The Walt Disney Co. has announced its first slate of films to be released in the new Blue-ray Disc format, including among them the 2000 animated theatrical release, Dinosaur. The Blue-ray Disc has been adopted by many major studios and distributors and has emerged as the frontrunner to replace standard DVDs in the home entertainment market.
Blu-ray discs can store 5 times more information than current DVDs and promise better picture and sound quality since images are compressed and authored in full high-definition 1080p resolution (1920 x 1080) with lossless audio. What’s more, they feature a scratch-resistant surface to protect them agains rough handling. In addition to movies, Blu-ray discs will be used for music, gaming and other digital entertainment.
The other Buena Vista Home Entertainment titles currently earmarked for Blue-ray distribution include Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 1, which features anime produced by Production I.G., Terry Gilliam’s The Brothers Grimm, Michael Bay’s vfx-laden Armageddon, the Kevin Smith comedy Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, the chiller Dark Water, Ladder 49 and The Great Raid. The releases will roll out this summer as Blue-ray Disc hardware products begin to hit the market.
Directed by Eric Leighton and Ralph Zondag, Dinosaur combines CG animation with photographed backgrounds to tell the tale of an orphaned dinosaur who undertakes a perilous journey to seek sanctuary when his family home is destroyed by a meteorite shower. The film reportedly cost around $127 million to make and barely broke even at the domestic box office. A bigger hit overseas, it went on to earn more than $354 million worldwide.
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