awmurray

I saw the Bambi II case yesterday and noticed that one of the features was Family Friendly 1.78:1 Widescreen.

I hope this isn't evidence that 1.78:1 is becoming the "new fullscreen" ala the whole Lord of War debacle.

The 1.85:1 modified to 1.78:1 isn't a problem (IMO), but hopefully we don't start getting a bunch of "family friendly" 2.35:1 -> 1.78:1 crops.

Morf

So long as I can still buy the original/theatrical format of a film, I don't give two flying fucks if they release 0.5:1 formats for those that want it.

PixyJunket

I'd imagine it's the original or close to it (1.85:1). The term is just a marketing gimmick.

Drexl

Yeah, considering it was DTV, it was probably composed for 1.78:1 in the first place.

MEJHarrison

My guess is 1.78:1 is the OAR. I don't see a problem here. And given the situation, I think creating this at 1.78:1 makes sense.

awmurray

Oh, I agree it is almost 100% certain to be OAR.

I just think the terminology "Family-Friendly Widescreen (1.78:1) - Enhanced For 16x9 Televisions" is sort of scary considering what happened to LoR.

The way it is written implies 2.35:1 is not family friendly widescreen. And as long as they're available in OAR, I don't care either, Morf.

Eric D.

It has to be the OAR since it's direct to DVD. Why on Earth would they bother animating it one way and then never show that version. It makes no sense.

awmurray

I agree. That's why I said "almost 100% certain". Didn't want to be dogmatic on a point I have no sources for...

Joe Molotov

Disney's been using that term for a long time, usually on releases that are 1.66:1.

Dan Average

Yeah, and Brother Bear was actually released in two widescreen versions -- 2.35:1 OAR and a 1.78:1 "family friendly" AR. The terminology is bogus, but so long as we still get an OAR version I don't have a big problem with it.

emachine12

Original AR for Bambi II is 1.78:1 widescreen. It was direct to video. Nearly all DTV Disney titles are now 1.78:1 AR.

The artwork states its family friendly widescreen because on widescreen displays, there are no black bars. The same goes for Disney's 1.66:1 AR films that are enhanced for 16x9. They place the 1.66:1 frame inside a 1.85:1/1.78: window and thus not black bars on the top & bottom on a widescreen display. And thanks to overscanning, no black bars on the sides for the 1.66:1 stuff.

Egon's Ghost

Well, that's the thing, isn't it? As long as they're available. I hope Lord of War doesn't start a trend. With marketing disinformation like "Family Friendly Widescreen" (Barf, Puke, whatever), it doesn't bode well.

Black Bars Don't Support Family Values!!

Eric D.

Edit: Nevermind.

sparks

I never saw "Brother Bear" at the theater. The DVD had 3 veiwing options...1-Family-Friendly 1.66:1(the whole movie), 2-original theatrical AR 2.35:1(windowed boxed for first 24 minutes) then to 2.35:1 and 3-moose commentary.

Well, I also never saw "Home on the Range" either at the theater, but I watched it last night and it's 1.66:1 (my RPTV is calibrated for overscan, so I don't see the side bars) but during one song sequence, it goes to 2.35:1, then back to 1.66:1 after the song.

I wonder what the AR was at the theater???

MEJHarrison

Since that's not a new phrase with Disney, and since it's had little impact so far, I'm not really bothered by its use here. I know Kung-Fu and Lord of War got chopped with a few others perhaps, but I seriously doubt this phrase was the cause of that. I think studios are just dumb and guaging the reaction and sales data to see how to proceed.

Alan Smithee

How is that family-friendly? Does that somehow reduce the amount of sex and violence?

eau

WTF! You meant there is sex in BAMBI II?!

kar10

I'm guessing there will be a Bambi III "Family Friendly"

PatrickMcCart

1.78:1 is 1.85:1 with a few extra lines of resolution on the top and bottom.