "The Jungle Book 2" or "Return To Never Land" to be widescreen makes no sense at all.

Agreed. I love the Muppet movies... and it is ridiculous that Disney assumes because a movie has more of a "kid-appeal", it doesn't need a widescreen transfer. "Tom and Huck" and (non-kid movie) "Can't Buy Me Love" come to mind.

Eric

Can't Buy Me Love is pure '80s fun. I'm glad I got a sample disc for free, as there's no way I'd pay for the Fullscreen, barebones crap.

Great movie, though.

Luke wrote:Can't Buy Me Love is pure '80s fun. I'm glad I got a sample disc for free, as there's no way I'd pay for the Fullscreen, barebones crap.

Great movie, though.

I have always really enjoyed "Can't Buy Me Love"... and its great to run across someone else who likes it to.

Sadly, it looks like I'll have to conform and buy the "fullscreen"-only as I am sure that is a widescreen transfer will never become available.

Eric

I can't believe I've been on the site this long and don't know how to make quote boxes. I guess I've never really used them.
Anyways, Souldog wrote:

"Agreed. I love the Muppet movies... and it is ridiculous that Disney assumes because a movie has more of a "kid-appeal", it doesn't need a widescreen transfer. "Tom and Huck" and (non-kid movie) "Can't Buy Me Love" come to mind. "

If we really think about this one, Disney may be in a freaky step in the right direction: Disney thinks movies with more "kid-appeal" don't need widescreen transfers, thus they believe their souped-up sequels have no kid-appeal, and as most customers agree, they don't really appeal to anyone lately, meaning their starting to see our way of things.

Think of everything in a reversed sort-of other-dimension kind of way, add some wishful thinking and a hint of sarcasm, and VOILA! Psychologist Sulley is in and ready for diagnosis [/img][/list][/quote]

Sulley wrote: If we really think about this one, Disney may be in a freaky step in the right direction: Disney thinks movies with more "kid-appeal" don't need widescreen transfers, thus they believe their souped-up sequels have no kid-appeal, and as most customers agree, they don't really appeal to anyone lately, meaning their starting to see our way of things.

With that kind of roundabout optimism, we CAN'T go wrong!

Sulley wrote:I can't believe I've been on the site this long and don't know how to make quote boxes. I guess I've never really used them. [/img][/list]

[/quote]

You're sure good at closing the code.

To quote a post, there's a button at the top right of the post that will quote the entire post. Or when you're replying, simply hit the Quote button along with all the other formatting.

Or you can just manually type in (quote="Poster you're quoting's name") and ending with (/quote) using [ ] instead of ( ).

Hope that makes sense.

have you noticed too that all their sequels include a DTS track? like kiddies really care for DTS track! i dont even think they know what it is nor care for it. same for soccer moms they are as clueless as the money they are expending on those cheapquels. i sometimes dont get disney. movies that deserve widescreen get the chopped and screwed process and the sequels get their Original horror ratio.

Thanks Luke