| Type | Subsidiary of Walt Disney Studio Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1978 |
| Headquarters | Burbank, California, U.S. |
| Products | Home video |
| Revenue | Disney DVD |
| Owner(s) | The Walt Disney Company |
| Parent | Walt Disney Studio Entertainment |
| Website | disneydvd.com |
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (former corporate name: Buena Vista Home Entertainment[1]) is the home video distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment also operates as Buena Vista Home Entertainment. Also, "Buena Vista" translated in Spanish is "Good View". Disney began distributing videos under its own label in 1978 under the name Walt Disney Home Entertainment, while Village Roadshow distributed the Disney home video titles in Australia throughout the 1980s, even in the UK, BBC Video / The Video Collection and Rank Video distributed the Walt Disney Home Video library throughout the 1980s.
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The company distributes DVDs under the labels Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, Touchstone Home Entertainment, and Hollywood Pictures Home Entertainment. With the advent of DVD and eventually Blu-ray, "Home Entertainment" replaced "Home Video" in label names.
Before Disney began releasing home video titles itself, it licensed some titles to MCA Discovision for their newly-developed disc format, later called Laserdisc. According to the Blam Entertainment Group website,[2] which has extensive details of DiscoVision releases, only seven Disney titles were actually released on DiscoVision. One of these was the feature film Kidnapped. The others were compilations of Disney shorts. The first titles released in 1978 included: On Vacation with Mickey Mouse and Friends (#D61-503), Kids is Kids (#D61-504), At Home with Donald Duck (#D61-505), Adventures of Chip 'n' Dale (#D61-506), and finally The Coyote's Lament (#D61-507) which was released in May 1979. Disney's agreement with MCA ended in December 1981.[3]
In 1980, Disney established its own video distribution operation as part of Walt Disney Telecommunications and Non-Theatrical Company (WDTNT) with Jim Jimirro as its first president.[4] Home video was not considered to be a major market by Disney at the time. WDTNT also handled the marketing of other miscellaneous ancillary items such as short 8 mm films for home use.
Disney's first releases on tape were 13 titles that were licensed for rental to Fotomat on March 4, 1980,[5] initially in a four-city test (Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, and San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose), to be expanded nationwide by the end of 1980. The agreement specified rental fees ranging from $7.95 to $13.95. This first batch of titles on VHS and Beta included 10 live action movies: Pete's Dragon (#10), The Black Hole (#11), The Love Bug (#12), Escape to Witch Mountain (#13), Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (#14), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (#15), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (#16), The North Avenue Irregulars (#17), The Apple Dumpling Gang (#18), and Hot Lead and Cold Feet (#19); and three of the compilations of short cartoons previously released by DiscoVision: On Vacation with Mickey Mouse and Friends (#20), Kids is Kids starring Donald Duck (#21), and Adventures of Chip 'n' Dale (#22). Later, on December 30, 1980, Mary Poppins (#23) was added to make 14 titles in all.
No new titles were released for half a year after Mary Poppins, but Walt Disney Home Video announced an expanded program for "Authorized Rental Dealers" in December 1980, and began to expand its dealer network during the first part of 1981.[6] From January 1 to March 31, 1981, Disney had a "License One — Get One Free" promotion to encourage dealers to sign up. They also offered free rental use of a 7-minute Mickey Mouse Disco videocassette for customers who rented any title from an Authorized Rental Dealer from February through May 1981.
Disney was unusual among the major studios in offering a program for authorized rentals. Most of the other studios involved in the videocassette market at the time were trying to find ways to stop dealers from renting out their movie tapes. Magnetic Video (with titles from 20th Century Fox and others) ceased doing business with Fotomat after Fotomat began renting Magnetic Video cassettes without authorization.[7] Disney's rental cassettes in blue cases looked completely different from sale cassettes, which were in white cases. This was designed to make it easy for Disney representatives to tell if dealers were violating their dealer agreements by renting out cassettes intended for sale, and it continued until 1983 or 1984, when they stopped doing so.
The first of the Disney animated features canon to be released on videocassette was Dumbo on June 28, 1981,[8] for rental only. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was released for rental and sale at the same time. Alice in Wonderland was released on October 15, 1981, for rental only.[9] Disney films were so appealing to audiences and Walt claimed that he wanted the magic to be experienced at home on their TV and locally. Reissues were now and then every few years -about four times in a decade for classic confirmation and anniversary.
Their agreement with DiscoVision having ended in 1981, Disney began releasing Laserdiscs under the Walt Disney Home Video label to their own network of distributors and dealers. The first five titles were shipped in June 1982: The Black Hole, The Love Bug, Escape to Witch Mountain, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, and Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Cartoons, Collection One. Five more titles shipped in July: Pete's Dragon, Dumbo, Davy Crockett and the River Pirates, On Vacation With Mickey Mouse and Friends, The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, and Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck Cartoons, Collection Two.[3]
Disney released more cartoon compilations (pre-Walt Disney Cartoon Classics in 1983) in late 1981, including Goofy Over Sports and A Tale of Two Critters.
Dumbo was released for sale on tape in summer 1982, while Alice in Wonderland was released for sale in November 1982.[10] The next major animated feature to be released (excluding the "package" anthology features) was Robin Hood on December 6, 1984, starting the Walt Disney Classics collection. By 1982, all the video releases were for sale and rental, along with newer releases, but at high prices.
To market these new video releases, the company produced an exclusive promo seen after various Disney video films. The promo was nicknamed "Walt Disney and You" by fans on account of the customized tune in the promo. The promo also featured clips from the various releases and ended with a video-freeze of the then-current Walt Disney Home Video opening sequence (known as the "Neon Mickey"; a screenshot from this can be seen above).
July 16, 1985 saw the home video premiere of Pinocchio which became the bestselling video of that year.
Disney later produced the Disney Sing-Along Songs collection of videos for young children in association with Harry Arends and Phil Savenick. The series first hit stores on December 23, 1986.
Disney DVD is the brand name under which Buena Vista Home Entertainment releases its Disney-branded motion pictures. In 1997, Disney began releasing titles on DVD, with VHS releases phased out after Bambi II was released in 2006. The brand launched a loyalty program called Disney Movie Rewards in October 2006. Participants can collect points by submitting ticket stubs from Disney feature films, "magic codes" from Disney home video purchases and Disney CDs. The points can be redeemed for prizes like games, DVDs, books, posters, and collectibles.[11]
The Platinum Editions are a line of special edition DVDs released by Disney. Originally, the line comprised the company's ten best-selling VHS titles and was released in October of each year. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first film to receive this honor in 2001. The two following titles, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King were released in IMAX and other giant screen theaters during the holiday season before its October DVD release. Due to underperforming box office results, this tradition was terminated after Aladdin. In May 2003, Disney announced that they would be adding the next four best-selling titles to the collection. Starting in 2005, a Platinum Edition was released in October and February/March. Another tradition practiced for these released are gift sets. These gift sets contain supplements such as original animation sketches, a film frame, and a companion's book.
The current list of Platinum Editions includes: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Aladdin, Bambi, Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, The Little Mermaid, Peter Pan, The Jungle Book, 101 Dalmatians, Sleeping Beauty, and Pinocchio. The original plan for the Platinum Editions was that they would be released ten years after they are put in the Disney Vault. Since then, this time has been shortened to seven years.
Beginning with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in October 2009, Disney began re-issuing Platinum Edition titles under a new Diamond Edition classification on Blu-ray with an accompanying DVD several weeks later.[12] Disney plans to release all the Platinum Edition titles once again, except for Aladdin, which was initially going to be replaced by Fantasia and Fantasia 2000. However, these two films were released as special editions, and not part of the Diamond line.[13]
Disney Blu-ray is the brand name under which Buena Vista Home Entertainment releases its Disney-branded motion pictures in High-Definition. In late 2006/early 2007, Disney began releasing titles, like the Pirates of the Caribbean films, the National Treasure films and the first two Narnia films, on Blu-ray Disc.
On November 16, 2010, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment began releasing their first 3D Blu-ray discs, starting with A Christmas Carol.
A new feature that was included in the Bambi Diamond Blu-ray release on March 1, 2011,[14] "Disney Second Screen" is a feature accessible via a computer or iPad app download that provides additional content as the user views the film.[15] Disney Second Screen syncs along with the movie, and as the film plays, interactive elements such as trivia, photo galleries, and animated flipbooks appear on the iPad or computer screen.[16] As of December 10, 2010, it is scheduled to be available in the United States and English-speaking Canada.[17]
The brand name first used by Walt Disney Home Video on their American home video releases of Disney animated features was Walt Disney Classics. The first title arrived in stores on December 6, 1984. With the October 28, 1994 release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the existing titles in the Classics series became part of the new Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection and the Classics line was retired. The Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection was released by Walt Disney Home Video from 1994 to 1999. It was followed by the Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection, which ran from 2000 to 2001. All Gold Classics titles were released on VHS and DVD formats except Toy Story, which was released on VHS only. Starting in October 2001, the Platinum Editions are a line of DVDs and Blu-ray Discs released by Walt Disney Home Entertainment. The series features restored digital versions of several of the most popular Disney animated features.[18]
Following are the movies that have been released in the various collections, with the original release date in each category:
| Movie Title | Classics | Home Video | Masterpiece | Gold | Platinum | Diamond | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101 Dalmatians | April 1992 | March 1999 | March 2008 | ||||
| A Bug's Life | April 1999 | August 2000 | |||||
| A Goofy Movie | September 1995 | June 2000 | |||||
| Aladdin | October 1993 | October 2004 | 2012 | ||||
| Alice in Wonderland | May 1986 | October 1981 | October 1994 | July 2000 | February 2011 | ||
| Bambi | September 1989 | February 1997 | March 2005 | March 2011 | |||
| Beauty and the Beast | October 1992 | October 2002 | October 5, 2010[19] | ||||
| Bedknobs and Broomsticks | October 1980 | October 1994 | March 2001 | ||||
| Cinderella | October 1988 | October 1995 | October 2005 | Fall 2012 | |||
| Dumbo | December 1985 | March 1981 | October 1994 | September 2011 | |||
| Fantasia | November 1991 | November 2010 | |||||
| Fantasia 2000 | November 2000 | November 2010 | |||||
| Fun and Fancy Free | November 1982 | July 1997 | June 2000 | ||||
| Hercules | February 1998 | August 2000 | |||||
| Lady and the Tramp | October 1987 | September 1998 | February 2006 | February 2012 | |||
| Make Mine Music | June 2000 | ||||||
| Mary Poppins | December 1980 | October 1994 | July 2000 | ||||
| Melody Time | June 1998 | June 2000 | |||||
| Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas | December 1999 | November 2000 | |||||
| Mulan | February 1999 | February 2000 | |||||
| Oliver & Company | September 1996 | ||||||
| Peter Pan | September 1990 | March 1998 | March 2007 | ||||
| Pete's Dragon | October 1980 | October 1994 | January 2001 | ||||
| Pinocchio | July 1985 | March 2000 | March 2009 | ||||
| Pocahontas | February 1996 | June 2000 | |||||
| Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World | August 1998 | September 2000 | |||||
| Robin Hood | December 1984 | October 1994 | July 2000 | ||||
| Saludos Amigos | May 2000 | ||||||
| Sleeping Beauty | October 1986 | September 1997 | October 2008 | ||||
| Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | October 1994 | October 2001 | October 2009 | ||||
| So Dear to My Heart | June 1986 | October 1994 | |||||
| The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad | May 1999 | October 2000 | |||||
| The Aristocats | April 1996 | April 2000 | |||||
| The Black Cauldron | August 1998 | October 2000 | |||||
| The Fox and the Hound | March 1994 | May 2000 | August 2011 | ||||
| The Great Mouse Detective | July 1992 | ||||||
| The Hunchback of Notre Dame | March 1997 | ||||||
| The Jungle Book | May 1991 | October 1997 | October 2007 | ||||
| The Lion King | March 1995 | October 2003 | October 2011 | ||||
| The Little Mermaid | May 1990 | March 1998 | October 2006 | ||||
| The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh | June 1981 | March 1996 | |||||
| The Rescuers | September 18, 1992 | January 1999 | |||||
| The Rescuers Down Under | September 1991 | August 2000 | |||||
| The Sword in the Stone | March 1986 | October 1994 | March 2001 | ||||
| The Three Caballeros | November 1982 | October 1994 | May 2000 | ||||
| Toy Story | October 1996 | January 2000 |