DVDizzy Forum

hi, can anyone tell me if the following R2 UK dvds are in widescreen or pan and scan. also do any have bonus features.

Johnny Tremain
Kidnapped
Big Red
The Gnome Mobile
Rascal
The Computer wore tennis Shoes
The Castaway Cowboy
Candleshoe
Night Crossing
The Watcher in the Woods
The Journey of Natty Gann
Rocketman
Dragonslayer
The Rookie

Thanks.

ichabod wrote:hi, can anyone tell me if the following R2 UK dvds are in widescreen or pan and scan. also do any have bonus features.

Big Red - Widescreen, no bonus
Night Crossing - Pan & Scan, no bonus
The Watcher in the Woods - Widescreen, no bonus
The Journey of Natty Gann - Widescreen, no bonus
Dragonslayer - Widescreen (non-anamorphic), no bonus

Thanks frankV!
Does anyone have any information about the others?

First, let's correct FrankV's post. <b>Night Crossing</b> is most definitely NOT pan and scan and Disney do not appear to be releasing ANY of their movies in pan and scan on UK DVD.

<b>Night Crossing</b> is in full frame "open matte" format. That is, they have transferred the whole of the original 35mm negative. When prints were made for this film to be shown in the cinema the top and bottom of the frame was cropped to give a 1.75:1 widescreen image. To recreate this at home simply put your widescreen TV in "zoom" mode which at approx. 1.78:1 give the same effect.

You can tell this film is not pan and scanned as the characters heads are half way down the screen which allows for the top to be cropped. Also the opening war footage is "window-boxed" with black bars all around it.

Anyway, onto the other movies, as mentioned most are in widescreen, non-anamorphic.

<b>The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes</b> confusingly says widescreen on the spine, but on the back it says "full frame" and, in fact, this is another "open matte" presentation with unnecessary information visible at the top and bottom which you can thankfully get rid of by using the "zoom" function again.

It's a shame Disney don't go into more detail about the aspect ratio on the cover as "full frame" could mean "pan and scan" or "open matte" and "widescreen" doesn't always mean "original aspect ratio" which is, I presume, is what most people want.

Another confusing Disney DVD is <b>Unidentified Flying Oddball</b> which says full frame format 1.77:1 on the back. Excuse me?
Although it turns out when I played the film it is, in fact, one of the rare "widescreen anamorphic" presentations! A great movie and like most of these "budget" releases can be picked up for around 5.99GBP even though the RRP is a tenner more!

I would also recommend <b>Darby O'Gill and the Little People</b> which is available in full screen "open matte".

Enjoy!

Kidnapped is coming out in Australia in October and will be 1.33:1 (P & S) according to the website. If history is a guide, the UK will be as well.

I'm sure Kidnapped is supposed to be 4:3.

Yes, Disney's Kidnapped was filmed on standard 35mm film which has an aspect ratio of 1.375:1

The prints made for the cinema were once again cropped to 1.75:1 so this DVD edition is, of course, an "open matte" presentation which you can view in widescreen if you have a widescreen telly by watching it in "zoom" mode!

As I mentioned before, Disney do not appear to be releasing any of their movies in "pan and scan" anymore (Hurrah!)

It's just a shame that a proper explanation about the ratio is not included on the box.

disneyunlimited wrote:As I mentioned before, Disney do not appear to be releasing any of their movies in "pan and scan" anymore (Hurrah!)

It's just a shame that a proper explanation about the ratio is not included on the box.

Yeah, I was going by the official site that said "Pan & Scan", but the official site wouldn't know accurate information if it walked up, slapped it in the face and said "Hello, I'm accurate information".

disneyunlimited wrote:<b>Night Crossing</b> is in full frame "open matte" format.

I didn't know that. I thought it was pan & scan.

Rocketeer is Anamorphic 2.35:1 Widescreen no EXTRAS

The Journey of Natty Gann UK Region 2 PAL DVD is 2.35:1 Original Theatrical Aspect Ratio Anamorphic Widescreen. I own this.

Also see: http://www.dvdizzy.com/panandscan.html