Disney Films (Criterion Collection)

[Farerb]

Surprisingly, WALL·E is getting the Criterion treatment. It will be interesting to see if other Disney films will get the same treatment.

https://www.criterion.com/films/33246-wall-e

[singerguy04]

This news is AMAZING to hear!

Wall-E is my favorite Pixar film (One of my favorite films of all time), and I'll definitely be getting a copy. I'd love to see some animated classics get the treatment too. I own a few Criterion Collection pieces and think they are a great collection. Especially since it seems Disney has given up on home releases of older movies overall.

[Sotiris]

It's strange Disney has agreed to license one of their films to Criterion. I never thought they would allow that. I wonder if this a one-off or if they will allow more in the future. Now that Disney's home entertainment division has abandoned the premium line for their legacy films, maybe licensing their catalog to places like Criterion or Shout! Factory can be the future of Disney media on home video.

[carolinakid]

I’d especially love to have Criterion editions of the Walt era animated films from Snow White (1937) through Jungle Book (1967). Criterion might also be the way to go to get a worthy release of Song of the South (1946) (in my dreams!!)

I have the Criterion editions of West Side Story (1961) and Showboat (1936) and they’re fabulous!

[carolinakid]

I’d especially love to have Criterion editions of the Walt era animated films from Snow White (1937) through Jungle Book (1967). Criterion might also be the way to go to get a worthy release of Song of the South (1946) (in my dreams!!)

I have the Criterion editions of West Side Story (1961) and Showboat (1936) and they’re fabulous!

[Vlad]

Amazing news, but it’s interesting how the cover doesn’t mention Disney at all. Let’s see what’s coming next, and that they’ll include Disney animated classics as well.

[Disney's Divinity]

It's strange Disney has agreed to license one of their films to Criterion. I never thought they would allow that. I wonder if this a one-off or if they will allow more in the future. Now that Disney's home entertainment division has abandoned the premium line for their legacy films, maybe licensing their catalog to places like Criterion or Shout! Factory can be the future of Disney media on home video.

I hope so. Criterion releases for the greatest Disney films (Pinocchio, TLM, Cinderella, Dalmatians, L&tT, Frozen, TLK, Aladdin, Dumbo, Bambi, etc.) would absolutely get me to double dip. That said, I think this will only happen with (some) PIXAR films--the same crowd who think Disney films are for little children and girls, who sneer at Walt Disney's movies, think PIXAR is "mature" and "real" filmmaking, etc. etc. is probably what this is geared at.

[Farerb]

This news is AMAZING to hear!

Wall-E is my favorite Pixar film (One of my favorite films of all time), and I'll definitely be getting a copy. I'd love to see some animated classics get the treatment too. I own a few Criterion Collection pieces and think they are a great collection. Especially since it seems Disney has given up on home releases of older movies overall.

It's one of my favorite too and I'll probably buy it, and yet I kind of feel disappointed that it's not one of Walt's films or Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin or The Lion King that could have gotten an actual 4K scan and restoration and could actually be a huge improvement over what exists now. Hopefully they'll release them in the future.

[Disney Duster]

Wow, this is extremely amazing news! More so, for me, for what possibilities there are (Walt and Renaissance films, please!), but it's amazing even for Wall-E, a worthy film! Thanks for mentioning Cinderella as part of the greatest Disney films like The Little Mermaid, Divinity! I agree! And I agree with you, farerb. Beauty and the Beast could benefit from a proper restoration (or just them finally deciding what colors are best!) and all those films in 4K would be wonderful (same for Walt films). If this did become a thing for Walt films, it would finally give me hope Cinderella would get a correct restoration.

[blackcauldron85]

Pixar's WALL-E Criterion Collection 4K Blu-ray Is Up for Pre-Order With a Big Discount
https://comicbook.com/movies/news/pixar ... -discount/

[Marce82]

This is great news.

This means there could be future Criterion-Disney-Pixar releases... which means there IS hope for a proper restoration of Cinderella.... sigh. A man can dream, can't he?

[Vlad]

Proper restoration for Cinderella, and proper releases for all the Disney animated classics. Include great behind the scenes material, and a nice, collectible packaging.

[carolinakid]

Disney should allow Criterion to do justice to a Song of the South release. I don’t think those who are offended would care much if it were handled as a release not aimed at children with little publicity. I know Criterion is a business first, but that’s a title, I feel, that would practically sell itself.

I’d also love to see a completely restored version of The Black Cauldron in addition to the titles I previously mentioned above.

[Disney's Divinity]

Most people don't even know what Song of the South is, so I imagine it wouldn't sell well, racism aside.

These would be great for all the WDAS films, but I still think this is more aimed at that would-be serious crowd who always thought PIXAR made "real" films, unlike WDAS. With that kind of lens on, the only WDAS films they might be interested in are B&tB, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Fantasia, maybe Hunchback since all those films are "vewy sewious" movies and Snow White because it was "the first." But if elitist snobs weren't running this line and Disney would actually aloow them, I'd love to get proper restorations for the films Disney's screwed up this way. So that's what--Cinderella, The Sword in the Stone, Beauty and the Beast, and Alice in Wonderland. Any others as bad off as they are?

[carolinakid]

You don’t think that die hard Disney fans and collection completists, or the hundreds of people who sign petitions for Disney to release it, or the hundreds who own bootlegs (I own 2 copies myself- one I bought at the Joel Chandler Harris museum, the other in Italy) or people in other countries who adore the film would purchase a Criterion edition of this beloved classic? Sorry, div, but I think you’re greatly underestimating the interest in this title.

And I don’t want to argue with you, but whether SOTS is racist is a matter of opinion. Even Disney legend Whoopi Goldberg with whom I disagree 95% of the time has implored Disney to release the film . James Baskett’s and Hattie McDaniel’s performances alone deserve to be celebrated and appreciated, not canceled and banned by current “woke” culture.

I don’t know or particularly care how “woke” Criterion is—-they did release the 1936 Showboat, blackface sequence and all—- but I think SOTS would outsell many of their releases, even probably WALL-E. I know the special edition of THAT particular film is enough for me.

[Disney's Divinity]

I'm not arguing with you. That it's racist is a foregone conclusion, which is the reason I didn't focus on that. The point is most people don't even know what SotS is. Even someone like me who was obsessed with Disney as a child, I didn't know what it was when I first started posting here as a middle schooler all those years ago, and I was born at the end of the '80s and grew up on those sing-a-long compilation VHS tapes (Professor Owl) they released that even included "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah." I remember riding Splash Mountain and having no idea who the animal figures were when my family went to Disney world. Now we're several generations later from then, it's likely even more unknown than it was then. No, I don't think it would sell well at all. Not all films do though.

[carolinakid]

Just curious if you’ve ever seen the film...you’re entitled to your opinion , of course, whether you’ve seen it or not, but I’d just like to know if you’ve seen the complete film other than the Sing-a-long sequences. I believe the Sing-a-long series contained Zip-A-Dee-Doo—Dah, How Do You Do? , and Ev’rybody Has A Laughin’ Place.

[Marce82]

I agree with Carolinakid.... I think SotS would sell extremely well, specially if it were a limited edition, and for a "limited time only" type of release.

There is so much controversy about the existence of that film (as opposed to the film itself) and the fact that it has never been released on home video in the US, I think any film collector would rush to get it.

As for myself... I tried watching it once, and found it too boring. Hahahah. Racist or not!

But I want my Cinderella with proper restoration, dammit!

[Disney Duster]

Yes, Cinderella, BatB, Alice in Wonderland, TSitS, all should get proper restored Criterion releases!

Hey, on that Wall-E coverart, is that trash can supposed to remind Wall-E of EVE?

[blackcauldron85]

^ Because I only saw the cover art small on my phone, I didn't realize that it wasn't EVE! So absolutely it's supposed to be his version of her!