I agree wholeheartedly with Jeff, George Feltenstein, and Robert Harris regarding yesterday's posts on digitally removing wires. This has actually been an issue since people started watching DVDs on HD screens. Shortly after we got our HDTV, Ashley and I popped in Jurassic Park to see what it looked like. Everything was going fine until we got to Nedry and the Dilophosaurus and saw the wires attached to the dino's frills. We were horrified! We didn't see those years ago in the theater, nor had we on our SD set. I don't hope, I expect the rumored Blu-ray coming next fall will have these wires removed. This is not an issue of too much or not enough grain in a picture, which is debatable. Wanting a "wires" version is like demanding a cut of Star Wars without the lightsaber blades glowing.

David Poland has made some strong points about the Redbox "Revolution" going on. I agree in particular with the idea that this whole controversy has been promoted by and for the benefit of Redbox itself. This issue is not as simple as "rentals for a buck," because Redbox also resells their used discs from the same machines. If Redbox had their way, they would eliminate retail outlets and mail-order rentals from the equation entirely and act as the single provider of discs to the masses. They're demanding price-fixing and disguising it as consumer demand. They're disguising a Putsch they started as a grassroots movement. The thing I'm sure no one goose-stepping with the Redbox fascists cares about is the fate of movies that aren't the Eloi* Top Ten Pick in terms of home video distribution. Prices will go up on documentaries, indies, and arthouse movies, and consumers will be more and more resistant to VOD pricing. They can go down to McDonald's and grab a 60-piece McHolesterol and White Chicks 2 for a total of five bucks! What a deal! Whereas I had no hesitation in paying $9.99 to watch Bobcat Goldthwait's wonderful World's Greatest Dad (review forthcoming) in HD on my TV, I know people will resist that in a Redbox-dominated world. Indies will not be able to compete in a world that prices non-megaplex movies out of the market entirely. In my mind, ten bucks costs less than paying for two tickets at the cinema when (or if) a local theater gets the movie I'm after. To Redbox Brownshirts, $10 is an outrage when they can rent The Pink Panther 2 down at the grocery store for $1. Even $5.99 or $2.99 will seem miserly for something "weird" and "arty" like The Cove or Ong Bak 2. If Redbox wants to rent everything for a buck, then I want them to diversify selection first. Buy up a few million copies of some indies and docs. If you want to really change the industry, there's a great opportunity. Any time I've walked by one of their "boxes" it's filled with shit I don't really care about, like 12 Rounds, with faint sprinklings of things like Coraline that I do like. It's also my understanding that the guys who founded the company are righties. If they do take over most of the rental continent, don't expect to find movies they might find "objectionable" like Michael Moore movies or documentaries with any kind of ideological bent. I should clarify that I'd have the same issue with this if they were lefties. Limited space equals limited choices and thereby the Redbox platform puts what I can see and how in the hands of some rich guy. I'm all for lowering prices on home video sales and rentals (Blu-ray particularly), but this is nothing more than a manipulative attempt by one company to corner an entire industry. For once, I'm siding with the multinational corporations (for the moment). ------------------------------------ * I'm using my editor's shorthand for the knuckle-dragging masses with no taste out of convenience, not in an endorsement of everything he writes using that term.

One of the best ways to really see the benefits of the Blu-ray format is animated features, and Sleeping Beauty is a definitive reference title for hand-drawn animation on Blu. Sleeping Beauty was Disney's first Platinum Edition on Blu-ray, and all told, it's an easy blind buy. Some of the most celebrated sequences in animated history combined with a never-before-available 2.55:1 transfer and copious extras are absolutely worth every dime. For their catalog "Platinum" Blu-ray releases, Disney has wisely chosen to include Disc 1 of the DVD release in a cardboard sleeve to accomadate parents with the suburb-standard-issue portable DVD player or people who want to take something on-the-go who don't want to shell out an extra $10 for a "Digital Copy" edition. Whereas I had already purchased the standard DVD edition, this was worth the upgrade, with or without the $10 "upgrade" coupon included in the package. It should be noted that large chunks of this review are repurposed from my months-ago review of the DVD edition on Arthouse Cowboy. Consider this the double-dip special edition of that review that's actually worth a look. The majority of this review covers features on both versions, with Blu-ray specific items denoted as such. One of the more striking features of the restored movie is the fact it's back in its originally-intended aspect ratio of 2.55:1, first available to the public exclusively in this new home release. As soon as I saw the comparison shots, I immediately wondered just how it could be that so much of the frame had been sliced out for so long from this undeniable animated classic. The "tapestry" design of the whole film that was mandated by Walt himself and implemented by Eyvind Earle (more on him later) lends itself so perfectly to this ultra-wide ratio, I spent one time through watching the movie and the next trying to visualize what was lost in previous transfers. The original chop-job is like shaving a couple inches on the sides of a great work of portraiture because smaller frames were cheaper. I'm glad this has been rectified, and I frankly didn't know it had been missing for so long. I never knew anything was wrong with it as a kid, but now I know I could sense those missing inches off the frame. As for how it comes off in 1080p, my father-in-law put it best in that "it's pretty damn amazing." The restoration of the film is covered in one of the docs on disc 2 (which I'll dig into soon enough further down), but for the real nitty gritty, I'll direct you to a recently-posted Yellow Layer Failure column put together by restoration king Robert A. Harris over at The Digital Bits. The Movie The storytelling shows its age, especially in the wake of Enchanted, which I find even more chuckle-worthy having re-watched Sleeping Beauty. While Prince Phillip stalks behind Briar Rose/Aurora in the forest, creeping up to take her in an embrace from behind, Ashley and I felt like we were watching a slasher flick, complete with telling the girl onscreen to not "go in there" or "he's going to get you!". Just sing and play with animals and wait for a complete stranger to ambush you. Then, pretend to fight him off and call him a stalker, but then invite him over to your house that night. What could go wrong, right? The story is an artifact, but the aesthetic design holds up admirably 50 years later, especially thanks to the extensive restoration work. The dated plot mechanics and stereotypes aside, Sequence 8 and the fight with the Dragon are still two of the most compelling animated action scenes in the realm of traditional animation. With the overabundance of cheap CGI garbage churned out these days, the movie is a great family-friendly choice in a sea of talking animal crap. Extras Feature Commentary One of the last extras I looked at is in retrospect one I wish I'd looked at first: the Feature Commentary with Pixar chief John Lasseter, Leonard Maltin, and animator Andreas Deja. Any chance to listen to Lasseter talk about classic animation is a can't-miss, and his Pixar movie yack-tracks have always been good. Maltin is a guy many either love or hate, and I'm pretty ambivalent on him. If you dislike him at all, his presence here won't turn you off. As is often the case with Disney history, Maltin really knows his stuff and he doesn't overload you with unnecessary info. Back to Lasseter for a moment, because a couple places in this track reminded me of a doc I saw in 2007 called The Pixar Story (included in this week's WALL-E 2-disc set) where he served as one of the primary talking heads. Any chance you ever have to hear this guy talk about animation is an absolute privilege. I don't listen to as many comment tracks as I used to, but any of them with John are worth listening to, sometimes twice. The piece of this triumverate you may not be familiar with is Andreas Deja, who has worked for Disney as an animator since 1980's The Black Cauldron, and has been supervising animator for many of Disney's major villains since then including Gaston, Jafar, and Scar, in addition to creating Roger Rabbit. He most recently supervised animation of Queen Nerissa in last year's Enchanted, so his inclusion here is more of an insider's than you would assume just knowing he works for Disney. Very informative and quiet in places where the three guys get wrapped up (understandably so) in watching this masterpiece unfold. One of the best-integrated Blu-ray features is the Cine-Explore Commentary that interlaces multi-angle video of the participants, storyboards, photos, and sketches along with archival interviews. Is it a reason alone to buy the Blu? No, but if you have an HD set and are choosing, the transfer and bitrate make that decision for you. Music Video: Emily Osment singing Once Upon a Dream Look, I'm not the target market for this extra or a few of the others, so why did I watch it? Out of the same morbid curiosity my wife has in scrutinizing Disney DVD covers that employ radically different style than the actual movie, like the rerelease of Peter Pan. This is probably on there to support the Hannah Montana Generation of new Disneyphiles who'll learn the junk-rock version of this song because Hannah Montana's sidekick/friend is singing it. Not to get too off-topic, but if Miley Cyrus "retires" Hannah, will Osment take up the reins with the same character name/identity, or will she become "Morrigan Oregon" or "Rhoda Minnesota"? Song Selection Lets you jump to any "song" you want in this song-sparse movie. Princess Fun Facts Again, not aimed at me, this is what my wife calls "Pop-Up Video" for Disney movies. Assorted trivia and facts and so on. Grand Canyon The entire Grand Canyon suite set to a 29-minute video of the Grand Canyon. Lovely music, but I remember them showing this to us in elementary school music class and it put us all to sleep. The '58 Oscar winner for Short Subject, this may be used as background when I'm making dinner on the odd night. Lovely photography if you have a kid who's never seen the million and one docs/specials on The Canyon. The Peter Tchaikovsky Story My wife laughed at me when I put this on, but it turned out to be phenomenally entertaining. Thanks to current TV movie trends, I joked, it sounded like a Lifetime TV movie about "noted wife-abuser and philanderer Peter Tchaikovsky, that son-of-a-bitch." The first TV show broadcast in "stereophonic" sound and theatrical widescreen (it's only taken us 50 years to get aspect ratio right), it tells the story of young Tchaikovsky being haunted by melodies and being reprimanded for being an "artist" in the face of a lucrative career as a government official like his father. Plenty of 1950's TV acting is on display, which in and of itself is hilarious. Walt Disney himself introduces the piece as well as the "special preview" of Sleeping Beauty, and as much as we see movies spoiled in trailers these days, the two near-full sequences he shows are the climatic Dragon fight at the end and Sequence 8 ("Once Upon a Dream" in the forest). Alternate Languages Most people gloss over this, but I love being able to watch these Disney classics with the Spanish and French voice tracks. Great way to start your kids early on foreign language comprehension. You think I'm kidding, but I'm not. BD-Live Features These are Disc 1-specific as far as I can tell. I'm not terribly excited about live-chatting with friends while watching the movie, and this isn't something that makes me say "oh golly do I need Blu-ray." The pages and pages of Legal Disclaimer jargon is almost a game in and of itself. Not worth it yet to me. Games and other Kiddy Stuff Again, these were not designed for me, but I don't see how they could be entertaining to the target audience. The games themselves are better played with cards and the narrating voice is so condescending I wanted to take a sleeping pill. Picture Perfect: The Making of Sleeping Beauty Ahh, now this is the stuff. A comprehensive documentary of the production, history, and problems on Sleeping Beauty. Not too long, not too short, and just right. Disney's DVD production team does a masterful job of differentiating featurette content from "The Making of" and separating those out to their own little segments. Contributors range from Briar Rose herself, Mary Costa, to filmmakers and historians. Not a minute wasted or a redundant moment to be found. Eyvind Earle: The Man and His Art This glimpse into the life of Earle is a fascinating eight or nine minutes with a genius. With a life history so interesting, I'm surprised no one has fashioned a movie about this guy. A rough childhood that lead to greatness in this film. Worth re-watching it's so interesting and inspiring. Sequence 8 Most would refer to this as "Once Upon a Dream." It was a notoriously complex sequence that Walt demanded be more and more unique, it almost sundered the entire production. Deleted Scenes/Storyboards The wisely-trimmed opening song and additional stuff with the kings. Disney really does cut the fat before they get to cooking. It was a whole lot more wasted effort back when they did every frame by hand. Three songs total and a couple of storyboards, introduced by Andreas Deja. The Storyboards are a comparison to the finished footage and worth watching. Live Action Reference They filmed live actors in costumes in front of stock sets for reference when drawing back in the days before mo-cap. Nice to see a peek into just how precisely they captured the physical nature of hair, fabric, and facial expressions. Production Galleries This is probably my favorite, sure-to-be unsung feature of this set. Through a copious amount of stills, you get to see the evolution of various character and location designs. Take my word for it and spend a few minutes with these and you'll find yourself spending the better part of a half hour or full hour poring over these. Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough and Attraction This was particularly engaging for me since as a kid or an adult, I've never been to either Disney theme park in the US. Disney Imagineers walk us through the attraction that's been unseen by the public for something like 40 years. They show us the magicians' tricks that make everything possible, and the changes that it went through until its closing. There's a not-so-hidden easter egg toward the end of the guided tour in addition to the news that the Castle Attraction is going to have a grand re-opening in 2009, which reminds me of Lasseter's passionate dedication to the Disney parks. Not only is his presence at Disney revitalizing their feature animation division, but their parks and DVD releases are really truly getting those Pixaresque bits of extra loving care. 4 Artists Paint 1 Tree An old Walt goodie featuring how four artists interpret one task. This should be shown in school art classes. Eyvind Earle is one of the artists. Trailers The teaser, and full trailers from 1959 are here as well as the 1995 re-release one. I realized I hadn't watched these yet, so I just popped the disc back in and...my god. The 1995 trailer is in 1.85. Blu-ray only The Sound of Beauty: Restoring a Classic The one (as far as I could tell) Blu-ray exclusive feature was this, a ten minute glance at the sound mix restoration. It's nice to know that they got to use the original sound masters and cleaned from there, but honestly this mostly comes off as promoting the Blu-ray format and 7.1 "Disney Home Theater Enhanced Surround Sound," but it is still worth watching. If you aren't a sound professional or do audio conversion in your basement, you probably aren't familiar with what you miss when listening to this new Sleeping Beauty disc. Rather, you probably miss what you're missing: hisses, pops, and other audio artifacts cleaned out of this cut don't make themselves readily apparent unless youreally think about the last time you saw this and the things that made it sound 50 years old. As with many catalog Blu-ray releases, the question of How Clean is Too Clean may come to mind, and though I'm still not sold on 7.1-ifying movies that it was never available for in the first place, I'm glad they wiped out the artifacting that was in there. As a completist, I'd actually have liked a lossy 2.0 mix thrown in for comparison, but it's really not that big a deal. Ten minutes worth your time, but you probably won't watch it again. Last Thoughts From a guy who used to buy DVDs all the time but has been tamed from that habit by a very practical wife, this would have gone to the top of my "weekly stack" in those days. As it stands, the pedigree of recent Disney DVD releases under John Lasseter have vastly improved over the "pretty good, where else are you going to find them" ones from before his tenure. This one is a blind buy unless you don't like animation, classic films, or Disney. Note that I left out "family-friendly" there. The frightening "get seduced by strangers vibe" in the forest glen makes this one difficult to recommend as totally ok for young girls...but then again I have to compare it to other "family friendly" movies out there. The Bolt trailer has a hamster talking about snapping someone's neck, for cryin' out loud. You have to understand that if I had kids, I'd be itching to show them The Nightmare Before Christmas as soon as I could without getting carted off for it. Sleeping Beauty will be either one of your first purchases or a gaping hole in just about anyone's collection, on Blu-ray or DVD.