Bug's Life, A (DVD)

Well, John, there was the single-disc "Gold Collection" release, and there was the single-disc release that wasnt a part of any special series. Both were the same discs and had slightly different cover art.

The two-disc collectors edition was also released when the single-disc versions hit the street. However, it was placed on moratorium quickly. Now that the "Toy Story" movies are being placed on moratorium, I guess it makes sense to pull out this big gun again. This second release of the CE has different cover art from the first release.

Yeah, thereve been about four releases of "A Bugs Life". Frankly, for something like this, theres no real need, and the moratorium policy is just plain dumb.

As far as I can gather, this is the first time the film has been THX certified and transferred in anamorphic widescreen, so it should be a different and improved mastering. And as I said in the review, it does look better than the initial transfer.

John

The first 2-disc SE of "A Bugs Life" did NOT have THX mastering. It goes without saying, then, that the first SE did NOT have the THX Optimizer utilities, either.

As far as I can tell, the only substantive things that diffrentiate the two are the cover art designs (the first had a predominantly green color with some insects peering through a hole, the second has a metallic, reflective design), the DVD cases (the first in the thick two-case, the second in the slim two-case), and the inclusion of interactive games and a video promo for "Finding Nemo" in the second.

The first two-disc set WAS done with anamorphic widescreen (and also included a Pan-and-Scan version on the same disc as the anamorphic widescreen transfer), so it was better than any of the single-disc editions anyway. However, BV couldve re-mastered the digital files for the new edition...well have to do an A/B comparison of the video/audio when we get a chance.

There were two single-disc editions and the original CE. Anyway, the three previous versions of A Bugs Life were all made when Mala Vista was unsure of its DVD policy. Its still the only dumb company with an active moratorium policy, which is horrendous. The single-disc editions never got it right, of course.

Franky, I like the first CE better than the second one--it comes in the thick two-case that I prefer for two-disc sets (so that I can tell which ones are two-disc sets just by looking at the spine), it doesnt have any promos for "Finding Nemo" forced upon me, and it has non-reflective art that doesnt hurt my eyes. Above all else, its rare, too.

Thats about it for this mess, then.