Posted by Derek Janssen on 01/08/08 18:29

The alMIGHTY N wrote:

> On Jan 7, 4:55 pm, "T.B." <Partyslam...@socal.rr.com> wrote:
>
>>"The alMIGHTY N" sez:
>>
>>
>>>I've been able to download high-definition versions of many of Walt
>>>Disney's animated classics on Xbox Live Marketplace. Granted, these
>>>are not 1080p (or even full bitrate 720p) versions but they're still
>>>high-definition and they're still watchable right now by anyone who
>>>owns an Xbox 360.
>>
>>That's........... great. Most people who watch Disney movies however simply
>>buy them at just about any store within walking distance of their homes and
>>in often superior quality on regular old dvds. Or watch and record them off
>>cable or satellite tv. Paying to download mediocre quality movies onto a
>>over-expensive, poorly designed gaming console is a tiny fraction of the
>>currently tiny niche market of HD-dvd/Blu-ray dvd.
>
>
> The Disney animated classics available for download on Xbox Live
> Marketplace are of much better quality than DVD. They're marked as HD
> although Derek Janssen's observation that they may have not been truly
> remastered for HD makes me question just how valid that marking can
> be.

Disney didn't even KNOW they'd be loyally supporting Blu-ray until '06,
which leaves out just about everything before "Little Mermaid" was
released...
And that was near the *end* of the list--Time to start from scratch.

> Instead, we get a lot of crap that most people don't even know is
> Disney in the first place (the name Disney tends to bring up images of
> deer, mice and princesses).

(Especially when most of the jokes started during the Ron Miller
70's--And doesn't help that "Enchanted" still beats the gags into the
ground, since it started out as a mean-spirited "Shrek" wannabe...)

> Sleeping Beauty and Finding Nemo aren't going to hit the shelves until
> late 2008, about 2 1/2 years after Blu-Ray's introduction. Yes, I
> remember that they were much slower with DVD, but Disney was on board
> with Blu-Ray from the get go as opposed to their conflict with DVD
> early on.
>>
>>>If I can watch The Aristocats, Oliver and Company, 101 Dalmations, and
>>>Treasure Planet (not that I would ever want to watch that) on Xbox
>>>Live Marketplace in HD (albeit more to the lower end of the spectrum),
>>>why can't I watch those movies on Blu-Ray on my Playstation 3?
>>
>>Uhhh, I wouldn't call the above titles anything near the upper tier of
>>Disney's animated films.

(But Treasure Planet's still pretty darn good on video--
If "Hercules" can find new second life with video audiences too young to
remember the theater box office, it's proof that John Musker & Ron
Clements's movies can not be killed by mortal man...) :)

> 101 Dalmations is one of Disney's most beloved classics.
>
> I believe they also had The Jungle Book, Peter Pan, Pinnocchio, and a
> couple other more well-known Disney classics. They definitely had The
> Little Mermaid up there and I believe some of the crappy Lion King
> sequels. I think Aladdin was up at one point as well.

There's twelve titles on the Platinum list, but you'll notice it's the
widescreen movies (and the ones that were already re-detailed for IMAX)
that have fast-passes to the head of the line...
At least until studios know what to do with 4:3 movies--We'll see B&B
and Lion King LONG before we ever see Snow White, even though Snow had
seniority.

>>Is Fantasia or Sleeping Beauty among those titles?
>
> 101 Dalmations is a lot more popular than Fantasia and Sleeping
> Beauty. Sleeping Beauty is the least popular of the "princess" movies.

But, since its turn in cycle line is coming up again (and since they
have the "Princess" marketing line to push), it's already been picked as
their first Blu cel-animated movie...October/November, or thereabouts.

(Fantasia '40&'00 are reportedly last in the original Platinum line, but
no word yet.)

>>No? Well, I can watch Fantasia on dvd as well as Sleeping Beauty and soon
>>on blu-ray for SB. And Cars and Ratatouille look pretty amazing on blu-ray.
>>How do those movies compare to the downloadable XBox versions?
>
> My intent was simply to question why Disney would have allowed HD
> versions (even lower quality HD versions) of their Disney classics to
> proliferate across Xbox Live Marketplace before they put them out on
> Blu-Ray...

Maybe...XBoxLive...isn't *REAL* HD? 9_9
(Like the grainy stuff that comes over the ABC Saturday Night Movie?)

Derek Janssen
ejanss1@verizon.net

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