Doctor M

Recommended Editions of Disney Animated (and Partially Animated) Features:

Some of these may be subjective and I’m completely open to debate on all picks.
I’m also hoping that education of the differences might improve demand and availability of proper versions.

A NOTE ABOUT V.2: It turns out that starting with the 1994 release of Snow White, Disney started restoring their films in a manner that completely eliminates all of the qualities of the original painted cells, Xerography and/or film medium. They are essentially reanimating their films. In many instances they have performed this process even more aggressively a second time in 4k for their Blu-ray releases. When I’m aware that a release is a Franken-film (reanimated) I will NOT make it my primary recommendation.

The Sleeping Beauty featurette from 2003 explaining the new ‘restoration’ process: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-z0o26HD40

The results of this method can appear unnatural and separate subjects from the light sources and/or background. In this article: http://colorfulanimationexpressions.blogspot.com/2008/06/thinking-about-digital-restoration-of.html under the section “Removing the grain of history” is a good explanation of just what is wrong with doing it this way.

Many films listed below will now have a ‘Purist’ suggestion, which will be the most accurate representation of the original film regardless of the quality (LD, VHS, etc.) When there is a ‘Purist’ recommendation, I will also attempt to give an ‘Acceptable Alternative’ for those that are a bit less picky. The AA will be a higher quality digital format that may include anything from minor color changes and clean up to Disney’s full-on Franken-film digital crime, as long as there is nothing glaringly terrible about it.

Some other facts…

In general, the first wave of DVDs were transferred poorly from old film prints usually under the banner “Limited Issue/Edition”. While less digitally marred than later releases, the age of the film source, vertical blurring to thicken lines to prevent interline twitter, increased contrast and/or saturation and/or other tweaking to accommodate the technological limitations of sharing a master with VHS releases and standard definition 4x3 CRT TVs. Quality is usually poor.

“Gold Edition/Collection” and “Special Editions” frequently provided an upgrade, but could also share a master with a previous release. These are usually a better alternative.

“Platinum Edition” DVDs are a mixed bag. At this point digital restoration is in full swing, but is often more carefully done. This could be because the technology was fairly new, or that the people in charge were more respectful of the films. These DVDs also present a more subdued image with whites that aren’t bright. This may be to compensate for the bright default settings of more modern TVs.

“Diamond Editions” are struck from HD 4k masters and re-restored using more aggressive techniques. This is likely to accommodate a new generations’ taste and because HD reveals more artifacts.

When VHS is suggested, I don’t tend to have a lot of information. It helps to know that the best ones tend to be the so called “Black Diamond” tapes, but are actually the “Masterpiece Collection”.

And, a frequently asked question about Laserdiscs: Many releases came in both a CAV and CLV format. The best way to think of it as long play and short play speeds. The CAV format could only fit 30 minutes on a side. As a result the quality was superior but it took more discs to accommodate a movie.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937): First ‘fully restored’ by Lowry in 1994. This is also when the Masterpiece VHS and laserdiscs came out. Prior to 2023 there were no home video formats that were not reanimated.

The 2001 Platinum Edition DVD is bright and likely inappropriately so.

The 2023 Ultimate Collector’s Edition 4k UHD Blu-ray is the second in Disney’s new and possibly perfect UHD releases. There seems to be no official and unique name identifying these like Platinum, Gold, etc. The video is excellent quality, as are the colors. The grain is well preserved and flaws in the original animation have been left untouched. On the down side, the audio is only a 5.1 remix. No original mono track, no 7.1 upmix from prior blu-rays. You might want to see about getting a hold of a remux that includes the mono track from the standard Blu-ray… or just watch the standard 1080p Blu-ray that is included and does have the mono track.

Purist recommendation: 2023 Ultimate Collector’s Edition 1080p Blu-ray. Same restoration as the UHD release, but includes a restored mono track. If you aren’t a fan of HDR, you’ll be even happier.

Acceptable Alternative: 2023 Ultimate Collector’s Edition UHD 4k. The 5.1 mix isn’t a travesty and favors the front quite well. There is also the added benefit(?) of HDR, although your tastes may vary since it does occasionally cool the colors down (according to Blu-ray.com’s review.)

Platinum vs Diamond screenshots: http://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?s=c7e0fe56be745fb231c352c02bef1dbb&p=6882905&postcount=124

While this isn’t definitive, here is a side-by-side comparison of the Diamond Edition DVD versus a wartime short containing the same animation: http://youtu.be/gbMQg6kPqDQ

Pinocchio (1940): Color timing issues are the concern in the digital restorations and a negative impact on lighting depth. There IS a chance the restoration is correct. The problem is a lot of people feel that it is accurate to the cells but not how the animators expected it to look once transferred to film.

Purist recommendation: The 1987 CAV Laserdisc/1985 VHS (no DVDr preservation available).

Acceptable Alternative: The 1999 Limited Issue/2000 Gold DVD (which was the same disc repackaged and the same transfer as the 1993 CAV Laserdisc). It does contain some ghosting artifacts from digital noise reduction, but is generally clean and vivid.

1999 DVD vs 2009 DVD/BD comparison: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews44/pinocchio_blu-ray.htm

1987 LD (1985 VHS), 1993 LD (1999 DVD), 2009 DVD(BD & 2003 PAL DVD) downloadable screenshot comparisons by drsd2kill: http://www.mediafire.com/download/chwc9xvdrb7zp0a/Pinocchio.htm

Fantasia (1940): Concerns are censorship of a black centaur during the Pastoral Symphony segment as well as the loss of the original narrator.
Originally released at 125 minutes, the movie was trimmed for various releases. The cuts persisted for so long that when Disney sought to restore the original runtime, the Deems Taylor audio was in an unusable condition. All narration was redubbed by Corey Burton."

The laserdiscs were the last release to still have the Deems Taylor’s narrations.
DVD and BD (2000 and 2010) have the restored runtime, but with new narration by Corey Burton.

A reconstruction project with Deems Taylor and the 1982 Kostal RE-recording of the music is being worked on by ww12345: http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Fantasia-1982-Soundmix/topic/13353/

While it is unclear how much digital restoration was done when this film was taken to Blu-ray, the 2010 releases do show a significantly better image.

Purist recommendation: 2001 60th Anniversary DVD (also available as a 2000 Fantasia/Fantasia 2000 box). At this point we can be pretty sure Disney did not use the worst of their restoration methods on Fantasia. A safe bet for the finicky.

Acceptable Alternative: The 2010 BD/DVDs (that come with Fantasia 2000). Exhibit much better image quality, but like all BD releases have a chance of having been aggressively restored.

Ultra Purist recommendation: If you want Deems Taylor you’ll want the shorter running laserdisc.

If you want the uncensored scenes you’re currently out of luck.

The Reluctant Dragon (1941): “Walt Disney Treasures: Behind the Scenes at the Disney Studio: A Glimpse Behind The Studio Magic” (2002) contains the full theatrical film with a restored transfer. There are a 2007 Disney Movie Club and a Disney Movie Rewards Exclusive release. It is unknown if they are the same restored transfer.

There is no reason to believe the restoration was anything more than a bit of cleanup.

Dumbo (1941): The 2001 60th Anniversary DVD and 2011 70th Anniversary BD and DVD are both wrong for different reasons. http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews50/dumbo_blu-ray.htm

The 60th Anniversary Edition has colors that range towards pastels and is over bright. It is also very grainy and unrestored.
The Big Top Edition still shows some grain, is soft dark and dull. It looks nothing like a Technicolor film.
The 70th Anniversary DVD & BD has been restored to death. No grain, repainted, dull whites, plastic looking and questionable liberties taken with colors.

Purist recommendation: 1995 Laserdisc may be the best. The 1982 Laserdisc source print was beat up, but is reported to have very accurate colors.

Acceptable Alternative: Gah! Look at the comparison screenshots and pick the one that doesn’t make your eyes melt or head explode.

My own downloadable screenshot comparison of 60th vs Big Top vs 70th: http://www.mediafire.com/download/qjz2ow0yvqp2wyw/Dumbo.htm

Interesting puff piece about the 70th Anniversary restoration: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/topic/308674-disney’s-restoration-of-dumbo-and-efforts-to-preserve-their-film-library/

Bambi (1942): The Diamond Edition (2011) BD and DVD is marginally better than the 2005 Platinum Edition, but also much more aggressively restored.
There is a screen cap comparison half way down the page here: http://www.dvdizzy.com/bambi.html
The colors are also fairly close: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare9/bambi_.htm
Downloadable screenshot comparisons by drsd2kill: http://www.mediafire.com/view/lfb1kcq99jreiy9/Bambi.htm

Purist recommendation: 1990 Laserdisc.

Acceptable Alternatives: The 2005 Platinum Edition is less heavily restored and contain colors consistent with the 1990 LD. The ‘teleporting raccoon’, a production error Disney wasn’t able to fix, is corrected in this release. This edition may exhibit the so-called ‘crawling fur’ artifact of film grain removal.

The Diamond Edition is considered one of the least destructive of Disney’s Blu-ray transfers. Original effects such as ripple glass water are preserved.

Note: The 1997 LD is the only edition to have the original RKO logo, which has been replaced on all other release. Unfortunately, because of color timing and brightness 1997 is NOT recommended.

Saludos Amigos (1942): There is censorship of Goofy smoking. “Walt & El Grupo”, the 2008 documentary DVD contains “Saludos Amigos” uncut as a bonus feature in Academy ratio with a Dolby 5.1 audio mix.

Victory Through Air Power (1943): Walt Disney Treasures - Walt Disney on the Front Lines (only release).

The Three Caballeros (1944): 2001 DVD is preferred if it’s cheaper because of a slightly higher bitrate.
The 2008 release has an improved 5.1 audio mix that isn’t drastically different. It shares disc space with “Saludos Amigos” which is unnecessary if you got “Walt & El Grupo”. Either way.

Make Mine Music (1946): Censored. The Martins and the Coys segment is removed as is a brief sideboob. Laserdisc or PAL DVDs are uncensored (‘All The Cat Join In’ segment is still censored in these editions).

Recommended: The Doctor M Restored Edition.

Song of the South (1946): Song of the South - Br’er Preservation Edition v1.1 (includes a second disc of bonus features) or ww12345 NTSC conversion. Both are sourced from BBC broadcast capped by Mentor. ww12345’s used more modern filters and color correction but may have unnecessarily applied slow down to the audio track(?)

A preservation from a 16mm print is being worked on: http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Song-Of-The-South/topic/4346/

Fun and Fancy Free (1947): One DVD release, no issues.

Melody Time (1948): Pecos Bill smoking is censored. R2 or R4 PAL DVDs are not censored.

Recommended: The Doctor M Restored Edition.

So Dear To My Heart (1948): One DVD release, no issues.

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949): One DVD release, fair quality.

Cinderella (1950): 2005 and 2012 BD/DVD releases have severely altered colors and some fine detail has been scrubbed from the image.

The 2023 Ultimate Collector’s Edition 4k UHD Blu-ray is the first of a new series of Disney un-messed-up restored releases. Although the ‘Ultimate Collector’s Edition’ name sounds reserved for these newly restored hand drawn animated films, they are pretty much all just new UHD releases. Some discs in the line even include upscaled CG animated films.
It contains excellent image quality, well preserved and managed film grain and colors that finally seem correct.
No mono mix or 7.1 track from prior blu-rays is included, only a new 5.1 mix that works well enough. It is strange that they are going to great lengths to preserve the video, but not worrying about the audio.
The included 1080p Blu-ray is from the same master, but seems to have no added benefits or drawbacks if you can’t or don’t want to go 4k.

Purist: A 2023 Ultimate Collector’s Edition fan-made remux that includes a synced mono mix, usually from the Diamond Edition BD.

Acceptable Alternative: 2023 Ultimate Collector’s Edition 4k or 1080p. Both are quite good, but include only a 5.1 audio track that isn’t really bad enough to worry about.

Here are my comparison screenshots of the Non-Lowry LD2DVD, Platinum Edition DVD and Diamond Edition DVD: http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Recommended-Editions-of-Disney-Animated-and-Partially-Animated-Features/post/653541/#TopicPost653541

Other comparisons:
1992 Laserdisc vs 2005 DVD Screenshots: http://www.dvdizzy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16200
VHS 1997 vs 2012 BD Screenshots: http://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?s=c7e0fe56be745fb231c352c02bef1dbb&p=6399775&postcount=1

Alice in Wonderland (1951): The 2000 Gold Edition is vibrant, contrasty and short on image detail.
The 2011 Blu-ray, while quite vibrant and attractive looking, is reported to be overly digitally altered. Original effects, such as ripple glass for water have been removed and replaced with digital substitutions.

Lowry restored the film in 2004. These DVDs run slightly towards the duller/less saturated side, but still fairly good. The extent of the digital changes in this restoration, if any, are unclear.

Purist: 2000 Gold Edition. Digital and predates the Lowry restoration.

Acceptable Alternative: The 2004 Masterpiece Edition OR 2010 Un-Anniversary Edition (both have the same transfer with original mono and a mild 5.1 mix). The only difference is the extras. The 2010 disc was released to coincide with the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland theatrical release.

Note: The 2011 Blu-ray/DVD combo comes with a DVD that is still the same transfer as the 2004/2010 releases and NOT the same master as the Blu-ray.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare9/alice_in_wonderland_.htm

Peter Pan (1953): Restored by Lowry around 2007 for the Platinum DVD release. The colors were altered to be warmer than previous releases and so much detail was scrubbed that even old analog versions have better detail.

The 2013 Diamond Edition exhibits colors somewhere between the pre-restoration look and the Platinum Edition and is no longer blurry. Unfortunately, effects like Tinkerbell’s glow and fairy dust are damaged by the rotoscope method of restoration.

Pre-restoration releases, especially the 2002 Special Edition, have been described as “cold” colored. To my eye the newer releases have done terrible things to anything that was blue.

Purist: 1991 Laserdisc/1990 VHS(?) boast some unique colors that are different from all other releases. The accuracy is unclear though. This release also contains fine detail in the artwork and more complexity in the backgrounds than in any other release.

Acceptable Alternative: The 2002 Special Edition is the sharpest, better colored edition before the unfortunate ‘restorations’ found on newer discs. This DVD is cooler colored and has some halo artifacts from edge enhancement.

The 2013 Diamond Edition BD/DVD isn’t recommended, but may have more accurate colors… or not, just avoid the Platinum Edition DVD.

2003 DVD vs 2007 DVD vs EU BD vs US BD: http://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=6858529#post6858529
Screenshot comparisons of four versions: http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/Disneys-Theatrical-Animated-Features-Best-Sources-List/post/644110/#TopicPost644110
Downloadable screenshot comparisons by drsd2kill: http://www.mediafire.com/download/qykmip45y9xmzpx/Peter_Pan.htm

Lady and the Tramp (1955): Produced in both Cinemascope and Academy Ratios with different animations for each. Digital releases claiming to contain the Academy Ratio are a lie and actually pan and scanned Cinemascope prints.

Academy Ratio: You would need a 1998 VHS or LD. Molly may be working on a preservation.

Purist: 1999 Limited Issue. Softer image, non-animorphic letterboxed and far from perfect quality. Contains only a remixed 5.1 audio track. At least it predates Lowry’s work.

Acceptable Alternative: The 2006 Platinum aka Special aka 50th Anniversary Edition shows much more detail but has some hallmarks of being over processed. The 2012 Diamond Edition BD/DVD has an even better picture than the Platinum DVD. Unfortunately, I cannot find comparison screenshots to judge if the restoration is better or worse.

It should be noted that the restored original 3.0 audio track contains dialog in all 3 front speakers. The enhanced mix uses the more modern style of anchoring dialog in the center channel only. You may want to avoid the new mix.

Screenshots of Limited Issue vs Platinum Edition vs R2 Special Edition: http://whiggles.landofwhimsy.com/writings/dvdimage-tramp.html NOTE: The images are resized to match and inaccurately make it look like the Limited Issue has more image detail.

Agreed.  Mega has a huge target painted on it because of the owner's history.

Kim Dotcom claims he can't know what is on the servers so it can't be identified or removed.   Except a recent article talks about how he is removing 3D printer gun patterns from Mega since he finds it abhorrent.  Soooo it's not so encrypted.

I wouldn't bank on Mega lasting long.

Okay, I still need to proof read this when I'm rested, but I have completed a "definitive" best releases list for Disney films.

Maybe not definitive, but if nothing else complete.  It starts with Snow White, ends with Wreck-It Ralph and includes all animated feature films and live action-animated combo films.

I've combed the net and I've tried to be as accurate as possible, provide links, report all issues with censorship, reanimation, etc.  I also recommend preservation where they exist.

My question is where should I post it?  I can put it here since it would be pertinent.  It'll also be buried on page 20.

I could post it on AntcuFaalb's Disney's Theatrical Animated Features Best Sources List, but it is lightly followed and is AntcuFaalb's list.

I could also start a new thread, since I do want to encourage debate to keep the list accurate and up to date.  That's assuming we need yet another Disney discussion thread.

Thanks, that was bugging me.

I can't say about the stain.  It really doesn't look like anything to me one way or the other.

As far as MVK vs BD, I have no preference.  I do most of my HD watching on a PC for the moment and burn to DVD5 or DVD9 as needed.  I can understand people wanting maximum useful bitrate on something like this though.

I don't know how prevalent BD burners are.

Stupid question at this point but what does OTV stand for?

That said, is anyone sharing the LDrip of Beauty and the Beast anywhere?

Is there a planned release format?

Agreed, the CD is the original version of the Arabian Nights song.  You could probably just use ADM's Aladdin DVD audio track to sync to the BD.  It also includes the 'good kitty' line.

As far as Little Mermaid, the stereo mix isn't on any DVD AFAIK, the 1997 theatrical re-release 5.1 mix is available on the 2000 DVD and my preservation DVD.

Btw, the 2000 DVD had a limited DTS release as well, which would be the BEST version of the '97 mix for now.

Odds are super high that the upcoming Diamond Edition of Little Mermaid will include the original theatrical mixes, because up until now ALL Diamond Editions have.

Edit: For those looking, the Non-Lowry Cinderella torrent is dead.  :-(

I'm finding myself confused by Peter Pan.

A quick catch up, there is the 1991 LD transfer, the 1997 LD/1999 Limited Edition DVD transfer, the 2002 Special Edition, the 2007 Platinum Edition, and the 2013 Diamond Edition.

Anyway...

I noticed AntcuFaalb said the 1999 Limited Edition is the last/best edition, but I can't find any screenshots or reviews that back that up.  What I've seen is the Limited Edition's quality referred to as shaky.

While each newer release gets a more enthusiastic review, screenshots have led me to the conclusion that the 2002 Special Edition is the last good version.

The '02 SE even with the haloing looks to be an improvement over the '97/'99 transfer with very similar to slightly improved colors(?)  And the colors definitely look better and more natural than the 2007 Platinum and 2013 Diamond.

Even more surprising is that the '02 Special Edition looks much sharper than newer versions (even the BD), like they once again overscrubbed the film for the '07 restoration.

Can anyone give me further info on the Limited Issue?  I don't have enough info to call the LE the clear winner.

Here I've got some comparison screenshots (that aren't mine):

In order we have the 1991 LD, what is either the 1997 LD or a really soft 1999 LE DVD, 2002 SE DVD and 2007 PE DVD.

The 1991 LD has some surprising color detail not found in subsequent releases.  I don't know whether to call it the best for color or just an error in capturing an analog interlaced source.

Is the Limited Edition really that soft or is that another LD cap (the original poster was unclear)?

Discuss.

It wouldn't be much more than an a camera panning over the graphic novel in sync to the table read Ken Burns style.

I'll probably sweeten the sound mix with bits from the series and do some other tweaking (like the bit where the uMaster fades in on the screen).

Yes, I'm reviving a dead thread that I might still be the only one to have read.

A semi-official version of the table read was released a little while back.  The audio quality is a huge improvement over what I originally used for my custom disc 5.

Anyway, I started thinking about this again.  I toyed with several programs, including After Effects, which I am COMPLETELY and UTTERLY incompetent with.

Finally I ended up with an edited audio clip (removing Javi's commentary), a bunch of edited images (using GIMP), and then stuffed it gracelessly into Canopus Imaginate.

What an awful, clunky piece of... software.  No way to change the transition style, no way to set an image to fit the size of the window, heck no way to set the size of the window you want to work with.

Several hours of my life I can't get back later, and I give you this glittering jewel of imperfection:

The actual render from the program I managed to get in Lagarith 720p with lossless audio.  That was a surprise at least.

This is an SD re-encoding in a manageable 1.86mb: http://www.mediafire.com/?119vqauxp7xsso3

I'm open to suggestions on a more efficient way to do this.  Later pages will probably be mostly panning shots, but the fading of aligned images seemed more appropriate for the first page of the comic.

This is pretty much proof that Imaginate is probably the wrong program for the job.

poita said:

There seems to be two CAV versions, are they different?

 

 

According to LDDB

This edition was discontinued, probably due to technical problems or a newly remastered edition.

They don't even have a street date for that one.  Does it have a copyright or are those pics from an auction?

Poita, if you can do a good transfer, YES there is interest.

I wasted an hour today trying some color correction and non-edge detail sharpening on the Lowry stuff.  Waste of time.

What they ended up with seems to have little correlation to previous transfers.

Sorry, misfire in the brain for a moment.  Obviously there is no 5.1 mix that would match the Kostal soundtrack.  Although it could probably upmix with DPL2 fairly well if it's Dolby Surround.

I got confused by the first post.  Do you plan on putting Deems into both the '41 and the '82 soundtrack?

I really just started following your project here, and I'm glad you're taking it on... You should probably update your first post with more technical details.

Btw, reading your first post, if it hasn't been pointed out, there is no need to decompress to avi or to even re-encode the video.

I kind of wish you would restore Pastoral.  Frankly, I more opposed to the nudity removal than anything else.  I recall someone having an iOffer thing going with a DVD cap of the VHS (IIRC).

Anyway, regarding the audio.  I know you're pretty far along, but I have a suggestion.

Use the newer 5.1 (7.1? However many tracks they've got now.) for the bulk of the film.  Since it is apparent that Deems' narration is spread across the front 3 channels when upmixed/prologic-ed, but Corey is center channel only, do this:

For the existing Deems 2-channel segments, mix the channels together 50% to make a mono track.

Separate the 5.1 mix, drop out the center channel and sync the new Deems mono track as the center.

This will give you a strong modern sounding surround field, and the center channel, which is going to be largely dialog only will have Deems and not spread across more speakers than Corey.

It'll provide consistency between the dialog portions and provide the best sounding track overall.

@Molly - I was surprised there was no prior Gold Edition of Cinderella before Lowry's film destruction.

Painful that there's no good version.  Please keep us posted.

I had one of these as a kid: http://www.retroland.com/fisher-price-movie-viewer/  (The one you hold up to your eye).

The cartridges used film.  Now I don't believe for a second there was any serious attempts for color accuracy in these things, but I remember the Pinocchio looking like the Laserdisc screenshots do (and not to far from the old DVD).

Being film and not a home video transfer, they might seriously be closer to original intent... I DO know they looked nothing at all like the Diamond BD.

I also had Cinderella, Bambi and Lonesome Ghosts.  Now yeah I was a kid, but I have no recollection of them looking significantly different from when I'd watch them in the theater.

I want to toss out a question here.  I've been going through a list of Disney animated features and comparing old releases and new 'restored' releases.

While colors are frequently an issue, the biggest head scratcher to me is that in a lot of the old releases Gold Editions, LD, etc. the whites are WHITE.  Like white as this text you are reading.

The restored releases make them a light grey or with a touch of color.  The new versions seems better... if you had never seen the originals.  I've seen it on almost all new restorations (I remember seeing this as far back as the Platinum Little Mermaid (which didn't seem right at the time)).

The thing is I then saw some screen shots of the (awful) Pinocchio restoration.  This is one for some reason I remember how it looks in theaters, and there really was white.

I guess my question is, why is Disney killing the whites?  (Take that quote out of context...)

Example: Cinderella: http://www.dvdizzy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16200&highlight=cinderella+comparison

Btw, Molly, how goes your Cinderella project?

Edit: Speaking of, does anyone have a Platinum/Diamond screenshot comparison for Cinderella?  I can only find LD versus Platinum.  I have no idea how the new transfer looks.

Edit 2: Okay, reading further it looks like the Diamond edition did nothing to correct the over scrubbed detail and messed up colors.

I'm very sad.  I just watched Snow White tonight with the DVD release that corresponds to the Diamond Edition, and I'm not sure what I think of it.

The colors are good, the image is largely sharp, but all that cleaning up highlights the flaws.

Now I see colors that shift during shots, blurred and missing frames, unnatural motion, and stuff like this:

All these years I watched inferior(?) versions with lots of grain that helped cover the short comings... and tonight it was all I saw.  It distracted me from the movie.

I was actually forced to turn up my TV's dejudder and motion smoothing just to make the animation less nausea inducing.

Is this really the best version of Snow White or was the Diamond restoration just abusive of the material?

I'm trying to decide if I need to get the Platinum Edition for comparison.  As far as I know there's nothing older than that.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with this?

Oops.

I realized my previous question wasn't concise.  I meant to ask if there was a difference between the 2001 Platinum Edition of Snow White and the 2009 release.

I had assumed the 2009 Diamond edition was BD only, but evidently there is a DVD 2-disc Limited Edition non-Diamond release that came out at the same time.

Reviews of the '09 release are generally good, but I think I saw some people complaining the colors were over bright (that would be a shocker.) :-\

Edit: Answering my own question.

Platinum:

Diamond:

According to DVDizzy.com (formerly UltimateDisney.com):

The transfer features a more subdued color scheme that fits with reports of the filmmakers not wanting this to be too colorful as they weren't sure how long the human eye can sustain watching animation.

Has anyone done a preservation of the Pinocchio laserdisc then?

As far as Snow White, I guess were stuck until someone undertakes a color correction project.

I was just getting ready to straighten out my Disney collection in earnest and realized we really need a database keeping track of the films.

Anyone want to take this on and start either a new thread or at least a post here that we keep up to date with best versions?

And my question:
From my searching of this thread, is it correct that both the 2001 DVD and Diamond BD of Snow White are considered fairly accurate (and similar to each other)?

Also, I think most people agree the 1999 DVD of Pinocchio is the better of the releases?

Btw, this is interesting: Pinocchio (R1 Old vs. Platinum vs. Blu-ray) http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews44/pinocchio_blu-ray.htm

Is there cover art for this?

poita said:

BTW, does anyone have the Disney Singalong Songs Laserdisc that has the SOTS clip on it?

 

The Singalongs are on the 2nd disc of the Bre'r Preservation Edition if you want it that way.

Edit: I've always liked the way the fft3dfilter/fft3dgpu filters work for denoising.  Very tweakable.

bkev said:

Nope.  That was fixed even as far back as the first Blu-Ray, but I believe the DVD issue theatrical cut did have those mistakes.  You're referring to how the castle's spruced up, ie mirrors are no longer shattered etc. yeah?

I can't recall all the changes, but didn't they have a bit of the spruced castle and then have add sounds of the Beast wrecking the castle so later scenes could be dingy?