Vault Disney DVD Collection

[Michael Zielski]

Just wanted to make sure that everyone is aware of apparently a NEW DVD series--the "Vault Disney Collection," which premieres May 7 with Old Yeller, The Parent Trap, and Swiss Family Robinson!!! Widescreen, 2-DVD sets, with quite alot of extras and audiocommentaries! I just found out about this--somebody apparently IS paying attention at Disney, what great news! Now if we could only have the companion "Vault CD Collection," we might be all set! Has everyone heard of the series? Michael.

 

[chris]

This is very exciting. "Pollyanna" will also be released in this series. You can see the cover pictures and descriptions of the extras on Amazon.com. "Parent Trap" will have commentary by Hayley Mills. I can hardly wait!

 

[will]

SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON will be presented in 2:35 Widescreen (16x9 enhanced)
THE PARENT TRAP will be presented in 1:66 Widescreen (16x9 enhanced)
POLLYANNA & OLD YELLER will be presented in Full-Frame

 

[will]

It appears that both Pollyanna and Old Yeller will be released on DVD in widescreen.

Amazon has 1:75 widescreen and Dolby Digital 5.1 stereo sound for both. But they are the only e-tailer that lists these features. All of the others I searched still listed both as Full-Frame releases.

Disneyvideos.com lists Old Yeller with 1:75/DD 5.1, but still lists Pollyanna as 1:33. I guess we will have to wait and see. I still plan on getting all four dvds. May 07 is going to be an expensive day for me!

BTW, apparently 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Love Bug wil be two of the titles in the next wave of Vault Disney releases.

 

[Michael Zielski]

Wow, great news about 20,000 Leagues being one of the next releases--I'm just finishing the book now! My source concerning the releases has been amazon, and as you said, all four of the initial releases, according to their listings, will hopefully be in some aspect of widescreen! Also, being a big fan of Maurice Chevalier, I just happened to stumble onto the fact that Monkeys Go Home is going to be another up-and-coming DVD release--but I suspect from amazon's listing, that it is going to be one of the releases condemned to a full-screen presentation! How insulting, to viewers, and to the film creators! Will, what do you think is the most effective way to contact Disney on the matter--letter, e-mail, or phone? I have yet to do so--Michael.

 

[will]

Michael,

according to Disney's website, both Monkeys Go Home and Blackbeard's Ghost are listed as being released on dvd in 1:33/Full-Frame. Two more purchases Disney has lost from me.

As for contacting them,

call1-800-72-DISNEY and let the customer service rep know how you feel about this. If you enjoy seeing movies filmed wider than your tv screen, then tell them you prefer the letterbox/widescreen format. That you enjoy see a movie presented in it's original theatrical ratio. The chances of seeing these films ever presented this way again is through this format. Mr. Chevalier was a good friend of Walt's, do you think Walt would want to know that Maurice was cut off the screen because Joe Sixpack doesn't like those darn "black bars". :

email disneyinfo@disneyhelp.com -- the rep will also probably suggest this, since it "supposedly" goes directly to the marketing department, who apparently makes these decisions. Again, let them know how you feel. 20,000 Leagues was filmed in CinemaScope with a 2:55 aspect ratio. I would really hate to see this film released on dvd in full-frame with over 30% of the action cut-off.

write Walt Disney Home Video @ Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Dept. CS, Burbank, CA., 91521 and again let them know.

spread the word -- have your friends and relatives do this too. Disney claims that this (full-frame only releases) is what the majority of their customers want for 'family-friendly/kid-friendly" titles. Tell them you are a customer too, and you do not understand why they cannot offer both versions on the same disc to appease everyone. Tell them you will vote with your wallet.

Also, sorry to drag this out, but part of Disney's "marketing" decision is also based on strong-arming by mass-merchandisers like Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, Best Buy, etc. who are tired of having some customers complain that their dvd is broken because of these "black-bars". So when these titles are released, and you are in one of these mass-merchandisers, kindly let them know that you would purchase Monkeys Go Home or Blackbeard's Ghost or Muppet Christmas Carol or Muppet Treasure Island on dvd, if they carried the widescreen version. Once these stores realize they are losing sales, they may try to get Disney to carry either both versions or one version with both formats.

Anyway, hope this helps.

 

[Michael Zielski]

Thank you so much, Will, for your extensive reply--I will do what I can! As I posted earlier, my son is 12 now, and has been "raised" the past few years with wide-screen--anything BUT is unacceptable! It may even be more of an uninformed "Joe Sixpack" thing, than actually a "kid" thing, as you refer to! It'll be tough not buying some of these non-widescreen releases to make the point--but issues relating to the ol' buck usually DO make the point! And you're right about Maurice and Walt--the Sherman brothers even coaxed him out of retirement to record "The Aristocats," which was to be his last recording. I suppose I'm going to have to hesitantly open my sealed LP of "A Musical Tour of France," hosted by Chevalier, on Disneyland Records, and record it onto a CD, using my new recorder--especially if I boycott "Monkeys Go Home," which has him singing "Joie de Vivre," which is on the LP! Thanks again, Michael.

 

[Disney Bean Counte]

I can't wait until a few years from now and all broadcasting is in widescreen. The same soccer moms that are whining about not liking "those black bars" will instead be whining about the gray bars on the sides of there screen when they play those dvd's that used to fill the whole screens...

Why collectors should have to settle for satisfying the demands of the uninformed, lowest-common-denominator is beyond me. ???

 

[Shane]

Easy there Bean, could be some soccer moms lurking around here right now...hehehe

Good point about full frame signals on HDTV / Widescreen broadcasts; I made sure to mention that in my email to Walt Disney Home Video last week regarding their future disregard for OAR releases.

Why collectors should have to settle? I can't answer that except that we always have and we always will. Well, no, actually I think it has to be about the Benjamins. I'm sure the LCDs outnumber us enthusiasts several times over. But I for one am not the "settling" type. I'd rather do without than compromise for something less than stellar in my estimation of an object's value. But then that's just me.

 

[SharonKurland]

I agree that it hurts. Hurts BAD. But you CAN do it. You might even be able to have your cake and eat it too.

Besides my CD's, I've been collecting Disney pins since 1992. I probably have close to 5,000 by now. Anyway, when the "pin trading thing" exploded about 2 or 3 years ago, I got swept in and bought 2 (or more) of everything, so I could trade for the ones I wasn't able to get. If you have any idea of how many pins WDW alone releases in a single month, multiply that by 2, and you have an idea of how much extra I was putting on my Amex every month.

Last August, they had a "pin event" wherein if there was ANY chance to get the pins that were limited to 1,000, you had to sleep in the parking lot of TTC. Overnight. In your car. It was hot. It was humid. It was noisy. There was NO chance for sleep. And finally, about 4 hours before the event started, I hit my breaking point I told my then-fiance I wanted to go home because NO PIN was worth that kind of aggravation. And from that point on, not only have I refused to attend ANY WDW pin events, I have also stopped trading. I buy ONE pin of whatever it is. So not only am I not getting the "special edition, only for the pin event" pins, I'm also not getting the ones that I would usually trade for (CM pins, etc.). And yes, it HURT and it took a LONG time to get out of the habit.

HOWEVER...eBay is a wonderful thing. And if you wait 2 or 3 months after a pin is released, the prices go down to normal or just-below-normal (because the market is post-glut). And I'l sure that will be true with those Disney DVD's that you REFUSE to buy from Disney because it's not in letterbox format.

By the way...WDW now charges $25 just to get INTO their pin events every other month. That's no guarantee that you'll get the super-limited-edition pins, mind you...that just gives you the CHANCE to get into the lottery to get them. Just when you think they've figured out every single way to milk people dry, someone figures out another way.

They can keep it.

-Sharon-

 

[will]

Sharon,

I'm not sure what you are saying -- should I wait 2 or 3 months to buy the Disney DVDs that I refuse to buy because they were released full-frame on ebay because they will be cheaper? Although I wouldn't have bought them anyway?

 

[SharonKurland]

Will-

I got the impression from some of the writers that some of them would refuse to buy them because they were not in full-frame (i.e. "If it's not in full frame, it's going to suck and is not worth having") and some wouldn't buy them as a way to show Disney that they don't like their current production and selling practices (i.e. "I wouldn't mind having it, even if not in full frame, but I have to show my displeasure"). My suggestion would help the people in the latter category. Disney isn't getting THEIR money (therefore point is made), but they still eventually get a copy of the video.

-Sharon-

 

[will]

Sharon,

My point is, full-frame or pan-n-scan, DO NOT PURCHASE these titles, because that just sends a message to DISNEY that you will settle for whatever they give you, and the possiby re-purchase the title again in the future IF it was made possible in the widescreen format, to compensate the screen on your widescreen TV. Will you really want to re-purchase MONKEYS, GO HOME on DVD in 2 years because it is offered in widescreen, if you do not already own it in full-frame? I would, but Joe-Six-Pack, who obviously controls WAL-MART, TARGET, KMART, BESTBUY, etc. purchasing habits more than likely would not. Why not release it correctly the first time?

 

[SharonKurland]

Hi Will-

(giggle) I think yo're asking the wrong person...in our family, we have Toy Story in VHS, LD and DVD format . Seriously though, I understand your point. I also get the impression that you're in that "first" category of people I mentioned ("I will NOT buy it in anything but wide screen format because it will not be good and I won't enjoy it"). Me, I'm in the "second" category. Hopefully they'll start releasing things in wide screen and then this won't be an issue anymore.

-Sharon-

 

[Michael Zielski]

Will: Monkeys Go Home raises an interesting question. Here's the situation, which will probably apply to other up-coming full-screen releases: I have never even seen Monkeys Go Home. I'm a big fan of Mr. Chevalier. What do I do? I need to see a movie which is not currently commercially available, other than through people selling over-priced videotapes on ebay, for instance--and they are releasing it only in full-frame. What would be the prudent action in this situation? Michael.

 

[Disney Bean Counte]

Sharon,

That pin event that you were describing sounded truly hellacious....

You know folks.... i have a sneaking suspicion that they won't be able to resist releasing Babes in Toyland (1961) in pan-and-scan. Because after all, who really cares about these old movies besides families with small children.

Hey Randy, if 20K is going to be released in the next wave, don't you think that it's time to get that soundtrack dusted off?

 

[1313]

Hello,

Both Old Yeller and Monkeys, Go Home! were shot flat. That is to say, they were filmed "full frame" with an approximate 1.33 : 1 negative aspect ratio. (Probably a little closer to 1.37:1.)

Some Disney features from the '50s and '60s (especially the '60s animated features) were occasionally matted during projection (as opposed to during filming) to something like a 1.75 : 1 aspect ratio.

However, as full academy framing was carefully kept "clean" (clear of mics, lights, grip stands, etc.) during production, it is incorrect to state that either Yeller or Monkeys! is being offered on DVD in anything but the intended aspect ratio.

Contemporary "widescreen" (1.85:1) or anamorphic "widescreen" (2.35:1) formatting would only conceal visual information designed to be viewed.

In other words, the DVDs for these two features will present each picture in the correct ("full-frame") aspect ratio.


1313

 

[Michael Zielski]

I guess I'm getting a little confused by the various types of widescreen terminology. The listing on amazon.com for Old Yeller states that the DVD will be in "widescreen anamorphic format." There is no such description for Monkeys. Michael.

 

[SharonKurland]

Michael-

I guess whether or not you buy the DVD, when you buy it, who you buy it from, and how much you pay for it, will all depend on your priorities. Like I said in my earlier message, if you decide that you DO want to buy it, but don't want to give Disney the satisfaction of selling it to you NOT in wide screen, chances are good it can be found on eBay for a decent price just a few weeks or, at the most, months, after it's released.

And yup, the pin thing was a nightmare. Joe said that when I "gave up" that August night, he knew I meant it because he had never seen me with such a look on my face. it was a mixture of defeat, tiredness, sadness, and 1 or 2 emotions he had never seen in me before.

-Sharon-

 

[Michael Zielski]

Interesting, Sharon, I see your point now--if I buy it from ebay, that way Disney sells one instead of two--very sly.....I like it! Michael.