Universal's Amblimation studios have produced some wonderful animated films over the years. Two great examples are An American Tail and Balto. They are also great examples of how much Universal cares about its animated films.
An American Tail
is one of Don Bluth's best, ranking up there with The Secret of Nimh, The Land Before Time and All Dogs go to Heaven. Who cannot resist the timeless tale of the little Russian imigrant mouse Fievel in his quest to find his family? It's one of the most heartwarming films of my childhood. Sadly however, the DVD is seriously lacking.
First, we get a rather underwhelming cover with mistakes on the character's designs. There is not one single interesting bonus feature, and no picture clean-up. Also, it is exclusively in full-screen pan-and-scan format, meaning that one third of the original picture has been cut out, so many epic shots of the film are diminished. It played in theaters before I was born, so that means that I have never seen the film in all of its glory. There's only one advantage that this DVD has over the VHS - it doesn't need rewinding. And that's pretty sad.
Are you An American Tail fan? If you are - you will love Balto! And if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It's based on a true story of the 1925 serum run to Nome. It tells of an outcast half-wolf, half-husky who saves the town of Nome from a diptheria epidemic. Sadly, this underrated gem flopped at the cinemas because it came out at the same time as Toy Story, and reviewers could not stop comparing Balto to Toy Story, and to Disney in general. This is ridiculous, since the two have nothing in common. Thanks to small-minded reviews such as these, Universal are convinced that Balto is a terrible film. Like An American Tail, they give it a dreadful DVD with the same problems that plagued the American Tail DVD - no widescreen format, an underwhelming cover, no picture improvement or a single interesting bonus.
Universal consider these two films to be nothing but mindless kiddie fluff. Anyone who has seen these wonderful films will know differently. So please help by signing this petition to give these films a decent DVD.
is one of Don Bluth's best, ranking up there with The Secret of Nimh, The Land Before Time and All Dogs go to Heaven. Who cannot resist the timeless tale of the little Russian imigrant mouse Fievel in his quest to find his family? It's one of the most heartwarming films of my childhood. Sadly however, the DVD is seriously lacking.