Recently we’ve purchased the Beauty and the Beast Diamond Edition, and am loving it. We also got the three Toy Story movies while we’re at it – got it while we think it’s still affordable, rather than risk not being able to get it in the future. Aladdin and The Lion King are among the two classics which people love, but are not available for purchase nowadays. In a way it’s forcing people to buy from overseas or even download it themselves.

Disney may need to revise their marketing tactics. It’s either to continue working for profits and sacrificing user satisfaction, or to satisfy market demand and their reputation and sell quantity rather than “quality” and making things “limited” all the time. Imagine trying to purchase the entire Disney classics collection… the oldest one may still be in VHS format, then in between you’ll have 1 or 2 single-disc DVD versions, then for the newer ones they’ll be re-mastered DVD/Blu-ray versions. The collection will never look “complete”!

The Disney movie vault: A work of magic or a money-making machine?
December 24, 2010 11:00AM
Click here for orginal article

• Disney Vault keeps prices high
• Limited release may backfire

MANY childhood memories involve classic Disney films such as Cinderella, Peter Pan and Bambi.

But if you were planning on buying any of these titles this Christmas you won’t find them in the shops.

Whether searching through JB Hi-Fi, Sanity or any boutique DVD retailer it’s as if the films never existed.

Instead, what you’ll find are posters and stickers advertising the most recent release of Beauty and the Beast on DVD and Blu-Ray for a “limited time only”.

Beauty and the Beast is the latest title to be released from the “Disney Vault” – a marketing tradition that keeps a selection of films in moratorium for years at a time before strategically re-releasing them with extra scenes and bonus features – at a price.

It’s been almost eight years since Beauty and the Beast was last seen in a “Platinum Edition” before it was locked away in January 2003.

The latest Diamond Edition was released in October this year with the words of one ad saying: “The Disney Vault is opening to release the tale as old as time.”

Watch the Beauty and the Beast re-release trailer here

But what is sold as a magical and exclusive event – complete with a cartoon vault shaped with Mickey Mouse-style ears and twirling stars – is proving a headache for consumers and retailers.

JB Hi-Fi’s movie product manager Mark Moloney says it’s hard to constantly monitor and measure how much stock to buy within the limited time frame the key Disney films are available.

“Because we carry a large range and we always try and make sure we have the best titles in stock all the time, it does make it a little difficult,” Mr Moloney says.

“It’s always a problem if we can’t get stock when our customers want it. There might be a risk with moratoriums that last for [an extended] amount of time that some movies are not available through children’s early years – where most of the movies are directed.”

Disney says the Vault is used to maintain the “timelessness” of Disney classics for generations of children as well as ensure the films can be restored and remastered to keep up with advancing technology.

Spokeswoman Cara Leggett said each new release is unique because it contains never-before-seen footage and, in the case of Beauty and the Beast, a “special extended edition” of the film.

“When a title from the Disney Vault is released, it’s an absolute ‘must have’ purchase before it disappears again,” Ms Leggett said.

“[Then] a film will go back into the Vault and not be released until another generation of children have grown to enjoy it.”

But not all fans are as enthused about the Vault system as Disney.

Sydney woman Melissa Spiteri, 28, accepts the business sense of the practice but thinks it disadvantages the consumer.

“It’s genius really,” Ms Spiteri says. “Make something unavailable for a period of time to build customer want and then release it with a new cover and you make a bundle.

“But blocking people’s access to a particular film doesn’t cater to the consumers’ needs. It simply dictates when and how consumers should be able to enjoy their products.”

When a film is taken out of the Vault, it is often sold at higher prices because of its “exclusive” nature.

A Disney classic apparently not on moratorium – like Mary Poppins – retails at Sanity for $19.99, while the Diamond Edition of Beauty and the Beast sells for $29.99.

University student Amelia West, 20, says because the films aren’t readily available at normal DVD prices, consumers may try to download them illegally instead

“Most Disney movies are on YouTube or super easy to download … probably as a result of holding them back, so I guess Disney’s ploy has kind of backfired,” Ms West said.

Disney is not alone in its moratorium practice but appears to suspend DVD sales longer than other companies.

In February the company is set to re-release Fantasia but only for a limited time after what has already been a 10-year wait.

Popular series like Star Wars and Back to the Future have all had the treatment – being taken off the shelves for special editions.

And in September last year Warner Brothers Home Video placed Caddyshack, The Exorcist and Doctor Zhivago on moratorium until May, during which time they were remastered with bonus content.

On December 31 Warners is again set to withdraw three of its classic films Singing in the Rain, Camelot and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? from its DVD catalogue for about a year while it restores and remasters them digitally for their respective 60th, 45th and 50th anniversary releases in 2012.

Let’s have a listen to some of the music styles Adam can sing;

More beautiful singing by Adam from when he was 22 years old:

More about Adam Lambert’s road to stardom at this link

Ingredients:
1 cup self raising flour
1 1/2 cup plain flour
3 eggs (lightly beaten)
approx 2 cups of nuts (when I made it, I used around 1 1/2 cups macadamia and 1/2 cup walnuts)
lemon zest from 1 lemon
some lemon juice (~1 tea spoon)

Method:
1. sift self raising flour and plain flour into large bowl
2. combine eggs, lemon zest and a little bit of lemon juice (to give some moisture)
3. combine the above into the flour mixture
4. when nearly combined, knead until it comes a dough
5. knead nuts into the dough
6. split dough into 2 long doughs, width of around 4 inches, thickness of around 1 inch
7. bake in oven for 15 mins
8. take out dough, cool for 5 mins, then cut each dough into thin slices
9. lay the slices flat on the baking tray, bake for a further 10-15 mins or until slices are dry
10. done! these can be kept for up to 3 weeks if placed in an air-tight sealed container :)