I wish Disney would stop this 'Moratorium' business with their home video titles.

[voicebug]

Is anyone else out there frustrated about this whole Moratorium deal that Disney has with its animated features? Come on. Do they really need to pressure people into buying the titles before they go 'back in the vault?'

It just seems like a selfish marketing strategy. I can understand if they re-release a title with better mastering, more bonus features, or whatever. But, please, keep at least one version in print.

Don't you think that there is some little girl out there 5 or 6 years old who just wants to have her very own copy of, say, The Jungle Book, and she can't even have it because that title has gone 'back to the vault.'

These movies are decades old. They've been paid for and the people who made them are, in many cases, deceased. My gosh, Disney, just keep them all in print at a decent price and they'll be consistent bestsellers. Just my opinion.

[Sckott]

Marketing, my boy. And it's not just Disney that does this kind of thing.

Sad, yes. My Fantasia LD doth never be improved. :(

[Captain Groovy]

It just seems like a selfish marketing strategy.

Walt himself started it, believe it or not. He wanted things released like that so a new generation would enjoy the rereleases at the same time...

JEFF!

[TSmithPage]

Yeah, and what do you tell your 4 year old when her cousin breaks her Toy Story 2 DVD? Sorry, dear, but Disney took it out of print, so you can't have another copy. Either that, or bite the bullet and pay inflated ebay prices for a DVD arbitrarily and artificially out of print...

[Ed Bishop]

Marketing, my boy. And it's not just Disney that does this kind of thing.

Sad, yes. My Fantasia LD doth never be improved. :(No....and of course they had to futz with the sound and ending of that one, and I don't think they did restore that minotaur scene to its proper presentation, did they?

I think I've still got both CLV and CAV editions of that one...I know the latter is still around! Nice package....

:ed:

[Ken_McAlinden]

No....and of course they had to futz with the sound and ending of that one, and I don't think they did restore that minotaur scene to its proper presentation, did they?Since the censoring of that sequence was done during Walt's lifetime with his full knowledge and support, it is unlikely we will ever see it any other way than it appears on the DVD and laserdisc. It is a shame that the DVD replaces Deems Taylor's voice, though. They did not have stems for the extended scenes, so they replaced his voice on all of them. :(

Regards,

[SamS]

Yeah, and what do you tell your 4 year old when her cousin breaks her Toy Story 2 DVD? Sorry, dear, but Disney took it out of print, so you can't have another copy. Either that, or bite the bullet and pay inflated ebay prices for a DVD arbitrarily and artificially out of print...

Whaaaaaat?

TS2 oop? Travesty. My favorite animated title gone for no particular reason. Sounds to me like greed on behalf of Disney. I'm all for a "market economy" but this smells more of monopoly.

[fjhuerta]

Marketing, my boy. And it's not just Disney that does this kind of thing.

Sad, yes. My Fantasia LD doth never be improved. :(

Sckott, I own the Fantasia LD and the DVD box. Is there a difference between both of them? I thought the DVD was the "definitive" version of the movie.

[SamS]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=617&item=4186352261&rd=1


YiKEs! I think I paid $39.99 for mine :(

[Ken_McAlinden]

Sckott, I own the Fantasia LD and the DVD box. Is there a difference between both of them? I thought the DVD was the "definitive" version of the movie.
I'm not Sckott, but if you have the DVD, it recreates the extended roadshow version of the film, which consists mainly of longer segments in between the animated sequences. This is nice to see, but the drawback is that they had all of the footage they needed for the extended scenes, but none of the audio. As a result, they had to have someone else dub in Deems Taylor's voice. For the sake of audio continuity, they also decided to replace Deems Taylor's voice for the entire film, not just the extended bits. The only way you can hear Deems Taylor's actual voice on video is via the previous laserdiscs and tapes.

On both the laserdisc and the DVD, there are a couple of censored scenes in the Pastoral Symphony segment where they omit the depiction of some centaurettes with african features acting as handmaidens. These scenes are easy to spot even if you are unfamiliar with the original, since the method of censorship was to zoom in on the frame so that only part of it is visible. The grain pattern changes noticeably in addition to the framing looking a little hinky.

Regards,

[-=Rudy=-]

Don't you think that there is some little girl out there 5 or 6 years old who just wants to have her very own copy of, say, The Jungle Book, and she can't even have it because that title has gone 'back to the vault.'

I agree--and *I* am the one who wants the Jungle Book DVD! That moratorium crap is one reason (among many) that I dislike Disney. They were the one studio so paranoid about video piracy that their laserdiscs came out several months after VHS. I don't think that did anything but made people like me rent the VHS, copy it, and use the copy until the LD came out. (Or if the movie *really* sucked? At least I had the blank tape to show for it. ;) )

Their traditional animation division is already on the skids. Pixar's on the way out. The ONLY thing Disney has left is their movie vault, and they're donkin' around by playing "DVD release Russian roulette". :rolleyes: And they wonder why they're in financial trouble?

[Ken_McAlinden]

I agree--and *I* am the one who wants the Jungle Book DVD! That moratorium crap is one reason (among many) that I dislike Disney. ...Rudy,
Not to upset your soapbox too much, but you can easily snag a copy of The Jungle Book DVD on eBay for under $20 -- probably sealed. Other than Bambi, Cinderella, Aladdin, Song of the South, So Dear to My Heart, and Home on the Range, there isn't really an animated Disney feature film that can't be found for less than $30 on DVD today. :)

Regards,

[-=Rudy=-]

Last time I checked (several months ago), Jungle Book was $30+ on eBay. :( Which is why I didn't bother looking recently. (Supply and demand seem to have evened out by now--looks like I could grab one for around $15.)

Even there, I have to be careful just because there are so many Chinese imports that pass themselves off as the genuine article. (Usually full-screen, no extras, no insert card, and who knows what they used for a source.) If the listing doesn't specify, I usually find out by e-mailing the seller to ask if it's the official US release. If I don't get a reply, I just assume the seller's pawning junk. ;)

[Sckott]

I'm not Sckott, but if you have the DVD, it recreates the extended roadshow version of the film, which consists mainly of longer segments in between the animated sequences. This is nice to see, but the drawback is that they had all of the footage they needed for the extended scenes, but none of the audio. As a result, they had to have someone else dub in Deems Taylor's voice. For the sake of audio continuity, they also decided to replace Deems Taylor's voice for the entire film, not just the extended bits. The only way you can hear Deems Taylor's actual voice on video is via the previous laserdiscs and tapes.

On both the laserdisc and the DVD, there are a couple of censored scenes in the Pastoral Symphony segment where they omit the depiction of some centaurettes with african features acting as handmaidens. These scenes are easy to spot even if you are unfamiliar with the original, since the method of censorship was to zoom in on the frame so that only part of it is visible. The grain pattern changes noticeably in addition to the framing looking a little hinky.

Yes sir. Hinky is the perfect word too! In reality, Fantasia has never really truly been perfect in home video. It never came out on CED, right?

On DVD, the roadshow missing audio...They couldn't reproduce Dean's voice OR the sound of the RCA microphone (I THINK it was an RCA Mic). Sadly, I think it takes away from the experience since the vintage audio is hard to mess with using new technology. You can't FAKE a Tele U-47 for instance!

Someday, they'll ditch the Roadshow version, release it un-edited in limited edition to fanatics only at a heft price. There's another old-new product for Disney to sell, once again.

[-=Rudy=-]

FWIW, I took a chance on a snipe for a Jungle Book DVD this afternoon. $12.51, plus $6 shipping! :D (Thanks to Ken for prompting me to check eBay after many months. :thumbsup: )

[ubsman]

FWIW, I took a chance on a snipe for a Jungle Book DVD this afternoon. $12.51, plus $6 shipping! :D (Thanks to Ken for prompting me to check eBay after many months. :thumbsup: )
$6? Must be a heavy one, eh?

[Damián]

..and I don't think they did restore that minotaur scene to its proper presentation, did they?

What's that about the minotaur scene?

It's been years since I last watched that movie.. I remember the first time was a Super-8 rental (remember those) from my Dad back in what.. 1982?