The mouse heard the noise!!!
Now then... Disney. Something interesting happened this morning: I got an official statement response to my post via ?a Disney spokesperson.? It reads as follows...
?There are no plans to discontinue releases in a particular format. We evaluate each release on a case by case basis and pursue the best strategy to bring our content into consumer homes across platforms that meet a variety of demands.?
All right, let me put that into context for you. First there?s this: I am 100% confident in the accuracy of my reporting on Friday (see here). My sources are good on this and trust me when I say that I took the time last week to make damn sure of it. There is no doubt whatsoever in my mind of that fact.
But this isn?t rocket science: Every single one of you out there knows that catalog film releases on physical 4K especially have been an afterthought for this studio. The only ones we?ve gotten are exactly what we reported: Marvel, Star Wars, or Disney/Pixar animated fare. Yes, Home Alone and Hocus Pocus are coming to physical 4K, but there are many more (and more obvious) live action catalog titles the studio could release on physical 4K from the Fox, Buena Vista, and Touchstone live action libraries... and they haven?t done so.
What I think happened is that the studio was focused almost entirely on their Disney+ launch, then the pandemic hit and suddenly theatrical, theme parks, and consumer products all tanked, and Disney has since then been focused almost entirely on stemming the bleeding. But the studio?s decision-makers didn?t just take their eyes off physical home entertainment media, their eyes were barely on it in the first place. Then my report broke, and got pretty widespread coverage, and someone at Disney said, ?Oh, ****... we?d better issue a statement.?
You know what? Good. Because ignoring physical 4K and physical Blu-ray for their massive catalog library is a huge mistake. And maybe, just maybe, someone there at the studio is finally starting to realize it.
However, it?s going to take a lot more than a statement to convince me, other disc fans, and anyone else that Disney still takes physical media on Blu-ray and 4K seriously. The proof is in the pudding: When and if Disney starts releasing much-wanted Fox, Buena Vista, and Touchstone films on physical 4K and Blu-ray?not just digitally and not just on Disney+?then and only then will I believe it.
https://thedigitalbits.com/columns/my-two-cents/081120-1500