Walt Disney Classics: Difference between revisions

{{PageCredits|edits=VofDoom, TrickyMario7654, Muzzarino, Michael Kenchington and TheLogoFan2004}}

'''Walt Disney Classics''' was a brand name of [[Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment|Walt Disney Home Video]], created in 1984 to release features from the [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Disney Animated Features]] canon on video. The first release from the line was ''Robin Hood'' (1973), and more soon followed, including ''Pinocchio'' (1940), ''Dumbo'' (1941), ''The Sword in the Stone'' (1963), ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1951) and others, to great success. In 1990, following the box office success of ''The Little Mermaid'' (1989), the Classics line released it to video, and began releasing a mix of older animated films and more recent Disney animated films. In 1994, after the video release of ''The Fox and the Hound'' (1981), the Classics series was discontinued and replaced with a newer series, the [[Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection]]. Tapes released in the Classics series are often referred to as the "Black Diamond Classics" by VHS collectors, in reference to the black diamond logo on the spine of each release. Although the Classics series was discontinued, the international versions (which included the select live-action/traditionally animated hybrid films as well) remained active in their respective international countries until today. The line currently exits the UK and Europe (except France), as '''Disney Classics''' however, France numbers WDAS, [[Pixar Animation Studios|Pixar]] and [[Disney Television Animation|WDTVA]]/[[DisneyToon Studios|DTS]] features and in the UK/Europe the order for the Disney Classics is different than the 61 animated features produced by WDAS to date. This is due to ''The Wild'' (2006), being in the Classics line in the UK despite not being produced by WDAS and ''Dinosaur'' (2000) and ''Winnie the Pooh'' (2011) being left out of the Classics lineup. In Germany, the Classics line features all of the films produced by WDAS while in Spain, ''Piglet's Big Movie'' (2003) is being included in the Classics line in that region.

*The prototype version, originally seen on the 1988 retail VHS of ''Cinderella'', had the background as a dark to light blue gradient, a more shiny, silver, metallic diamond, the text "WALT DiSNEY CLASSICS" had a purple color scheme and rougher animation; this variant was also filmed, compared to the standard logo being videotaped. The spark was sky blue. Also, the bright light from the starburst was not shown on Mickey Mouse's body. The logo made sporadic reappearances after the revised logo was introduced on tapes from the Classics line that didn't open with previews; these include the 1992 Laserdisc and demo/French Canadian VHS prints of ''The Rescuers'' (''Les aventures de Bernand et Bianca''), the later Canadian print of ''The Rescuers Down Under'' a 1992 Descriptive Video Service (DVS) VHS of ''Dumbo'', the later Canadian/USA print of ''Robin Hood'' (''Robin does Bois'') the French Canadian VHS releases of ''Pinocchio'', Bambi'', ''101 Dalmatians'' (''Les 101 Dalmatiens'') and ''The Great Mouse Detective'' (''Basil, détective privé'') and the demo/French Canadian VHS copies of ''Beauty and the Beast'' (''La Belle et la Bête''). It also appears at the beginning of the VHS ''Fantasia: The Making of a Masterpiece'' (which was included as part of a "Deluxe Collectors' Edition" box set of the movie). In most cases, the logo is off-center, with the diamond positioned further to the right, while ''Cinderella'' had the diamond centered properly. One of the last, if not the last, videos to feature this version of the logo was the DVS VHS release of ''Aladdin''.

*Similarly, the tail end of the 1992 variant (with the logo "shining") makes a surprise appearance at the beginning of a 1996 Japanese video trailer for ''The Rescuers Down Under''. The trailer appeared on the 1995 Japanese Laserdisc releases of ''The Lion King'' and ''101 Dalmatians'', which mark the only laserdisc appearances of the 1992 variant in any form.

*A series of Japanese tapes released by Bandai Video on July 10, 1988 (under the then-new "Dreams and Magic" banner) use a still variant for a closing promo featuring the diamond reading "THE CLASSICS" on an animated starry sky with a thicker, more glass-like frame. This can be found on the 1988 Japanese VHS releases of ''Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day'', ''Pinocchio'', ''Mary Poppins'', and three cartoon compilations dedicated to Mickey ("Good Luck Mickey"), Donald, and various characters ("Disney Friends") respectively. An animated variant featuring the logo flying onto the screen and shining was featured at the beginning of the ''Pinocchio'' VHS.

*While the logo was rarely used internationally, it made a few surprise appearances. The 1989 version was used on 1990 European VHS releases of ''Lady and the Tramp''; the 1992 version was used on a Bulgarian VHS release of ''Pinocchio'' from [[Alexandra Video]]; and, oddly enough, the 2003 UK VHS of ''Pinocchio'' featured the 1992 logo before and after the tape's opening previews, in the PAL format.