Hey everyone! How's everybody doing today? I'm pretty good. So we've come to the end of this journey through the history of Disney movies on home media platforms ranging from VHS in the mid 80s all the way to Blu-ray in the 2010s. It's not over quite yet though because I still have the Walt Disney Signature Collection to talk about today and then I'm going to go back to the early 80s and talk about some of the earliest VHS releases that Disney put out BEFORE the Walt Disney Classics came to fruition in 1984 as sort of an epilogue. Right now though let's dive into the Walt Disney Signature Collection.
With the Diamond Editions being discontinued in 2015, Disney decided to begin a new line that would launch in early 2016. This was the Walt Disney Signature Collection, named after the fact that Walt's signature is on the front cover. The premise behind this is that these are the movies that either Walt made himself, had attempted to make himself, but dropped and they got picked up again in the late 80s, or movies, such as Aladdin, that Walt would've made had he been alive to do so. While I don't have a super amount of experience with this line, I do own one DVD and one Blu-ray from the line, so I can talk about those in a bit more detail than I could otherwise. However, there is at least one movie that was supposed to be part of this collection that ended up not being in it at all, so I think I'll talk about that quickly before I get into the Signature Collection proper.
Beginning in the early 2010s I guess it would've been, Disney began putting out special Blu-ray releases of their animated canon movies through the Disney Movie Club as exclusive releases. The Jungle Book was released on March 26th, 2019 but except for the cover art, the content on the discs are exactly the same as the 2014 Diamond Editions Blu-ray. How does this relate to the Signature Collection you may be asking? Well, I don't remember exactly when it was removed, but up until last year sometime, The Jungle Book was included on the list for the Walt Disney Signature Collection for sometime in either 2020 or 2021. However, most likely because of the pandemic, the release was cancelled. Though Blu-ray.com still has it listed, with no release date. Regardless, I think it was cancelled because no other Signature Collection releases have come out since 2019. I'll get into that a little later though. Right now let's get into the Walt Disney Signature Collection proper.
First up we have the Blu-ray release for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. One of the bonus features on here is one that is on all of the Blu-ray releases in this collection for the movies that Walt worked on directly. That's the "In Walt's Words" feature. I think it's just a quick thing where you listen to Walt talk about the movie, not an actual additional audio commentary. Which is also on here by the way, the audio commentary from the old Platinum Edition DVD. Aside from the deleted scenes and an alternate sequence, there are other bonus features that I don't really need to talk about since if you collect Disney movies at this point, you probably have this release already. The bonus feature that's worth talking about, sort of, is "Disney's First Feature: The Making of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" which is an extended version of "The One That Started It All" from the 2009 Diamond Editions DVD and Blu-ray releases. It's a good Making Of featurette. While I don't have the Blu-ray, this featurette is included in the Disney+ version of the movie, under the extras tab. Which is cool.
The DVD only has two deleted scenes, which have been on the video releases since the 2001 Platinum Editions DVD. My brother got the DVD for me for Christmas in 2017 and I've watched it a few times since then. While the Digital version, which I won't be talking about here, came out on January 19th, 2016, and the Blu-ray came out on February 2nd, 2016, this DVD release didn't come out until almost a year later, on February 28th, 2017, no idea why. In fact throughout this entire collection only three movies have day and date releases for the Blu-ray and DVD releases.
Up next is Beauty and the Beast as a 25th Anniversary Edition release. There really isn't much to talk about with this release as there aren't alot of bonus features on this release at all. In fact even the work in progress version of the film is gone. Instead there's the 2002 special edition version, and the 1991 theatrical version, but now there's a sing-along edition instead of the 1991 work in progress version. Neither of the Making Of featurettes from the 2002 Platinum Editions DVD or the 2010 Diamond Editions Blu-ray and DVD are included here either. The Blu-ray came out on September 20th, 2016 and was re-released on March 2nd, 2021 in a 2-Movie Collection with the 2017 live-action Beauty and the Beast remake.
The DVD is even more barebones than the Blu-ray ended up being as it has absolutely no bonus features on it at all. It was released on February 28th, 2017, a few months after the Blu-ray release, and was re-released on March 2nd, 2021 as the DVD version of the 2-Movie Collection release with the 2017 live action remake.
The 4K release includes the same Blu-ray as the 2016 Blu-ray release, so I won't go over that again. This was actually the last 4K release for the Signature Collection, but it's the first one I'm talking about because it's still an edition of the second release in the collection. It came out on March 10th, 2020.
Next is Pinocchio. Brad actually bought this Blu-ray for me in the summer of 2017 while I was still recovering from the major abdominal surgery that I had earlier that year and wasn't really able to go anywhere just yet. The bonus features a really bizarre collection. Aside from the "In Walt's Words" featurette, and the very first Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon that Walt produced in the 1920s, the majority of the bonus features are from the 2009 Platinum Editions DVD and Blu-ray releases. Including the Making Of featurette, "No Strings Attached: The Making of Pinocchio". However there's a SECOND Making Of featurette called "A Wish Come True: The Making of Pinocchio", which was originally included on the 60th Anniversary VHS that was released on October 26th, 1999 as well as the 2000 Gold Classic Collection VHS and wasn't on the 1999 Limited Issue DVD or the 2000 Gold Classic Collection DVD.
The DVD once again doesn't have any bonus features on it. No deleted scenes, nothing. However, it was released on January 31st, 2017 along with the Blu-ray.
Next is Bambi. Like the previous Blu-ray and DVD releases for the movie, there aren't a ton of bonus features on this release. Instead of "In Walt's Words" there's a feature called "Studio Stories: Bambi". Otherwise there's some deleted scenes, both two new ones for this release and the ones that were on the 2005 Platinum Editions DVD and the 2011 Diamond Editions DVD and Blu-ray. The rest of the bonus material was ported over from the previous DVD and Blu-ray releases.
The DVD has no bonus features at all. Not even the new deleted scenes that are on the Blu-ray release. It was released with the Blu-ray on June 6th, 2017.
After that came The Lion King. Like with the Blu-ray for Beauty and the Beast, this release does away with all of the bonus features from the previous DVD and Blu-ray releases. It also gets rid of the special edition of the movie (I think it's the special edition anyway), has "The Morning Report" as a deleted scene (separate scene anyway), and replaces whichever version of the movie is removed with a Sing-Along version instead.
There aren't any bonus features on the DVD either. It came out with the Blu-ray on August 29th, 2017. It and the Blu-ray were re-released on Blu-ray and DVD in a 2-Movie Collection release with the 2019 live-action remake on March 2nd, 2021.
However, on December 4th, 2018 The Lion King was released on 4K for the first time (maybe even the only time). There's nothing to really talk about here though since if the Blu-ray disc is exactly the same as the 2017 release, then all of the bonus features are the same, and there doesn't seem to be any bonus features on the 4K disc either. Though unless I'm mistaken the bonus features are Digital content only.
Next is Lady and the Tramp which came out on February 27th, 2018. This one is unique as it includes three different versions of the movie. The original theatrical release, a Sing-Along mode version, and an Inside Walt's Story Meetings version as well. Otherwise the rest of the bonus features are the ones taken from the 2012 Blu-ray release, with none being from the 2006 Platinum Editions DVD.
The DVD, which came out on May 22nd, 2018 has no bonus features on it. Just the movie.
Next is Peter Pan. The two new bonus features on this release are "Stories From Walt's Office: Walt & Flight" and "A Darling Conversation With Wendy & John: Kathryn Beaumont and Paul Collins". This feature is exactly what it is, an interview with Kathryn Beaumont, who voiced Wendy Darling in the film, and Paul Collins, who voiced John Darling. The rest of the bonus features are from the 2013 Diamond Editions Blu-ray, which were originally from the 2007 Platinum Editions DVD. And yes, it includes "You Can Fly: The Making of Peter Pan" which goes all the way back to the 1998 Masterpiece Collection VHS and Laserdisc. The Blu-ray came out on June 5th, 2018.
The DVD came out on September 4th, 2018.
Next is The Little Mermaid which came out on February 26th, 2019. The bonus features really aren't anything to talk about, though there is a "Stories From Walt's Office" which presumably covers whatever Walt started on back in the 1930s when he originally wanted to make the movie. There's also a 30th Anniversary retrospective on digital platforms like iTunes.
The DVD came out on May 7th, 2019.
The 4K release came out on February 26th, 2019 along with the Blu-ray.
Cinderella was released on Blu-ray on June 25th, 2019. There's a "In Walt's Words" feature and the rest of the bonus features are from the 2012 Diamond Editions Blu-ray and the 2005 Platinum Editions DVD.
The DVD was released on August 27th, 2019.
Aladdin was released on Blu-ray on September 10th, 2019. All of the bonus features are from the 2015 Diamond Editions Blu-ray. Like with the other films that had recent live action remakes/retellings, the movie was re-released on Blu-ray and DVD with the 2019 film on March 2nd, 2021.
The DVD was released on October 8th, 2019.
The 4K release also came out on September 10th, 2019.
101 Dalmatians came out on Blu-ray on September 24th, 2019. There are some decent new bonus features on this release including a behind the scenes on the making of The Further Adventures of Thunderbolt a short that was originally on the 2015 Diamond Editions Blu-ray and a few other seemingly cool featurettes. The rest of the bonus features are from the 2015 Diamond Editions Blu-ray and the 2008 Platinum Editions DVD.
The DVD came out on October 8th 2019.
The final Blu-ray release in the Walt Disney Signature Collection is Sleeping Beauty. There aren't as many bonus features on this release, but there are a few new ones, though once again, the majority of the bonus features are from the 2014 Diamond Editions Blu-ray.
The final release for the Walt Disney Signature Collection was the DVD release of Sleeping Beauty. It came out on January 14th 2020. There's no bonus features on this DVD.
And that my friends is the Walt Disney Signature Collection. I think the general consensus for this collection is one of disappointment. Many people, especially the serious Disney collectors, had all of these movies on previous releases and the new bonus features on the Blu-rays weren't worth double dipping for these releases. Though they're perfectly fine for someone like me, who hasn't gotten the majority of the Blu-ray or DVD releases for these movies. Also, by the time this collection REALLY got going, Disney+ was in the works and many people were moving towards streaming and digital releases. Which is why I think Disney started pulling back on these releases and not putting as much effort into them in terms of the bonus features. The packaging looks really nice on shelves, but if the content is exactly the same, most people only want one copy of a movie, unless they're serious collectors.
In my first post in this series I talked about how the Walt Disney Classics came into being and how the collection really got Walt Disney Home Video going in terms of the animated movies. But what was Walt Disney Home Video like in the "dark times" pre-1984? Well, you'll just have to come back next week as I talk about the Neon Mickey era of Walt Disney Home Video.
Alright guys that's gonna be it for me for today. I'll be back tomorrow for my review of Haganai NEXT. On Friday will be my review of Batman Forever, possibly a double feature posting, if I finish Q-Squared before Saturday. If not that review will be up on Saturday. So until then have a great afternoon and I will talk to you all later. Take care.
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