Full Metal Jackets: Little Pink Elephants for You and Me

I should know enough by now not to buy any Disney animation on Blu-ray until SteelBook copies are announced. Even if it seems like no SteelBook may be in store for a given title, one inevitably comes around eventually. To follow up on its recent offerings, UK retailer Zavvi has another batch of Disney and Pixar metal cases ready for your perusal.

Unfortunately, the availability of some of these titles is unclear. We’ll start with the ones that I know can be ordered.

‘101 Dalmatians’

Available at: Zavvi
Release date: March 16, 2014
Price: £19.99
Region code: Disney Blu-rays are typically region-free.
Availability: Currently open for pre-order.

Not only is this a nice-looking SteelBook, the movie itself has yet to be announced for release in North America. However, it came out in Europe back in September of 2012 (either on its own or paired with its DTV sequel). Zavvi’s SteelBook only contains the original movie, which I’m sure most fans will be perfectly fine with.

‘Monsters, Inc.’

Available at: Zavvi
Release date: Feb. 17, 2014
Price: £20.99
Region code: Disney Blu-rays are typically region-free.
Availability: Currently open for pre-order.

In what I hope is a new trend (see also the next title), this copy of Pixar’s ‘Monsters, Inc.’ includes both the 2D and 3D versions of the movie. In the past, it has often been a problem that collectible SteelBooks have been limited to 2D only, forcing some fans to buy a separate 3D release to put in the case. (Sadly, that happened to me with this movie, which I’ll explain momentarily.)

Now, here’s where things get tricky. The remainder of the titles seen below are currently listed as “Sold Out” on the Zavvi web site. Confusing matters greatly, Zavvi sometimes uses that designation to actually mean that a title’s pre-order status simply hasn’t opened up yet. In fact, when a disc actually does sell out, Zavvi often pulls the listing from the site altogether.

So, I’m honestly not sure whether I’ve genuinely missed the window to order of any these discs, or if it simply hasn’t started yet.

‘Up’

Available at: Zavvi
Release date: February 17, 2014
Price: £19.99
Region code: Disney Blu-rays are typically region-free.
Availability: Currently listed as “Sold Out.”

As with ‘Monsters, Inc.’, the SteelBook for ‘Up’ includes both 2D and 3D copies of the film.

Even if it turns out that this one can be ordered at some point, these last two titles present me with a dilemma. Both ‘Monsters Inc.’ and ‘Up’ were previously released in SteelBook editions by Best Buy in the United States. I like the cover art on the American SteelBooks better (though the new ‘Monsters, Inc.’ isn’t too different), but both were extra-thick cases with spines about twice as wide as a normal SteelBook, which I’ve never been happy about.

I might actually welcome the opportunity to replace these with normal-thickness SteelBooks. However, since I’ve already bought SteelBook editions of these two movies, plus 3D copies of both movies that I had to buy separately to put in the cases, I really can’t justify spending any more money on these two films. If, indeed, that’s even an option.

I hope I haven’t missed my shot at these next three cases. I’d love to buy them all.

‘Lady and the Tramp’

Available at: Zavvi
Release date: February 17, 2014
Price: £19.99
Region code: Disney Blu-rays are typically region-free.
Availability: Currently listed as “Sold Out.”

‘Dumbo’

Available at: Zavvi
Release date: February 17, 2014
Price: £19.99
Region code: Disney Blu-rays are typically region-free.
Availability: Currently listed as “Sold Out.”

‘Peter Pan’

Available at: Zavvi
Release date: February 10, 2014
Price: £19.99
Region code: Disney Blu-rays are typically region-free.
Availability: Currently listed as “Sold Out.”

That ‘Lady and the Tramp’ case is especially nice.

If anyone has more information about the status of these SteelBooks, please post in the Comments below.

In the meantime, I’ve placed my order for ‘101 Dalmatians’. I’m not letting that one slip by.

5 comments

  1. Bryan

    My understanding from surfing various forums is that Lady and the Tramp, Dumbo, and Peter Pan are all truly sold out (though more may become available closer to their release dates as people cancel preorders), while the preorder for Up has yet to go live.

  2. I had a few e-mails regarding Peter Pan in the past. Mails saying “pre-order now! Only 500 remaining!”

    So, my guess is: they were distributed amongst loyal Steelbook-buyers via e-mail updates. You did not get those, Josh? They swindled you, then!

    I had the option to buy them, but I didn’t. At least in the case of Peter Pan.

  3. One of the things I love about Zavvi is their sales. I can usually pick up Steelbooks for cheaper than their US counterparts.

    As beautiful as the Disney steelbooks are, though, I have become increasingly pissed off at Disney’s high prices. The Steelbooks are even higher, plus I have to pay shipping (does Zavvi subtract VAT? I know Amazon does, but haven’t really paid attention on my Zavvi orders). I’ve pretty much gotten to the point where I only buy Disney movies used. I have an acceptable price point that I will pay on movies, and Disney movies over the past year have been over that breaking point.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *