Strong Year for DVD Releases

[lrodk]

DVD File announces that just in from Buena Vista are street dates for two of their biggest animated titles of the year. The mega-hit Monsters, Inc. arrives in stores on 9/17 as both standard and special edition DVDs, while 7/9 sees the debut of theatrical sequelPeter Pan II: Return To Neverland. Expect more details to arrive in the coming weeks...

 

[lrodk]

Disney is putting its largest marketing campaign to date behind the September 17 video release of Monsters, Inc., in a move that could lead to the studio's biggest year in video ever, Variety reports. Disney and production partner Pixar have even signed up Billy Crystal and John Goodman to record additional dialogue as their characters, Mike and Sulley, for a new scene being produced exclusively for the VHS and double-disc special edition DVD versions of the Academy Award-nominated film. Although Monsters, Inc. came up just short of the box office gross of Shrek last year ($252 million vs. $268 million), Disney expects Monsters, Inc. to exceed the 22 million Shrek videos purchased by consumers last year. Combined with rentals, Shrek generated more than $436 million in video spending, according to Daily Variety sister publication Video Business. As much as 40% of sales are expected to come from non-family homes, more than for Toy Story, said Robert Chapek, president of Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment unit. The video version of Monsters, Inc. is the latest to have new footage produced at a cost of millions of dollars specifically for the video.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020301/film_nm/film_monsters_dc_1

According to the same Variety article, Disney has scheduled a May 21 release of a feature-length adaptation of TV cartoon series The Legend of Tarzan to premiere on video July 23 under the name Tarzan and Jane, with a new duet version of the song "Two Worlds, One Family," performed by Phil Collins and Mandy Moore.

Variety continues saying that Disney has high expectations for Tarzan and Jane since sales of this week's video premiere release Cinderella II: Dreams Come True are on pace to exceed the 6.5 million units of last year's Lady and the Tramp II. This, combined with the box-office success of Return To NeverLand, will undoubtedly encourage Disney to continue producing even more sequels -since poorly animated movies with weak stories like Cinderella II still find a large audience. The studio's video premiere picture The Hunchback of Notre Dame II will be released later this month.

Also being released are the long anticipated special PEARL HARBOR VISTA four-disc DVD edition (and director's cut) on(July 2, and the dazzling BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: SPECIAL EDITION (October 8, 2002), a ``Platinum Edition'' title with three versions of the animated masterpiece included on the DVD.

 

[OnWithTheShow]

Boy I can't wait for these DVD's. Its about time they released one of the modern greats in a special edition format. I am sick of the Disney DVD's that have little or no special features. DVD special features are the greatest invention (not sure thats the right term) ever in my book.