Why doesn't Criterion release animation?
 

Why doesn't Criterion release any animation? I understand that they used to, during the LD days. (I believe Akira was a CC release.) So why don't they now?

my guess would be it is a rights issue. The dont have the copyright and companies are making enough money releasing their own animation.

They could have released Alegro non tropo but they passed it over to HVE instead. I don't know why, it was the perfect opportunity to get some animation in the collection.

It sure would be nice if they could get together with Disney and release Song of the South. That way they could price it high enough for the collectors and Disney might be able to dodge some negative feedback from consumers. I know it'll never happen, but I can dream.

I would cut off a finger for a Plague Dogs: Criterion Edition.

I wouldn't mind Fantastic Planet: Criterion Collection

Well, it's not like Criterion has the pick of the litter when it comes to what films they can release on DVD. They have to be able to procure the rights, and what with DVDs being the belly-bustin' big business they are, major studios aren't exactly ready to share the revenue with some niche boutique outfit, no matter how much quality work they do.

And they do.

Believe you me, Criterion got mainstream fare like Armageddon in 1999, but they would never be able to get it today.

But just imagine if Disney had let the distribution rights to the Studio Ghibli films laspe... and Hayao Miyazaki and Peter Becker met for martinis later that same day.....
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I think I just wet 'em!

That's not *neccessarily* true ... Criterion was only able to get 'Armageddon' (and 'The Rock') because Michael Bay *loved* Criterion and made the deal happen ... same thing with Wes Anderson and 'Tenenbaums' (may not seem as mainstream, sure, but it *was* Disney, through one of their other labels) ... and I still think Bay could make it happen again, if he were so inclined.

I doubt it. Otherwise, that massive Pearl Harbor special edition would have been another CC title (and despite the crapitudinous nature of the movie, CC would have gladly taken it), instead of a Vista Series release from Disney.

Also Royal Tenenbaums, while a small hit for Disney, was not exactly a "sell-thru" title. I'm sure it was easy for Disney to allow it to go to Criterion. That having been said, if Anderson's upcoming The Life Aquatic turns out to be a HUGE SMASH, I can guarantee you that Criterion won't be able to get within 150 yards of the film.
Roy?

Love to see (semi-animated) Pink Floyd The Wall on CC.

I wonder has it got to do with the buyers of Criterion discs? Criterion's obviously thinking of the consumers when they do their discs. You don't see too many family movies at all, let alone animated films. When it gets to animated flms for older audiences, the good ones are usually cult films in their own right with their own releases.

I suppose you could argue that some of by Brakhage is animated... as well as that Beastie Boys video...

Why? The DVD out now isn't bad at all.

Is the story by Watership Down's Richard Adams?

If so, I think I would also be interested.

Yeah its such a good movie. The NTSC VHS copy I have though is cut and full frame. I would love to hear a commentary by Adams.

Criterion should release some Jan Svankmajer stuff. His animated stuff would make for the perfect foray into animation for Criterion.

Grave of the Fireflies should have been a Criterion.

The way Disney is being run right now, don't be surprised if that does happen.....

The last couple Pixar movies were a little light on extras. Maybe Criterion could pick up the ball :)

I would love to see Criterion do Clutch Cargo.

How about "Criterion presents Beavis and Butthead"?

I think Ralph Bakshi's "Wizards" had Criterion written all over it.

Rock N Rule: Criterion Collection

If only...

It would be cool if Criterion releases some classic anime :)

How about Criterions Complete Popeye Collection?

Have been more than happy with what i've seen from Image in relation to Svankmajer's work.....what i would dearly love to see from Criterion is a continuation in showcasing the work of Stan Brakhage.

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P...2.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Anchor Bay released it in England - sadly, cut and full-frame (though whether or not that was the OAR is still debatable). They do not own the rights to it in North America.

I wonder who does own the rights?

I would love a Criterion Twice Upon a Time, though with George Lucas as producer, I doubt that would happen.

I'd love multiple commentary tracks with the voice cast (though it would sadly lack Lorenzo Music) and director/screenwriters, not to mention both PG and PG-13 sountracks.

If nothing else, this movie is dying for a widescreen presentation and 5.1 sound.

I would buy a set containing the works of René Laloux.

with there only being a handful of episodes, why not:

MTV's The Maxx: Criterion Collection

Actually, it's almost a certainty that Criterion will be releasing The Life Aquatic.

I wouldn't be going too far out on a limb to say that Wes Anderson might have something in his contract that allows Criterion the first right of refusal.

The Royal Tenenbaums Criterion DVD was being worked on during the shooting of the actual movie. This is evident by the Easter Egg on the disc, where Ben Stiller (in character) introduces the Criterion Collection disc -- something that was clearly shot during production of the film.

A lot of what Criterion puts out has to do with the rights they are able to get, some to do with the studios/filmmakers they approach -- but I have heard they are actually pretty open to discussing works that a filmmaker approaches them with themselves. As mentioned earlier; that's how The Rock and Armageddon ended up in the Collection.

But back to the original topic; it was mentioned that CC are definitely open to important animated works -- but it comes down to rights and finding the appropriate films.

Oh man The Max: CC would be sweet :hump:

One of my favorite Image comics of all time.

I've been requesting The Plague Dogs from Criterion for almost ten years now.

I'll give that an amen. I grew up with the dubbed Gandahar, and I still can't get over the odd quirks of the animation. It and the other films may not be so great as films (Fantastic Planet was, IMO, was more of a fascinating illustration of a story than a complete story in itself), the animation in each is uniquely fascinating. Its too bad René Laloux died this past March...I can only hope that this relative unknown left some sort of personal account of his few films, and that Criterion (or someone else who delights in lengthy audio and text extras) can dig into such a cache.

I would like to see a Criterion edition of Starewicz' The Tale of the Fox, myself. Easily the greatest achievement in stop motion animation. I'll forever mourn the fact that the majority of our children will be growing up on today's CGI tripe, and not truly magical little gems like this.

I wish Criterion could release Disney films in a more "adult" way, meaning that there would be commentaries, more making ofs, and more information on the impact that the films made.

I would buy every single one of them.

:thumbsup: