Disney Plus To Start Nov 12

[Scott Eckhardt]

How many cord cutters are going to give Disney Plus a try? At $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year, the pricing IS attractive and the programming is going to be commercial-free. I've decided to spend the 70 bucks and try it for one year. They are planning to schedule some of the Fox titles I thought were disappearing, and what they don't schedule I probably have on disc.

[Bert Greene]

I've just not been inclined to dabble in streaming/digital, and it would take a pretty major incentive for me to finally give it a go. To date, I've kept my television and my internet connections totally separate. Disney would have to really dig deep into the Fox vaults to grab my attention. I'd want to see nifty B-films like "Dangerously Yours" (1937), "One Mile from Heaven" (1937), maybe the entirety of the Jones Family films, along with those great George O'Brien westerns of the early-1930s. Ditto the Elissa Landi titles from the same period, along with those isolated but fun oddities like "Face in the Sky" (1932) or "Zoo in Budapest" (1933), a longtime fave. Then what about some of those ostensibly surviving Fox silents, like "The Country Beyond" (1926), "High School Hero" (1927), "Whispering Wires" (1926), etc., etc.?

Eh, I just don't expect any of these services to really provide the things that would be of interest to me. Hope I'm eventually proven wrong, but until then, I just tend to shrug at all these announcements.

[Scott Eckhardt]

It's not just the Fox titles that interest me. The channel is planning a lot of stuff from National Geographic, and that kind of stuff interests me too. Your comments on all the vintage Fox stuff you would like to see reminds me of when I had Warner Archive Instant a few years ago. This was a really great way for me to see a lot of the stuff that ran on TCM as I didn't, (and still don't have) cable. During the year or so I had it, I watched about 300 films (I kept a log of what I watched). I also saw a lot of vintage TV shows and the James A Fitzpatrick travelouges that they carried. It's funny that neither of us has mentioned a great desire to see stuff from the Disney library itself. I bought this for one year since I feel the price is cheap enough. There are some Disney titles (OLD YELLER, BIG RED, some others) that I haven't seen since I was a kid, and, if they're up on the channel, I might give them a look.

[Mike Gebert]

Where do you see what the content will be? I plan to either subscribe for the great older content, or not do so because of the lack of great older content, and send a letter either way.

[Scott Eckhardt]

If you go to the page where the subscriptions are taken, it gives you an overview of what will be carried on the service. They have a rudimentary listing of what will be carried on the service, but I believe these will be added to at some point. The first week is a free trial, so you could sign up for either the monthly or annual service, cancel before the first week is up, and not be out any money. It was the attractive pricing that led me to sign up for it. I figure I spend quite a bit on blu rays and dvds as it is, so why not pop for a year of this? I'm sure I will be able to find enough stuff from what I've seen to make it worth my while.

[Brooksie]

There are a lot of lists circulating informally on other websites, though most of them focus on the Disney content. This one lists the Fox content at the time of launch. It's hardly a list that would make you sign up on the spot.

[Scott Eckhardt]

These are initial lists. They will probably be added to in time. As I said, there are things other than Fox properties that I may be interested in. The bottom line is, you can sign up and if you don't like what you see within a week, you can cancel with no money spent. I'm not expecting to see SUNRISE or SUNNY SIDE UP on their list, but then again, I have disc copies of these and many other older Fox titles.

[bigshot]

Criterion's streaming channel is more interesting than this. I can't see this being a Netflix killer, but I don't have a lot of interest in Million Dollar Duck and Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo.

[Mike Gebert]

Not having Disney-age kids any more, I'll wait till they have Zoo in Budapest and Transatlantic in their offerings. Or at least PB&J Otter, but Disney may be run by Snooty Poodles now.

[buskeat]

I'm getting the service for free because I'm a Verizon subscriber, and taking a brief look at what it has to offer, it seems to fit the current line of thinking that anything before 2010 is old. A few interesting films here and there, but based on Disney's actions so far, it sure seems like they bought Fox so they can produce remakes and bury mostly everything else in a vault, never to be seen again.

[Scott Eckhardt]

Well, the service does not have too many films that the average Nitratevillian will care for. I do like tne National Geographic content as I don't have cable. I may watch a few things on that then cancel before my free week's trial is up. I suppose that with this service, the Disney features that hit the theaters like the new LION KING will only stream on their channel and not others like Amazon Plus.

[silentfilm]

And Disney+ crashed on its first day of service...

https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/12/media/di ... index.html

[Scott Eckhardt]

I didn't have any problem signing in or accessing content, but there's not much beyond the National Geographic stuff that appeals to me. I've already cancelled the service, but I'll still get the balance of my free trial for a week and I haven't been charged anything. I'll see how many Geographic shows I can see for the balance.

[Paul Penna]

A friend who gets his blood boiling over such stuff complained about the "skip into" overlay and the final credit shrinking.

[Scott Eckhardt]

I noticed the "skip intro" on the one show I watched. I ignored it. I don't much like "credit shrinking," but it's not a deal breaker. I guess I was seduced by the hype and the pricing. ( I've bought items on Home Shopping Network that turned out to be junk, so I guess I'm easily swayed by good advertising. My New Year's resolution will be to resist such advertising.)

[silentfilm]

More complaints about Disney+. On top is Steamboat Willie (1928) from the Disney Treasures box set from 2002. On the bottom is a capture from Disney+. The new version is obviously cleaned up to remove dirt, but darker and with less detail. (From Devin Baxter)




And this episode of The Simpsons is in the wrong aspect ratio, spoiling the gag. (From Sam Constantino)

[oldposterho]

Film/TV fans are in a strange place. I remember when my particular peeve was having wide screen films chopped to fit the 4:3 screen, now we have 4:3 shows cropped to wide screen.

Ya just can't win...

[wich2]

I noticed the "skip intro" on the one show I watched. I ignored it. I don't much like "credit shrinking," but it's not a deal breaker.

I guess I'm old-school, but I believe that folks should be (legibly!) credited for their work.

As a member of the Unions, I wish SAG and AFTRA had dug in their heels about this insidious habit when it first reared its ugly head years ago...

- Craig

[Scott Eckhardt]

Credits have not really been readable since the 1980s when credit sequences were shortened and sped up. I had my name added to a credit sequence as a contributor to an internet show under the "special thanks" category along with about 20 other people on the credit panel. I had to freeze the picture about 10 times to see it before it flashed by in a millisecond. One of the reasons I like ME-TV is the fact that they run the credit sequences on all their vintage series complete and intact, without even a voice over on the theme music.

[boblipton]

It took only a week for hackers to break Disney+ security and put the account information up for sale on the Dark Net.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/thousands ... ng-forums/

Bob

[maliejandra]

We signed up for Disney + because they took some of my son's favorites, like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, off our on demand on cable and put it there. We've been watching the classic animated features. This week was The Little Mermaid (and now he wants me to be Ursula and chase him around the house).

I was disappointed at how few 60s Disney live-action classics were there. They have the titles everyone knows but not many of the lesser-known films. As far as animation goes, they have some classic shorts that I intend to show the boys.

The choice to subscribe was 100% influenced by the fact that I have small kids. If I didn't, we wouldn't have signed up.

[Scott Eckhardt]

If you have kids that are Disney fans, this is fine. I was looking to see some of the older live action films too. My week's free trial is up, and it's gone and forgotten.

[Mike Gebert]

Being at my brother-in-law's house, where they have Disney Plus, I checked it out a bit the other night. I know some have complained about the quality of the edition of Steamboat Willie on there, but on the other hand, The Band Concert looked absolutely terrific. Treasure Island, on the other hand, had the saturation turned up too high, leaving everyone looking like a boiled lobster.

The lineup of Disney classics is nice... but honestly, I bought most of them on DVD when my kids were small, and I feel like I'd run through them all in a few months. If I still had little kids, I'd want to have some of the shows mine knew back in the early 2000s, but no Rolie Polie Olie or PB&J Otter to be had. In short, I think it has a certain niche audience of parents and/or people who watch Marvel titles over and over, but I really don't see it as being competitive with Amazon or Netflix for the adult viewer, even if it has a number of top draw titles for most people.

[Battra92]

The lineup of Disney classics is nice... but honestly, I bought most of them on DVD when my kids were small, and I feel like I'd run through them all in a few months. If I still had little kids, I'd want to have some of the shows mine knew back in the early 2000s, but no Rolie Polie Olie or PB&J Otter to be had. In short, I think it has a certain niche audience of parents and/or people who watch Marvel titles over and over, but I really don't see it as being competitive with Amazon or Netflix for the adult viewer, even if it has a number of top draw titles for most people.

Yeah, I really don't get who this is supposed to cater to. I have plenty of friends in their 30s and they were gushing about being able to watch Tale Spin or Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers again was so amazing. I guess I can understand the appeal but my Ducktales DVDs purchased over a decade ago just collect dust on the shelf. Of course a couple of these people are all "Must see the new Star Wars product!!" Which ya know, just never was my thing. Some people I know are all "Sign me up for a Star Wars subscription!!"



I have a young daughter and we already have BDs or DVDs of the animated films. The Treasures Sets are still some of my favorite discs and I ended up ripping the discs so I can watch them on my Firestick streaming from my NAS. For streaming we watch much more on Amazon of all places. Some of their original kids' shows are pretty good.

Sadly not even Disney+ has The Gnome Mobile streaming.

[s.w.a.c.]

Sadly not even Disney+ has The Gnome Mobile streaming.

I'm curious how deep into the catalogue the service intends to go, and which of their live-action films of yore tend to be more popular. You'd think if they have Darby O'Gill & the Little People up there, they'd have The Gnome Mobile as well. But what about weirdo titles like The North Avenue Irregulars or Never a Dull Moment, which I can't imagine appealing to audiences young or adult, then or now.

[Battra92]

Sadly not even Disney+ has The Gnome Mobile streaming.

I'm curious how deep into the catalogue the service intends to go, and which of their live-action films of yore tend to be more popular. You'd think if they have Darby O'Gill & the Little People up there, they'd have The Gnome Mobile as well. But what about weirdo titles like The North Avenue Irregulars or Never a Dull Moment, which I can't imagine appealing to audiences young or adult, then or now.

The North Avenue Irregulars is probably the best example of an ephemeral film. It was probably relevant for a couple weeks when it came out. I remember seeing it on The Disney Channel as a kid and it was pretty awful and I was the kind of kid who enjoyed watching Merlin Jones or its sequel, The Monkey's Uncle.

[cinefan]

Sadly not even Disney+ has The Gnome Mobile streaming.

I'm curious how deep into the catalogue the service intends to go, and which of their live-action films of yore tend to be more popular. You'd think if they have Darby O'Gill & the Little People up there, they'd have The Gnome Mobile as well. But what about weirdo titles like The North Avenue Irregulars or Never a Dull Moment, which I can't imagine appealing to audiences young or adult, then or now.

The North Avenue Irregulars is probably the best example of an ephemeral film. It was probably relevant for a couple weeks when it came out. I remember seeing it on The Disney Channel as a kid and it was pretty awful and I was the kind of kid who enjoyed watching Merlin Jones or its sequel, The Monkey's Uncle.

The North Avenue Irregulars is still sitting unwatched on my DVR from a relatively recent TCM airing. I've never seen it. I recorded it because I saw Barbara Harris was in it. Barbara Harris and Patsy Kelly! How bad can it be? (Don't tell me).

[s.w.a.c.]

I'm curious how deep into the catalogue the service intends to go, and which of their live-action films of yore tend to be more popular. You'd think if they have Darby O'Gill & the Little People up there, they'd have The Gnome Mobile as well. But what about weirdo titles like The North Avenue Irregulars or Never a Dull Moment, which I can't imagine appealing to audiences young or adult, then or now.

The North Avenue Irregulars is probably the best example of an ephemeral film. It was probably relevant for a couple weeks when it came out. I remember seeing it on The Disney Channel as a kid and it was pretty awful and I was the kind of kid who enjoyed watching Merlin Jones or its sequel, The Monkey's Uncle.

The North Avenue Irregulars is still sitting unwatched on my DVR from a relatively recent TCM airing. I've never seen it. I recorded it because I saw Barbara Harris was in it. Barbara Harris and Patsy Kelly! How bad can it be? (Don't tell me).

It's not good, but unsurprisingly Harris is the best thing in it. I'm sure there must be one or 1 1/2 Edward Herrmann completeists out there. Come for the Ruth Buzzi, stay for the Carl Ballantine. I mean, with that kind of cast, how could I *not* watch it.

[cinefan]

The North Avenue Irregulars is probably the best example of an ephemeral film. It was probably relevant for a couple weeks when it came out. I remember seeing it on The Disney Channel as a kid and it was pretty awful and I was the kind of kid who enjoyed watching Merlin Jones or its sequel, The Monkey's Uncle.

The North Avenue Irregulars is still sitting unwatched on my DVR from a relatively recent TCM airing. I've never seen it. I recorded it because I saw Barbara Harris was in it. Barbara Harris and Patsy Kelly! How bad can it be? (Don't tell me).

It's not good, but unsurprisingly Harris is the best thing in it. I'm sure there must be one or 1 1/2 Edward Herrmann completeists out there. Come for the Ruth Buzzi, stay for the Carl Ballantine. I mean, with that kind of cast, how could I *not* watch it.

Well I finally watched it this evening. My expectations were sufficiently lowered that I enjoyed it well enough just for the opportunity to see all the great players (including Melora Hardin recognizable as a child -- so good as Jan in The Office). The whole thing is shot and lit like an episode of Love American Style or something. And pretty much altogether pitched at that level too, despite a weird shift in tone or two (a church bombing? really?). To come back to the thread topic though, this is just the kind of oddball vault title that would increase my interest in Disney+ -- and they could probably increase their subscriber base by 0.0000001% by worrying about appealing to folks like me.

[Battra92]

I'm sure there must be one or 1 1/2 Edward Herrmann completeists out there.

Speaking of, I miss him narrating History Channel documentaries. He found a nice little niche at the end of his life.