Losing Media : Disney Movie Club

 I am posting this, more as a thought on the current trend I have been witnessing. Where online streaming is replacing hard copy media. People seem to be enjoying the convenience of online movie rentals, as well as audio streaming. But what does that mean for people in the long term?

What happens now with the movie club closing? How do people locate copies of hard to find Disney movies? Are they going to frown on people downloading titles that are not included in the Disney+ line up? What is the actual purpose of closing the movie club? Because in all honesty I don't feel it was really offering the films at a discount. What it did do though was make it a little easier to get copies of hard to find things.

This is where I finally got an official copy of Mr. Boogedy, and The Bride of Boogedy. Previously I had only been able to get a copy that someone transferred from a TV tape of the original airing of the films on the Disney Night Movies. The quality of the official DVD is much better (even though the slight clipping of commercials takes me back to the copy my parents had for us that we watched foreverrrrrr)

I know that right now the Disney company seems to be trying to cut the fat. The movie club really can't compete with Amazon at this point, especially with the Disney+ service being offered. Disney+ makes it much easier to watch the majority of their content.  But not everything is available there.

Anyway, I just wanted to save a screenshot of their goodbye page, as well as the 3 panel image they sent in their goodbye email. Mostly because I am sorry to see it go, even if I only used it minimally. Some things will still be remembered while they are gone. 

My worry now though, is what do we do when physical copies are being made obsolete? They're not making DVDs as readily available at stores anymore, so how are we going to get copies of the movies we love and want to collect for places and times there are no streaming services available? It's definitely something to keep in mind.

What's on screen? The Pagemaster

Movie night can be a lot of fun, but sometimes it's nice to go back to things you may not have seen for years. That's what we did this past saturday. We were out and about and one of my best friends saw The Pagemaster in a bin of movies and picked it up. It was surprising to see it out and available, since it's been a long time since I've seen or even thought about it. (Though not to long ago I did see an audio book on cassette for it....)

Image from fanart.tv

The Pagemaster is one of those movies with layered details. There's things I noticed in our most recent viewing I hadn't noticed before. And the music! As the movie started I got serious chills. It's stupid I guess to say that, but it was wonderful.

Why?

Because as a movie that I watched as a kid, to see it again as an adult and review the content, I had a chance to think about it again. The lessons taught by the film, and the way that they're shown is rather direct. It's not trying to trick you. It's very straightforward.

I'm just babbling I guess, but I want you to think about showing this movie to your children if you have any. Let them toy with the idea of what books mean to them. Let them think about how amazing a story can be if they envision it, not just watch it on tv.

Then take them to the library. Let them explore the many volumes of literature that they CAN touch, read, and enjoy free of charge. Magic can be found in the pages, if you take the time to see them.

What's on the Screen? Pom Poko

Movies are something that a lot of us take for granted. But I've had the pleasure to watch a variety of different films of late, and I'm going to share my thoughts about a few of them with you over time. Today I want to tell you about a film we watched called Pom Poko. Now I know not everyone has heard of it, and I'm sure some people consider it to be a classic. But I've only seen it for the first time recently.

This movie was absolutely adorable. It centers around a group of racoons and their homes. It also gives racoons the ability to transform. Throughout the movie this leads to some adorable images. It also helps them as they try to solve their problems.

The movie (spoilers here) focuses on the idea of urban sprawl and the problems it causes to nature. Human buildings invading the countryside reduce the space for animals to have their own habitats and homes. This is a fact that most people can understand, but to see it displayed and presented the way it is in the film leads to a number of questions.

But the biggest one is what can people do about it? While we cannot expect other folk to do the same things that we do, we should remember that our own choices change the things around us whether we can see these changes or not.

I do recommend this as a film to share with the family. While smaller children may not understand what the film is really saying, they will find humor in some of the situations. As with most Ghibli films the artwork is beautiful and the landscapes are as beautiful as paintings, so the film has points for everyone to enjoy.

^_~