[MouseMan]

Well, like a lot of you folks out there, I was under the impression that the release of the extra special collector's edition of "Lilo & Stitch" (the one with the directors' commentaries along with the infamous "Jet flying through downtown Honolulu" sequence that was cut from the picture after 9/11) would be released to stores sometime late next month. A couple of times, I've even heard a specific release date being mentioned for the deluxe "Lilo & Stitch" DVD ... which was Tuesday, January 28th.

So imagine my surprise earlier this week when I received an e-mail from someone who works deep inside the Mouse House who insists that Michael Eisner himself earlier this year pulled the plug on the 2-disc deluxe collector's edition of "Lilo & Stitch." And worse than that, the Walt Disney Company is supposedly toying with completely abandoning the 2-disc collector's edition format for all of its future animated titles.

Why for? Well, here's a real surprise: These proposed cutbacks of any additional features to be included in future animated releases from Buena Vista Home Entertainment are coming because the Mouse is trying once again to economize. According to Disney's own market research, only 8% of the DVD buyers out there are interested in adult-aimed features (I.E. Extras such as directors' commentaries, character design galleries, deleted scenes, etc. ) on their discs. The other 92% of DVD buyers are kids and parents who just want the movie. Who are perfectly happy with a DVD that just shows the film and nothing more.

Disney's cost savings -- should Buena Vista Home Entertainment actually opt to go forward with adopting just the single disc format for all the future DVD releases of the company's animated classics -- could be considerable. Reportedly saving the company as much as $7 million in worldwide production costs per title.

But what about the cost to all us animation fans? My heart actually aches when I think about all the great stuff that was supposedly deliberately left off of the plain Jane version of the "Lilo & Stitch" DVD that hit store shelves earlier this week. Almost 75% of the additional features that had been created specifically for "Lilo"'s DVD release ended up on the cutting room floor. Cool extras like:

- a 20 minute tour of the Florida animation studio (led by "Lilo & Stitch" directors
Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois)

- 7 long deleted scenes from the film, including one with Stitch's gang (from an
abandoned plotline of the film) as well as the infamous 747 rescue scene that was
cut after 9/11

- full galleries with watercolor backgrounds, storyboards, art layouts, etc.

- a 45 minute long "On Location with the Directors" featurette.

Plus the now obligatory director's commentary. From all accounts, the deluxe collector's edition 2-disc DVD of "Lilo & Stitch" would have been absolutely killer. But -- in spite of the fact that Buena Vista Home Entertainment has had the master tapes for all these extras in hand since May 2002, a full month before "Lilo & Stitch" actually rolled into theaters -- it now seems unlikely that much of this great archival material (which had deliberately been created for the deluxe "Stitch" DVD) will ever see the light of day.

Which begs the question: What's the deal with the limited number of extras that actually DID end up on the single disc version of "Lilo & Stitch"? Well, as it turns out, those features were actually culled from the master tapes for the 2-disc set. And these extras were deliberately picked for their kid-friendly-ness. (Which explains that A*Teens "I Can't Help Falling in Love" music video as well as the hula lesson.)

Would a public outcry on this subject ultimately help get the deluxe 2-disc collector's edition of "Lilo & Stitch" released? To be honest, I'm not sure. Over the past few years, the Walt Disney Company has obviously made making a profit a higher corporate priority than pleasing its customers. Besides, if 92% of all potential Disney DVD buyers seem perfectly happy with buying a single disc version of one of the company's classic animated films that has limited additional features, then what's the point of busting your butt to try and please that whiny, bitchy, hard-to-please other 8%?

Still, once this news gets out about this, I would imagine that the Walt Disney Company is going to be looking for some sort of graceful way out of this extremely awkward situation. Some way that they can appease all of those angry Disney DVD buyers who only collect the deluxe 2-disc DVD version of the corporation's animated films. Who are now furious that Disney deliberately turned their back on them (and the 2-disc format).

May I suggest (as a face saving gesture for the Mouse): In mid-2003, Buena Vista Home Entertainment will be rolling out a direct-to-video follow-up to "Lilo & Stitch" called "Stitch! The Movie." This video and DVD release is - of course - really just a tease for the REAL money maker, which is: "Stitch! The Animated Series, " the daily cartoon show that Walt Disney Television Animation will debuting in the Fall of 2003.

So rather than admit that they screwed up and that they never intended to release a 2-disc version of "Lilo & Stitch," wouldn't it be smart of the folks from Buena Vista Home Entertainment to now say that they were holding the deluxe collectors edition of this film back 'til the late Summer / early Fall of 2003? So they'd have another title that they could use to help promote "Stitch! The Animated Series"?

But to deliberately NOT go forward with releasing the deluxe 2-disc set of "Lilo & Stitch" -- particularly after all the hours and artistry that Disney staffers have already poured into this project -- just to save a couple of bucks. That would be (there's just no other way to describe this, folks) a stupid waste.

And isn't it high time that the Walt Disney Company stopped being so wasteful and/or stupid in the way it manages its assets?
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Jim Hill Media