Okay let's try to make some sense of all the versions that are coming out for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on Blu-ray. What we are reviewing will, presumably, be the most popular Blu-ray edition - the 3-disc Diamond Edition. It has 2 Blu-ray discs and one lone DVD. For those with deep pockets we have the Limited Edition Collector's Set [Blu-ray] HERE. It will include the same double Blu-rays + DVD set housed in a red box case with a hardcover book (The Making of a Masterpiece), stills, and lapel pins of the seven dwarfs. The Plush Gift Set HERE has the same discs and includes a small 'plush' of all seven dwarfs. The Collector's Book Set HERE is expected to include the Blu-ray + DVD version of the movie packaged with the same book offered in the Limited Edition. In the 'DVD packaging' edition HERE for about $1 more than the Diamond I'll assume you get the DVD in it's own packaging. Most assuredly all Blu-ray and DVD transfers included in the above will be the same. We are making an even broader assumption that the 2-disc DVD only package available November 24th, 2009 will be the same as the single DVD incorporated into the Blu-ray editions. It is this DVD we are using for comparison purposes. Whew!

Firstly, someone must have heard my complaint about the excessive trailers prior to the Sleeping Beauty Blu-ray feature presentation - I think I counted nine (film and Blu-ray adverts). BUT here we are greeted only with a language option (English, French or Spanish) and then we see some Dumbo in Hi-def (Spring 2010), a The Frog and Princess advert and one for the next Tinkerbell flick (5.5 minutes in total) then... away we go! Bravo!

NOTE: I focused far more on the Blu-ray in this comparison as technically I don't own the full 2-disc DVD only package yet.

Right of the bat we get another option. DisneyView. As with the previously released Pinocchio we get the option of original 1.33 viewing OR having Disney artist Toby Bluth fill the black vertical bars at the sides of HD (1.78) TV frames with custom imagery. I like it - there are curtains for the beginning, trees for the sequences in the forest and similar side borders that don't change so frequently as to be intrusive. BUT they change frequently enough though so as not on incur burn-in on plasmas. This will be an option that is easy to embrace or reject fairly quickly. It's great to have the option.

On the image: Being animation we typically don't notice humungous improvements in detail, although some exists. It is never at the same level as with advanced resolution in live action. What is most prominent in the Blu-ray over the SD-DVD image are the way colors are rendered and their comparative temperature, brightness (vibrancy) and/or smoothness in motion. They certainly seem more pure in 1080P without a hint of bleeding. This reinforces the tightness of the image and gives it the perception of superior detail - especially for larger screen viewers. The 'reds' of Snow White's lips or hair ribbon are one notable example. I suggest clicking on a few of the expandable Blu-ray captures to see the greater depth of the hi-def image quality. Colors aren't overly brilliant as we see so often nowadays - but certainly stand out, and they are strong and consistent - coming close to reporting real depth of field. Correspondingly the SD-DVD is a much flatter appearance. A good example of the differences comes right away with the opening credits (which, by the way, are pictureboxed on both transfers). Background walls are green-ish on the DVD and brown/grey on the Blu-ray. Browns themselves are more tan on the SD and earthy/rich through HD. Darker colors look more black on the older format and tend to look more deep purple on the Blu-ray, Whites (the Prince's teeth or the Huntsman's eyes) and gold's are much stronger on the Blu-ray. Lastly you get a smidgeon more information on all 4 edges on the 1080P rendering. Most of the benefit from increased resolution will be noticeable the larger your viewing area. Technically the feature disc is dual-layered taking up about 35.4 Gig of the 50 Gig space but the hour-23-minute feature itself covers only 19.7 Gig. The rest of the disc space is filled with the, mostly HD supplements.

Technically the feature disc is dual-layered taking up about 35.4 Gig of the 50 Gig space but the hour-23-minute feature itself covers only 19.7 Gig. The rest of the disc space is filled with the extensive supplements.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is about as 'family classic' as you can get. It looks and sounds better than ever before on Blu-ray. I don't think a package this extensive needs any encouragement from me. Rest assured it's a thorough as anything we've seen this year and may get some substantial talk at the DVD and Blu-ray of the Year voting.