Question:
From Jim Hill Media (http://www.jimhillmedia.com) :
So imagine my surprise earlier this week when I received an e-mail from someone who works deep inside the Mouse House who insists that Michael Eisner himself earlier this year pulled the plug on the 2-disc deluxe collector's edition of "Lilo & Stitch." And worse than that, the Walt Disney Company is supposedly toying with completely abandoning the 2-disc collector's edition format for all of its future animated titles.
Why?
Why for? Well, here's a real surprise: These proposed cutbacks of any additional features to be included in future animated releases from Buena Vista Home Entertainment are coming because the Mouse is trying once again to economize. According to Disney's own market research, only 8% of the DVD buyers out there are interested in adult-aimed features (I.E. Extras such as directors' commentaries, character design galleries, deleted scenes, etc. ) on their discs. The other 92% of DVD buyers are kids and parents who just want the movie. Who are perfectly happy with a DVD that just shows the film and nothing more.
Disney's cost savings -- should Buena Vista Home Entertainment actually opt to go forward with adopting just the single disc format for all the future DVD releases of the company's animated classics -- could be considerable. Reportedly saving the company as much as $7 million in worldwide production costs per title.
Bad News Disney. You should be doing all you can to keep those 9% happy - after all they are likely to be your biggest customers in general and bad news attracts more attention than good news.
To me the answer seems obvious. Make every release a 2 disc set (Like R1 Monsters Inc). Keep the first disc for the movie and 'kid friendly' features and the second for the deeper making of supplements. That way everybody is happy and the authoring costs are spread over a greater production run.
Oh, and it might be and idea to get Buena Vista Home Video UK to actually advertise their 2 disc sets and let the general public know 2 disc sets are available. That may up sales.
But what do I know? I don't get paid over $100m pa like Eisner does.
OH POO!
if i buy the one disk edition and they churn out this 2-disk i'll be very upset... (no witty remark here)
The reason Disney are having problems is because of the damned meddling "creative" executives who don't have a clue what they're doing. Them (and the insistence on using pointless celebrity voices) are why movies like Treasure Planet cost $140 million to make and completely bomb in the box office. And as for those 17 "vice presidents of feature animation"? They should all be fired. Gee, I wonder how Walt managed to do it all with NO vice presidents?
Sorry if I got a bit carried away, but this is something I feel very strongly about. A lot of people I know online are former Disney animators who were laid off or had their salaries drastically reduced in an attempt to cut costs. Then these executives (who know NOTHING about cartoons and animation) sit up there in their offices, meddling with the artists' work, and getting massive pay rises. In the future, we're going to see more and more of these cheaply produced direct-to-video sequels that are farmed out to third-world countries. It's really sickening that Disney, who was once the best animation producer in the industry, is now slowly but surely falling apart. Lilo & Stitch was a fantastic film, because (like Mulan before it) it was produced in their Florida division, AWAY from the meddling executives.
I'm with the 92%, I'm afraid..
Just give me the movie at a reasonable price and I'm happy..
Just give me the movie at a reasonable price and I'm happy..
but they can do that and keep everyone happy. R1 Monsters Inc was only available as a 2 disc set, but was cheap and it became the fastest selling DVD ever (until Spider-Man).
The answer is to follow the Monsters Inc pattern. The only downside I can see is that is took about a year for the Monsters Inc release rather than the usual 4-8 months. But like I said, this didn't stop sales (personally I'd like to think the anticipation increased sales but I'd probably be wrong).
What about the platinum series releases that are set to follow Snow White and Beauty & The Beast! Are these still going to be 2 disc special editions or will they now be cut back to basic 1 disc releases. This would be a real dissappointment after the excellence of the previus two releases. I hope this does not happen.
Originally posted by Bapapapa
I'm with the 92%, I'm afraid..
Just give me the movie at a reasonable price and I'm happy..
I'm afraid to say in the past I have ripped and burned disney films to DVD-R to remove all the plop they put on. I especially object to umpteen trailers before the film starts.
I will add I own an original copy of every disc I have done this to to keep the t+c evangelists happy.
This would be a real dissappointment after the excellence of the previus two releases. I hope this does not happen.
Well too be honest I wasn't too impressed with the Beauty and the Beast second disc - compared to Snow White or even Atlantis.
Could this be because the corporate rot was already starting to set itself in?
Originally posted by 2099net
Could this be because the corporate rot was already starting to set itself in? Corporate rot has been setting into Disney ever since the mid 1980s. :(
Originally posted by Bapapapa
I'm with the 92%, I'm afraid..
Just give me the movie at a reasonable price and I'm happy..
Kill him.
Originally posted by Paul490
Kill him.
:eek:
What scares me much more than the prospect of no extras, they might come to the conclusion that the 92% are perfectly happy with fullscreen pan & scan dvds
That's a potential issue: Bearing in mind this is America where most people have 4:3 TV they could conduct another survey thus:
Do you prefer widescreen presentations (with black bars) or full screen presentations on your DVD?
now lets assume 10% say they don't care (they're only cartoons for children anyway), 50% prefer full screen (I paid for a big TV and I want the picture to fill it all up) and 40% say they want widescreen.
50%-40% (And the figures could be interperated as 50-50 so no problem).
However what if they follow up with this question to the people who say they prefer widescreen?
If we released 'xxxx' on DVD in Full Screen only, would you buy it?
and I'm sorry to say most people (me included to be honest) would say 'Yes' - especially if the film in question was 'The Lion King' or 'Aladdin'. So lets assume 20% of the widescreen prefering respondents stick to their principles and say 'No'.
20% of 40% is less than 10% of the overall total. So Disney could take such results and state less than 10% of customers want Widescreen releases.
So its not such a leap of logic to see that happening. :(
They better to 2 disc sets, I have to wait years for the Jungle Book Platinum Edition so I expect a 2 disc scorcher!:smokin:
Considering that your average Disney cartoon film last just over an hour, i can't see why just can have a decent special edition on just the one disc.
Lets face it 9/10 of these special edition disc's are just full of pointless P.R. gumff and arn't really needed.
Originally posted by Arch Stanton
Considering that your average Disney cartoon film last just over an hourHow on earth do you work that out? The shortest Disney film is Dumbo, which is 64 minutes. The majority of them (especially the more recent ones) are more like 80-90 minutes.
Originally posted by 2099net
they're only cartoons for children anywayI think you've hit the nail on the head. That is exactly the problem: the misconception among the general public that they're just for children. That's why animation is continually short-changed.
Something someone said over at Animation Nation got me thinking:
What's screwy to me is the announcement of the Jan. date in the first place and the recent cancellation. Unless these events happened months ago, many of the special edition discs would already be in their boxes, ready to ship. Jim Hill has been way off the mark in a lot of his articles about disney. i wouldn't trust this one 100% either unless it came from disney's mouth itself.
I'm not going to give up hope. This does sound like it could be a scam from Disney to shift more units of the single-dics edition.
Whiggles, I don't remember hearing any announcment from Disney about a 2 disc CE. Sure, the directors have repeatedly stated a CE was coming in informal and formal interviews, but I cannot remember one of those interviews suggesting a date.
And as far as the directors were (perhaps are still) concerned a 2 disc CE was to be released as they dutifully worked on prepearing, filming and editing the content.
No it's possible that all this is a unfounded rumour but:
1) The CE would - almost certainly - have neen announced officially for a January 2003 release by now. Not that that doesn't stop it turning up later (IF it was coming I would suggest a 'Summer 2003' release at the same time as 'Stitch's New Movie' would be the logical time due to cross-promotional opportunities)
2) The BBFC only has the same extras as the R1 single disc passed... yet already has a commentary track for 'Treasure Planet' passed before it's even hit the cinemas. Note: this commentary could be for an upcoming single disc release if this is Disney's new policy - so don't take the commentary as evidence of a 2 disc Treasure Island set in the future.
Originally posted by 2099net
The BBFC only has the same extras as the R1 single disc passed... yet already has a commentary track for 'Treasure Planet' passed before it's even hit the cinemas. Note: this commentary could be for an upcoming single disc release if this is Disney's new policy - so don't take the commentary as evidence of a 2 disc Treasure Island set in the future. Makes no sense either way. I would say that Treasure Planet's classification seems EARLY to me (particularly early if they're planning on doing away with the collector's edition format outright), and considering that we won't see a standard edition of Lilo & Stitch in the UK until next spring, it would stand to reason that a collector's edition would come significantly AFTER that. Directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois have said in interviews that the commentary track had been recorded and that all the other content was more or less complete, so it's clear at least that at some point a collector's edition was planned. If it still is coming out, then I'm overjoyed. If not, then Disney has some serious problems. To give films like Pearl Harbor and Atlantis the lavish collector's edition treatment and then to give Lilo & Stitch, arguably their best movie in 20 years, only a crummy release that includes a music video, some trailers for their upcoming cheapquels, and a 10-minute "on location"... well, it just stinks.
GOOD NEWS
Jim Hill Media reports 2 Disc set back on! (http://www.jimhillmedia.com/articles/12092002.1.htm)
And a most interesting read it is to. Whiggles, I'm sure you will find it most enlightening!
Thank you thank you thank you! I'm always more than happy to admit I'm wrong when things turn out for the better as a result. :)
So imagine my surprise earlier this week when I received an e-mail from someone who works deep inside the Mouse House who insists that Michael Eisner himself earlier this year pulled the plug on the 2-disc deluxe collector's edition of "Lilo & Stitch." And worse than that, the Walt Disney Company is supposedly toying with completely abandoning the 2-disc collector's edition format for all of its future animated titles.
Why?
Why for? Well, here's a real surprise: These proposed cutbacks of any additional features to be included in future animated releases from Buena Vista Home Entertainment are coming because the Mouse is trying once again to economize. According to Disney's own market research, only 8% of the DVD buyers out there are interested in adult-aimed features (I.E. Extras such as directors' commentaries, character design galleries, deleted scenes, etc. ) on their discs. The other 92% of DVD buyers are kids and parents who just want the movie. Who are perfectly happy with a DVD that just shows the film and nothing more.
Disney's cost savings -- should Buena Vista Home Entertainment actually opt to go forward with adopting just the single disc format for all the future DVD releases of the company's animated classics -- could be considerable. Reportedly saving the company as much as $7 million in worldwide production costs per title.
Bad News Disney. You should be doing all you can to keep those 9% happy - after all they are likely to be your biggest customers in general and bad news attracts more attention than good news.
To me the answer seems obvious. Make every release a 2 disc set (Like R1 Monsters Inc). Keep the first disc for the movie and 'kid friendly' features and the second for the deeper making of supplements. That way everybody is happy and the authoring costs are spread over a greater production run.
Oh, and it might be and idea to get Buena Vista Home Video UK to actually advertise their 2 disc sets and let the general public know 2 disc sets are available. That may up sales.
But what do I know? I don't get paid over $100m pa like Eisner does.
Answers:
OH POO!
if i buy the one disk edition and they churn out this 2-disk i'll be very upset... (no witty remark here)
Answers:
The reason Disney are having problems is because of the damned meddling "creative" executives who don't have a clue what they're doing. Them (and the insistence on using pointless celebrity voices) are why movies like Treasure Planet cost $140 million to make and completely bomb in the box office. And as for those 17 "vice presidents of feature animation"? They should all be fired. Gee, I wonder how Walt managed to do it all with NO vice presidents?
Sorry if I got a bit carried away, but this is something I feel very strongly about. A lot of people I know online are former Disney animators who were laid off or had their salaries drastically reduced in an attempt to cut costs. Then these executives (who know NOTHING about cartoons and animation) sit up there in their offices, meddling with the artists' work, and getting massive pay rises. In the future, we're going to see more and more of these cheaply produced direct-to-video sequels that are farmed out to third-world countries. It's really sickening that Disney, who was once the best animation producer in the industry, is now slowly but surely falling apart. Lilo & Stitch was a fantastic film, because (like Mulan before it) it was produced in their Florida division, AWAY from the meddling executives.
Answers:
I'm with the 92%, I'm afraid..
Just give me the movie at a reasonable price and I'm happy..
Answers:
Just give me the movie at a reasonable price and I'm happy..
but they can do that and keep everyone happy. R1 Monsters Inc was only available as a 2 disc set, but was cheap and it became the fastest selling DVD ever (until Spider-Man).
The answer is to follow the Monsters Inc pattern. The only downside I can see is that is took about a year for the Monsters Inc release rather than the usual 4-8 months. But like I said, this didn't stop sales (personally I'd like to think the anticipation increased sales but I'd probably be wrong).
Answers:
What about the platinum series releases that are set to follow Snow White and Beauty & The Beast! Are these still going to be 2 disc special editions or will they now be cut back to basic 1 disc releases. This would be a real dissappointment after the excellence of the previus two releases. I hope this does not happen.
Answers:
Originally posted by Bapapapa
I'm with the 92%, I'm afraid..
Just give me the movie at a reasonable price and I'm happy..
I'm afraid to say in the past I have ripped and burned disney films to DVD-R to remove all the plop they put on. I especially object to umpteen trailers before the film starts.
I will add I own an original copy of every disc I have done this to to keep the t+c evangelists happy.
Answers:
This would be a real dissappointment after the excellence of the previus two releases. I hope this does not happen.
Well too be honest I wasn't too impressed with the Beauty and the Beast second disc - compared to Snow White or even Atlantis.
Could this be because the corporate rot was already starting to set itself in?
Answers:
Originally posted by 2099net
Could this be because the corporate rot was already starting to set itself in? Corporate rot has been setting into Disney ever since the mid 1980s. :(
Answers:
Originally posted by Bapapapa
I'm with the 92%, I'm afraid..
Just give me the movie at a reasonable price and I'm happy..
Kill him.
Answers:
Originally posted by Paul490
Kill him.
:eek:
Answers:
What scares me much more than the prospect of no extras, they might come to the conclusion that the 92% are perfectly happy with fullscreen pan & scan dvds
Answers:
That's a potential issue: Bearing in mind this is America where most people have 4:3 TV they could conduct another survey thus:
Do you prefer widescreen presentations (with black bars) or full screen presentations on your DVD?
now lets assume 10% say they don't care (they're only cartoons for children anyway), 50% prefer full screen (I paid for a big TV and I want the picture to fill it all up) and 40% say they want widescreen.
50%-40% (And the figures could be interperated as 50-50 so no problem).
However what if they follow up with this question to the people who say they prefer widescreen?
If we released 'xxxx' on DVD in Full Screen only, would you buy it?
and I'm sorry to say most people (me included to be honest) would say 'Yes' - especially if the film in question was 'The Lion King' or 'Aladdin'. So lets assume 20% of the widescreen prefering respondents stick to their principles and say 'No'.
20% of 40% is less than 10% of the overall total. So Disney could take such results and state less than 10% of customers want Widescreen releases.
So its not such a leap of logic to see that happening. :(
Answers:
They better to 2 disc sets, I have to wait years for the Jungle Book Platinum Edition so I expect a 2 disc scorcher!:smokin:
Answers:
Considering that your average Disney cartoon film last just over an hour, i can't see why just can have a decent special edition on just the one disc.
Lets face it 9/10 of these special edition disc's are just full of pointless P.R. gumff and arn't really needed.
Answers:
Originally posted by Arch Stanton
Considering that your average Disney cartoon film last just over an hourHow on earth do you work that out? The shortest Disney film is Dumbo, which is 64 minutes. The majority of them (especially the more recent ones) are more like 80-90 minutes.
Originally posted by 2099net
they're only cartoons for children anywayI think you've hit the nail on the head. That is exactly the problem: the misconception among the general public that they're just for children. That's why animation is continually short-changed.
Answers:
Something someone said over at Animation Nation got me thinking:
What's screwy to me is the announcement of the Jan. date in the first place and the recent cancellation. Unless these events happened months ago, many of the special edition discs would already be in their boxes, ready to ship. Jim Hill has been way off the mark in a lot of his articles about disney. i wouldn't trust this one 100% either unless it came from disney's mouth itself.
I'm not going to give up hope. This does sound like it could be a scam from Disney to shift more units of the single-dics edition.
Answers:
Whiggles, I don't remember hearing any announcment from Disney about a 2 disc CE. Sure, the directors have repeatedly stated a CE was coming in informal and formal interviews, but I cannot remember one of those interviews suggesting a date.
And as far as the directors were (perhaps are still) concerned a 2 disc CE was to be released as they dutifully worked on prepearing, filming and editing the content.
No it's possible that all this is a unfounded rumour but:
1) The CE would - almost certainly - have neen announced officially for a January 2003 release by now. Not that that doesn't stop it turning up later (IF it was coming I would suggest a 'Summer 2003' release at the same time as 'Stitch's New Movie' would be the logical time due to cross-promotional opportunities)
2) The BBFC only has the same extras as the R1 single disc passed... yet already has a commentary track for 'Treasure Planet' passed before it's even hit the cinemas. Note: this commentary could be for an upcoming single disc release if this is Disney's new policy - so don't take the commentary as evidence of a 2 disc Treasure Island set in the future.
Answers:
Originally posted by 2099net
The BBFC only has the same extras as the R1 single disc passed... yet already has a commentary track for 'Treasure Planet' passed before it's even hit the cinemas. Note: this commentary could be for an upcoming single disc release if this is Disney's new policy - so don't take the commentary as evidence of a 2 disc Treasure Island set in the future. Makes no sense either way. I would say that Treasure Planet's classification seems EARLY to me (particularly early if they're planning on doing away with the collector's edition format outright), and considering that we won't see a standard edition of Lilo & Stitch in the UK until next spring, it would stand to reason that a collector's edition would come significantly AFTER that. Directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois have said in interviews that the commentary track had been recorded and that all the other content was more or less complete, so it's clear at least that at some point a collector's edition was planned. If it still is coming out, then I'm overjoyed. If not, then Disney has some serious problems. To give films like Pearl Harbor and Atlantis the lavish collector's edition treatment and then to give Lilo & Stitch, arguably their best movie in 20 years, only a crummy release that includes a music video, some trailers for their upcoming cheapquels, and a 10-minute "on location"... well, it just stinks.
Answers:
GOOD NEWS
Jim Hill Media reports 2 Disc set back on! (http://www.jimhillmedia.com/articles/12092002.1.htm)
And a most interesting read it is to. Whiggles, I'm sure you will find it most enlightening!
Answers:
Thank you thank you thank you! I'm always more than happy to admit I'm wrong when things turn out for the better as a result. :)
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