As an animation fan, I am grateful that the studios have been eager to release Blu-ray versions of recent CGI titles such as "The Wild," "Ant Bully," "Monster House," "Chicken Little," "Open Season," "Ice Age: The Meltdown," and "Happy Feet." I am anxiously waiting for Disney/Pixar's forthcoming Blu-ray release of "Cars" and Sony's "Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within." I have even enjoyed watching Tim Burton's brilliant stop-motion animated tale of "The Corpse Bride" a couple of times in high def.

But other than Don Bluth's animated arcade classic, "Dragon's Lair" and the somewhat entertaining but roughly animated Marvel titles, classic 2-D animation doesn't seem to be a priority. I am very excited to hear that we may be treated to both "Sleeping Beauty" and "Jungle Book" in 2008 but Disney isn't the only studio that can mine it's vaults for some high definition animation.

Warner Bros. should be eager to prepare the release of Brad Bird's, wonderfully animated and under-appreciated "The Iron Giant." I remember seeing this film opening weekend in a less-than-full theater a few years ago and praying that word-of-mouth would eventually fill theaters. Well, Warner showed ittle confidence and the film eventually went on to win hearts and minds on home video. Mr. Bird has since produced "The Incredibles" and the equally incredible "Ratatouille." And who would complain if Warner treated us to some of that "Wascally Wabbit" in hi-def?.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-9/1071897/Iron.gif

If Fox actually begins a release schedule again, it would be nice to see them give some Blu-ray attention to Don Bluth's "Titan A.E.", "Anastasia" and "The Secret of N.I.M.H." Mr. Bluth also created the original "Land Before Time," as well as "An American Tale."

Dreamworks even has a few gems such as "The Prince of Egypt," "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Sea," "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron" and "The Road to El Dorado" that might find a receptive audience.

I hope somebody hears my plea.

word.
Non-disney animated titles I want in HD.

Heavy Metal
Secret of NIMH
watership down
south park bigger longer uncut
fritz the cat
Grave of the Fireflies

American Pop!

If Fox eventually gets around to releasing Ralph Bakshi's "Fritz the Cat," maybe Sony will dust off his musical homage, "American Pop." It would be a "high" to see a nicely restored "Heavy Metal." As for anime I would agree that "Grave of the Fireflies" is on the top of my list along with my personal favorite, "Akira."

south park would definitely have to come lossless audio, i'm glad oscars didnt snub them based on the content of the music in the movie.

If you want to support 2D animation in the US on Blu-Ray, purchase Sony's release of Tekkon Kinkreet (http://www.amazon.com/Tekkon-Kinkreet-Blu-ray-Yoshinori-Okada/dp/B000TGCR3S/), their first attempt at a non "CG" release.
I've seen clips of this one on DVD and can honestly say it's well worth the money.

This one looks pretty impressive and I think a lot of further Sony's 2D animated releases are dependant on how well this sells. Sony owns the rights to quite a few great 2D anime/animated titles like Paprika, The Cowboy Bebop Movie, etc.

I saw Tekkon Kinkreet on the big screen at FantAsia in Montreal. Very beautifully animated. I had some issues with the direction, but overall an enjoyable film.

I'm not holding my breath for any HD animated releases. I'll likely check in again in about 2 - 3 years.

Cell based animation has as much if not more to gain than live action or CGI content. All those black lines really make the image pop in HD.

can't wait for some more disney action

I want Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle for sure!

I have to say I HATE YOU!

When I saw the iron giant image for a minute I thought warner is actually releasing it and I was so happy :(

Warner please release iron giant.

I have to say I HATE YOU!

When I saw the iron giant image for a minute I thought warner is actually releasing it and I was so happy :(

Warner please release iron giant.
Me too! :(

Aside from Disney stuff (The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Fantasia and Lilo & Stitch in particular), there's a bunch of non-Disney animated titles I'd love to have in high definition.

The Iron Giant, Titan A.E., The Secret of NIMH, Wizards (1977), The Road to El Dorado, and The Last Unicorn are among the titles I'd really want to see in HD.

Like I said, the best we can do right now is to show Sony we support 2D animation by purchasing Tekkon Kinkreet. I think they're testing the waters of 2D anime/animation with this release and are watching closely on how well this title sells.

I see its rated R....

can you give reasons why they gave it such a harsh rating for an animated picture?

*votes for Miyazaki movies*

can you give reasons why they gave it such a harsh rating for an animated picture?

An R rated film is an R rated film, it doesn't matter if the content is animated

Aside from Tekkon Kinkreet, last years anime "Paprika" is out on BD now, you just have to buy it from a french website.

Aren't there are few anime titles in Japan (air? Ghost in the Shell) and I know Dragon ball Z is being released by FUNanimation in the US

When they release Spirited Away on BD, I'm going to be there when the shop opens! I've been waiting so long to buy it, I refuse to buy the DVD.

Iron Giant on HD-DVD would be nice! I'd double dip!

I would like to see Tenchi! Muyo on BD, even today after almost seven years the Tenchi movies and the Ultimate Collection look better than most animated stuff released on DVD, so I could only imagine how awesome they would look on BD.

Me too! :(

Aside from Disney stuff (The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Fantasia and Lilo & Stitch in particular), there's a bunch of non-Disney animated titles I'd love to have in high definition.

The Iron Giant, Titan A.E., The Secret of NIMH, Wizards (1977), The Road to El Dorado, and The Last Unicorn are among the titles I'd really want to see in HD.


Another Wizard fan, I thought I was the last of that dying breed, I also would love to see Fire and Ice on BD.

Aside from Tekkon Kinkreet, last years anime "Paprika" is out on BD now, you just have to buy it from a french website.Unfortunately you can't get it. People are posting over on Chris' AnimeonDVD forum that Amazon.fr is keeps pushing back Paprika Blu preorders and is now showing October.:( I think I'll just wait for the US release, it'll be quicker.

Another Wizard fan, I thought I was the last of that dying breed, I also would love to see Fire and Ice on BD.

Nah, there are lots of "Wizards" fans.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-9/1071897/normal_2celsAvatargoosedbythefaires.jpg

And Ralph Bakshi and Frank Frazetta's Fire and Ice would be a great title for Blue Underground to make its Blu-ray debut.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-9/1071897/normal_000_0786.JPG.JPG.jpg

Like I said, the best we can do right now is to show Sony we support 2D animation by purchasing Tekkon Kinkreet. I think they're testing the waters of 2D anime/animation with this release and are watching closely on how well this title sells.
And if you want to show Warner of your interest, buy their Japanese release of Brave Story. Quite a nice disk overall, just without English subs, for the less adventurous among us.

Disney already announced that Sleeping Beauty will arrive on Blu-ray in 2008.

If you can't wait until then, there's always Xbox Live!. It's not Blu-ray, but Disney's Aladdin is up for HD download.

The Lion King would be an awesome soundtrack! :eek:

It's not Blu-ray, but Disney's Aladdin is up for HD download.

Doesn't it delete itself after a few days/viewings?
Isn't it only 720p?
It's only available to people in the US (and maybe canada)

And if you want to show Warner of your interest, buy their Japanese release of Brave Story. Quite a nice disk overall, just without English subs, for the less adventurous among us.Buying the Japanese release of a non-English title won't do much, other than make the company think the title is selling well in that country. Frankly, I'm not going to waste my money on a title without at least English subs.

The Lion King would be an awesome soundtrack! :eek:

I'm on-board with that thought!!!!

ken

Who Framed Roger Rabbit would be A really nice one on Blu-ray.

Lion King was supposed to be one of the first big Disney animated titles planned for release and nothing ever came of it.

I'm a big fan of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"!

This gave me a chuckle courtesy of Cartoon Brew and Bizarro...

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-9/1071897/bizarro7_24.gif

Hey guys,

Just came back from Comic-con preview night. There was actually a pretty big Disney booth with a good chunk dedicated to upcoming Bluray releases :) .

One part of the Blu-ray trailers was Disney's upcoming release of the Jungle Book. Believe me when I say that it was like watching the actual 2-D cels come to life on your screen.

I don't care about "3-D pop"...give me living, breathing 2-D artwork and I'm sold :D !!!

I'll post more impressions tomorrow...must sleep ;)

Sigh, it's unfortunate that Jungle Book is poop. I know a lot of people like it, frankly I never did and think it's one of Disney's worst 2D animated titles in their huge library of titles.

Come on Disney! Give us something significant! Even Lion King is so much better than this mediocre crap!

Sigh, it's unfortunate that Jungle Book is poop. I know a lot of people like it, frankly I never did and think it's one of Disney's worst 2D animated titles in their huge library of titles.

Come on Disney! Give us something significant! Even Lion King is so much better than this mediocre crap!

What an intelligent and thoughtful post.

Jungle Book is filled to the brim with memorable songs, characters, voice work and animation. Plus it is the last animated feature Walt Disney himself supervised. It became one of his all-time box-office successes.

Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman wrote the songs, which include "I Wanna Be Like You," "Trust in Me," "My Own Home," "That's What Friends Are For," and "Colonel Hathi's March," and Terry Gilkyson provided the Oscar®-nominated "Bare Necessities."

Directed by Wolfgang Reitherman. Starring: the voices of Phil Harris (Baloo), Sebastian Cabot (Bagheera), Louis Prima (King Louie), George Sanders (Shere Khan), Sterling Holloway (Kaa), J. Pat O'Malley (Vulture), and Bruce Reitherman (Mowgli).

What an intelligent and thoughtful post.

Jungle Book is filled to the brim with memorable songs, characters, voice work and animation. Plus it is the last animated feature Walt Disney himself supervised. It became one of his all-time box-office successes.So, just because it's Walt's last film makes it good? Same goes for box-office successes?

Disney has a huge catalog of animated titles, and it would be nice to see them mine some of the earlier classic ones first before the later mediocre ones: What about Dumbo? How about Lady and the Tramp? Lots of better choices to be had. I am looking forward to Sleeping Beauty in 2008.

I think if they put a movie like Lion King on the format they would really show the public how much they are commited to it.

TJB is getting a platinum edition this year IIRC that's possibly why (if this is true).

Personally I think it's one of the best Disney works and one of the most popular, whether you personally like it is only relevant to you.

I want Disney's Robin Hood. :)
http://www.7mpictures.com/inside/screens/reviews/robinhooddvd.jpg

Any word on if the jungle Book is actually seeing a BD release/

Any word on if the jungle Book is actually seeing a BD release/

It is rumored to be released in 2008 along with Sleeping Beauty. The Platinum Edition makes its way to DVD on October 2nd. Maybe there is an announcement on the way for Blu-ray?

It is rumored to be released in 2008 along with Sleeping Beauty. The Platinum Edition makes its way to DVD on October 2nd. Maybe there is an announcement on the way for Blu-ray?

Man I freaking hate Disney, this is a definite swerve here. I want to get the Jungle Book and would like to get it on BD, but with no confirmed release of it on BD, do I risk not getting it on DVD while waiting for a BD release and watching it be put back in the vault or just double dip?

Man I freaking hate Disney, this is a definite swerve here. I want to get the Jungle Book and would like to get it on BD, but with no confirmed release of it on BD, do I risk not getting it on DVD while waiting for a BD release and watching it be put back in the vault or just double dip?

I've got almost 3 copies of every disney release: VHS, Laserdisc ($250 Cinderella Japan import, $125 used Little Mermaid), Limited DVD, Special Edition DVD, etc..

You can always sell it later once the value increases. The Sleeping Beauty DVD was going for around $70 the last time I checked.

I'm extremely curious how the HD versions of their hand drawn animation will look. I've only seen the Disney Blu-ray ad on the Peter Pan dvd that was just recently re-re-re-re-released.

This is a new format. You can be patient and wait or buy the DVD in October. Frankly, I think I will buy the DVD if I can score it on sale at street date. It won't be difficult to recoup my investment.

Votes for Princess Mononoke and Spirtied Away.

I want Disney's Robin Hood. :)
http://www.7mpictures.com/inside/screens/reviews/robinhooddvd.jpg

Disney made a new transfer in 2006 of this 1973 classic. Since it clearly won't be getting a new DVD release soon and having such a fresh master, does anyone think it might come in 2008? It's the Disney movie I want most on BR, and the compression noise and artifacts are just awful on this "new" matted 1:75/1 w/5.1 audio mix Dual Layer DVD release (Too many extras wasting space, I guess?).

If you are hungry for animated HD, don't forget that the Adventures of Robin Hood HD DVD from Warner has a Looney Tunes cartoon in HD on it. Sure, it's only one cartoon, but it looks great.

I'm really looking forward to Studio Ghibli movies hitting HD...I'll rebuy all the Miyazaki classics.

I'm really looking forward to Studio Ghibli movies hitting HD...I'll rebuy all the Miyazaki classics.

Indeed. I overpaid to get them all on DVD and I'll gladly overpay again to get them all on BD. Bring on Spirted Away and Howl's Moving Castle! Oh, and someone poke MGM until they put Princess Mononoke out on BD. That was MGM, right?

A friend of mine purchased the new Ghibli Legend of Earthsea DVD on import from Japan and it's beautifully done. We watched it on my PS3 upscaled, and it looked crisp and sharp, very HD like. It had an extremely high bitrate for a standard DVD.

What was particularlly interesting about Legend of Earthsea was it already had an English dub, an excellent one in this case (and I don't particually care for them), but since this movie is based on a Western novel, it works. If you've read the Earthsea books you're going to love this movie- the English dub stars :

Sparrowhawk (aka Ged) - Timothy Dalton
Cobb - Willem Dafoe
Arren - Matt Levin
Hare - Cheech Marin
Tenar - Mariska Hargitay
Therru - Blaire Restaneo

The only drawback was that the English dub was Dolby 2.0 and the Japanese track was DTS 5.1. We watched both versions and we thought the English version was superior, and quite possibly the movie composed with English in mind. Odd they'd release a Japanese release with a full English dub with fairly decent Hollywood stars (Tim Dalton is no schmoe) before even the UK theatrical release (later this year).

Unfortunately because of contractural disputes with the Sci-Fi network and their version of the suckwad Earthsea miniseries we won't see it released in the US until 2009. This is one of the few cases I encourage you to purchase the Japanese import, especially if you are into Earthsea and Ghibli films. You won't be dissapointed.

I am glad to have seen it and cannot wait until it comes out on HD.:D

If you are hungry for animated HD, don't forget that the Adventures of Robin Hood HD DVD from Warner has a Looney Tunes cartoon in HD on it. Sure, it's only one cartoon, but it looks great.
Two, actually: Rabbit Hood and Robin Hood Daffy.

Like I said, the best we can do right now is to show Sony we support 2D animation by purchasing Tekkon Kinkreet. I think they're testing the waters of 2D anime/animation with this release and are watching closely on how well this title sells.

Or not. I refuse to buy anime, I consider it crap.

Or not. I refuse to buy anime, I consider it crap.Well, it's the only 2D animation available from Sony, so it's your only choice. Tekkon Kinkreet is a little bit different anyways, it's directed by "westerner" Michael Arias, check out his biography HERE (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0034712/).

I was never a big fan of anime until someone told me to check out Akira, Spirited Away and Grave of the Fireflies. If you can't appreciate those films you aren't really a fan of animation.

Saying you don't like "anime" doesn't really make sense. "anime" is just an all encompassing term for Japanese animation. Yes, it can be used to describe a certain style, but if someone said that they hated all American animation you'd look at them cross-eyed.

I want Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle for sure!Definitely ! .. I would absolutely want all the Hayao Miyazaki movies in HD. Especially Spirited Away, Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service.

I know that is quite a far fetched dream... as they just got the DVDs out is Europe.

I loved Princess Mononoke,I am watching as I type this, this time ( the first time ) in DTS. Looking at it now playing on my PS3 I can say this has to be released on Blu-ray. I also would request the Blu-ray edition to have the Japanese track in PCM uncompressed.

You guys reminded me that I have missed out on a lot of Hayao Miyazaki's work. I just went into Netflix and added the above movies listed to my query.

Thanks guys

If you can't appreciate those films you aren't really a fan of animation.

Or a fan of films in general! Spirited Away has to be one of the greatest films I've ever seen. Absolutely beautiful in every way. Didn't like Akira myself

What an intelligent and thoughtful post.

Jungle Book is filled to the brim with memorable songs, characters, voice work and animation. Plus it is the last animated feature Walt Disney himself supervised. It became one of his all-time box-office successes.+1.

Indeed. I overpaid to get them all on DVD and I'll gladly overpay again to get them all on BD. Bring on Spirted Away and Howl's Moving Castle! Oh, and someone poke MGM until they put Princess Mononoke out on BD. That was MGM, right?

Mononoke is Disney just like the rest. Disney has US distribution rights on the entire catalog. Due to it being a pg-13 film I believe, it was released under the Miramax label unlike most of the rest.

Since Disney also does the Japan home video distribution of these films though, hopefully that will encourage them to get to it sooner than later since those would be big Japanese releases.

JAPAN PLEASE RELEASE MIYAZAKI ON BLURAY... sigh.

Sony UK will release on 1/08:

Steamboy
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
Paprika

Clear sign they are getting closer to a US release. Almost positive Paprika is coming out before the end of the year here in the US.

Sony UK will release on 1/08:

Steamboy........
Steamboy in BD? Did I miss the memo? Do we know the region coding?

I for one can't wait for the following:

Fantasia not that abysmal crap called Fantasia 2000(I have to say that I loved the one with mother nature vs volcano.)

Prince of Egypt
Joseph
Nausicaa of the valley of the wind
Porco Rosso
Grave of the fireflies
mulan
Fantastic Planet
Light Years

Pretty much if these animes are region free, I'll go ahead and pick them up from the UK. They seem like stellar releases!

south park would definitely have to come lossless audio, i'm glad oscars didnt snub them based on the content of the music in the movie.

when 'SP: BLU' comes out on Blu-ray, I hope Paramount has the sense to go back and perform a full-digital transfer of the source elements, rather than using a film-based transfer like the disappointing SDVD. :)

where is my blu-ray Alice in Wonderland!?!?!??!!!!!!!! :D

What about the Ultimate Avengers Collection? It is classic animation and I found it very entertaining. I'm not a huge marvel fan, but I picked it up to see how it would look in HD. And it looks goooooooood!

Steamboy in BD? Did I miss the memo? Do we know the region coding?To find out dates of all anime to be released check out the thread on Chris' AnimeonDVD forum HERE (http://www.animeondvd.com/forum/showtopic.php?tid/18821/tp/1/).

If it's a Sony release it will be region free.

Secret of NIMH
YES!!!!

On that note, The Dark Crystal (I know not animation).

I have Patlabor and it look extremely good for it's age... so good in fact you can see clearly in some shot the difference between the HandPainted BG and the actual cel moving... i never saw this on DVD before...

Steamboy is region free without English subtitles or dubs.

Steamboy is region free without English subtitles or dubs.

Wait... I think they were talking about the UK release coming up. It needs to have SOME English on there. :-)

The First thing I did when I got my new HDTV was rewatch all My Miyazaki films (I'm only missing Pom Poko and only Yesterday in the Movie department) and it made me realize just how great these would be in HD, Princess Mononoke was stunning as was Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle was great and even Nausicaa was Beautiful. I also watched Tales from Earthsea (another Ghibli film not "officially" released in the US yet) and that was another great film that makes me want to rebuy all of them in HD.

I love animation and an HD screen really adds to the impact of these movies, I really want HD versions....NOW!

Hurry up Disney.

Bring on AKIRA and GHOST IN THE SHELL!!