Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has announced the scheduling of four classic movies coming to Blu-ray in 2008, all featuring the latest in Blu-ray interactivity. Coming Spring 2008 is 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe' which will be the first Disney title to use the Picture-In-Picture feature of upcoming Blu-ray players. Summer 2008 will see the release of 'National Treasure' which will be the first Disney title to use Internet connectivity. In the Fall, Disney will release 'Finding Nemo' and the first Platinum title on Blu-ray, 'Sleeping Beauty'.
'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe', which was delayed from this fall, seemingly due to the delay of Profile 1.1 implementation, will feature full motion Picture-In-Picture extras. 'Finding Nemo' will also get the Picture-In-Picture treatment when it gets released next fall.
'National Treasure' will be the first Disney title to use BD-Live, which allows viewers to connect to the Internet via their Blu-ray player to download additional content, as well as play games with other viewers. The release of 'Sleeping Beauty' will also get BD-Live treatment, and the extras will include a virtual castle and multi-player games.
'Sleeping Beauty' will be the first title given the "Platinum" treatment. Commenting on the significance of Platinum titles, Bob Chapek, President of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment said, "The Platinum titles are the crown jewels of the Disney Studios and we do not take releasing them lightly on any format. The proven Blu-ray technology has allowed us to take our films to new heights, fully utilizing the larger capacity and interactive capabilities for an incredible all-new consumer experience."
no this didn't happen no way HD-DUD's gone and they'll probably take out national tressure box-set with the new movie due release this dec and u know what they all r on my list and BD-live on NT SWEET
while this is great news, take it with a grain of salt. 2008 is too far out to get excited about when titles are consistently delayed, postponed, disappear, etc.
and "gamer4eva", I agree. I think the matrix trilogy is one of my favorite, right behind LotR. it almost caused me to go HD-DVD as there are currently more titles on that format that I want. but i believe it's going to be a blu world and those titles will see their day on blu-ray.
although HD-DUD has got more titles u gotta agree they don't have enough quality one's the gud one's they've got r warner(supposedly neutral) and a few others and with this fall's line-up and with news like these Blu-Ray's gonna kill HD-DUD
Don't worry gamer4eva The Matrix won't take long!!
This is Fantastic news. Be wanting Finding Nemo the PQ should rock. And National Treasure I love it
and I'm not ashamed to say it!!. Disney has hit home run with this announcement. Lets hope they
don't delay!!
These are the kinds of shock and awe moves that end format wars quickly and decisively.
I'm ready to hand Disney the trophy right now because I think when the dust is settled on the whole thing, they'll deserve the most credit for winning this for Blu.
You know what????
THIS IS THE BEST RELEASE I've EVER SEEN!!!
I have been waiting for two of them:
Sleeping Beauty (Owned on DVD, I just love Maleficent!!!)
Narnia (OMG!!! I bought 4 Disc Special Edition DVD)
Can't wait to get my hands on them.
Still expecting:
Beauty and the beast
the lion king
hunchback of notre-dame
mulan
tarzan
snow white
little mermaid (ursula's sooo funny)
robin hood (love prince john)
peter pan (love captain hook and smee)
lady and the tramp (love the siamese cats)
alice in wonderland (love the queen of hearts -- off with their heads!!!)
@existentialist
depends what u classify as classics
if its awesome movies then they r all there if u're talking abt old movies yup then there's only one but neways all r on my list disney is the best blu format i simply love it
The disney classics alone will finish off HD-DVD, Disney seems to hold a place in every consumers hearts. This news has seriously dented HD-DVD I reckon.
Damn talking about shock & awe for HD-DUD, I can't see them coming back from such a hit with these great releases. I can't wait for these movies and I will be getting all of them. Disney is one of the reasons I went Blu-Ray, their contribution in the future to Blu-Ray's success will belong to I think Disney that will put HD-DUD to rest.
Unlike Universal, Disney has plenty of payload left in the reserves, so it's nice to see some of their stronger catalogue titles getting in the headlines for Blu-ray. Nemo's release will no doubt be Disney's high def equivalent of "300" -- they'll rake in some good cash with that one.
I'd personally love to see Mary Poppins or any of the disney animated classics on Blu-Ray, but I also know how long we had to wait for the Disney animated films on DVD at it's first introduction.
It took 2.5 years for them to get the "Limited Issue" line started with Pinocchio, Mermaid, Jungle Book and others, and even those discs were a little lacking. Disney has set the standard high for Blu-Ray, and so I was expecting the Disney Classics to take just as much time in coming to BR, just as they did with DVD and even VHS.
Disney has Jungle Book (in October) Sleeping Beauty, Fantasia, Pinocchio and 101 Dalmatians to release as Platinum Editions on DVD before they start rotating through the collection again. So look for two to three releases from Disney per year on Blu-Ray of their classics beginning in fall of 2008 with Sleeping Beauty set for Fall '08, and 101 Dalmatians set for Spring 2009 according to UltimateDisney.com
"...will be the first Disney title to use the Picture-In-Picture feature of upcoming Blu-ray players.." I am new so, let me ask this. If this is not a current feature, will it be something that can be added with a firmware update? Specifically for the PS3?
