What do you mean I should start thinking about Christmas? It’s not even Halloween yet!
With the holiday season seemingly around the corner, Disney is already preparing an onslaught of Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital Releases that would make great gifts for those you care about. To make it easier for you to browse through these upcoming selections, I will list common features of each film using abbreviations and then highlight a couple of salient features of each:
D – Deleted Scenes, G – Gag Reel, AC – Audio Commentary, BTS – Behind the Scenes, MV – Music Video, AS – Animated Short
Oct 18 – Alice Through the Looking Glass – D, AC, BTS, MV – Loaded with extras, this home release has tons of behind the scenes features including one called “A Stitch in Time: Costuming Wonderland” where they not only go into the intricate costumes designed for the film, but also costume designer Colleen Atwood talks about some of the hidden Easter Eggs IN the costumes themselves. I’m also intrigued by the “scene peeler” segments that show raw footage side-by-side with the finished product. (Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital)
Oct 25 – Beauty and the Beast: Enchanted Christmas – BTS, MV – Featuring the entire main cast of the original film, this Christmas musical tale adds Bernadette Peters and Tim Curry to its roster of talent. Not available on Blu-Ray, this will be released on DVD as well as Disney Movies Anywhere and your favorite digital retailer (like the Apple Store). Perhaps the most popular feature on this release is the sing-a-long special feature so you can join in at home. (DVD/Digital)
Nov 15 – Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 3D – D, AC, BTS – Star Wars in 3D. That pretty much sold it for me. Not to mention the cool case. This 4-disc set contains even more behind-the-scenes goodies particularly about sound design, foley artistry, and costume design. The press release mentions deleted scenes which seem to be in addition to the ones already released. A couple of the features on the disc have been released digitally but not on disc. (Blu-Ray 3D/Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital)
Nov 15 (Oct 25 – Digital HD) – Finding Dory – D, AC, BTS, G, AS – This is the release that has it all. Seriously too many to list here. Hopefully, I’ll get the chance to review this and let you in on all the different goodies. There are actually TWO animated shorts among the special features – “Piper” and a brand new one about the animals at the Marine Life Institute. Looking forward to “Casual Carpool” which reminds me of “Carpool Karaoke” except without music as director Andrew Stanton shares a ride to work with Albert Brooks, Eugene Levy, Ty Burrell, and Ed O’Neill. And I love animated deleted scenes. This one will be worth every penny. (Blu-Ray 3D/Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital)
Dec 6 – Elena of Avalor: Ready to Rule – No special features listed for this release and only available on DVD, but for young children who love the Disney Princesses – that is no big deal. For any Elena fans, this will be a must-have video since it comes with a toy projecting scepter! Contains four full episodes of the show. (DVD)
Dec 6 – The BFG – BTS – Surprisingly short on some special features normally shown with a big screen feature like this one, The BFG does not have deleted scenes or even an audio commentary. But it does have other behind-the-scenes features about the giants and about the language created for the film. But perhaps the feature I’m most looking forward to is titled “The Big Friendly Giant and Me” which chronicles the friendship between The BFG and the little boy who had been part of his world before. (Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital)
Dec 6 – LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures – BTS – Light on features, it does contain two bonus segments that seem fun. “Meet the Freemaker Family” introduces the characters and their voice actors with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage and “Freemaker Salvage and Repair” takes you on a tour of the Freemaker family facilities. Most of all though, this is a fun and funny romp through the Star Wars universe as only LEGO can do it. Oh, and don’t forget the cool magnets. (Blu-Ray/DVD)
Which of these are you planning to get?
Disney Nerds 