Disney has released the latest installment in its Diamond Edition collection, and The Lion King lives up to everything fans have come to expect from this truly special set of releases. Timed with the recent release of The Lion King in 3D in theaters, you can now own a variety of Diamond Edition possibilities, including a Blu-Ray 3D version.

There isn't much anyone can say about the family treasure itself at this point, apart from the fact that it still holds up well, and it's hard to believe how long ago it came out. The Blu-Ray release is another matter though, and it deserves a lot of praise.

Now, you're on your own for the 3D version, but the Blu-Ray release is impressive. This actually turns out to be a somewhat strange entity when it comes to the true appreciation of Blu-Ray and/or the HD picture quality. On the one hand, few animated films are so filled with breathtaking backdrops, or have quite the color palette of The Lion King, and it all comes through so brilliantly on the Blu-Ray that you can immediately understand getting sucked into the film.

On the other hand, we may be playing with a point at which the quality becomes too good, especially if you really have a big TV, say 50" or bigger. For those with a really good TV, you'll know just what I mean when I say that watching a regular television show in HD on a really big screen somehow makes a lot of shows look like they're shot with a Flip. Something of that comes through in this release, even if it is some animated cousin of the same effect. It's not the same sort of thing exactly, but you get to a point of picture size and quality at which some of the magic gets lost in the detail. It's still amazing, and the video comes through as crisp as you would expect from a Blu-Ray translation of a film that isn't all that old in the big picture, but certain scenes look very... animated. It's difficult to explain.

On the positive side of things (and that was actually a positive side anyway), the release is loaded with great special features, including another installment of Disney's Second Screen iPad App. We got this with Bambi and Tron, and it's much the same game here. The App syncs up with the film, and progresses through sketches and various artwork from the production, along with trivia and mini-games. If you break off to work on one of the games, you can at any point tell the App to sync back with the movie, or sync the movie with where you are in the App.

Another very cool addition is a Blooper & Outtakes reel. The animators got back together to put the little bytes on film, and not only are they quite cool just as a theory (in the general theme of the old Pixar efforts), the kids will find them hilarious.

You also get four never-before-seen deleted scenes, none of which are particularly spectacular, but they're interesting. Some of them might well have been left in the final version if it were up to me, but they aren't the sort of thing that make a significant change in any way.

Perhaps the best bonus is the featurette, Pride of the Lion King, which is a kind of retrospective on not only the film, but the entire phenomenon that has followed. This is a real treat for fans, and a step up from most similar efforts that get thrown together for a new release. Just about every angle is covered here, in one way or another, from the initial stages of the film's creation, to the Broadway show, and you'll get insights from the producers, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, and a lot more.

There's a lot more as well (see below for full details), including a featurette with Producer Don Hahn which is given as a kind of memoir, in which he visits the animators to get a new look at the creation of the movie and the characters. You've also got a lot of the standard fare, which is easy to overlook, but some of it really adds to owning the film. For example, Sing-Along Mode, which puts the words on screen during the songs, and a nicely put together Blu-Ray Interactive Gallery (some players may get some lag on loading this feature) that gives you a lot of concept art, and similar.

The Diamond Edition releases haven't let me down so far, and this one is no exception. If you hold them up next to each other, there may seem to be something just a little less awe-inspiring about this one, but I think that's a misconception. Some of these features may not jump out as much when you read the back of the box, but they measure up once you've got them in front of you.

Rating: ★★★★★ 

The wait is over. For the first time ever, experience the majesty of Disney’s epic animated masterpiece as it roars onto Blu-ray™ and Disney Blu-ray 3D™, October 4, 2011. With a spectacular digital picture, spine-tingling high definition sound and immersive bonus features—you will feel the love for this critically acclaimed and universally beloved classic like never before.

Embark on an extraordinary coming-of-age adventure as Simba, a lion cub who cannot wait to be king, searches for his destiny in the great “Circle of Life.” You will be thrilled by the breathtaking animation, unforgettable Academy Award®– winning music (1994: Best Original Score; Best Original Song, “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”), and timeless story. The king of all animated films reigns on Disney Blu-ray.

Bonus Features:

Blu-ray Disc Bonus Features Include:

• Disney Second Screen: The Lion King Edition* Disney Second Screen seamlessly synchs a laptop or iPad™ with The Lion King Blu-ray Disc to provide additional content that consumers control as the movie plays.
• Bloopers & Outtakes Inspired by bloopers from the original audio recordings, the filmmakers and animators reunited to animate these hilarious never-before-seen “lost takes.”
• Deleted Scenes And Song Directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff introduce 4 never-before-seen deleted scenes.
• The Morning Report: Extended Scene In a paw-tapping, extended musical number, Zazu delivers all the beastly news to Mufasa and Simba.
• Pride Of The Lion King Nearly two decades after it began, The Lion King’s legacy lives on through its award-winning music, beloved characters and one of the most successful Broadway stage productions of all time. Take a look back and hear personal stories from the producers, directors, stars Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, and more.
• The Lion King: A Memoir – Don Hahn Producer Don Hahn visits with the animators for an intimate look at the creation of this beloved and classic film.
• Interactive Blu-ray Gallery Go behind the scenes for a rare look at concept art, character designs, visual development and more!
• Disney Sing Along Mode Select this option and the lyrics appear on the screen so you can join in the fun!
• Disney’s Virtual Vault Classic DVD bonus features powered by BD-Live

DVD Bonus Features Include:

The Lion King: A Memoir – Don Hahn

Disney Digital Download Bonus Features Include:

Digital Premiere: Animator’s Reunion The Lion King: A Memoir – Don Hahn Computer Animation

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© 2011, Are You Screening?. All rights reserved. Reprinting without express permission of the author is prohibited.

Toy Story 3 is making its way to your home on November 2nd, and there is finally some word on the release, the special features, and the purchasing possibilities. Not only is the release loaded with bonuses, as we have come to expect from Pixar, but you'll have the chance to get a great box set with all three films.

Check out all the info below, and mark your calendars.

They’re back! Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios present the critically-acclaimed, global box office smash Toy Story 3, an exciting, heart-warming story filled with humor, adventure and surprises, that reunites America’s favorite animated toys, Buzz and Woody, and introduces a whole new set of favorites to audiences around the globe. The world’s #1 animated film in box office history and The Walt Disney Company’s second biggest film of all time, Toy Story 3 will be released on Blu-ray and DVD November 2 by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

Families won’t want to miss adding the Blu-ray Combo Pack, 2 Disc Blu-ray or the DVD edition of Toy Story 3 to their home movie collections. Fans of all ages who have come to love and cherish these unique characters, can explore them in a whole new way as the Disney●Pixar team provides a more in-depth look into Pixar Animation Studios and the creation of its characters with hours of exclusive bonus features on the Blu-ray Disc version of the film including filmmaker commentary with Director Lee Unkrich and Producer Darla K. Anderson, amusing views of life at Pixar, analysis of favorite scenes, the Toy Story Trivia Dash game, and much, much more!

Toy Story 3 marks Pixar veteran Lee Unkrich’s feature directorial debut and the return of Pixar’s favorite composer Randy Newman, with the addition of Academy Award®-winner Michael Arndt’s (Little Miss Sunshine) compelling original screenplay. Tom Hanks (Angels & Demons), Tim Allen (The Santa Clause), Joan Cusack (Confessions of a Shopaholic), John Ratzenberger (Up) and Don Rickles (Toy Story 2) reprise their roles as the voices of the iconic characters Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Hamm and Mr. Potato Head, respectively, and are joined by new characters voiced by Michael Keaton (Herbie Fully Loaded) as Barbie's romantic foil Ken, Timothy Dalton (Hot Fuzz) as the thespian hedgehog Mr. Pricklepants, and Ned Beatty (Rudy) as the cuddly Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear, among many others, as the toys face a new adventure as Andy prepares to go off to college.

Also available on November 2 is an exciting Ultimate Toy Box 3-Movie Collection that contains all three TOY STORY releases on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital copy. Priced at $100.00 (US)/$115 (Canada), this release contains:

· Toy Story – 1 Disc DVD; 1 Disc Blu-ray; 1 Disc Digital Copy
· Toy Story 2 – 1 Disc DVD; 1 Disc Blu-ray; 1 Disc Digital Copy
· Toy Story 3 – 1 Disc DVD; 2 Disc Blu-ray; 1 Disc Digital Copy

TOY STORY 3 - Bonus Features:

DVD :

· Day & Night – The innovative and entertaining short from the imagination of Pixar artist and Director Teddy Newton.
· Toys! – A closer look at all of Toy Story 3’s beloved toys from updating the classic characters to the creation of the Sunnyside Daycare and Bonnie’s Room toys.
· Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs: The Science of Adventure – Produced in conjunction with NASA, this hybrid animation documentary of Buzz’s visit to the International Space Station focuses on research in zero gravity and Buzz’s triumphant return to Earth.
· Paths to Pixar: Editorial – Pixar editors, past and future share anecdotes about their careers.
· The Gang’s All Here – A touching look at the returning voice talent for Toy Story 3 and an introduction to the voices of the new characters.
· A Toy’s Eye View: Creating A Whole New Land – A sneak peek at the new Toy Story-themed playland at Hong Kong Disneyland.
· Studio Stories – A series of amusing animated anecdotes about life at Pixar.

• “Where’s Gordon?” – An animator finds a hidden room at Pixar.
• “Cereal Bar” – The majestic and expansive Pixar cereal bar is explored.
• “Clean Start” – The Toy Story 3 animators shave their heads to mark the start of the film.

BLU-RAY COMBO PACK: Everything on the DVD plus…

· Toy Story Trivia Dash – This cool game challenges you to sprint to the finish with Woody, Buzz, Jessie and Rex as you quickly answer questions about all three Toy Story movies.
· Cine-Explore – Commentary by Director Lee Unkrich and Producer Darla K. Anderson.
· Beyond the Toybox: An Alternative Commentary Track Featuring Leads from Story, Tech, Art and Animation – Commentary by Story Supervisor Jason Katz, Supervising Technical Director Guido Quaroni, Production Designer Bob Pauley and Supervising Animators Bobby Podesta and Michael Venturini.
· Beginnings: Setting A Story In Motion – Screenwriter Michael Arndt analyzes successful opening scenes from Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.
· Bonnie’s Playtime: A Story Roundtable – A roundtable discussion with Director Lee Unkrich and the story artists who brought the “Bonnie’s Playtime” scene to life.
· Roundin’ Up A Western Opening – The development of the movie’s exciting opening scene.
· Life Of A Shot – Toy Story 3 artists and technicians describe their contributions to a few of the shots in the film’s “Western Opening.”
· Goodbye Andy – An exploration of character design, acting and animation in the scene “Andy’s Goodbye.”
· Accidental Toymakers – By creating the Toy Story characters, the Pixar filmmakers found themselves in the unlikely role of toy designers. Meet the toy company that took a chance on manufacturing the now iconic toys and learn of their incredible success that began with a modest number of Woody and Buzz Lightyear toys 15 years ago.
· Making of Day & Night – The story behind the unique 2D/3D blended short.

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© 2010, Are You Screening?. All rights reserved. Reprinting without express permission of the author is prohibited.

I have several things coming up to get you excited for the June 1st release of Alice in Wonderland. Stay tuned for a great book, the Blu-Ray release itself, and more, but for now I have a virtual roundtable with Dermot Power. Artist and concept designer for the film, Dermot shared a lot of his work, and let us in on how many of the ideas came together.

Also in on this event were David Jessen, VP of DVD productions with Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, and also Jim Davy, producer of the Alice and Wonderland Blu-ray DVD, and they added some interesting information as well. Particularly, the way the Dermot's Oraculum art from the film has been turned into the Blu-Ray menu system.

Dermot Power

It was really a fascinating event, and I hope you can share in the experience to some degree. I'll let our host, Mindy Johnson, lead us along.

Mindy Johnson: So Dermot, talk a little bit about, when you first got the call for this film.  And we're going to shift to a couple of your – one of your first images of Alice.  But if you'd like to give us some insight into certainly your work with Tim.

Dermot Power: Yes, I got a call from Tim's assistant, (Derrick).  And I've worked with Tim in the past on "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," and – but there was a big team of concept artists on that, and I never actually met Tim himself, but he knew my work.

So he sort of asked his assistant to track the guy who did that type of stuff on the other film down, and he wanted to have a chat.  So I went in and had a chat with him.  And yes, so he was quite (led) into the production of "Alice in Wonderland," and was trying to get the design and look of the film you know to match his vision.

And it was a dream come true for me, because I'm a big fan of Tim Burton, and to sit there and have a chat with him, and I'm obviously a big fan of "Alice in Wonderland."  In fact, I've worked on another "Alice in Wonderland" production about 10 years before.  So you know I love – it was a great opportunity.

And the bonus was that, while I was having a chat with Tim, he said, "Well, where do you want to work?"  And he said, you can work here in the editing, where he was, or from home or – and then he said, "But you know – you know Arthur Rackham?"  And I'm like, "Yeah, of course."  Arthur Rackham is the 19th century illustrator of "Alice in Wonderland," and I'm a huge fan of his work.

And Tim was like well, ‘I bought his studio.  So do you want to work in the studio?’  So that was where I ended up working for almost a year.  Tim bought (Arthur Racken)’s studio which just happens to be very near where he lives in London and he set up an office there himself.  And then I was up in the literally in the attic like the artists in the garrot.  Yes, it was great.  It was great opportunity.

Mindy Johnson: We’re looking at one of the early pieces, (Dermot) if you could explain sort of the construct of this - of Alice, as she is first approaching Wonderland.

Dermot: Is the shot where she is running through the woods?

click images to enlarge

Mindy Johnson: Yes.

Dermot: So that shot I actually one of the very first shots I did.  What I did was I did a very quick sketch for Tim of what I felt the woods should look like.  Have that feel, the feel for them which he really liked.  And then I took distance from an edited sequence so I knew exactly where – I mean Alice is just a figure in a green environment.

And there was nothing in it.  And what was important to me was to have – with all the things that I designed is contrasting forms.  So you know Alice is running straight into the woods on a straight path and crossing her path is this straight tree and then off that you have these very curved shapes that the trees, twisting trees and twisting ferns.

And of course when you work for Tim Burton you attempt to find spires you know and excuses for drawing them everyplace so that was the thinking there.  And very dark and lines…menacing out in the field I wanted to go for.

In fact I did a much more detailed visual of the same shot and when Tim saw it he was like ‘yes, that’s cool’ but you know we don’t – he didn’t need me to do that.  He wanted me to do the quite sort of very impressionistic – I don’t want to say simple, but minimalist illustrations that go to the point and didn’t hide the point of the design and the detail.

I think before I had arrived on the firm there was a lot of beautiful t-frames illustrated by some of the guys like (Dillion Cole) and people like that at Sony.  And I think the problem with that is their’s is so finished and beautiful it’s a little distracting so Tim asked me to come in and just do these quite minimalist, but strong concepts for the shapes and the things that she’d see in Underland.

Mindy Johnson: Great.  Let’s move to the next image of Alice as she is miniaturized.  And can you talk a bit about the combination of incorporating the live action imagery into at artwork.

Dermot: Yes, sure because the sequences were already edited.  So I had kind of the luxury of working on what was going to be the final edited sequences in the film which is very unusual.  Usually that’s because I came in quite late and into the production I had that luxury.

So, again it’s quite simply done.  The painting of the various elements around her but their very, very carefully placed if you know what I mean.  So those dandelion clocks and all these kind of little elements, I tried to place them so that it’s a very kind of pleasing composition.  But again very simply done, not, I think what it is when I design I like to leave a lot of creative input to the person next along the line.

So I prefer to work to that level and then people can put their details and colors and everything in afterwards.  But, let me think about what else I can say about that.  I think next is maybe the Hatter.

Mindy Johnson: Is the Hatter in the concept piece?

Dermot: Yes that’s purely a concept, in that it doesn’t, it’s not taken from any other edit or anything.  It’s just a moment that Tim was trying to think about that hat which was on top of the may pole, in the scene where the Mad Hatter is trying to…it’s like a symbol of what has happened.

I mean that didn’t end up in the film actually.  But it was sort of trying to think about scale of the hat to the Hatter and that’s quite a conversational piece.  I love drawing it to engage in a dialog, conversation with Tim about what he’s thinking about the scene.

Rather than the previous image which was very directly drawn to guide the animators and people afterwards as to where things should be in the sequence.  This is more kind of a discussion piece.

I remember Tim had in mind what he wanted for that sequence where the village is being, Mad Hatters village is being burned out, it was very, very tricky to get what he needed because it needed to be quite minimal.  And I was trying to, I was looking for symbols to put across what had happened.

And the top hat, the Hatter looking under the hat.  I don’t know if you see that little skull under there.  That would have never had made it in a Disney Alice in Wonderland.  Maybe a Tim Burton one but yes, I don’t know what I was thinking there.

Mindy Johnson: Definitely, let’s move to the next piece.  Now you also did some design work on props as well.

Dermot: Yes very little.  I did a couple of different of pieces of props.  My role kind of became whatever Tim would throw at me I would solve it.  So if he needed me to do a prop I would do the prop.  And in fact the dodo, what was quite funny was I did another, maybe I should have sent you that.

I did another exact visual of the dodo carrying the flamingos in the caddy, croquet caddy, and I completely got it wrong.  In that I had it that the pelicans were trying to burst out of the caddy and they were full of energy and they were, and the dodo was like being crushed by the weight of this and he was sweating and it was completely a different take on it.

And Tim came in and he looked at it and just was, because he doesn’t say an awful lot.  And he just went, ohh ahh, like that.  I mean it was completely wrong.   And he just went, no like this, he drew that essentially, I mean I drew that what you’re looking at but he very quickly did a sketch.  What’s wonderful about working for a director who can draw is that he can explain himself, he doesn’t need to say anything he can just do a quick sketch.

Mindy Johnson: Absolutely.

We’re now looking of course at the image with the red queen and the flamingo and the croquet match.

Dermot: It’s more to the left of the flamingo, but the background, it’s just to design all the shapes that would be behind her head.  That’s sort of how I like to design.  I don’t think there’s any confusion in about what that background is, even if it isn’t full of photographic detail.

Mindy Johnson: And moving on to the chambers.

Dermot: Yes, I think Tim wanted the inside of the palace to reflect the crazy kind of shapes and crazy world that you see from outside.  And for inspiration I actually had a researcher dig out as many strange and extraordinary buildings as I could, that I tried to do it myself, I love working with researchers because that way when I’m drawing something else they start digging things out.

And that’s actually very inspired, now I can't remember the name but we might have to dig that out, it’s a hotel that (Gaudi) did.  It has very similar kind of…it’s got that swirling kind of cast ceiling, it’s based on a real thing.

I think Tim wanted everything to look really kind of bonkers and it was really nice to find some actual architecture that was almost as bonkers.  I mean it’s not exactly it, but its inspired by it.  Yes.

Mindy Johnson: Well speaking of architecture that’s inspiring, looking at the next slide, if you talk a bit about this.

Dermot: Yes, again this is part of the sequence where she arrives at the palace and then goes on to the moat of heads.  The real sort of doing this is to put across some of that sort of Tim Burton gothiness.

I wasn’t really design, I didn’t design the palace though.  It had already been done, it was more a case of saying, you know if you guys can find an angle, to give you a flavor of these gothic arches and spiral, that would suit what Tim’s looking for.

You’ve moved on to the red queen looking down at the floating heads?

Mindy Johnson: Yes.

Dermot: Yes.  That’s quite an interesting one because I wasn’t familiar with all of the script and everything that was happening.  I mean I read the script and forgot some of it but when Alice was jumping across the heads I got it wrong.  I thought it was, that she was jumping across giant heads and not that she was tiny.  Which was kind of stupid of me to think that.

So I kept, this sequence, I kept drawing the heads quite big and then Tim would come in and go, yes they need to be a little smaller.  And then I’d keep making them smaller and smaller and smaller and eventually I was like are these supposed to be human sized heads?

Mindy Johnson: Yes.

Dermot: Yes, yes, yes, but because he doesn’t say an awful lot it took me redrawing it, and redrawing it, and redrawing it, but that sequence of her looking in the, down on the moat is, I was really pleased because it’s a lock shot it was almost exactly like that in the film.  That’s what Ken Ralston’s team did, which was amazing there, it’s really beautiful.

The shot where she’s jumping across again that’s a more finished illustration because Tim was going to the San Diego Comic Con and they wanted some artwork to show from the film and so that was a more simple illustration but I kind of tightened up a little bit.  That’s why you’re seeing a rare color one.  So I think the other one was as well where the queen was looking down on the head.

It’s quite important to Tim as well when I’m doing these visuals that I don’t bring it up to a level of detail that’s trying to mimic the film.  Because the film, you don’t want to, I mean for my own personal way of designing I don’t see the point in that, I think designers are trying to inspire and help get to the final vision.

But I’m not so sure you need ever to pretend that the frame is the final shot, film sequence, a shot from the film.  And I think Tim appreciated the fact that I paid a lot of attention to the kind of light and the mist and everything.  You don’t look at that and think oh this is a frame from the film.  It’s still quite painterly, which I think he really likes.

Mindy Johnson: Absolutely.  Let’s move on then to the next shot of the executioner. (which I don't have for you)

Dermot: Yes this was actually part of the…somebody else had done a much wider illustration so I knew the architecture and the heart shaped executions block is from another illustrators work and Tim just asked me to put more stuff into the background.  So I did the illustration of the arches and the high gate with the heart in it and all that kind of difference.  And I redrew the executioner and things like that.

I was trying to get them to change the design of the axe because I thought it was more -- the axe that was in the film it’s heart shaped.  And one of the problems with the hearts shape is it’s a very friendly warm kind of, almost motherly shape, to be Freudian about it.

And the axe I thought didn’t really look threatening enough.  So I wanted a more gothic arch put into it but it was too late.  It had already been built so, and Tim was more than happy with the other one.

Also the little details because that’s where the jubjub bird gets, is released from.  So that would be the reason for doing that.

Mindy Johnson: Nice.  Moving on to a couple of the early Jabberwocky images.

Dermot: They’re actually very late Jabberwocky images, because they already had it done, I think they were well on their way to doing the Jabberwocky.  And I think Tim gets notions and ideas and he just wants to explore them and he said oh have a go, because I think what happened is at one point the Jabberwocky that ends up in the film is mostly, it’s very similar to a dragon, traditional dragon but it doesn’t fly in the film.  And there was decision made at some point by Tim that it wouldn’t fly that it would walk through the woods.  And then he was wondering if he needed to change the design completely.

So, again, to help him think about it, I’ll just do a couple of drawings.  And the one on the left is very much based on the Jabberwocky from John Tenniel’s 18^th century illustration, from the original book.

And I also, when I looked at that illustration, I looked at it as if it was a puppet on strings, if you know what I mean?  So when you look at that, if you imagine what my thinking with this, it should be hanging there as if the loose head and limbs have been held by strings.  That’s the kind of look I was going for.

Also, because every dragon has been done, it’s so difficult to come up with a new one.  I just thought I wouldn’t do a dragon.  I’d just do something completely different.  And the one on the right, again, it’s more like a demon or something.  I think Tim liked them, but then they went with the original design anyway.

So, fun to do, though.  Great fun to do.

Mindy Johnson: Absolutely.  And then, last one for your concept pieces, we do have a few slides of some of the final artwork that, as you mentioned, appeared in the film.

Dermot: Yes.

Mindy Johnson: Can you talk a bit to these?

Dermot: Yes.  During the designing of some of the inside of the palace, I’ve put in a lot of picture frames and then of course they needed to be filled with something.  And Tim was like, ‘well, what are you going to do?’  So I was, ‘oh, I’ll just build scenes and sequences from the original Alice in Wonderland book.’

So that’s the lion and the unicorn and I think represent – I’m trying to get my history right here, but represents the two sides of the British Empire in the 18^th century – 19^th century.  So it was a great excuse for me to just paint some crazy stuff from the originals books.  At that point – I’ve been on the film about eight or nine months and I think Tim trusted me to – you know, he knew I got into his mindset.  I knew what he liked, and I think he trusted me to just kind of risk on these things.

So because they were just going to be a theme in passing in the frames, they didn’t need a lot of art direction from him.  It was kind of like, just do whatever.

And then the mural, and the red-green on the Jabberwocky, that was because when I revised the throne room and the sequence where the Mad Hatter walks in through the doors and is being presented to the queen, the walls looked a little bit grey and dark and dank, and I thought, you know.  So I suggested to Tim, like, I’m going to get the name wrong, but what’s the castle, that palace in Germany?

Mindy Johnson: Neuschwanstein?

Dermot: Yes.  That’s the one.  There are beautiful murals on the walls in that palace, so I said why don’t we do something like that but have it really, really faded, like it’s been up there for years?  And so I did.

And so I painted it, and then the way the tone and colors are laid out, (embossed) on those little corners and all these things, don’t really mean anything, except that when they were in the sequence, it balanced all the little colors out.  So in the red rooms and the blue rooms, it just adds in the shot where you are.

Again, because they were so faded and scrubbed out, you’re just going to get an impression of something being there, these guys are ancestors – very obviously, the one of the left is sort of inspired by (Harvine’s) Henry the Eight.

And, yes, they had the heart motif, wherever we could put it in.  And because it’s something you’re going to see so quickly in the film, of course you can pause the DVD now, but there’s not a huge amount of detail there, but I think it’s just the right amount for a quick little shot.  And even though he’s quite extreme in his anatomy, I mean, he actually is quite similar to – I think King Henry the Eight was probably even bigger and (bolder).

And the one on the right, that was towards the end of the film, I just thought I’m going to go mad here.  I’ll just draw some really crazy shapes and – you know, in the style that I really love to work in and not try to be imitating (inaudible) painter (that kind of thing), just to see what would happen.  And Tim really loved that, so he was like, yes, yes.  The crazier the better, which is probably not surprising as well.

Mindy Johnson: Well, beautiful work.  And I want to move on to your extraordinary work in the Oraculum.  We have a short clip from the film to run, which I think will set the stage for the importance of this particular prop and your design work within it.  I hope everyone’s computers should be cached enough to accept…

(I couldn't get this exact clip, but I'll have several clips for you, including some from the bonus features when I review the Blu-Ray release itself)

Mindy Johnson: OK.  That was a pretty important prop.  An important (McGuffin) in this story.  Talk a little bit Dermot, about how this was approached.  And not only from a design standpoint but in terms of story.

Dermot Power: From the design point theory, I think that a placeholder for the Oraculum with some of the Tenniel illustrations.  And a couple of other bits and pieces, again it was one of those things where I was chatting to Tim about it and I just said well if you want me to I'll bash it and illustrating it I’d love to do it, (I'll have a go).

I think originally we talked about doing it in a kind of John Tenniel style and part of the problem is doing that as illustrations from a book work in the context of the book and it’s weird when you try to ape that style for another thing like the Oraculum.  It didn’t quite work as well.

That’s my excuse for very quickly just doing it the way I like to draw.  So what I did was I said OK this thing is going to end up being a foot and a half or two feet tall by I don’t know maybe 8-10 feet.  It’s going to be huge so.  I’m not sure how much time we have.

So what I did was I started on the sequences that I knew the camera was definitely going to be on.  Obviously where Alice is looking at the Oraculum and the sequence where she’s fighting the Jabberwocky, and the idea was that it should look like an illustrator’s version of events and not an exact copy of it.

Because I could have taken the actual green screen sequences and traced the Oraculum illustrations over it but I think Tim wanted it to look like it was an artist impression.  And so what I did was I did very detailed illustrations of the main part and then for the left and right, because they would end up in the camera, possibly in the camera I then just illustrated whatever.

And again like the, I just randomly picked scenes from the film or characters from the film and just kind of illustrated them in there in a way that, because the viewer in the cinema, in the theater just wants to get an impression that the Oraculum doesn’t stop at that point that you’re looking at.

So it was really enjoyable to do.  And then I think late in the process it was decided that maybe we should have a 3D element that you can separate out the different layers of the scene.  Which meant that the Oraculum took, I don’t know, 3 times longer to do because I then have to cut out Alice and the Dodo and the mushrooms and then put them on a separate layer and illustrate everything behind her.

So there’s layered versions of the Oraculum where you can switch each character off and there’s details in behind.  Which was it was great fun to do that.  Again this film, project gave me a chance to do every kind of art style that an artist is apt to do.

From very chunky paintings and murals to these, I end up doing these very tight line drawings.  It was great fun.  Yes.

Mindy Johnson: A lot of great variety.  It is the Oraculum that’s being utilized as part of the living menus on the upcoming blue ray release of Alice in Wonderland and so we’re going to kind of stroll through these particular images that are broken down, not only of your drawings Dermot but also the screen imagery of the menus and, David perhaps if you could talk just a bit about how these were integrated and utilized in the set up of the Blu-ray.

David Jessen: Well when you enter the Blu-ray this is our other menu system and in the U. S., Mexico and Canada currently we call it our living menu system.  So if you’re BD Live connected what happens is, the very first thing that occurs is that whatever your weather is in your particular climate Dermot was very generous and gracious to design new Oraculum art for us that features whatever that is, either it’s a sunny day, a cloudy day, a rainy day, a snowy day, a clear night, a cloudy night, a rainy night, a snowy night, and the cool thing is that this is new Blue Ray exclusive material that you can get nowhere else.  So it’s pretty cool.

Also, if you're not on BD Live connected the fact that you get to see the Oraculum in its entirety I believe it’s the…

Dermot Power: Pretty much its entirety, yes.

David Jessen: It’s the first opportunity also a person would have to actually see it laid out for them in the menus and have it and own it.

Mindy Johnson: We’re running edited sequences of these various illustrations, Dermot if you could talk a bit about these

Dermot Power: Oh it’s fantastic, I’m just bowled over by what you guys have done, it’s beautiful.  No because its seeing my drawings come to life like that, it’s just fantastic.  Well done that’s beautiful.  All the clarity.

Mindy Johnson: (David) if you can just talk a little bit about as to how this works.  When you turn on your disk.

David Jessen: So when if you’re BD Live connected and you put your disk in, it’s automatically going to pin your local weather through the BD Live system in the States and in Canada and the U. S. and Mexico and it will load these pieces of art and these little animations that we have done.

Like its right here it’s showing that if it’s raining in your climate it’s going to be raining on screen in the Oraculum magically.  And it will depend on whatever it is, if it’s sunny you’ll have a beautiful sunny image, if it’s snowing you'll have some snow.  It’s just a magical way to bring your Blue Ray Disk to life.

(I don't have an animated file to show you, but it was cool in the presentation, and I've seen the disc itself, and it really is a pretty neat feature. Of course, it's been sunny, so...)

Mindy Johnson: OK.

Dermot Power: Looks fantastic.

Mindy Johnson: Two more sequence of these and then Dermot in terms of creating this type of art work, did you have to do anything above and beyond just the standard illustrations?

Dermot Power: I think what you guys have done its fantastic to see it now real, it’s the first time I’m seeing it.  It’s beautifully realized.  The rays of the sun coming out, that’s absolutely perfect.

It was difficult because you didn’t have a defined boarder and for ink drawings, you know if you do cloudy night for example it can be a little difficult just knowing where to border what you’re doing and things like that.  Really it’s just an excuse for me to feel like a traditional book illustrator for a week or so, or a few days.  I really enjoyed doing it.

But yes it’s great to see it being used so, so beautiful.

Mindy Johnson: There’s a sequence of the additional art, Oraculum artwork that is also on the DVD menus.

David Jessen: What’s wonderful is, we at Disney are always trying to find a way to extend the film experience organically and work with the film talent to do that, and I think this is the perfect example of that.

Jim Davy: When we first saw Dermot’s Oraculum art we just thought what a perfect way to have that be the theme for the menus for the whole disk experience.

Dermot Power: Yes that’s great, and to have something made drawn for the film which can be the end of its existence and have another life outside of it is kind of a rare opportunity for me.   To tell you the truth it’s fantastic.

David Jessen: Obviously we don’t have the text on this yet but the menu text would be on the left side there, obviously.  But we wanted to show Dermot’s art.

That's pretty much it, I hope you enjoyed it.

RU?

*all images courtesy of Disney, concept art (obviously) by Dermot Power, all rights reserved and everything is trademarked, and don't steal anything, so on and so forth.

© 2010, Are You Screening?. All rights reserved. Reprinting without express permission of the author is prohibited.

In celebration of Frabjous Day and the upcoming Blu-ray™ & DVD release of ALICE IN WONDERLAND on June 1st, Walt Disney Studios is asking America to “Show Us Your Best Futterwacken!”

For those who haven’t seen the film, this is the crazy, awesome dance performed by The Mad Hatter. In the world of Alice’s Wonderland, the Futterwacken is a dance of unbridled joy.

The contest challenges ALICE fans to submit their best interpretation of the Futterwacken dance to www.Disney.com/Alicedance and add their own original twists, turns and dance moves. So start gathering your muchness and go completely Gallymoggers as you Futterwacken vigorously!  The more creative your dance moves, the better your chance to win!

Oh and one of the coolest parts is being able to put your dance moves to Kerli’s song “Tea Party” featured on the Alice in Wonderland companion album, Almost Alice.  Disney's Almost Alice soundtrack features two songs by Kerli that provide the perfect beat to "show us your best Futterwacken!"

KLOTCHYN! (Head’s up!) Judging will be based on Dance Performance, Entertainment Value, Technical Quality, Creativity and Originality.

Consumers must visit www.Disney.com/Alicedance to enter.  Entries should be no longer than 40 seconds in length and include your first name and the state where you reside. Directions on how to enter are clearly detailed on the website. It only takes three easy steps to enter – record your video, add music and upload to Disney’s website.

The submission period for the contest begins at 3:00 p.m. PDT on Friday, April 30, 2010 and ends at 3:00 p.m. PDT on Thursday, June 3, 2010.

There will be two (2) Grand Prize winning submissions and ten (10) First Prize winning submissions. Disney will announce winners on Wednesday, June 16th based on the following equally weighted criteria: Dance Performance, Entertainment Value, Technical Quality, Creativity and Originality.

Prizes include Apple iPads, Panasonic Blu-ray Players, Alice In Wonderland Blu-ray Combo Packs of the film, Mad Hatter Hats, Autographed Alice in Wonderland Nesting Books and iTunes Gift Cards.

RU?

© 2010, Are You Screening?. All rights reserved. Reprinting without express permission of the author is prohibited.

The best thing about The Princess and the Frog may turn out to be what also keeps it from truly being great. It's a return to hand-drawn animation. A return to an "older" theory. A return to the Disney musical. In many senses, a return to the very roots of Disney feature-length efforts. These are all things the special features will play up at you rather specifically. But, somewhere in the valiant effort, we may have gone too far.

As much as it is a masterpiece of historic significance, and a frolicsome delight for the child within you, Sleeping Beauty is not particularly entertaining for the child with you. It's likely that today this is as much a problem of pacing as it is the shortfall of humor children can latch onto, but The Princess and the Frog takes the general adult orientation up a few notches. Not content simply to go over their heads, or try their attention abilities, it rather rules them out completely in some respects.

That sounds rather negative, but the intent is only a point of clarification. Adults may find much to enjoy, but the age-range of appreciation only goes so low, despite the G rating.

Magic, music and romance are waiting around every corner of the legendary Big Easy as Disney’s newest princess sets out on an exciting adventure through a magical new world. Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose) is a beautiful and hardworking young woman determined to fulfil her father’s dream of owning an elegant New Orleans supper club.

When Naveen (Bruno Campos), a handsome prince arrives in town looking for romance, the evil Dr. Facilier (Keith David) hatches a nefarious plot and turns Naveen into a frog. A kiss from Tiana should return him to his true form, but in a hilarious twist on the classic story, she is instead transformed into a frog herself! The pair must travel into the heart of the mysterious Louisiana bayou with only a trumpet-playing alligator and a love-struck firefly as guides to find the priestess who can reverse the curse in order to find their “happily ever after.”

The rather simple fairy tale is spun into an entirely new story with New Orleans as the backdrop, for purposes of our magical connection, and the ability to showcase a variety of jazz stylings, and if there is one thing that cannot be denied about the effort, it is most assuredly a gorgeous testament to hand-drawn abilities.

Also clearly focusing on the inclusion of some life lessons, our story naturally talks a good game on love, but manages a nice play on dreams and finding your own sense of self-worth. Big stuff for an animated feature, and moreover it makes its way to the screen through the dancing alligators and singing voodoo priestess in a pretty adult delivery.

All that said, while it may lack some measure of the pure fun of Aladdin, or the elements in The Little Mermaid that allow for a greater ability to connect with younger audiences, the film delivers a solid charm and engaging story that can work wonders on the child in all of us... even if it misses our children.

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Blu-Ray Features

The bonuses available on the release give a pretty solid indication that those involved are aware of the audience limitations. Rare is the Disney release so filled with special features that a child couldn't care less about. On the other hand, the adults are in for some treats.

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The single disc DVD comes with:
• Deleted Scenes
• Audio Commentary by John Musker and Ron Clements (co-writers and directors) and Peter Del
Vecho (producer)
• “Never Knew I Needed”- Music video by Ne-Yo Games and Activities
• What Do You See: Princess Portraits — A bayou-style quiz tests viewers’ knowledge of all of Disney’s beautiful princesses. Ray’s firefly family creates twinkling portraits of each princess and if the player correctly identifies her, they can enjoy a tongue-cheek mini re-telling of that character’s story.

There are four deleted scenes. These are scenes that were never finalized, so you're watching early work with stand-in voices. They're pretty interesting actually, but there isn't that much available. I'm not sure any of these amount to key changes, they seem mainly dropped for time, or because of reworkings elsewhere which leave them unnecessary, but they are worth watching simply to see what the early versions look like before they are taken to more serious levels of completion.

-
The commentary is great for those who will be interested to sit through such fare. Musker and Clements are responsible for much of Disney's best non-Pixar work of recent(ish) times, and they give a lot of great insight into the creation of all aspects of the film. There is quite a bit of overlap with some of what you'll find on the other features of the Blu-Ray, but that only makes this more of a bonus to purchasers of the standard edition. Possibly leaning a little technical for some, this is nevertheless a truly worthwhile bonus.

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The Blu-ray Combo Pack edition comes with additional bonus features, including:

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Backstage Disney
• Magic In The Bayou: The Making of A Princess — Co-writers and directors John Musker and Ron Clements take a freewheeling, behind-the-scenes look at the making of Disney’s newest animated film as it grows from an initial concept to a lavish animated film set in the enchanting world of New Orleans and the surrounding bayous.
• The Return To Hand Drawn Animation
• The Disney Legacy
• Disney’s Newest Princess
• The Princess and the Animator
• Conjuring The Villain
• A Return To The Animated Musical
• Bringing Life to Animation with an introduction by John Musker and Ron Clements.
• Deleted Scenes introduced by the filmmakers
• Art Galleries — A collection of storyboard art traces the visual development of The Princess and the Frog’s rich gallery of characters and settings.

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The first of these is what you might look at as a full-blown featurette. It includes a wide variety of cast and crew, and looks at all angles of the film, from the creation of the story, to the long process of  perfecting the characters. It's a good effort, and there is quite a lot to take away from the trip through the entire life of the film.

The rest are shorter, more focused bonuses which are more or less just what you think they'll be. The Princess and the Animator, for example, is a few minutes of behind-the-scenes exploration of the voice and animation creation of the character, and getting everyone involved in sync.

Bringing Life to Animation is a bit more detailed, and shows the process of translating real actors' movements into the animated final product. This one is a treat, and watching the side-by-side comparison of dancers and actors giving the animators points of reference is surprisingly interesting.

Overall this is a solid release, and you won't be disappointed with the bonuses.

Own it on DVD and Blu-Ray today!

Check out a couple of clips below.

RU?

© 2010, Are You Screening?. All rights reserved. Reprinting without express permission of the author is prohibited.

There's a sense in which it seems fairly nonsensical to review Earth, the pseudo-docu-whatever released by Disney via BBC and The Discovery Channel, but in the end it delivers so well that some manner of kudos are in order... even if a review isn't.

Before the movie starts, you're going to hear about Disney's True Life Adventure series, which were naturementaries that received high praise back in the pre-1960 world of entertainment.  Now, we might just be trying to sell you on your plans for next Earth Day, but I was glad for the promo.  I remember a different era of Disney. Wondering what you were going to save your last few E tickets for, and a better viewpoint behind the production schedule.

Earth is rather reminiscent of a different kind of Disney.  There's a certain story to the thing, but mainly it's just a loosely-worked frame that is our excuse to look at some incredible imagery... and cute, baby animals.  And, that's okay.  And, there are lessons to be learned, whether they are the ones we are meant to learn or not.  For instance, if an elephant was smart enough to just step on a lion's head when he could see the damn thing, a lot less elephants would get eaten by lions.

As I said, really reviewing seems meaningless.  It's a lot of gorgeous footage of the incredible majesty of Earth itself, and some superb video of animals in their natural environment.  That's hard to argue with, and if there is a bit of an agenda behind things... whatever.  Our narrator James Earl Jones (who takes over for Patrick Stewart because he's going to say "circle of life" at one point, and we're used to Jones saying that) watches a cheetah chase down some prey with us, and I like what he says.  I'll let you find out for yourself what that is.

It's a moving and beautiful film, and what's best about it is that whether it's an unbelievable waterfall, a duckling (let's face it) falling out of a tree, or a wolf taking down a baby caribou - it's all meant to be moving... and beautiful.  The overarching story of the polar bears ended up rubbing me the wrong way a little bit though.  The footage of animals being hunted down worked great for me, and even though you want to help out that damn elephant, it's a wonderful part of the whole.  But, when a polar bear gets lost, and then lands starving on some ice unable to take on a herd of walruses (walrus? walri?), even if you're trying to amp up your statement on global warming, I feel like maybe a cameraman could help a brother out.

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Are You Screening?

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© 2009, Are You Screening?. All rights reserved. Reprinting without express permission of the author is prohibited.