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Posts Tagged ‘Platinum’
Sleeping Beauty (Two-Disc Platinum Edition + Standard DVD and BD Live) [Blu-ray] (1959)
![Sleeping Beauty (Two-Disc Platinum Edition + Standard DVD and BD Live) [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61iAG58Xj-L._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
Disney’s 1959 animated effort was the studio’s most ambitious to date, a widescreen spectacle boasting a gorgeous waltz-filled score adapting Tchaikovsky. In the 14th century, the malevolent Maleficent (not dissimilar to the wicked Queen in Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs taunts a king that his infant Aurora will fatally prick her finger on a spinning wheel before sundown on her 16th birthday. This, of course, would deny her a happily-ever-after with her true love. Things almost but not quite turn out that way, thanks to the assistance of some bubbly, bumbling fairies named Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. It’s not really all that much about the title character–how interesting can someone in the middle of a long nap be, anyway? Instead, those fairies carry the day, as well as, of course, good Prince Phillip, whose battle with the malevolent Maleficent in the guise of a dragon has been co-opted by any number of animated films since. See it in its original glory here. And Malificent’s castle, filled with warthogs and demonic imps in a macabre dance celebrating their evil ways, manages a certain creepy grandeur. –David Kronke On the Blu-raySleeping Beauty was the last and most lavish of Walt Disney’s animated fairy tales. He told the artists not to hurry and to give him “a moving illustration”: The film required almost four and one-half years and one million finished drawings. Instead of the 19th century storybook illustrations that had influenced the look of Snow White and Pinocchio, the artists adapted the flattened perspective and jewel-like colors of 15th century French illuminated manuscripts. The results remain unmatched for sheer visual opulence. However, Sleeping Beauty suffers from a weak story: the vision of an ageless princess slumbering in a vine-shrouded tower was replaced with elements of Snow White and a boy-meets-girl musical. The evil Maleficent and the three Good Fairies (Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather) dominate the film, rather than Princess Aurora and Prince Philip. Sleeping Beauty was originally released in 70mm, and the Blu-ray edition restores the film to its original splendor. (Many earlier releases trimmed the wide-screen images and/or muted the glowing palatte.) The Bonus DVD looks good on a flat screen monitor, but it pales in comparison to the richness of the Blu-ray. In addition to the commentaries and a making-of documentary, the set includes myriad extras that vary widely in quality. Nostalgia buffs will enjoy the recreation of the old Sleeping Beauty’s Castle attraction in Disneyland, and the TV program “Four Artists Paint One Tree” provides a welcome showcase for key talents from the film. But the CG animation of the dragon and the voice imitations of the Good Fairies fail to capture the magic of the originals in the “Dragon Encounter”; the “Maleficent’s Challenge Game”–a hi-tech Twenty Questions–sounds only vaguely like the redoubtable sorceress. The BD-Live features require an awful lot of bother: after wading through (or ignoring) 130 screens of legalese, participants must enter their Social Security number or other personal information in the drawn-out sign-on process. Once that’s finally done, viewers can send special messages to pop up during the film, chat online with others who are watching, and view it in synch with others. The question is whether or not you want to. (Rated G: violence) –Charles SolomonStills from Sleeping Beauty (Click for larger image)
Awaken your senses to the majesty of SLEEPING BEAUTY Walt Disney’s ultimate fairy tale. See more than you’ve ever seen before through the magic of state of the art technology and experience this groundbreaking film restored beyond its original brilliance in the way Walt envisioned it pristine beautiful utterly breathtaking. From the grand celebration of Princess Aurora’s birth to the fateful day when she pricks her finger on a spinning wheel and falls under Malificent’s evil curse to Prince Philip’s courageous battle against a fire-breathing dragon the stunning artistry and spine-tingling sounds will transform your home into a fantastic world. The adventures continue as you are immersed into a wonderful world of bonus features.BONUS FEATURESIn the original story, Princess Aurora sleeps for 100 years before being awakened by a prince’s kiss. In the Disney version, Prince Philip comes to her rescue much sooner. George Brun’s orchestral score, which was nominated for an Academy Award, expertly blended famous themes from Tchaikovsky’s ballet. With a budget that exceeded $6 million in 1959, this was Walt Disney’s most lavish and expensive animated feature to date. Determined to make the characters as realistic as possible, Disney had a live action film shot with actors posing as Sleeping Beauty, the Prince, and Maleficent, for the animators to use. New York Times critic Bosley Crowther called the fight between Prince Philip and Maleficent the noisiest and scariest go-round he (Disney) has ever put into one of his films.Live Menus Featuring A Real Time Castle Environment All-New Making Of SLEEPING BEAUTY Featurette Deleted Songs And More!DISNEY BD LIVE innovative features premiering on Sleeping Beauty include Chat and Create Custom Video Messages With yoru Friends As You Watch The Film, Shop For Add-Ons and Downloads, Maleficent’s Challenge Game, Living Menus Real Time Castle Environment Changes Based on Your Location System Requirements:Running Time: 75 minutes Format: BLU-RAY DISC Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: G UPC: 786936746228 Manufacturer No: 05560800
Pinocchio (Two-Disc 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition + Standard DVD+ BD Live) [Blu-ray] (1940)
![Pinocchio (Two-Disc 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition + Standard DVD+ BD Live) [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61YaaJvyAXL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
This Disney masterpiece from 1940 will hold up forever precisely because it doesn’t restrain or temper the most elementalemotions and themes germane to its story. Based on the Collodi tale about a wooden puppet who wants to become a real boy, Pinocchio is among the most magical, mythical, and frightening films to come from the studio in its long history. A number of scenes make permanent impressions on young minds (just ask Steven Spielberg, who quoted the film more than once in Close Encounters of the Third Kind), and the songs (”When You Wish upon a Star”) can’t be beat. –Tom Keogh Stills from Pinocchio (click for larger image)
Celebrate the 70th anniversary of Walt Disney’s Pinocchio! The legendary masterpiece that inspired millions to believe in their dreams has reawakened with an all-new, state-of-the-art digital restoration that shines brilliantly on 2-disc DVD. Now, for the first time ever, the richly detailed animation, unforgettable award-winning music When You Wish Upon A Star and heartwarming adventure-filled story comes to life like never before. Plus, all-new dazzling bonus features transport you into Pinocchio’s fantastic world! Join Geppetto’s beloved puppet with Jiminy Cricket as his guide on a thrilling quest that tests Pinocchio’s bravery, loyalty and honesty, virtues he must learn to become a real boy. The one and only Pinocchio will live on forever in the heart of anyone who has wished upon a star.Bonus Features include the Pinocchio Knows Trivia Challenge, an all-new Making Of Pinocchio, the Sweat Box, Walt Disney’s Artistic Review Process, Disney View, Expand Your Viewing Experience Beyond The Original Aspect Ratio Of The Film, Cine-Explore, Disney BD-Live: Connect, Explore And Interact, all-new When You Wish Upon A Star; Music Video Performed By Meaghan Jette Martin, Pinocchio’s Puzzles Game, 18 Puzzles In A Multi-Tiered Game, Pinocchio’s Matter Of Facts Discover More About Pinocchio’s World With Pop-Up Trivia, Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scenes, Alternate Ending DAVE KEHR, NEW YORK TIMES “The new “Pinocchio” looks magnificent, with a richness of color and a tight definition that evoke the theatrical experience.” CHRIS NASHAWATY, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY “You won’t find a sweeter story or a tidier morality tale about the virtues of being ”brave, truthful, and unselfish.” Grown-ups will eat up the commentaries and featurettes about Disney’s band of merry-prankster animators, and kids can spend hours with the disc’s interactive puzzles and Pop-Up Video-style factoids. You really couldn’t ask for more.” KENNETH BROWN, BLU-RAY.COM “Simply put, the 3-disc Blu-ray edition of Pinocchio should already have a comfortable home on every true filmfan’s shelves. Buy it without any further delay.” HARRY KNOWLES, AINTITCOOL.COM “An absolute must for animation lovers!”
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Bambi (2-Disc Special Platinum Edition) (1942)
essential video
It always comes up when people are comparing their most traumatic movie experiences: “the death of Bambi’s mother,” a recollection that can bring a shudder to even the most jaded filmgoer. That primal separation (which is no less stunning for happening off-screen) is the centerpiece of Bambi, Walt Disney’s 1942 animated classic, but it is by no means the only bold stroke in the film. In its swift but somehow leisurely 69 minutes, Bambi covers a year in the life of a young deer. But in a bigger way, it measures the life cycle itself, from birth to adulthood, from childhood’s freedom to grown-up responsibility. All of this is rendered in cheeky, fleet-footed style–the movie doesn’t lecture, or make you feel you’re being fed something that’s good for you. The animation is miraculous, a lush forest in which nature is a constantly unfolding miracle (even in a spectacular fire, or those dark moments when “man was in the forest”). There are probably easier animals to draw than a young deer, and the Disney animators set themselves a challenge with Bambi’s wobbly glide across an ice-covered lake, his spindly legs akimbo; but the sequence is effortless and charming. If Bambi himself is just a bit dull–such is the fate of an Everydeer–his rabbit sidekick Thumper and a skunk named Flower more than make up for it. Many of the early Disney features have their share of lyrical moments and universal truths, but Bambi is so simple, so pure, it’s almost transparent. You might borrow a phrase from Thumper and say it’s downright twitterpated. –Robert Horton
The forest comes alive with BAMBI, the critically acclaimed coming-of-age story that has thrilled and entertained generations of fans. Now digitally restored with state-of-the-art technology, BAMBI sparkles in this new Special Edition. This grand adventure is full of humor, heart, and the most beloved characters of all time — Bambi, the wide-eyed fawn, his playful pal Thumper, the lovable skunk Flower, and wise Friend Owl. Featuring breathtakingly beautiful artwork and Academy Award(R)- nominated music (1942, Best Scoring Of A Dramatic Or Comedy Picture and Best Song, “Love Is A Song”) Bambi’s story unfolds from season to season as the young prince of the forest learns valuable lessons about friendship, love, and the miracle of life. Everyone will be “twitterpated” by this endearing classic tale of BAMBI, one of Walt Disney’s greatest triumphs and a film experience you’ll never forget.
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Pinocchio (Two-Disc 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition) (1940)
This Disney masterpiece from 1940 will hold up forever precisely because it doesn’t restrain or temper the most elementalemotions and themes germane to its story. Based on the Collodi tale about a wooden puppet who wants to become a real boy, Pinocchio is among the most magical, mythical, and frightening films to come from the studio in its long history. A number of scenes make permanent impressions on young minds (just ask Steven Spielberg, who quoted the film more than once in Close Encounters of the Third Kind), and the songs (”When You Wish upon a Star”) can’t be beat. –Tom Keogh Stills from Pinocchio (click for larger image)
Celebrate the 70th anniversary of Walt Disney’s Pinocchio! The legendary masterpiece that inspired millions to believe in their dreams has reawakened with an all-new, state-of-the-art digital restoration that shines brilliantly on 2-disc DVD. Now, for the first time ever, the richly detailed animation, unforgettable award-winning music When You Wish Upon A Star; and heartwarming adventure-filled story comes to life like never before. Plus, all-new dazzling bonus features transport you into Pinocchio’s fantastic world! Join Geppetto’s beloved puppet with Jiminy Cricket as his guide on a thrilling quest that tests Pinocchio’s bravery, loyalty and honesty, virtues he must learn to become a real boy. The one and only Pinocchio will live on forever in the heart of anyone who has wished upon a star.Bonus Features include: Pinocchio Knows Trivia Challenge, All-New Making Of Pinocchio, The Sweat Box, and more. DAVE KEHR, NEW YORK TIMES “The new “Pinocchio” looks magnificent, with a richness of color and a tight definition that evoke the theatrical experience.” CHRIS NASHAWATY, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY “You won’t find a sweeter story or a tidier morality tale about the virtues of being ”brave, truthful, and unselfish.” Grown-ups will eat up the commentaries and featurettes about Disney’s band of merry-prankster animators, and kids can spend hours with the disc’s interactive puzzles and Pop-Up Video-style factoids. You really couldn’t ask for more.” KENNETH BROWN, BLU-RAY.COM “Simply put, the 3-disc Blu-ray edition of Pinocchio should already have a comfortable home on every true filmfan’s shelves. Buy it without any further delay.” HARRY KNOWLES, AINTITCOOL.COM “An absolute must for animation lovers!”
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The Lion King (Disney Special Platinum Edition) (1994)
essential video
Not an ideal choice for younger kids, this hip and violent animated feature from Disney was nevertheless a huge smash in theaters and on video, and it continues to enjoy life in an acclaimed Broadway production. The story finds a lion cub, son of a king, sent into exile after his father is sabotaged by a rivalrous uncle. The little hero finds his way into the “circle of life” with some new friends and eventually comes back to reclaim his proper place. Characters are very strong, vocal performances by the likes of Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, and Whoopi Goldberg are terrific, the jokes are aimed as much (if not more) at adults than kids, the animation is sometimes breathtaking, and the music is more palatable than in many Disney features. But be cautious: this is too intense for the Rugrat crowd. –Tom Keogh How good-looking is the DVD restoration of Disney’s popular animated film? Take a look at the serviceable but dull film clips incorporated in the plethora of extras and compare them to the vivid gorgeousness of the film presentation. This “special edition” also adds a 90-second song (”Morning Report”) that originated in the lavish stage musical. To Disney’s credit, the original theatrical version is also included, both restored and featuring two 5.1 soundtracks: Dolby Digital and a new Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix, which does sound brighter. As with the Disney Platinum line, everything is thrown into the discs, except an outsider’s voice (the rah-rahs of Disney grow tiresome at times). The excellent commentary from the directors and producer, originally on the laser disc, is hidden under the audio set-up menu. The second disc is organized by 20-minute-ish “journeys” tackling the elements of story, music, et cetera, including good background on the awkward Shakespearean origins at Disney where it was referred as “Bamlet.” The most interesting journey follows the landmark stage production, and the kids should be transfixed by shots of the real African wildlife in the animal journey. Three deleted segments are real curios, including an opening lyric for “Hakuna Matata.” Most set-top DVD games are usually pretty thin (DVD-ROM is where it’s at), but the Safari game is an exception–the kids should love the roaring animals (in 5.1 Surround, no less). One serious demerit goes to the needless and complicated second navigation system that is listed by continent, but just shows the same features reordered. –Doug Thomas
Disney’s THE LION KING SPECIAL EDITION features an all-new song, “Morning Report,” and never-before-seen animation, giving you even more of this award-winning masterpiece — the greatest animated adventure of all time. An unforgettable story, breathtaking animation, beloved characters, and Academy Award(R)-winning music (Best Original Score, 1994; Best Song, “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”) set the stage for the adventures of Simba, the feisty lion cub who “just can’t wait to be king.” But his envious Uncle Scar has plans for his own ascent to the throne, and he forces Simba’s exile from the kingdom. Alone and adrift, Simba soon joins the escapades of a hilarious meerkat named Timon and his warmhearted warthog pal, Pumbaa. Adopting their carefree lifestyle of “Hakuna Matata,” Simba ignores his real responsibilities until he realizes his destiny and returns to the Pride Lands to claim his place in the “Circle of Life.” Now extensively restored and remastered — experience THE LION KING like never before, from its magnificent musical opening over breathtaking African vistas to its emotional climax. The all-star vocal talents — including Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane, and Ernie Sabella — rip-roaring comedy, and uplifting messages of courage, loyalty, and hope make this timeless tale entertainment for all ages.
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101 Dalmatians (Two-Disc Platinum Edition) (1961)
Back in 1961, Walt Disney got a little hip with 101 Dalmatians, making use of that flat Saturday morning cartoon style that had become so popular. The result is a kitschy change in animation and story. Pongo and Perdita are two lonely dalmatians who meet cute in a London park and arrange for their pet humans to marry so they can live together and raise a family. They become proud parents of 15 pups, who are stolen by the dastardly Cruella De Vil, who wants to make a fur coat out of them. Cruella has become the most popular villain in all of Disney; she’s flamboyantly nasty and lots of fun. But it’s the dalmatians who shine in this endearing classic, particularly those precocious pups. Telling the story from the dogs’ point of view is a clever conceit, a fundamental flaw of the live-action remake. –Bill DesowitzOn the DVDThis two-disc platinum edition features great sound and incredibly bright, intense colors thanks to the restoration process, but its most impressive selling point is the huge assortment of bonus features designed to delight children, families, and the most serious Disney fans. Kids will have fun caring for their very own puppy in the virtual Dalmatian game for television or on DVD ROM and can find out just what kind of puppy they’re most like and which human Disney character they’re most compatible with in the puppy profiler game. The fun with language game is geared toward the very young preschooler and teaches numbers and the names of common household items. A modern Selena Gomez music video of “Cruella DeVil” will appeal to tweens and teens. The whole family will enjoy the “101 Pop Up Facts For Families” option which prints various movie facts like the name and author of the original book and how specific scenes differ between the book and the movie right on the screen during the movie and Disney fans will love the similar “101 Pop Up Facts For Fans” feature which supplies a wide variety of film trivia about featured voice talents, famous Disney animators that worked on the film, technical devices employed like multi-pane shots and the Xerox process, and which artists directed specific scenes in the movie. Eleven separate Backstage Disney featurettes interview a host of animators, writers, historians, producers, and story men regarding the film’s contemporary feel and the groundbreaking technical processes like the then-new Xerox process utilized in making 101 Dalmatians. Also highlighted is Bill Pete’s amazing storytelling contribution to the film, the technical and mechanical innovations of Ub Iwerks, the songwriting process, and the animation prowess of famous Disney animators like Woolie Reitherman, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Milt Kahl, Marc Davis, Ken Anderson, and Walt Peregoy. The 12-minute dramatization of the longstanding correspondence between author Dodie Smith and Walt Disney is intriguing and the trailers and radio and television spots provide fun historical reference for the film and its various releases. Finally, the “Music and More” feature presents a variety of deleted and abandoned songs as well as many alternate versions and takes of songs used in the final film. –Tami Horiuchi Stills from 101 Dalmatians (click for larger image)
101 Dalmatians has charmed audiences for generations with its irresistible tail-wagging stars, memorable music, and a wonderful blend of fantasy, humor, and adventure. Now, with spectacular new bonus features and brilliantly restored, Walt Disney s beloved animated classic shines like never before in an all-new 2-disc Platinum Edition.Cruella De Vil, Disney s most outrageous villain, sets the fur-raising adventure in motion when she dognaps all of Pongo and Perdita s puppies. Through the power of the Twilight Bark, Pongo leads a heroic cast of animal characters on a quest across London to rescue them. Bring home the exciting 2-disc Platinum Edition with something for everyone, including the all-new virtual Dalmatians game, over 101 pop-up trivia facts, an all-new music video and much more!
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Peter Pan (2-Disc Platinum Edition) (1953)
Peter Pan has a special place in the realm of classic animated Disney films: it instills an element of childlike wonder. The 1953 version of James M. Barrie’s story is colorfully told and keeps on the straight and narrow of the book. Barrie’s wondrous focus on child’s play is the key to its longevity: kids who don’t grow up, shadows that run away from their owners, pirates, a fairy, and the magic ability to fly. In short, you can’t help wishing the adventure would happen to you. Fueled by a few memorable songs (the stunner being “You Can Fly”) and the strong impression of the pixie fairy Tinkerbell and the goofy Captain Hook, Disney’s version of this story neither supplants nor lessens the Broadway version with Mary Martin that was produced for television the same decade. Unlike some classics, Peter Pan never ages along the way. –Doug Thomas
Let your dreams take flight with Walt Disney’s original classic. PETER PAN soars to new heights in the magical 2-disc Platinum Edition DVD with an all-new digital restoration. Fantastic adventures await Wendy and her brothers when Peter Pan, the hero of their stories, whisks them away to the magical world of Never Land. After following Peter and his feisty sidekick Tinker Bell past “the second star to the right and straight on till morning,” they explore the island and Peter’s secret hideout with the rambunctious Lost Boys and leap into high-flying battles with swashbuckling pirates and the infamous Captain Hook! Bursting with fantasy, adventure, and pixie dust, this 2-disc Platinum Edition includes three all-new games in Camp Never Land, deleted scenes, a new discovery — in which Walt Disney reveals why he made PETER PAN — and much more.
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Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney Special Platinum Edition) (1937)
essential video
One of the brightest nuggets from Disney’s golden age, this 1937 film is almost dizzying in its meticulous construction of an enchanted world, with scores of major and minor characters (including fauna and fowl), each with a distinct identity. When you watch Snow White’s intricate, graceful movements of fingers, arms, and head all in one shot, it is not the technical brilliance of Disney’s artists that leaps out at you, but the very spirit of her engaging, girl-woman character. When the wicked queen’s poisoned apple turns from killer green to rose red, the effect of knowing something so beautiful can be so terrible is absolutely elemental, so pure it forces one to surrender to the horror of it. Based on the Grimm fairy tale, Snow White is probably the best family film ever to deal, in mythic terms, with the psychological foundation for growing up. It’s a crowning achievement and should not be missed. –Tom Keogh
DVD features
Disney figured out that it’s not necessarily how many extras a DVD offers, it’s how effortlessly the fan can view them. In two “guided tours,” a viewer can see a selection of the excellent extras on the history and creation of Walt Disney’s crown jewel. Disc 1 has an informative 40-minute documentary, plus karaoke songs, a neat trivia game, and Barbra Streisand’s new version of “Some Day My Prince Will Come.” Like Fantasia, the commentary track is expertly made up of historical recordings from over the years by Disney himself. The second disc brings out abandoned concepts, a crisp storyboard-to-film comparison, hundreds of well-organized drawings, and many historical recordings. The centerpiece, “Disney Through the Decades,” is a mixed blessing of information and hype. Disney pride aside, they have done well with the film (now looking better than ever) that laid the foundation of their empire. –Doug Thomas
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Sleeping Beauty (Two-Disc Platinum Edition) (1959)
Disney’s 1959 animated effort was the studio’s most ambitious to date, a widescreen spectacle boasting a gorgeous waltz-filled score adapting Tchaikovsky. In the 14th century, the malevolent Maleficent (not dissimilar to the wicked Queen in Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs taunts a king that his infant Aurora will fatally prick her finger on a spinning wheel before sundown on her 16th birthday. This, of course, would deny her a happily-ever-after with her true love. Things almost but not quite turn out that way, thanks to the assistance of some bubbly, bumbling fairies named Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather. It’s not really all that much about the title character–how interesting can someone in the middle of a long nap be, anyway? Instead, those fairies carry the day, as well as, of course, good Prince Phillip, whose battle with the malevolent Maleficent in the guise of a dragon has been co-opted by any number of animated films since. See it in its original glory here. And Malificent’s castle, filled with warthogs and demonic imps in a macabre dance celebrating their evil ways, manages a certain creepy grandeur. –David Kronke On the DVDSleeping Beauty was the last and most lavish of Walt Disney’s animated fairy tales. He told the artists not to hurry and to give him “a moving illustration”: The film required almost four and one-half years and one million finished drawings. Instead of the 19th century storybook illustrations that had influenced the look of Snow White and Pinocchio, the artists adapted the flattened perspective and jewel-like colors of 15th century French illuminated manuscripts. The results remain unmatched for sheer visual opulence. However, Sleeping Beauty suffers from a weak story: the vision of an ageless princess slumbering in a vine-shrouded tower was replaced with elements of Snow White and a boy-meets-girl musical. The evil Maleficent and the three Good Fairies (Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather) dominate the film, rather than Princess Aurora and Prince Philip. Sleeping Beauty was originally released in 70mm, and the Blu-ray edition restores the film to its original splendor. (Many earlier releases trimmed the wide-screen images and/or muted the glowing palatte.) The Bonus DVD looks good on a flat screen monitor, but it pales in comparison to the richness of the Blu-ray. In addition to the commentaries and a making-of documentary, the set includes myriad extras that vary widely in quality. Nostalgia buffs will enjoy the recreation of the old Sleeping Beauty’s Castle attraction in Disneyland, and the TV program “Four Artists Paint One Tree” provides a welcome showcase for key talents from the film. But the CG animation of the dragon and the voice imitations of the Good Fairies fail to capture the magic of the originals in the “Dragon Encounter”; the “Maleficent’s Challenge Game”–a hi-tech Twenty Questions–sounds only vaguely like the redoubtable sorceress. (Rated G: violence) –Charles SolomonStills from Sleeping Beauty (Click for larger image)
Awaken your senses to the majesty of SLEEPING BEAUTY, Walt Disney’s classic fairy tale. See more than you’ve ever seen before through the magic of state-of-the-art technology, and experience this groundbreaking film restored beyond its original brilliance, in the way Walt envisioned it pristine, beautiful, utterly breathtaking. SLEEPING BEAUTY will transform your home into a fantastic world your family will want to experience again and again.In the original story, Princess Aurora sleeps for 100 years before being awakened by a prince’s kiss. In the Disney version, Prince Philip comes to her rescue much sooner. George Brun’s orchestral score, which was nominated for an Academy Award, expertly blended famous themes from Tchaikovsky’s ballet. With a budget that exceeded $6 million in 1959, this was Walt Disney’s most lavish and expensive animated feature to date. Determined to make the characters as realistic as possible, Disney had a live action film shot with actors posing as Sleeping Beauty, the Prince, and Maleficent, for the animators to use. New York Times critic Bosley Crowther called the fight between Prince Philip and Maleficent the noisiest and scariest go-round he (Disney) has ever put into one of his films.All-New Digital Restoration With Enhanced Picture And Sound All-New 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Surround Sound All-New Once Upon A Dream Music Video, Performed By HANNAH MONTANA’S Emily Osment Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough A Fully Immersive Virtual Tour All-New Enhanced Dance Game With Help From Briar Rose’s Forest Friends, You Can Learn How To Dance Never-Before-Seen Alternate Opening Deleted Songs All-New Making Of SLEEPING BEAUTY Featurette And Much, Much More
The Little Mermaid (Two-Disc Platinum Edition) (1989)
essential video
From the moment that Prince Eric’s ship emerged from the fog in the opening credits it was apparent that Disney had somehow, suddenly recaptured that “magic” that had been dormant for thirty years. In the tale of a headstrong young mermaid who yearns to “spend a day, warm on the sand,” Ariel trades her voice to Ursula, the Sea Witch (classically voiced by Pat Carroll), for a pair of legs. Ariel can only succeed if she receives true love’s kiss in a few day’s time and she needs all the help she can from a singing crab named Sebastian, a loudmouth seagull, and a flounder. The lyrics and music by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken are top form: witty and relevant, and they advance the story (go on, hum a few bars of “Under the Sea”). Mermaid put animation back on the studio’s “to do” list and was responsible for ushering Beauty and the Beast to theaters. A modern Disney classic. –Keith Simanton
The Little Mermaid, one of the most celebrated animated films of all time — and winner of two Academy Awards(R) (Best Music, Original Score; Best Music, Original Song, “Under The Sea,” 1989) — splashes onto an exciting 2-Disc DVD with an all-new digital restoration. Ariel, a fun-loving and mischievous mermaid, is off on the adventure of a lifetime with her best friend, the adorable Flounder, and the reggae-singing Caribbean crab Sebastian at her side. But it will take all of her courage and determination to make her dreams come true—and save her father’s beloved kingdom from the sneaky sea witch Ursula! Dive into a world of music and adventure in this new 2-Disc Platinum Edition your family will enjoy again and again!
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