The Disney Vault: News

The Disney vault, a virtual archiving of classic and/or memorable Walt Disney Co. productions over the many decades, will reportedly send a few key programs back to the vault come the beginning of the 2007-year. While many animation enthusiasts are hoping to acquire these animated productions--many of them timeless, such as the recent commemorative release of The Little Mermaid (1989) having sold more than a record 4 million units to date--others would be quick to note that while Disney is always attempting to market titles as remastered or revitalized from their long, vault slumber, the company is also just as eager to place the product back in the vault for several more years. Meanwhile, according to a press article published some weeks back, a few Disney classics are going back into the vault--meaning that their availability on DVD as special editions, will significantly decline.

The Disney vault, the process by which the company withholds a project from domestic release for a predetermined amount of time, has recently declared that four Disney titles will be sent back to the vault on January 31st 2007. The four films include:

Bambi (1942) -- Special Edition
Lady and the Tramp (1955) -- 50th Anniversary Edition
Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure (2000)
The Chronicles of Narnia (2005) -- Extended Edition (10/12/2006).

For those currently unaware, the Disney vault is not a physical vault but rather a protocol that the company has instituted with regards to the production and release of domestic copies (DVD, VHS) of various [often theatrical] presentations.

When a film is placed in the vault, for example, all domestic DVD/VHS production on that project ceases, effectively making that version/release of the title in question scarce. The purpose of the vault is to give extra value to copy of which the collectors or enthusiasts of the medium have come into possession. The film is then essentially like a book out of print. The time a project spends in the vault, awaiting a glorious re-release is dependent upon when the film was initially released according to some; while others speculate that a standard 10-year waiting period is also possible.

Walt Disney Home Entertainment has both delighted and annoyed some fans with its vault tactics. Delighted in that after waiting a cool decade, there are countless titles that the animation community would swiftly eat up a digitally remastered release of a key title, case/Ariel-in-point--effectively skyrocketing DVD sales. The downside to the Disney vault is that sincere historians, fans and especially parents are unable to find a suitable home video copy of the product to show to their children until the protocol calls for the film to go back to "print." While it is entirely possible to locate and purchase a copy via resale, there's never anything like an official release to sooth the animated soul. Animation enthusiasts are encouraged to support the classic titles (Bambi, Lady and the Tramp) so as to ensure that personal relatives and friends alike can share in the dynamic history of domestic feature film animation, for now, will not be forgotten.

Bambi: Life story of a fawn, Bambi, who grows up, with friends Thumper, a rabbit, and Flower, a skunk, to become the Great Prince of the Forest. Meanwhile he suffers the death of his mother at the hands of hunters, falls in love with Faline, and barely escapes a catastrophic forest fire. The film had been put into production while work on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was winding down. But the story of "Bambi" was different from anything the Studio had ever attempted. It was more serious, and all the characters were animals.

In striving for realism, the artists heard lectures from animal experts, made field trips to the Los Angeles Zoo, watched specially filmed nature footage shot in the forests of Maine, and even studied the movements of two fawns that were donated to the Studio. The meticulous work was time-consuming; even taking care to see that the spots on the fawn's back remained constant meant fewer drawings could be finished in a day.

Lady and the Tramp: Lady, a young cocker spaniel from a respectable home, falls in love with Tramp, a mutt who lives in the railroad yards. They enjoy several outings together, including a memorable spaghetti dinner by moonlight at Tony's, but their relationship is strained not only by Lady's loyalty to her human family and their newborn baby, but by Tramp's devil-may-care attitude that at one point gets Lady thrown in the dog pound. Tramp redeems himself by saving the baby from a rat and thereby wins Lady's love and the affection of her human family.

Lady and the Tramp II: Former stray dog Tramp has happily settled into upper class cocker spaniel Lady's New England household. The pair has four puppies together, including the restless young Scamp. Scamp hankers for life outside the cozy confines of his home, and one day escapes into the world to experience life as a stray. Quickly joining a pack run by junkyard dog Buster, Scamp meets young puppy Angel. As they roam the streets together, Scamp and Angel begin to find romance in each other's company.

Chronicles of Narnia: Four young adventurers playing hide-and-seek in the country home of an old professor stumble upon an enchanted wardrobe that will take them places they never dreamed. Stepping through the wardrobe door, they are whisked out of World War II London into the spectacular parallel universe known as Narnia--a fairy-tale realm of magical proportions where woodland animals talk and mythological creatures roam the hills. But Narnia has fallen under the icy spell of a mad sorceress, cursed to suffer through a winter that never ends by the White Witch Jadis. Now, aided by Narnia's rightful leader, the wise and mystical lion Aslan, the four Pevensie children will discover their own strength and lead Narnia into a spectacular battle to be free of the Witch's glacial enslavement forever.