Disney Sets Blu-ray Release for Classic Animated Features

BERLIN, August 28: The
classic films Pinocchio, Beauty
and the Beast, Snow White and
the Seven Dwarfs, Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 have been added to Walt Disney Studios Home
Entertainment’s Platinum Collection, to be released on DVD and for the first
time ever on Disney Blu-ray Hi-Def.

Each will be available for
a limited time only, released in new multi-disc sets that feature rarely seen
footage and a variety of bonus features. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which was the first feature-length animated film
ever made, will be launched on Disney’s worldwide BD-Live Network, a new
technology that supplies unprecedented interactivity. Disney’s BD-Live Network
will initially be launched in the U.S. only, with the first Platinum Edition
Blu-ray release, Sleeping Beauty 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition, available October 7.

Bob Chapek, the president
of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment worldwide, commented, "We are
excited to announce a magical slate of Platinum titles for the first time on
Blu-ray high definition, this celebrated collection of animated features
demonstrates Disney's commitment to deliver great content."

He continued: "The
landscape for the Blu-ray format is very healthy, and we believe that the
enhanced movie experiences that the format provides, such as Disney's BD-Live
network, offer consumers the chance to reinvent the experience of watching
movies in their homes, and the interactivity and connectivity that is being
provided will truly make the family room relevant again."

Gordon Ho, the executive
VP of marketing and business development for Walt Disney Studios Home
Entertainment, added, "Disney's BD-Live experience will enrich and deepen
the overall consumer experience, and we are delighted that, Snow White and
the Seven Dwarfs will be the one
that will launch Disney's BD-Live network worldwide."

—By Kristin
Brzoznowski