Walt Disney Classics

The 1984 Walt Disney Classics logo.

File:WaltDisneyClassics1988.jpg

The 1988 Walt Disney Classics logo (original version).

The 1988 Walt Disney Classics logo (regular version).

The American Classics print logo.

Walt Disney Classics (formerly or also just The Classics) was a brand name used by Walt Disney Home Video on their American, European, and Japanese video releases of Disney animated features. The line first hit stores in December 6, 1984. With the October 28, 1994^[1] release of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the existing titles in the Classics series became part of the new Masterpiece Collection and the Classics line was retired in the United States and Canada. Cassette copies of the original Classics series, with their black diamond-shaped logo, became much sought-after, and a huge hit with collectors, since they constituted the first home video release for most Disney animated features up to the time when the label was discontinued. The line was probably started since every Disney Classic on television was edited to at least an hour, and the fact that very little Disney films were on video in the early 1980s.

Titles

Domestic (United States and Canada)

English-language releases on videocassette

Many titles before were released in the United States and Canada earlier than their releases in Europe and Japan.

Robin Hood (December 6, 1984^[2] #228 and July 12, 1991^[1] #1189)
Pinocchio (July 16, 1985 and March 26, 1993) #239
Dumbo (December 1, 1985, and September 28, 1989, and October 23, 1991) #024
The Sword in the Stone (March 24, 1986, and September 28, 1989, and 1991) #229
Alice in Wonderland (July 20, 1986 and March 1991) #036
Sleeping Beauty (October 14, 1986) #476
Lady and the Tramp (October 6, 1987) #582
Cinderella (October 4, 1988) #410
Bambi (September 28, 1989) #942
The Little Mermaid (May 18, 1990^[1]) #913
Peter Pan (September 21, 1990^[1]) #960
The Jungle Book (May 3, 1991) #1122
The Rescuers Down Under (September 20, 1991^[3]^[4]) #1142
Fantasia (November 1, 1991^[1]) #1132
101 Dalmatians (April 10, 1992^[1]) #1263
The Great Mouse Detective (July 17, 1992^[3]) #1360
The Rescuers (September 18, 1992) #1399
Beauty and the Beast (October 30, 1992^[1]) #1325
Aladdin (October 1, 1993^[1]^[5]^[6]) #1662
The Fox and the Hound (March 4, 1994^[3]) #2041

U.S. Spanish-language releases

Alicia en El País de las Maravillas (June 22, 1994) #036/73
La Bella y la Bestia (June 22, 1994) #1325/73
Aladdin (April 14, 1995) #1662/73
Pinocchio (April 16, 1995) #239/73
La Espada en la Piedra (March 20, 1996) #229/73
La Sirenita (March 20, 1996) #913/73

Europe

The following titles were released in Europe. The Black Diamond logo only appeared as its animated forms before the film started, as the European Classics releases had a different print logo.

Dumbo (1985 and 1991)
Robin Hood (1985 and 1991)
Pinocchio (1985, 1991 and 1993)
The Sword in the Stone (1985 and 1991)
Alice in Wonderland (1986 and 1991)
Sleeping Beauty (1986 and 1989)
Lady and the Tramp (1988 and 1992)
Cinderella (1988)
Bambi (1989)
The Little Mermaid (1990)
Peter Pan (1990)
The Aristocats (1990 and 1993)
The Jungle Book (1991)
The Rescuers Down Under (1991)
Fantasia (1991)
101 Dalmatians (1992)
The Great Mouse Detective (1992)
The Rescuers (1992)
Beauty and the Beast (1992)
Aladdin (1993)
The Fox and the Hound (1994)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (October 1994)
The Three Caballeros (1995)
The Lion King (1995)
Pocahontas (1996)
The Black Cauldron (1997)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1997)
Hercules (1998)

Japanese releases on LaserDisc

The following titles were released on LaserDisc in Japan^[7] with a diamond-shaped The Classics logo incorporated into the packaging, generally on an obi strip.

Sleeping Beauty (December 23, 1989 and July 19, 1996)
Dumbo (March 27, 1990)
Lady and the Tramp (December 16, 1990)
Alice in Wonderland (March 25, 1991)
Peter Pan (July 15, 1991)
Fantasia (November 1, 1991)
The Litte Mermaid (March 25, 1992)
Cinderella (October 25, 1992)
Beauty and the Beast (September 17, 1993)
Bambi (November 19, 1993)
The Jungle Book (March 25, 1994)
Aladdin (September 21, 1994)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (October 24, 1994)
The Three Caballeros (October 25, 1994)
Pinocchio (March 17, 1995)
The Lion King (September 29, 1995)
101 Dalmatians (October 6, 1995)
Pocahontas (November 25, 1996)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (October 29, 1997)

Notes and references

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h This date is the official Nationally Advertised Availability Date (NAAD) that appeared in all pre-release advertising and all Disney literature. An earlier so-called Will Call date was the actual release date and the first day of sale for stores that did not have to wait for shipping. The Will Call was 2 days before the NAAD for The Little Mermaid, and it had changed to 3 days before the NAAD by the time Peter Pan was released. There remained a 3-day difference until the last quarter of 1995 when it was changed to a one-day difference.
^ Salem, Rob (October 20, 1984). "A video shopping list". Toronto Star. p. G11. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c This appears to be the NAAD (see previous note for details) because copies are known to have been released 3 days earlier than this.
^ McCullaugh, Jim (July 13, 1991). "'Rescuers' to join Disney's holiday sell-through biz". Billboard. p. 7. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ Nichols, Peter M. (September 12, 1993). "The New Season: Home Entertainment; 'Beauty' Was Big, but Make Way for 'Aladdin'". New York Times. Retrieved 2006-09-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ "History-Making, Academy Award-Winning, $200 Million Box-Office Sensation Soars to Video in October" (Press release). Walt Disney Home Video. 1993-04-26. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
^ "Disney animated features available on Japanese laserdisc". January 17, 2004. Retrieved 2006-09-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

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[NAAD-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h This date is the official Nationally Advertised Availability Date (NAAD) that appeared in all pre-release advertising and all Disney literature. An earlier so-called Will Call date was the actual release date and the first day of sale for stores that did not have to wait for shipping. The Will Call was 2 days before the NAAD for The Little Mermaid, and it had changed to 3 days before the NAAD by the time Peter Pan was released. There remained a 3-day difference until the last quarter of 1995 when it was changed to a one-day difference.

[2] Salem, Rob (October 20, 1984). "A video shopping list". Toronto Star. p. G11. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)

[Presumed_NAAD-3] This appears to be the NAAD (see previous note for details) because copies are known to have been released 3 days earlier than this.

[4] McCullaugh, Jim (July 13, 1991). "'Rescuers' to join Disney's holiday sell-through biz". Billboard. p. 7. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[5] Nichols, Peter M. (September 12, 1993). "The New Season: Home Entertainment; 'Beauty' Was Big, but Make Way for 'Aladdin'". New York Times. Retrieved 2006-09-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[6] "History-Making, Academy Award-Winning, $200 Million Box-Office Sensation Soars to Video in October" (Press release). Walt Disney Home Video. 1993-04-26. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[7] "Disney animated features available on Japanese laserdisc". January 17, 2004. Retrieved 2006-09-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

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