The Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection (Walt Disney Coleccion Maestra in Spanish and Collection Chefs-d'œuvre de Walt Disney in French-Canadian) was a line of VHS tapes and Laserdiscs released by Walt Disney Home Video from 1994 to 1999. Similar to the Walt Disney Classics line that preceded it, it consisted mainly of Disney Animated Features, along with a few live-action/animation hybrid films. Spanish versions were also released.
Of note, the series featured the first home video releases of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Aristocats, Oliver & Company, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Melody Time, The Black Cauldron, Mulan, and The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.
The series was followed by the Walt Disney Limited Issues DVDs in 1999 and the Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection VHS & DVDs in 2000.
Releases
VHS cover | Laserdisc cover | Film | Release date | Bonus Feature | Disappeared to Vault |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | October 28, 1994 | N/A | |||
Mary Poppins | October 28, 1994 | N/A | |||
Dumbo | October 28, 1994 | N/A | |||
Alice in Wonderland (first release) | October 28, 1994 | N/A | |||
Robin Hood (first release) | October 28, 1994 | N/A | |||
The Sword in the Stone | October 28, 1994 | N/A | |||
Pete's Dragon | October 28, 1994 | N/A | |||
Bedknobs and Broomsticks | October 28, 1994 | N/A | |||
The Three Caballeros | October 28, 1994 | N/A | |||
So Dear to My Heart | October 28, 1994 | N/A | |||
The Lion King | March 3, 1995 | N/A | |||
Cinderella | October 4, 1995 | N/A | |||
Pocahontas | February 28, 1996 | N/A | |||
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh | March 27, 1996 | N/A | |||
The Aristocats | April 24, 1996 | N/A | |||
Oliver & Company | September 25, 1996 | N/A | |||
Bambi (THX 55th Anniversary Edition) | February 4, 1997 | Bambi: The Magic Behind the Masterpiece | |||
The Hunchback of Notre Dame | March 4, 1997 | ||||
Fun and Fancy Free (THX 50th Anniversary Edition) | July 15, 1997 |
The Story Behind 'Fun and Fancy Free |
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Mary Poppins (THX Limited Edition) | August 26, 1997; March 24, 1998 | ||||
Sleeping Beauty (THX Limited Edition and THX Widescreen Edition) | September 16, 1997 | Once Upon a Dream: The Making of Sleeping Beauty | |||
The Jungle Book (THX 30th Anniversary Limited Edition) | October 14, 1997 | The Jungle Book: The Making of a Musical Masterpiece | |||
Hercules | February 3, 1998 | ||||
Peter Pan (THX 45th Anniversary Limited Edition) | March 3, 1998 | You Can Fly: The Making of Peter Pan | |||
The Little Mermaid (THX Special Edition) | March 31, 1998 | ||||
Melody Time (THX 50th Anniversary Special Edition) | June 2, 1998 | ||||
The Black Cauldron | August 4, 1998 | ||||
Lady and the Tramp (THX Limited Edition and THX Widescreen Edition) | September 15, 1998 | Teaser for Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure | |||
The Rescuers | January 5, 1999 (recalled on January 8, 1999) | ||||
Mulan | February 2, 1999 | ||||
One Hundred and One Dalmatians (THX Limited Edition) | March 9, 1999 | Redefining the Line: The Making of One Hundred and One Dalmatians | |||
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (50th Anniversary Limited Edition) | May 25, 1999 | ||||
Alice in Wonderland (second release) | July 13, 1999 | ||||
Robin Hood (second release) | July 13, 1999 |
Trivia
- Some early copies of the Pocahontas VHS contained the 1989 Walt Disney Classics opening logo instead of the opening logo of its respective video line.
- The video tapes of Pooh's Grand Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin, Old Yeller (1997 Film Classics Collection release), and early copies of the 60th Anniversary edition of Pinocchio contain the opening logo for the video line at the start, despite that those videos weren't part of the line. Pinocchio was most likely planned to be released in the Masterpiece Collection for fall 1999. A tape master was prepared, but was quickly aborted when the series ended; however, early copies of the 60th Anniversary edition still contained the early master with the Masterpiece Collection logo.
- In the 1994 trailer for the video line,Pinocchio, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Fox and the Hound are shown among the many clips shown, but a Masterpiece Collection VHS was never released for those films. It is possible that they were going to release a video for each of them, but were cancelled for unknown reasons.
- Some tapes from 1995-1996 had the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection logo, but with the 1992 variation of the Walt Disney Classics music. The logo also shines twice on this variant. It also shows up on the laserdisc releases of Peter Pan and Hercules. Surprisingly the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection logo was shown on Toy Story 1997 DTS Laserdisc. and the 1998 DVD release of Mary Poppins.
- Some tapes in this VHS series did not have the Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection logo ident. These include The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Mulan, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and early printings of The Black Cauldron. However, the laserdisc had the WDMC logo and the THX logo.
- Some tapes from 1997-1999 were THX certified. Such tapes were advertised as "fully restored - limited edition" on either their VHS covers and/or their VHS trailers beforehand.
- Mary Poppins is, thus far, the only title to have had a DVD released in the series.
Promotional Galleries
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See also