Sunday, June 14, 2015

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Tags Sept. 15 As The Release Date For DVD And Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Editions Of Cinderella


DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment is the first studio to announce a post-Labor Day theatrical hit for delivery to the home entertainment market place as both DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack SKUs.   The film in question is Cinderella and the street date will be Sept. 15.

Having opened in March of this year, that mid-September release date yields a very long-in-the-tooth ARR of 186 days.   

 It is rare these days to see a major studio asset held up for six months, but Disney knows from experience that a July or August release will not maximize sales as the target audience will be busy elsewhere … best to wait until school is in full cycle after Labor Day, the traditional close to summer.

Ticket sales for this live-action rework of one of the studio’s animation treasures were a robust $198.8 million.

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph TribbeyBonus features include the theatrical companion animated short film, Frozen Fever, an alternation opening sequence and over 12 minutes of deleted and alternate scenes.

In other release news this week from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, Aug. 18 will mark the Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack debut of Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection.  Included here are a dozen animated shorts that have been produced between 2000 and 2015.

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
These are (in chronological order): John Henry — 2000, directed by Mark Henn and previously available as part of the 2002 compilation titled Disney’s America Legends

Lorenzo — 2004, directed by Michael Gabriel and nominated for an Oscar as Best Short Film, Animated.   It was featured as part of the theatrical release of Raising Helen.

The Little Matchgirl — 2006, directed by Roger Allers … previously released in October of 2006 on both DVD and Blu-ray as a bonus feature with The Little Mermaid.

How to Hook Up Your Home Theater — 2007, co-directed by Kevin Deters by Stevie Wermers-Skelton … Goofy stars in this “throw-back” animated short film that was released theatrically with National Treasure 2 in December of 2007.

Tick Tock Tale — 2010, directed by Dean Wellins … had a few film festival screening during the fall of 2010 and then disappeared.   

Prep & Landing: Operation Secret Santa — 2010, also co-directed by Kevin Deters by Stevie Wermers-Skelton.   Made its debut on television as a bumper to the December special broadcast of A Charlie Brown Christmas.

The Ballad of Nessie — 2011, directed by Stevie Wermers-Skelton.   Released theatrically in July as a bumper to the theatrical release of Winnie the Pooh.

Tangled Ever After — 2012, co-directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard.  Was a bumper short to the 3D re-release of Beauty and the Beast in 2012 and has been released on both DVD and Blu-ray as part of the Cinderella: Diamond Edition push later that year.

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph TribbeyPaperman — 2012, directed by John Kahrs and it was the Oscar-winner for Best Short Film, Animated.   It made its theatrical debut as a bumper-short to Wreck-It Ralph in November of 2012.

Get A Horse! — 2013, directed by Lauren MacMullan … a Mickey Mouse “throw-back” animated short film that was released theatrically as a bumper to Frozen during Thanksgiving of 2013.

Feast — 2014, directed by Patrick Osborne and it too won the Oscar for Best Short Film, Animated.   It was released theatrically as an animated short bumper to Big Hero 6 in November of last year.

DVD & Blu-ray Release Report, Ralph Tribbey
And lastly we have Frozen Fever, which is also being released as a bonus nugget with the aforementioned Cinderella on Sept. 15.   Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, this was the companion animated bumper short film to the theatrical launch of Cinderella in March of this year.  It is, therefore, Oscar-eligible.

Bonus features included with the release of Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Films Collection include intros from the various filmmakers, a featurette titled @DisneyAnimation: A Short Story on Shorts and the bonus animated short film Runaway Brain … a Mickey Mouse throw-back cartoon directed by Chris Bailey released as a bumper to George of the Jungle in 1997 and was Oscar-nominated in the Best Short Film, Animated category.


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