Through UD I was directed to the official Disney Princess Enchanted Tales DVD website at Disney.com. It seems they woke up from their wintersleep and swaped Belle for Jasmine. She has a nice looking variation of one of her movie outfits complte with taira. But Jasmine looks good in anything so that’s no surprise.
(more…)

Thanks to a tip at Ultimate Disney I learned that Disney Princess Enchanted Tales Volume 1 is set for a September 2007 release. Personally I hoped Disney moved the release to the front now there’s a new trailer for it and all.

Disney released a trailer for the first volume of Disney Princess Enchanted Tales starring Aurora and Jasmine.

Good news:

• Animation looks very good, colors almost match the feature film.
• Abu is on model
• Carpet shines as his CG self again.
• Iago is back also.
• Linda Larkin.
• It sounds like Lea got to do Jasmine’s singing again.
• There are at least two new characters that play a part in the storytelling.
  A child with an artistic gift.
  And a woman who looks an awful lot like Aladdin’s mom who was cut from the feature film.

Bad News:

• Story is not very strong and likely does not approach the adventure, humor and character development of the series.
• Jasmine is off model looking and behaving strange. That dance reminds me of Snow White, not good for Jasmine’s sake.
• That song is not Alan Menken quality.

There is still nothing said about when it’s going to be released exactly.
I’m again excited to see Jasmine and the gangs return in animated form other then CG theme park attractions or video games. Enchanted Tales marks the first time Agrabah is animated in a decade. Let us hope this release does well enough for a reprise, after knowing Disney, the other Disney Princesses had their turn.

Trailer

PS: My apologies, I was so excited I forgot to place the link.

Disney Princess Enchanted Tales is a continuation of Disney Princess Stories, while Stories contained old episodes from the Aladdin Series, Enchanted Tales has all new direct-to-DVD quality animation of Princess Jasmine and her friends. Previously the first volume was announced to star Belle and Aurora in new stories and was set for a fall 2006 release. For reasons unknown this release was delayed a year. Now in the January issue of the U.S. Princess Magazine an advertisement for a September release of ET with Aurora and instead of Belle, Jasmine!

Aladdin from Agrabah: “Yay! Jasmine! I always liked her better than Belle. That means…oh my God…new ALADDIN animation……… Agrabah returns! I think I’m gonna faint…”

Not counting Jasmine’s appearance in Kingdom Hearts 2 because it’s a video game Enchanted Tales will be the first time we’ll see Jasmine in an animated form since the House of Mouse TV series ended in 2002.

A million thanks to the Ultimate Disney Forum member Disney Villain

Over the last couple of weeks I’ve made a list of my Dutch language Aladdin series collection I recorded over the years. I’ve 13 tapes with 1 to 5 episodes the oldest episodes are dating back to 1996. I know this because the channel most episodes where taped from changed their name that year. Minus the doubles I’ve exactly 50 episodes in my native tongue that I much more than the 30 or so I expected to have. I’ve to note that some episodes are missing parts at the beginning and end but not much ranging from a few seconds to about a minute. I needed that list in order to figure out how many DVD’s I needed to fit them on in the uncompressed MPEG format a standard DVD is composed off.
Well I came out at 9 DVD’s with 3 to 6 episodes each and am currently designing covers for them. They aren’t state of the art but I’m not a very good designer something I regret once in a while.

I’m doing this project because for one simple reason, no official series DVD is to be expected from Disney. When the Aladdin series finally gets a DVD release I know the Disney Company only will do a for region 1 release and only with the English soundtrack. Hopefully Aladdin returns on TV next year and I can add the missing episodes to my collection.

Disney increases their support for the one next generation in optical disc storage method known as the Blue-Ray disc. The company is beefing up their Second Golden Age films including Mermaid, Beauty, Aladdin and The Lion King for Blue-Ray release in the future. There’s a promo of Disney’s upcoming titles on the Pirates of Caribbean 2 DVD.

Would a beefed up platinum edition really add so much to the viewing experience? I would if it Isn’t better to wait until Aladdin gets a real high-def release with all the bells and whistles in any format that’s the standard at the time.

Though I love the bonus on the DVD I feel it could have used more development artwork, more deleted sequences. More rough animation peculiarly from Jafar scenes, Andrea Deja is a master with a pencil. And I know there’s allot of unused audio footage from Robin Williams. It is said he ad-libbed hours of unused martial. I hope Disney puts that on the next re-release of Aladdin.
Though I am glad to see Disney doesn’t wait and see what happens with the next gen video format like they did when DVD but goes in full force. But, I am not going to spend money on any High-Def format player for quite a while. I just replaced my VCR with a Panasonic DVD recorder two weeks ago and am very, very happy with the machine that I expect to last for at least 5 years.

I just completed the first two DVD’s with Aladdin episodes from my tapes. I’ve been transferring my collection to the DVD-rec harddrive and prepped them for DVD. To avoid confusion I mean the Dutch translated episodes aired on TV I recorded over the years.

You probably already read about it on Aladdin Central, IMDB and Animated News that Entertainment Weekly placed Aladdin on the 25th place in their “The 25 Most Controversial Movies Ever” list.

My opinion, I laugh about all the fuzz. This is so stupid that it’s funny. Come on Aladdin controversial because of “”where they cut off your ear if they don’t like your face” that stirred up a view people at the time. And you know what, they changed that in the Dutch dub on the SE DVD as well. Idiots. I agree with all the people who commented that Aladdin doesn’t belong there. In my eyes it should hang as low as the 250th place.

Aladdin is being recalled by Disney shortly when movie stores stop selling the DVD. I wonder what’s the fuzz that’s really a problem. As along as there are auction sites like Ebay.com you can get a sealed copy for years to come. Even today Ebay sells copies of the 1992/1993 VHS release new and sealed.

In Jasmine’s introductory scene you can hear the birds and when Jasmine and her father move to the fountain you actually hear the water running.
In the market a few minutes later the chanting of merchants trying to sell lamp oil.
Footsteps of Aladdin and Jasmine walking on the rooftops.
The birds are back later on when Jafar and Iago watch Sultan and Jasmine from the balcony.
The next scene “Carpet Air”, an airplane engine!
There must be so much more alas I’m out of time. Listen to the movie yourself and perhaps make a comment with your findings here.

Images are from another source.

The reviewer is not a fan of recylced animation and rather see season sets of The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. But since that’s not going to happen any time soon the Disney Princess DVD line is a good way to collected a handful episodes.

“Eye Of The Beholder” is one of Aladdin’s best episodes and my favorite Mirage episode as well.
Mirage, our favorite feline next to Chaos of course. Decides to investigate how strong the love between Aladdin and Jasmine is. She sells Jasmine a potion to keep her skin smooth but instead it turns her little by little into a serpent. Starting at her legs the transformation slowly goes up and up until Jasmine has turned from a human into serpent.

But there is hope, the fruits from the Tree Of Renewal can break Jasmine’s curse but the journey to it is long and difficult. The gang encounters many dangers, a bunch of robbers and their pet octopus threaten to drown Aladdin but they’re scared of by Jasmine’s tail. Later in the episode her tail is again useful when she tames a two headed dog-creature. But when Jasmine uses it to save Aladdin from falling to his death she poisons. After they overcome that the Tree of Renewal is close but Mirage spoils the moment by making the tree disappear in front of them. That’s when Jasmine decides Aladdin must return to Agrabah with out her.

All throughout this episode Aladdin says to Jasmine he loves her and never leave her. That’s why he uses the potion to turn him into a serpent as well ready to stay with Jasmine in the valley of the tree of renewal. Mirage defeated believes she can be proud in that the lovers have to life like serpents for the rest of their lives when Fashir appears. He tells her it’s not fair that Aladdin and Jasmine have to pay for Mirage’s defeat and returns to tree to it’s former state. The street rat and princess eat and are returned to their human form.

This is a transfer from a VHS release from the mid 1990’s now with an extra episode, Do The Rat Thing, simple menu’s and 2 bonus features. A fun and good looking game “Jasmine’s Jewel Game” where we hear Linda again behind a CG of Jasmine’s dresser. It’s a simple game, select the right object and a character is freed. Select the wrong object and nothing happens you can select an object as many times as needed. The game is aimed at young kids and not die hard fans like myself. Now on with the episodes

Elemental, My Dear Jasmine

This was the first Aladdin episode I saw. Sun, sea and surf is what a day at the beach for most people is but not for Team Aladdin. When Jasmine gets her hair wet and meshed up the guys laugh at her. Angry and sad she walks away to make her look decent again when a huge wave washes her from the cliff and pulls her underwater where a red-haired, with an orange tail mermaid lives. She’s Saleen, man hunter. When she hears about Aladdin and how nothing can get between him and Jasmine Saleen sees a challenge and goes to the surface. Before Jasmine can stop her Saleen traps her underwater.

Soon she finds Aladdin and tries to sweep the guy of his feet with her “I’m lost I need strong and handsome man to guide me” pickup line. But the boy is looking for Jasmine to apologize. While looking for his princess he takes Saleen with him hoping she might help. When the guys and the mermaid are back in Agrabah Jasmine gets a message trough to play along with Saleen and take her back to the beach.

Aladdin pretends her doesn’t care about Jasmine anymore and goes for Saleen. Happy she’s winning the mermaid let Aladdin take her to a fish ’n chips at the beach. Just as Saleen decides what to eat she falls through a hidden hatch in the sea. As she falls Jasmine comes up from the deep she picked up by Aladdin on Carpet. Next follows a struggle between the guys and the mermaid with her pet octopus. Then Genie surfaces as a sub and torpedoes Saleen over the horizon.

Do The Rat Thing

Another episode I saw in German long ago. Jasmine is challenged by Aladdin to proof she knows allot about the real world outside the palace. Aladdin just don’t know that, he only saved a rat from the dagger of a suitor and explained to his fiancee he and the rat are not that different. And the headstrong girl goes out in disguise taking Iago with her to proof she can be a street rat or mouse.

She steals a mirror that goes quite well despite the strange warning from Fashir that she be punished by doing wrong or something cryptic like that. In Agrabah nothing is what it seems and so as Jasmine is proud she proofs she’s a street rat the mirror turns her into one while Iago is turned into a lizard.

The rest of the day they try to get to Genie to be turned back by him. Along the way Jasmine has to face dangers like don’t be reconsidered by Aladdin, or getting some food. But Jasmine does learn a few things about the life outside the palace. For instance the poor mother who no money to feed her kids a good meal so the kind of person Jasmine is helps them.

When the two finally get inside the palace they have to deal with their friends first before Genie can help them. Lucky for Jasmine Rajah recognizes her before he eats her. With the help of the tiger Genie is summoned and with some to trail and error Jasmine and Iago are back to human and bird again.

Garden of Evil

Twenty years ago the Sutlan plucked a flower in the forbidden garden of Arbutus, the owner and maintainer of a beautiful garden. He let the Sultan go but with the warning the in 20 years he come to get his treasure. The guys volunteer to guard the Sultan’s treasure room incase Arbutus comes.

That night Arbutus indeed visits the palace but instead of gold he takes Jasmine right before Aladdin’s eyes. The hero and friends joined by the Sultan leave to search and rescue Jasmine. Meanwhile the princess has a plan of escape herself but Arbutus sees and knows everything that’s alive in his garden and prevents Jasmine from escaping.

Jasmine learns that Arbutus isn’t a monster just a misunderstood artist who only wants to make stunningly beautiful art using flowers and trees. Arbutus sees humans as destroyers who don’t appreciate what nature gives them. And he is right as more and more nature has to make room for civilization.

Just as the plant creature and the princess understand each other Aladdin cutting the branches the try to stop him hurting Arbutus in the process. Jasmine tries to tell Aladdin but it’s no use both the hero and Arbutus are to busy fighting each other that they don’t listen. Eventfully Aladdin loses his sword it cuts Arbutus life flower killing the creature in the process. Then, when the garden has died with Arbutus, Jasmine explains to Aladdin that people are really not that different from each other.

When the Disney Princess DVD line was first announced fans hoped for new animation.
In Jasmine’s case it would be the first time she appeared in traditional 2D
since her cameos in Disney’s House of Mouse and the first time in her own universe
since Aladdin and King of Thieves. But alas Disney choose the easy, cheap way
by using episodes from the series. As more episodes where released in the Princess
Stories Volumes I saw it as a way to get at least some Aladdin episodes in decent
quality with their original voices and not re dubbed in foreign languages.

The DVD contains stories of Snowwhite, Ariel or Jasmine in either English,
French, Spanish or Dutch version. Snowwhite is nothing more then reused, re
dubbed animation from Snowwhite and the seven dwarfs. It’s not worth watching
for older Disney fans but perhaps little female fans enjoy it. Each story is
led in by bad, probably reused animation of the princess. She introductions
story to the viewer. A nice touch is that Ariel is done by Jodi Benson and Jasmine
by Linda.

“Ariel’s Treasures” is an episode from The Little Mermaid Series. This particular
episode has not been broadcast on Dutch TV according to my memories. Ursula
wants to take control of Atlantica by cursing Ariel’s human treasures but is
stopped by the mermaid and her friends. This episode has appearances of all
the main characters from the movie including Ursula, Prince Eric and Chef Louie.The
Aladdin episode, “Love At First Sprite” is the reason I spend money of this
DVD. You probably seen this episode many times before but let me run you through
the story again.

Tiny, curious, flying creatures known as sprites visit the palace and make
a mesh out of it trying to find out what everything is and does. The next morning
Team Aladdin and the Sprites get become friends. They play until late a night
when finally everyone can get some sleep until sun up next morning when the
sprites want to play again. Then they make Aladdin, Jasmine and the Sultan fly
high up in the air. It’s all fun and games until the humans want to go back
to Agrabah but the sprites want to keep playing. They treated to drop Aladdin
if they don’t get what they wand and bring the palace up in the sky for them.
It’s Carpet who saves the day by tricking the sprites to set everyone safely
down on the ground.

As a sub story Iago and Abu have to learn they can’t trash up the palace every
time they end up in a fight. At the beginning of this episode to two trash up
the palace coming with a bad excuse that is only bought by the Sultan. They’re
sentenced to clean up the palace or the palace is exit for them. The next morning
when everyone is trashed up again the two get blamed but Carpet proofs it was
the sprites. When the humans and Genie go out on on their air trip they leave
Iago, Abu and Carpet who feels not appreciated as mode of transportation is
finished alone in the palace. Iago tries to get a civic dinner out of it but
it annoys Abu such much that he throws soup of the parrots head starting a carnage
again. They’re so occupied to getting each other with pots, Sultan’s toys and
what else they don’t notice the palace is not in Agrabah. Of course they’re
caught by Aladdin and when things are back to normal and the sprites are gone
they’re the ones that has to clean up and repair the palace.

This episode contains good lines from Iago, Genie and the Sultan, Aladdin and
Jasmine play a smaller role. The star of this episode is Carpet who proofs his
loyalty and friendship. From my point of view this episode also contains good
material for Iago’s Birdcage such as quotes and pictures.

The DVD contains the Aladdin episode “Love at First Sprite” some cheap Snow white story and Ariel’s Treasures from The Little Mermaid series. In depth review will follow this weekend.

Hopefully Disney drops the “First time on dvd” banner. Cover looks allot like the old VHS cover and Genie’s pose comes straight from The King of Thieves.
On the other hand the disc art is gorgeous.

Ultimate Disney has some screenshots of the bonus features and menus of the upcoming Disney Princess DVD’s
Disney Princess Stories: Volume 1 – A Gift From The Heart and Disney Princess Party: Volume One
“A gift from the heart” contains stories about Belle and Cinderella. It’s unknown if there’s new animation on it or not.

The bonus features contain on “A Gift From the Heart” a game “Jasmine Says” that uses animation from The Return of Jafar and the series. Though I don’t recognize any specific episode.