2003 Special Ed. DVD ideas

[AliKzam]

So, I was shopping online for a Disney DVD, and I noticed a few titles missing from the official website. "Cinderella", "Sleeping" Beauty", and "The Little Mermaid" were all MIA. I'm sure there were several other that I forgot to look for, but I believe that one of these will be the next special edition DVD after "Beauty and the Beast". This year they're releasing a classic and a more contemporary film, so I bet they'll do the same thing next year.
My question is, which ones do you think will be released for the year 2003? My other question is, what special features do you want on them?
For either "Cinderella" or "Sleeping Beauty", I think there should definitely be small documentaries on the actors who provided voices, but there should definitely be one on Eleanor Audley. I think "Cinderella" and "Little Mermaid" should be released next year. Cindy should have a small piece on like stories from all over the world. "Little Mermaid" could include concept sketches for the ride that was supposed to be made. Also the old sketches that were made in Walt's day for the film, and perhaps a small commentary on changing the ending.

[Not Afraid]

I do know that BatB will be released in October of this year , following up the IMAX release.

Next year The Lion King will follow the same release schedule.

There are some other biggies that have never been released on DVD:

Bambi
Sleeping Beauty
Cinderella
Aladdin (probably the 2004 Imax feature)

I'm sure there are others, but these are the ones that's I'm dying to own on DVD.

There are others that were once available but have been pulled. Little Mermaid, Jungle Book, Lady and the Tramp, Aristocats, 101 Dalmations are all on this list. Once again, I'm sure there are others.

The moral of the story is..........never pass up the chance to get a copy of a Disney DVD if you find it at a discount price. It might now be there next time.

[zapppop]

Aladdin should've been the next IMAX film and THEN the Lion King in 2004, that way each year, for 3 years in a row, Disney could release a fully restored special edition in theaters, followed by a 10th anniversary DVD release in the fall. Of course, the same hacks at BVHV and WDP also passed on the oppertunity to release a 50th anniversary DVD of Cinderella back in 2000.

Sleeping Beauty was scheduled for a DVD release in 2001 but I have no idea why this was canceled. Currently there's a higher demand for Sleeping Beauty on DVD than The Lion King.

Expect more contemporary home video releases next year such as Lilo&Stitch and Treasure Planet, as well as more straight to video sequels such as Dumbo II and Mulan II, with 1 older title ( most likely Bambi ). Personally, I'm hoping for Sleeping Beauty but we'll see what happens.

[Doc Krock]

Lion King will be the 2003 Platinum DVD release.

Aladdin will most likely be the 2004 Platinum DVD release.

Bambi, Cinderella, The Little Mermaid, Jungle Book, Lady & the Tramp, and 101 Dalmations are the other titles on the Platinum Collector's Edition list, so it will be a long time before we see them on DVD.

Sleeping Beauty or The Rescuers may make an appearance in 2003, a la Hunchback, with little or no bonus material. I haven't heard of any plans, but BVHE release decisions seem to change weekly. Special or collector's editions are doubtful, but you never know with Disney these days. After all, they did put together a pretty decent Peter Pan DVD (I would have liked to see a bit more, though).

Lion King II also has a pretty good chance of making another appearance on DVD in 2003.

I'll keep people posed in my News and Reviews articles, if I hear anything else.

[JeffG]

I understand that a fairly loaded DVD edition of "Sleeping Beauty" was just released in Europe, so it wouldn't be that surprising if a similar release shows up in the US later this year or some time in 2003. It isn't one of the "Platinum" titles, so it could come out at any time.

All the early reports had indicated "Aladdin" as the 2003 Platinum release and "Lion King" as the 2004 release. There has been some speculation that the decision to switch them was made becuase of all the recent escalation of tensions in the Arab world.

-Jeff

[Doc Krock]

Originally posted by JeffG
I understand that a fairly loaded DVD edition of "Sleeping Beauty" was just released in Europe, so it wouldn't be that surprising if a similar release shows up in the US later this year or some time in 2003. It isn't one of the "Platinum" titles, so it could come out at any time.

All the early reports had indicated "Aladdin" as the 2003 Platinum release and "Lion King" as the 2004 release. There has been some speculation that the decision to switch them was made becuase of all the recent escalation of tensions in the Arab world.

I doubt it will appear in 2002 just because of other high profile releases later this year, like "Monsters, Inc." 2003 is more likely. I too have heard about the European "Sleeping Beauty" DVD, but, for one reason or another, what gets released in Europe does not necessarily correlate to when or what we get here in the States. That just seems to be a quirk about BVHE. I sincerely hope they release a loaded version of SB in 2003, but it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't do it right away and held it for a while.

As for "Aladdin" vs. "Lion King," you're right about the early reports indicating that Aladdin was slated for 2003. However, the "Lion King" IMAX trailer for 2003 is pretty strong evidence that LK will be the 2003 Platinum DVD release - assuming that they hold to the model of IMAX first, DVD second. The reasons for the switch may be as you stated, and I haven't heard otherwise. From my experience, though, marketing folks are very fickle.