Disney Animation In 4K

This is certainly wild...

For some strange reason, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment was rather quiet about the fact that...

Well, a Walt Disney Animation Studios feature is finally coming to 4K UHD!

That's correct. Wreck-It Ralph, in 4K, will be on shelves on November 6th. The same day as the Blu-ray and 4K release of Pixar's Incredibles 2, which is the fourth Pixar film to be released on the latter format. (The first three were Cars 3, Coco, and The Incredibles.)

The release sports a new cover that lifts from an international theatrical poster, and there's also a pretty cool SteelBook that can only be purchased at Best Buy. I'm actually torn on which one I'll buy...

Just in time for the release of its sequel, Ralph Breaks The Internet... Not a random choice, makes sense that this is the first Disney animated feature to hit 4K.

You'll also notice that the included Blu-ray of the film has disc artwork. Since roughly 2011, most Disney Blu-rays outside of the Pixar/Studio Ghibli/Lucasfilm Blu-rays didn't have artwork. Just plain blue discs. Gray for the DVDs.

My first 4K Disney purchase, and first-ever 4K purchase in general, was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. I immediately noted that the 4K disc had artwork on it, while the Blu-ray disc did not. Same deal with Thor: Ragnarok. Then along came Black Panther, and the Blu-ray disc had artwork. I was surprised! However, Avengers: Infinity War's set came with an artless Blu-ray disc.

It seems like Disney is slowly easing back into putting disc art onto all their titles outside of the Pixar/Ghibli/Lucasfilm pantheon, which is good. I like a good all-around physical presentation.

Despite what I've heard about the 4K versions of other animated releases, this news does excite me nonetheless. I don't have a 4K TV or 4K Blu-ray player, but I plan to upgrade soon. I wondered when Disney would start putting their animated features library on the format, but now... We no longer wait.

Now, it appears that the first pre-2000 Disney animated feature to land on the format is none other than... The Lion King...

However, Disney hasn't officially announced anything. Rumors say it's aiming for early December. There's cover artwork, apparently...

Best Buy Canada is taking pre-orders, as is Best Buy Australia, but their version sports a completely different cover and logo for the film!

I'm thinking this is going to be real, plus that cover artwork looks legitimate... However, some things I want to point out before Disney eventually clears things up...

Pros:

• The Lion King is one of Disney's most beloved animated features. It seems appropriate that this one would be released on 4K.
• The Lion King's remake comes out next year, and the film also turns 25 next year.

Cons:

• Why would Disney release it in December without much fanfare right now? You would think that Disney would be rolling out publicity and ads for this release well in advance, not less than two months beforehand.
• The Lion King returned to Blu-ray as a Signature Collection title in late summer of 2017. Two Signature editions followed this year, Lady and the Tramp in the late winter and Peter Pan in the summer. It's kind of weird to give that one the 4K status when it's not even the most recent release in the Signature Collection line. But given the film's popularity, it's not too much of a stretch... Still...

Either way, I'm glad to see that Disney will be releasing the Disney animated feature library on the format sooner than later...

My guess is that The Lion King's 4K UHD release will occur sometime after this year, but before the release of the remake, but I'm happy to be wrong on this one. If it debuts before Christmas, I'll be ready to get it!