Why For springs back into action, then ends with a bang

Jim Hill

17 years ago

First up, Kevin L. writes in to ask:

Why For have there been no Why For’s in so long? I’m a long-time reader of yours and used to get excited every Friday for your Why For column of Disney Trivia and little-known facts. But seems nowadays that when I click over to Jimhillmedia on Fridays, there is no Why For to be found – or an article at all for that matter. What’s going on Jim??

Also, are you ever going to finish up that Muppet (series) you started over at Laughing Place several years back? I’d love to get back to that and maybe some info on Disney’s next Muppet flick with the writer & director of the upcoming comedy, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall“.

Copyright 2008 Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved

So what do you say, Jim? Can we get back to it? Hope you have a great Easter!

Kevin L.
Cumming, GA

Dear Kevin,

As for why there’s been no Why For lately … Well, it’s not for lack of trying.

Take — for example — today. I was sitting here, working on the long overdue return of JHM’s Q & A column, when the freak windstorm that’s battering New Hampshire today must have knocked down a power line.

And given that it sometimes takes PSNH a day or more before it can restore electricity out here in the woods … Nancy and I began making preparations for a power-free night. So we fired up the woodstove, checked all the batteries in the flashlights, dug out some candles. I even drove down to Dodge’s General Store to get the makings of a cold supper.

And then — of course — after Nancy and I had done all of this prep work, the electricity came back on right at dusk.

*sigh* Sometimes you can’t win for losing.

Anyway … As for “Why For.” Now that this truly miserable winter is finally over, hopefully things will get back to normal around here and JHM can now resume its regular publishing schedule.

Of course, having just said that … I now anticipate that a plague of frogs will begin shortly.

And speaking of frogs … You’re right, Kevin. It’s been far too long since I last wrote about the Muppets. And there have been lots of interesting things going on with these characters lately. Not the least of which is the recent launch of that Muppets channel over at Disney.com XD.

Tell you what: Let me give my Muppet contact at Disney a call and see if I can’t get a story in the works for next week or thereabouts?

In the meantime, Susan writes in to ask:

Jim,

I’d love to buy the Beauty and the Beast DVD, but it seems to be in the infamous vault. Do you know when Disney will release it again? Do they really keep things in the vault for 7 years? I’d really appreciate your insider insight on this issue.

Thanks,

Susan

Well, depending on which date Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment finally settles on for the release of a Blu-ray edition of “Beauty and the Beast,” it will in fact have been seven years (or just a little bit more) since this title was last let out of the Disney Vault.

According to what company insiders have been telling me, following the March 2009 release of “Pinocchio” (Which — just like “Sleeping Beauty” when it goes on sale this Fall — will be available for purchase in both the high-def & the standard-def format) … Disney’s pretty much burned through all of its Platinum titles.

Oh, sure. There’s still “Fantasia” and its follow-up. But given the concert feature’s historical significance as well as its extremely limited commercial appeal … That’s why “Fantasia” has never been lumped in with Disney’s “Platinum” titles. Mind you, this film will eventually be available for purchase in the Blu-ray format. But “Fantasia” won’t ever be one of WDSHE’s mass market releases.

Anyway … Getting back to “Beauty & the Beast” now … Following the March 2009 release of “Pinocchio,” Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will have officially run through its entire catalog of Platinum titles. And with the hope that — 18 months from now — Blu-ray will have much better market penetration … Well, it’ll then be time to start selling high-def versions of these much-sought-after titles.

As for an official release schedule … I’m told that there’s a belief in-house that it may not be wise to follow the release of the Blu-ray version of “Pinocchio” with a high-def edition of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” That — at least from a retail point of view — it might be smarter to separate the mass market releases of these two Walt-era classics by at least a year.

Which means that Belle & Snow White will mostly likely trading places in WDSHE’s batting order. With the Blu-ray version of “Beauty and the Beast” being available for purchase in October of 2009, with the high-def edition of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” going on sale in March of 2010.

Mind you, this release schedule is extremely tentative. And given that it was only last month that Blu-ray defeated HD DVD in the format wars … Well, that news is bound to have some sort of impact on Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment’s future plans.

But if you can just hang in there another 18 months or so, Susan, you should (in theory, anyway) finally be able to pick up a brand new copy of “Beauty and the Beast.” But whether that disc is in high-def or standard-def is entirely up to you.

Next up, Nightwing writes in to ask:

Hi Jim

I was hoping you could let me know if Disney is really looking into buying the Disney Stores back from Children’s Place. I work at one of the newer locations and I know Disney wasn’t happy with the “progess” of updating older stores along with some other issues. But are they really going to buy the stores back after dumping them? They just closed 3 locations in a month in my state alone. I really hope Disney does because that would mean I would work for the Mouse again AND still have a job!

Nightwing

Dear Nightwing,

The good news is … Mickey is in fact looking to regain control of the Disney Stores. Negotiations with Children’s Place officials are already well underway. And if all goes according to plan, within the next 90 days, the Walt Disney Company should once again own this worldwide retail chain.

The bad news is … Once ownership is officially transferred back to Burbank, look for the Mouse to run a much leaner & meaner operation this time around. Where once there were 700 Disney Stores around the globe, the company’s now looking to pare that number down to around 200. And only the top earning stores are expected to survive the coming purge.

Mind you, once Mickey’s slimmed down this operation … Then things get interesting. Disney’s looking to use the company’s new, stronger connection with tweens to its advantage in the retail arena. So look for your local Disney Store to soon get loaded up with Hannah Montana, High School Musical and Jonas Brothers merch.

Beyond that … Well, Mouse House officials hope that this leaner, meaner version of the Disney Store retail chain will be able to respond far quicker to changes in the marketplace. Whether that actually will turn out to be the case … I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

And — finally — Ted M. writes in to say:

I’ve heard that “Ratatouille” has this pretty mean political joke hidden in it somewhere. A gag that actually makes fun of the Vice President of the United States. Do you have any idea where this gag is in the movie?

Dear Ted,

The scene that you’re looking for occurs pretty early in this Brad Bird film. Right after the old lady awakens and — upon finding Remi & Emil in her kitchen — begins blasting away at the rats with a shotgun.

When the old lady runs out of ammo, she reaches for a new box of shells.

And just a brief second, we get to see a glimpse of the exterior of this package. Which reads:

R.B. Cheny Supershot
Shotgun Shells

R.B. Cheny. As in Richard Bruce Cheney. AKA Dick Cheney, the Vice President of the United States. Who — back in February of 2006 — accidentally shot & wounded Harry Whittington while these two were out quail hunting.

As to why Cheney’s name is mis-spelled on this shotgun shell box … I’m told that Disney’s attorneys insisted upon this. So that — should this story ever leak out — Pixar would at least then have some level of deniability.

And now that I’ve ended this Why For with a bang. You folks have a Happy Easter, okay?