Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Disney's Muppet DVDs will have Widescreen!!!

Many fans were distraught yesterday to hear that the official Disney press release about the upcoming Muppet DVDs stated that the films would be released in pan-and-scan only. After hearing this upsetting news, I decided to find out why, and if there are any plans to release the films in widescreen. So I did some digging, sent many e-mails to insider sources and even called friends inside Disney. It turns out that the rumors are untrue, and so was the official press release.

In celebration of Kermit's 50th Anniversary, "The Muppet Movie", "The Great Muppet Caper", "The Muppet Christmas Carol", and "Muppet Treasure Island" will be released on Disney DVD in both widescreen and full-frame formats. Disney admits to the mistake in the press release and apologizes for any confusion. They also stated there were some other oversights and mistakes in the press release, and they have sent me a corrected list of features (see below). The DVDs are scheduled to be released on November 29, 2005.

Once again, all four 50th anniversary Muppet movies will be released in Widescreen and full frame! WAAHOO!!


The Muppet Movie: Special Edition
- "The Muppet Movie" Widescreen (restored and remastered)
- "The Muppet Movie" Full Frame (restored and remastered)
- "Pepe Profiles Present -- Kermit: A Frog's Life"
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
- English and French language tracks
- ...and much more!

The Great Muppet Caper: Special Edition
- "The Great Muppet Caper" Widescreen (restored and remastered)
- "The Great Muppet Caper" Full Frame (restored and remastered)
- "Pepe Profiles Present -- Miss Piggy: The Diva Who Would Not Be Denied"
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
- English and French language tracks
- ...and much more!

The Muppet Christmas Carol: Special Edition
- "The Muppet Christmas Carol" Widescreen (restored and remastered)
- "The Muppet Christmas Carol" Full Frame (restored and remastered)
- "Pepe Profiles Present -- Gonzo: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Weirdo"
- Audio Commentary with director Brian Henson
- "Christmas Around the World"
- "On the Set"- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
- ...and much more!

Muppet Treasure Island: Special Edition
- "Muppet Treasure Island" Widescreen (restored and remastered)
- "Muppet Treasure Island" Full Frame (restored and remastered)
- "Pepe Profiles Present -- Fozzie Bear: A Long Day's Journey Into Night Clubs"
- Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
- ...and much more!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hallelujah.

Your blog is invaluable, I read everyday. Keep it up. We all appreciate it.

Anonymous said...

I wrote to Disney and they immediately replied that the dvds will be both widescreen and fullscreen. I was so scared and I'm still not happy about the cuts on the Muppet Show season one box set..... Let's be happy for the news of Widescrren now!

Anonymous said...

Looks like Francois knew what he was talking about. Whew.

I just wish *I* did...I already HAVE Treasure Island...it's Christmas Carol I'm missing... :)

Anonymous said...

That's good news. But unless those Backstage Disney features are in-depth, the extras aren't worth the upgrade.

For some reason I thought they'd be 2 disc editions.

Anonymous said...

This is great news for those that don't alredy have these films on DVD. As one who has the earlier DVD versions, I'm not sure if it's worth buying the new "Muppet Movie" disc -- it sounds like there is only one new feature and that is "Backstage Disney," which doesn't sound promising. I'm hoping there's a lot more -- especially deleted/alternate scenes and/or outtakes. All I know is that the extra on the original DVD (the test reel of Kermit/Fozzie out in the real world) is priceless and one of the greatest things I've ever seen, so it better be on the new version as well. I'll have to wait and see what the extras for "Muppet Movie" are... but "Great Muppet Caper" on the other hand didn't have any extras the first time out, so that one I'm more likely to check out. Either way, I hope Disney loads these things with extras -- there is lots to choose from -- how about one of the network specials like "The Muppets Go to the Movies"??!!

Anonymous said...

Hi...new guy here. This may have been talked about lots before, so if it has, someone please gently bring me up to date: Why has Muppets Take Manhattan been omitted from the remastering list?