Netflix Graced By Two More Disney Classics

As the wonderful Frozen sets box office records in theaters, Netflix has added more Disney magic to the home viewing world with the arrivals of The Sword in the Stone and Robin Hood. I was asleep at the switch when these two classics appeared last week: Many thanks to Josie Becker for alerting me to these welcome additions to the Netflix streaming lineup!

Both these films feature great character animation, and The Sword in the Stone is one of my very favorite Disney movies. What a great pair to watch beside a crackling fireplace this winter!

New Disney Collection Arrives With Great Park Tracks

That enormous 4-album Disney Music set we previewed earlier is now available for purchase and download on iTunes. The best news for park fans is the happy confirmation that all but one of Disneyland/Walt Disney World Tracks on disc 4 are available for individual purchase (Disneyland's Splash Mountain is the only album-only park track). Collectors can now pick out any tracks they need without having to pay $39.99 for a massive set of tunes they probably already own.

I'm very happy to finally have a great recording of "The Best Time of Your Life." Happy music browsing!

Huge Disney Music Collection on the Horizon

Disney Classics, a four-disc overview of the company's vast, eclectic musical landscape arrives on iTunes and CD November 12th.

Each disc features a different theme:

Disney Timeless Classics
Disney Modern Classics
Disney Television Classics
Disney Theme Park Classics

The set boasts an interesting lineup of tracks, ranging from "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf" to the theme from "Wizards of Waverly Place". Some picks are obvious standards while some are surprisingly (in a good way) out of left field. In many ways, this set seems to be the spiritual successor to the Randy Thornton-produced collection, The Music of Disney: A Legacy In Song from 1992, as it aims at covering the entire spectrum of Disney's music catalog while picking no more than one song from any particular film or show...with a couple of exceptions this time around.

For die-hard Disney fans, quite a few tracks will evoke smiles. Whether never-before-released or haven't-been-available-in-ages, here are a few of the tracks for the Disneymaniacs:

The Triple R Song
Darkwing Duck Theme
Scarecrow
Minnie's Yoo Hoo (The Mouse Factory version)
Aloha, E Komo Mai (the only good thing about the Lilo and Stitch TV series)

For readers of this site, here's what you're really interested in: The theme park tracks on Disc 4

The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room
Swisskapolka
Yo Ho
Splash Mountain Medley (Disneyland version)
Bear Band Serenade
Grim Grinning Ghosts
It's a Small World
There's a Great, Big Beautiful Tomorrow (Rex Allen)
The Great Outdoors
Space Mountain (Dick Dale)
Soarin'
It's Tough To Be a Bug
California Screamin'
The Best Time of Your Life
Space Mountain (Michael Giacchino)
Universe of Energy
Kitchen Kabaret Medley
One Little Spark (the original)
Canada
Golden Dream
Finale (Fantasmic exit music)

I'm mainly pleased to see Dick Dale's 1996 surfer-guitar "Space Mountain" score and "The Best Time of Your Life" landing on iTunes for the first time.

Check out this link for the complete track list. Overall, it looks like a solid collection. There are too many current-era Disney Channel tunes for my tastes, but many younger fans will feel as nostalgic for those tracks as I am for "Scarecrow" and The Mouse Factory. It truly does seem to be a set aimed at the entire fan base.

There's one fly in the ointment: In preview mode, the set is listed as being an album-only collection, meaning single track purchases (except for a single new pop medley) are not offered. I certainly hope that changes by November 12th, as--like many fans--I've already bought 95% of these.

Netflix Adds The Rescuers & Treasure Planet

A quick update: Netflix, as part of their ongoing Disney agreement, has just added more two animated classics to their digital streaming lineup: The Rescuers and the very underrated Treasure Planet.

What a nice way to start the New Year! Check our Disney Netflix List for a full listing of the currently available classics.

Disney's Netflix Deal: Good News for Fans

 

Disney's new agreement with Netflix marks a bright spot in both companies' attempts to get Disney classics streaming into homes. As the first big studio to choose Netflix over cable television, Disney's breaking new ground.