Christian's Cartoon Corner: May 2009

Got to see a screening of Disney•Pixar's UP tonight at the El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. I think people are going to love this movie. As of now it even has a 100% "fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes. A couple parts at the beginning reminded me heavily of Raising Arizona and there was an outright reference to a famous painting and an outright reference to Star Wars.

The adjacent Disney Soda Fountain and Studio Store was themed for UP so I took pictures of everything I could. The theatre itself is still themed for the DisneyNature Earth film.

UP was directed by Pete Docter who previously directed Monsters, Inc. Pete always reminded me of my cousin Adam and even has a Shag-designed shirt that is exactly the same as one I have. And Pete and I were the last couple people with any sort of Disney connection to visit Art Stevens who worked on many Disney films from 1940 until about 1981.

I'm wondering if they'll make an UP ride at a Disney park. Maybe guests can get in a house that floats (or seemingly floats) around by balloon power and travel to Paradise Falls in South America. Come to think of it, that's pretty similar to Soarin' Over California at Disney's California Adventure.

One cool thing about UP is that it was dedicated to Joe Grant (and three others). Joe Grant was a longtime Disney story artist who started in 1937 and worked on many of the classic animated features. I was honored to be able to attend Joe's funeral at Forest Lawn even though I never got a chance to meet him in person. I also went to his life celebration at the Alex Theatre in Glendale and here's a poster they handed out of some of the sketches he had made throughout his illustrious career:

Click on the image to see a nice big version. Notice characters he sketched for Snow White, Dumbo, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Lorenzo, and more. I think Joe is also the only person who worked on both Fantasia films, and that's pretty incredible seeing as how they came out six decades apart. He's also the one who came up with the title for Monsters, Inc.

See the complete photo album here at flickr

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The one that started it all…

Walt Disney’s
Snow White
and the Seven Dwarfs

Historic Blu-ray™ Debut Launches Spectacular
All-New ‘Diamond Collection’

Cutting-Edge New Collection - Premieres October 6, 2009!

Burbank, Calif., May 18, 2009 – Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (WDSHE) proudly opens the vault, releasing ‘The One That Started It All,’ Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in high-definition Blu-ray for the first time ever, on October 6, 2009. The historic and highly-anticipated release fittingly launches a spectacular all-new product line – Disney’s Diamond Collection. Poised to transform home entertainment, just as the movie itself transformed the entire motion-picture industry upon its debut in 1937, the revolutionary new Diamond Collection brings audiences the most immersive and highest-level viewing experience, that includes unparalleled features, exclusive high definition content and updatable experiences, superior picture and sound, and much, much more. Taking home entertainment to fantastic new heights unlike anything before, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition marks the film’s first-ever high-definition Blu-ray bow, on October 6, while the standard definition will be released seven weeks later, on November 24.

The Diamond Collection debut of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs will keep audiences spellbound for hours with exciting content exclusive to this historic release, presented with spectacular newly restored picture and 7.1 Digital Theater System Hi-Def Surround Sound. Utilizing the latest in technology, possible only by the power of Blu-ray, the release includes “Disney Smart Navigation,” allowing the magic and personality of Disney Characters to come to life as never before. “Disney Family Play”, the ultimate interactive Hi-Def experience, offers a variety of immersive games, activities and unprecedented levels of personalization and customization features, to transform how families experience home entertainment together. The Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition is a Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack (2 Blu-ray discs + DVD).

Exclusive Snow White Diamond Edition Bonus Features
* Hyperion Studios – Audiences are digitally transported to 1937 to discover first-hand, Hyperion Studios, the original studio Walt Disney himself built and where Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was conceived and developed. Viewers will virtually walk the halls of this historic landmark experiencing life at Hyperion Studios back in the 1930’s. This amazing “Backstage Disney” feature contains newly dimensionalized archival photos, never- before- heard animator recordings, archival transcripts and rare footage of Walt himself revealing how Disney’s gifted filmmakers crafted the very first animated feature.

* Magic Mirror – Using the latest in Blu-ray technology, the iconic Magic Mirror guides the audience through the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Diamond Edition features with ease, serving as the “host” for an incredibly immersive experience. The Mirror will recognize viewing patterns, knows where the audience has left off and will even suggest where to navigate next. This marks the first use of this type of technology in a Disney Blu-ray release and provides viewers the control to personally create a customized Snow White experience.

* DisneyView – Disney’s pioneering animated feature is brought to the modern era of widescreen high definition viewing by allowing the user to expand their viewing experience beyond the original aspect ratio of the film. Utilizing Disney Blu-ray™ technology, acclaimed Disney artist Toby Bluth was able to ‘draw’ beyond the borders of classic full frame cinema and fill the otherwise dark edges of the screen with beautiful custom imagery, giving audiences a new view of their animated classic favorite.

* About Toby Bluth – Disney artist Toby Bluth tells how the movie inspired him to create the superb DisneyView art.

* Mirror, Mirror On The Wall – Through BD-Live, this mirror can find the secret princess inside each viewer with a series of questions, then create for them a personal message from their favorite princess who will call them on the telephone.

* What Do You See? – To win this exciting interactive game, players must untangle scrambled images.

* Jewel Jumble – Players put jewels from the Dwarfs’ mine in the proper order to win this game.

* Scene Stealer – Allows viewers to upload a personal photo and experience life as one of the Seven Dwarfs—on-screen in the actual film.

About Disney ‘COMBO PACKS’ (Blu-ray + DVD in a single package):
To provide consumers with unprecedented quality, value and portability of their favorite Disney classics, in 2008 WDSHE pioneered the Combo Pack – Blu-ray Disc(s) plus a DVD in a single package. Current Disney Platinum Edition titles available as Combo Packs include Sleeping Beauty and Pinocchio.

About Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs:
Celebrated as an entertainment landmark for over 70 years, the first full-length animated film ever made, and still the ‘fairest of them all,” Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ world premiere represented a major milestone for the world of animation and a giant leap forward for The Walt Disney Company. Presented with a 1939 honorary Academy Award® for “significant screen innovation which has charmed millions, and pioneered a great new entertainment field," Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is one of the most beloved and most watched films in history. As one of the first films ever to be designated for preservation by the Library of Congress, it has been entertaining moviegoers and critics alike for decades. It is also the first film ever to have a motion picture soundtrack, as well as the first film to use music to advance the story. To date, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has been released theatrically a total of nine times.

Synopsis:
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the time-honored story of a beautiful princess whose blossoming beauty disturbs her stepmother the Queen. Each day the Queen asks a mysterious magic mirror the quintessential question: "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" As long as the mirror answers the Queen's name, all is well. However, when one day the mirror replies with Snow White’s name, the evil Queen begins her quest to kill the young girl, so she may once again be "the fairest of them all."

Snow White’s escape from the evil Queen's plan leads her deep into the forest and to a small cottage where she meets, in one of the most famous scenes in motion picture history, the Seven Dwarfs. One day—when "off to work" they go—the wicked Queen persuades Snow White to take a bite of a poisonous apple that places a powerful sleeping curse on the young beauty. Heartbroken, the dwarfs make a glass coffin for their friend, because she is too beautiful to bury. Only when a handsome Prince—who had previously fallen in love with Snow White—finds her and kisses her, does she awaken, to “live happily ever after."

The Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition is priced at $39.99 SRP.

STREET DATE:            October 6, 2009
Direct prebook:            August 11, 2009
Distributor prebook:       August 25, 2009
Pricing:                           Diamond Edition Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack: $39.99 SRP
Feature run time:             84 minutes
Rated:                            “G”
FastPlay™:                   FastPlay enabled on DVD
Aspect ratio:                  Widescreen (1.33:1)
Sound:                          7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
                                     French and Spanish Language Tracks
Languages:                     English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.
                                   Technical specifications may only
                                     apply to feature.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, a recognized leader in the home entertainment industry, is the marketing, sales and distribution company for Walt Disney, Touchstone, Hollywood Pictures, Miramax and Buena Vista product, which includes DVD, Blu-ray Disc™ and electronic distribution. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment is a division of The Walt Disney Studios.