Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment announced this week their upcoming slate of Blu-ray disc releases for 2009 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).

In addition to providing the movie on a Blu-ray disc for high definition enjoyment, Disney wisely recognizes that their movies won't be played just in Blu-ray players, but that people will also want to take the movie with them and play it in the car and other locations that are not yet equipped with Blu-ray players.

To that end, many of their 2009 releases will be in the form of Blu-ray + DVD Combo packs. This was a strategy they employed with the 2008 release of the Sleeping Beauty 50th Anniversary Platinum Edition and I'm glad to see that they are expanding on that idea!

The Pinocchio 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition will be released on Blu-ray disc on March 10, 2009 and is available for pre-order now from Amazon.com

Some of the Blu-ray + DVD Combo packs that we can look forward to include:

• High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2/17)
• Pinocchio: 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition (3/10)
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Platinum Edition (October)

While Pinocchio isn't one of my favorite Disney's classics, the fact that Disney is going to be releasing both that title and Snow White (both Platinum-designated titles) is very encouraging indeed! I know a particular 4-year old that is going to be very happy when Snow White is released... you're never too young to start appreciating 1080p HD!

The Blu-ray disc will present the movie in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio and the original English Mono track will be provided as well as a "5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix." French and Spanish tracks are also included.

Blu-ray Bonus Features:

On Disney's site, they have some details about the extras included on the Pinocchio Blu-ray disc:

• Pinocchio Knows Trivia Challenge
• Disney View -- Expand Your Viewing Experience Beyond The Original Aspect Ratio Of The Film!
• Cine-Explore
• Disney BD-Live -- Connect, Explore And Interact
• All-New "When You Wish Upon A Star" Music Video -- Performed By Meaghan Jette Martin
• Pinocchio's Puzzles Game -- 18 Puzzles In A Multi-Tiered Game
• Pinocchio's Matter Of Facts -- Discover More About Pinocchio's World With Pop-Up Trivia
• Never-Before-Seen Deleted Scenes
• Alternate Ending
• All-New "Making Of Pinocchio"
• The Sweat Box -- Walt Disney's Artistic Review Process
• And Much, Much More!

The DVD combo packs are one way that studios are tossing a bone to consumers buying into the high definition Blu-ray format. Another way is what's called a Digital Copy. This is a DVD-ROM data disc that is included in the package that you can insert into your computer to unlock a version of the movie that can be watched on your computer or portable devices (iPod, Zune, etc.).

Disney announced that 14 of its 2009 releases will have Digital Copies, including:

• High School Musical 3: Senior Year
• Beverly Hills Chihuahua (3/3)
• Monsters, Inc.
• A Bug's Life

Having two Pixar movies in this line-up is great news. Pixar's previous releases, Cars, Ratatouille, and WALL-E, have gotten great marks for both excellent picture and sound!

Other titles announced by Disney include (day and date release on Blu-ray and DVD, but not combos):

• Swing Vote (1/13)
• Miracle At St. Anna (2/10)
• Blindness (2/10)
• Morning Light (Summer 2009)
• Direct-to-video Space Buddies (2/3)
• Pretty Woman (2/10)
• High School Musical Remix Edition (2/17)
• Microcosmos
• Rounders 10th Anniversary Edition
• Lost: The Complete First and Second Seasons (TV)
• Sin City
• Miracle
• Sling Blade
• The Greatest Game Ever Played
• Pulp Fiction Special Edition
• Good Will Hunting Special Edition
• and many more to follow in 2009

Kudos to Disney for planning some good releases for 2009, and we can't wait to hear what titles might fall under the "more to follow" category!

Related Links

• List of Disney Blu-ray Releases at Amazon.com

Source: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Press Release