Blu-ray releases of pre-2000 non-Disney animated films can sometimes be quite a rarity for some strange reason. We have gotten a few Don Bluth films, a couple non-Disneys of the 1990s (such as Ferngully: The Last Rainforest), even a few films from the likes of Ralph Bakshi along with other strange or off-the-wall films. But a good number of animated films released from 1939 to now have yet to see a Blu-ray release.
Oddly enough, two of Don Bluth’s most recognized films aren’t available on Blu-ray. First is An American Tail, the very film that arguably kicked off the Second Golden Age of Animation since it was such a big hit, was the highest grossing animated film on its initial release and motivated Disney brass to re-invest in animation at a time when they weren’t very interested in it. The other is The Land Before Time, which continued the success of Tail and spawned a big franchise. Why weren’t these two films released on Blu-ray already?
It’s also bizarre seeing how some Bluth films that are seen as lesser, and in some cases bad, such as Thumbelina and The Pebble and the Penguin are already on the format. Well, fortunately, An American Tail is finally hitting Blu-ray. When?
March 4th. Around the same time, DreamWorks will reach into their hand-drawn library and give us Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron on Blu-ray. Does this mean we’ll see more non-Disney animated films hit Blu-ray next year?
It also makes one ask: What about the rest of the Bluth films?
Bluth has directed ten theatrical animated films, and – after this comes out – there are only four left to release on Blu-ray. Maybe we’ll see the rest hit the format sometime next year, or The Land Before Time at least. Releasing that one is a no-brainer, and a Titan A.E. Blu-ray would be welcome too… But then you’ve got Rock-A-Doodle and A Troll in Central Park. Those two are often regarded as Bluth’s low points, though they probably have their fans. They are the least likely to hit Blu-ray soon, if ever. Especially a lot of studios want to move away from Blu-ray and physical media, sadly.
Anyways, again, An American Tail hits Blu-ray on March 4, 2014. You can pre-order it on Amazon.
