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Walt Disney Platinum Editions

From The Unofficial DisneyWiki

The Platinum Editions are a line of DVDs and Blu-ray Discs released by Walt Disney Home Entertainment. The series features restored digital versions of several of the most popular Disney animated features.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Overview

Originally, the line consisted of the company's ten best-selling VHS titles and would be released in October of each year. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first film released in the DVD series, in 2001. The two following titles, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King were released in IMAX and other giant screen theaters during the holiday season before its October DVD release. Due to underwhelming box office results, a planned IMAX release for Aladdin was scrapped and the practice was discontinued. In May 2003, Disney announced that it would be adding the next four best-selling titles to the collection. Starting in 2005, a Platinum Edition was released twice a year, one in October and one in February/March. The first six Platinum Editions, from Snow White in November 2001 to Cinderella in October 2005, were also available on VHS. Beginning with Sleeping Beauty in October 2008, Platinum Editions were also sold on Blu-Ray Disc. In addition to the two discs for the movie and bonus features, the Blu-Ray releases also include a DVD of the movie for travel purposes and to lure consumers without Blu-Ray players into helping to boost sales.

The original plan for the Platinum Edition was that the films would be re-issued for a limited time, once every ten years. Since then, the interim between each re-issue of a particular film has been shortened to seven years. As of now, the first nine films in the Platinum Editions line, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, Bambi, Cinderella and Lady and the Tramp are no longer available in retail stores, and can only be found through specialized sales markets, or websites such as Amazon.com or eBay. Such out-of-print titles usually demand a significant premium given their considerable value to collectors.

[edit] Packaging

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was packaged in a double-sized keepcase, and to date has been the only Platinum Edition DVD without a slip-cover. It was released on VHS in Brazil and on DVD in UK as a Collector's gift set. From Beauty and the Beast to Cinderella, Platinum Editions were packaged in a dual-disc DVD case with a slipcase, with a book-like velcro flap which, when opened, gave an overview of the DVD's special features. Lady and the Tramp was the first DVD in the series to use a more standard slipcase without a flap. The slipcase for The Little Mermaid then featured embossed character art, and the slipcases for Peter Pan, The Jungle Book and One Hundred and One Dalmatians featured holographic artwork along with the embossment. Only sets sold during the first few months of a Platinum Edition's window of availability are sold with a slipcover.

Discs in the collection have also made transformation through the years. The first few releases and One Hundred and One Dalmatians were released on standard discs. Cinderella then featured their main characters upon the discs themselves as did The Little Mermaid. The latest change has been the additon of holographic images used on Lady and the Tramp, Peter Pan, and The Jungle Book.

Beginning with The Lion King, as an option for customers, select Platinum Edition DVDs were also made available in gift set editions, which included the standard retail DVD as well as supplements such as original animation sketches, a film frame, and a companion book. Some titles featured as Collector's Gift Sets are exclusive to certain countries as well, such as The Jungle Book and One Hundred and One Dalmatians in United Kingdom and Germany only, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Peter Pan in the UK only.

The VHS releases of the first four Platinum Editions were packaged in white clamshells, while Bambi and Cinderella had cardboard cases. The Blu-Ray Platinum Edition of Sleeping Beauty comes with a slipcover similar to those used from 2002-2005, with a book-like velcro flap and an overview of bonus features inside.

[edit] Restoration

Each film in the Platinum Edition series is given a thorough restoration, and generally presented in their original aspect ratios, except for a few exceptions. The Lion King and Aladdin are presented in the full 1.66:1 aspect ratio of the film negative instead of their intended 1.85:1 aspect ratios, and The Little Mermaid - created in 1.66:1 and intended for exhibition in 1.85:1 - is presented in 1.78:1, midway between the two ratios. One Hundred and One Dalmatians and The Jungle Book were both produced in 1.37:1 for intended exhibition in 1.75:1; the former film is presented in 1.33:1, while the latter is presented 1.78:1. Lady and the Tramp, produced in CinemaScope, was also presented in an alternate pan-and-scan version included in the same collection. Sleeping Beauty, originally presented in 2.20:1, is presented in its full aspect ratio of 2.55:1. Most of the films in the collection are digitally restored from their original negatives, undergoing digital clean-up processes to remove dust, dirt, and scratches. Snow White and Bambi have featurettes detailing the restoration process included on the set as bonus features.

Three of the Platinum Edition releases - Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King - were produced using Disney's Computer Animation Production System (CAPS), and were instead sourced straight from the digital masters used to create the film. Each of these three films also featured retouched and re-cleaned-up animation, alterations done to prepare the films for IMAX release.

Each film's soundtrack is also remixed into Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. Earlier films in the series such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs were originally released with monoaural soundtracks, and the new mixes created for Platinum Edition releases featured a combination of uses of original sound elements used in the original mix and rechanneling techniques. Later films in the series (including two, Aladdin and The Lion King, which were originally produced in 5.1) featured surround sound mixes specifically tailored to home theater audiences, branded by the company as "Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mixes". For the most part, the original mixes are also included.

[edit] Special features

DVDs in this series typically contain a significant amount of bonus material, primarily housed on the second disc of the set so as to allow for a high-bitrate transfer of the feature. Many of the titles feature "making-of" documentaries that run from as little as a half-hour to an hour in length. The three exceptions are The Lion King, Aladdin, and Peter Pan. The Lion King and Aladdin both utilize a navigation system of multiple featurettes that can be played individually or together, while Peter Pan simply re-uses a brief 15-minute documentary from 1998.

Other typical features include audio commentaries (not available on Bambi, Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, or One Hundred and One Dalmatians), art and image galleries, deleted scenes, early storyboard reels, and bonus Disney short subjects. Contemporary publicity material available on each set may include trailers, music videos, radio programs, newsreel footage, and episodes of the Disney anthology television series, although the exact features included vary from set to set. Features aimed at more general family audiences and children are also included, such as set-top games and music video renditions of Disney songs by contemporary pop artists and/or Disney Channel stars.

[edit] Music Videos

[edit] List of Walt Disney Platinum Editions

[edit] Currently Released/Out of Print

# Film Release Date Moratorium Notes
1 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Platinum Edition (1937) October 9, 2001 January 2002 Collector's Gift Set (UK only)
2 Beauty and the Beast: Special Edition (1991) October 8, 2002 January 2003
3 The Lion King: Special Edition (1994) October 7, 2003 January 2005 Collector's Gift Set

Trilogy box set with The Lion King II: Simba's Pride and The Lion King 1 1/2

4 Aladdin: Special Edition (1992) October 5, 2004 January 2008 Collector's Gift Set
5 Bambi: Special Edition (1942) March 1, 2005 January 2007 First Platinum Edition released in Spring instead of Fall

Released on Blu-ray Disc

6 Cinderella: Special Edition (1950) October 4, 2005 January 2008 Collector's Gift Set

Last Platinum film released on VHS

Trilogy box set with Cinderella II: Dreams Come True and Cinderella III: A Twist in Time (Japan only)

Released on Blu-ray Disc

7 Lady and the Tramp: 50th Anniversary Edition (1955) February 28, 2006 January 2007

Released on Blu-ray Disc

8 The Little Mermaid: Special Edition (1989) October 3, 2006 January 2009

Trilogy box set with The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea and The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning

Released on Blu-ray Disc

9 Peter Pan: Platinum Edition (1953) March 6, 2007 January 2009 Collector's Gift Set (UK only)

Trilogy box set with Return to Never Land and Tinker Bell

Released on Blu-ray Disc

10 The Jungle Book: 40th Anniversary Edition (1967) October 2, 2007 January 2010 Collector's Gift Set (UK and Germany only.)

Released on Blu-ray Disc

11 101 Dalmatians: Platinum Edition (1961) March 4, 2008 January 2010 Collector's Gift Set (UK, Germany and Brazil)

Released on Blu-ray Disc

12 Sleeping Beauty: 50th Anniversary Edition (1959) October 7, 2008 None Collector's Gift Set (UK and Germany only)

First Platinum film released on Blu-ray Disc

13 Pinocchio: 70th Anniversary Edition (1940) March 10, 2009 None Second Platinum film released on Blu-ray Disc


[edit] See also

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