Reader and Ghibli Freak Douglas West sent me an email today:
"I just watched Gauche the Cellist last night (thanks for the fansub torrents!) and the scene near the beginning where the orchestra is playing intense music and the conductor imagines they all get blown away in the storm while continuing to play reminded me A LOT of the Mickey Mouse short 'The Band Concert.' "
I have to admit, I've never considered this idea, but any opportunity to watch one of the classic Walt Disney cartoons works for me. Notice that I never get to watch cartoons like this on tv. Why does the Disney corporation lock away all of their works? This means of forced scarcity is cynical manipulation at its worst.
Free cartoons are a basic human right. End of story. Everyone, young and old, should have the chance to enjoy a classic like The Band Concert. Is this on DVD somewhere? Where is it? How do I find it? I haven't a clue. It's just like web design, really. You need to make it as easy as possible for visitors to find your content. And providing free access is key. Where would cartoons and animation be today if it weren't for tv? Every day after school, we kids would watch hours of free cartoons - Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry, Popeye, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Rocky & Bullwinkle, yadda yadda. Good times.
The craft of hand-drawn animation is like a good plant. It needs to be exposed in the sunlight to thrive. I say The Band Concert whups most CGI cartoons with one hand tied behind its back. Who's with me? I'll bet if kids could see this on tv every afternoon, they'd agree with me. And then they'd grow up to become animators. You see, this is really an investment.
6 comments:
Many of the classic Disney cartoons, such as "The Band Concert", are available through the Disney Treasures lines. (such as Mickey Mouse in Living Color, Mickey Mouse in Black and White or Silly Symphonies) Some are also included in other various compilation releases that they have had, or even as bonus features on other discs.
UltimateDisney reviews of each DVD would show you what each release had. Most are done in two volumes, same with Donald and Goofy etc.
I own two of the Walt Disney Treasures, Mickey Mouse in Living Color Volume 1 and 2. They have all of his short color cartoons, as well as Mickey and the Beanstalk, Prince and the Pauper and Mickey Christmas Carol. (the latter of which is a childhood favorite)
The Walt Disney Treasures line are very well done DVD's, some of the best that Disney put out.
Free cartoons are a basic human right. End of story. Everyone, young and old, should have the chance to enjoy a classic like The Band Concert. Is this on DVD somewhere? Where is it? How do I find it? I haven't a clue. It's just like web design, really. You need to make it as easy as possible for visitors to find your content. And providing free access is key. Where would cartoons and animation be today if it weren't for tv? Every day after school, we kids would watch hours of free cartoons - Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry, Popeye, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Rocky & Bullwinkle, yadda yadda. Good times.
I still miss the days when we had these classic gems on The Disney Channel in the 80's. Of course it wasn't free at the time and it was a burden for your parents to endure every month on their cable bill, but I felt it was worth every cent then.
As someone already mentioned, this was available on one of the Disney Treasures releases, though they were limited edition and many older volumes are out of print now. "The Band Concert" was available on Mickey Mouse in Living Color Vol. 1" I believe.
That's the thing that frustrates me. First Disney takes their classic cartoons off the air, then they force you to pay a premium for the DVD box sets (however fabulous they are, I've heard only the best), then they limit the production runs and lock everything away in their vaults.
It's no wonder Disney buried the Studio Ghibli films for years. They're doing it to their own creations. This is just cynical commercial extortion at its worst.
And the worst part is that this hurts Disney in the long run. If they want to make new Mickey Mouse cartoons, if they want a new Muppet movie, they will need a new fan base. But those kids have no idea what any of this stuff is, because they never were allowed to see it.
Free Cartoons Are a Basic Human Right. Put that on t-shirts. That goes double for The Muppets. This is how you build your customer base, with free content, not by burying it all under lock and key.
It's very simple, but it's Long Tail economics, and that runs counter to the mindless greed and stupidity of the old order.
Yeah, Disney and their whole "Vault" crap is very annoying. It's not a big deal with their "Platinum" films, since they're available for much longer and not in limited supply.
It is the reason I only have two treasures, they retail for $29.99 - $39.99 Canadian (the price depends on what treasure it is) the resale price on Ebay is ridiculous and they are in such limited supply. You can still get a handful of them brand new for the MRSP on Amazon, such as "Disney Rarities" or "On The Front Lines", but there are a lot of the ones I really want. (i.e Goofy and early Donald volumes) that I cannot get unless I pay a king's ransom. I lucked out in getting Mickey Mouse In Living Color Vol.1 for less then $40 last year.
Part of the problem is that I wasn't aware of their existence until a few years ago, but by then 4 or 5 waves had already come and gone.
The idea of restricting access to build up demand is an outmoded concept. The internet breaks down all barriers, and what's worse, it raises our expectations while lowering our patience. I want my cartoons and I want them now! If I can't buy them, I'll download them and share 'em on Youtube.
Now here's a novel idea: why not put all these classic cartoons on iTunes? If Disney, Warner, and all the major players put their cartoons on iTunes, and sold them for a rediculously low price - 5o cents - I would fill my computer up so fast their heads would spin.
Every cartoon short or 30-minute animated tv show should be sold for 50 cents. Feature length movies should be sold for a dollar. And it's here that I realize that I've fallen asleep and I'm in la-la land. But everyone can dream.
The idea of restricting access to build up demand is an outmoded concept. The internet breaks down all barriers, and what's worse, it raises our expectations while lowering our patience. I want my cartoons and I want them now! If I can't buy them, I'll download them and share 'em on Youtube.
This is the mentality that has came about in the last few years as I noticed. Before then, it was much harder to see anything unless you went that extra mile to get it like I had (usually through tape-trading channels and other illegit means).
Now here's a novel idea: why not put all these classic cartoons on iTunes? If Disney, Warner, and all the major players put their cartoons on iTunes, and sold them for a rediculously low price - 5o cents - I would fill my computer up so fast their heads would spin.
I wouldn't mind it if it wasn't for the DRM deals.
Every cartoon short or 30-minute animated tv show should be sold for 50 cents. Feature length movies should be sold for a dollar. And it's here that I realize that I've fallen asleep and I'm in la-la land. But everyone can dream.
You can.
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