beautyandthebeast
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OK, Google: Don't put ads in the Google Assistant
Given how genuinely useful so many of its products are, I sometimes forget that Google is, above all else, an advertising company. The vast majority of Google's money comes from ads, and it has made a business out of finding ways to integrate them into its services. Search, Maps and Gmail are just a few Google services that integrate ads without compromising their utility. However, Google outdid itself yesterday when it dropped an advertisement for the new Beauty and the Beast film into Google Home and the Google Assistant. The device has a feature that allows you to ask it to tell you about your day, and it responds with weather, traffic, your agenda and news. In the middle of that, Google Home informed users that Beauty and the Beast arrived in theaters and made a cutesy joke about the film. The whole thing lasted about 15 seconds, but it was nonetheless an unexpected intrusion that made users remember how often they are the product that Google is selling.
The Morning After: Friday, March 17 2017
It's the end of the week and we have talked to Buzz Aldrin about VR and Mars, tried to fund a documentary about what happened to the Tony Hawk game series, all while attempting to ignore Google Home's Beauty and the Beast ads. Ignoring ads from an internet company? It's a tale as old as time.
Google: 'Beauty and The Beast' message wasn't meant to be an ad
That didn't take long. Shortly after Google told us that its Beauty and The Beast ad being read by Assistant was not in fact an ad, the search juggernaut has reversed that stance. "This wasn't intended to be an ad," a Google spokesperson told us. "What's circulating online was a part of our My Day feature, where after providing helpful information about your day, we sometimes call out timely content." Okay, sure.
Disney's The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast show up for preorders in Blu-ray, 3D boxed sets
Disney hasn't officially revealed details of The Lion King on Blu-ray beyond saying it would launch later this year, but now two boxed sets have shown up at various retailers. That includes an 8-disc collection pictured above with The Lion King on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy, The Lion King 1.5 on Blu-ray and DVD and The Lion King 2 on Blu-ray and DVD for $74.99, as well as a standard two disc set with just The Lion King on Blu-ray and DVD for $29.99. Also of note is a listing for Beauty and the Beast on Blu-ray 3D for $34.99. Check The Lion King's announce trailer again after the break, we'll let you know when special features, specs and release dates are available. [Thanks, Mitchell]
Disney commits to 'at least 15' Blu-ray 3D releases for 2011 including Tron: Legacy
Even though Blu-ray 3D officially hit the streets in 2010, actually finding any discs available at retail was easier said than done, but that may be turning around this year starting with Disney announcing it plans "at least 15" releases this year. Recent 3D hits like Tron: Legacy and Tangled will be available at retail in 3D day-and-date with the 2D DVD & Blu-ray releases, with conversions of classics like The Lion King and Beauty in the Beast also in the works. Like it or not, the consistent box office success means there is more 3D than ever on the way, and it won't be any different at home. Check the press release after the break for a few more details about which movie will find their way out of the Disney vault in 2011.
Blu-ray releases on October 5th 2010
This is a huge week for catalogs and there aren't many that are a bigger deal than when Disney open its vault, since it does it so seldom. Right on pace for two titles a year for seven years, Disney unleashing Beauty and the Beast for the first time ever in HD -- although it was in HD on ABC HD once. Lionsgate take the cake in shear number this week though with nine titles, but none we've really been waiting for. If you've ever wondered where the line "we don't need no stinking badges" came from, we suggest you check out The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and find out. The famous documentarian Ken Burns has his followup to Baseball, The Tenth Inning, which picks up where the original 18.5 hour series left off with the 90's through today. Beauty and the Beast (Disney) 2001 Maniacs (Lionsgate) The Blair Witch Project (Lionsgate) Blue Mountain State: Season One (Lionsgate) Bad Lieutenant (Lionsgate) Hard Candy (Lionsgate) High Tension (Lionsgate) Open Water / Open Water 2: Adrift (Lionsgate) Secretary (Lionsgate) Wonderland (Lionsgate) Battle of Britain (MGM) The Pink Panther 2 (MGM) Robocop Trilogy (MGM) Mad Max (MGM) Troll 2 (MGM) Bones: The Complete Fifth Season (Fox) Delgo (Fox) The Last of the Mohicans (Fox) The Exorcist (Warner) The Maltese Falcon (Warner) Splice (Warner) The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (Warner) The Year Without a Santa Claus (Warner) 30 Days of Night: Dark Days (Sony) The Karate Kid (Sony) Baseball: The Tenth Inning (PBS) Fingerprints (Image) Sisters (Image) Grindhouse (Weinstein) The Human Centipede (IFC Films) Journey to Shark Eden (National Geographic) A Nightmare on Elm Street (New Line) The Oxford Murders (Magnolia)
Disney reveals Fantasia / Fantasia 2000 Blu-ray pack, Beauty & the Beast special features
Before it gets to the next set of classics Disney still has to push out these two, and has chosen to reveal more information about Beauty & the Beast and Fantasia's upcoming Blu-ray releases. TheHDRoom points out all the special features on the just announced four-disc (two Blu-ray / two DVD) special edition bringing home Fantasia and Fantasia 2000 November 30, including BD-Live access to Disney's Virtual Vault and the debut of the animated short Destino. As for its other classic that hits Blu-ray October 5, Stitch Kingdom has linked to a few new videos revealing some of the special features included with the Diamond Edition release. We doubt any parent thought they'd get through the holidays without sliding more cash Disney's way, but just in case, the Fantasia trailer and Beauty & the Beast videos embedded after the break should be quite convincing.
Beauty and the Beast coming to Blu-ray October 5
We should all be familiar with Disney's system of scheduling releases from its valuable archive of animated hits by now, and it's staying on path with Beauty and the Beast, arriving on Blu-ray for the first time on October 5, a year after the first Diamond Edition release, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.All that means is to expect another Blu-ray + DVD combo pack (with standalone DVD to follow later, on November 23) with carefully restored imagery, 7.1 surround audio and plenty of extras. The trailer is embedded after the break, but we suspect the decision to buy this one has already been made.
Disney releasing 14 classics on Blu-ray over the next 7 years
We've got good news and bad news. The good news is that our children won't have to suffer through SD versions of their favorite movies forever, the bad is that it's going to take another seven years. This might be really bad news for some of us, because we don't know about anyone else, but our kids like to watch the same movies over and over again and suffering through DVD versions of Disney classics is very painful on a 60-inch Kuro -- we swear the damage is permanent. This is especially true when the latest Disney titles are already available on Blu-ray so we know exactly what our poor kids are missing. Seven years isn't forever though and over the that time Disney will be releasing two of its 14 biggest classics each year. Pinochio and Sleeping Beauty were released already, and Beauty and the Beast and Fantasia come next. All of them will of course be fully restored and included Dolby TrueHD 7.1 surround sound. Beauty and the Beast Fantasia Fantasia 2000 The Lion King Bambi Cinderella Lady and the Tramp The Little Mermaid Peter Pan The Jungle Book 101 Dalmatians
Disney to finally unleash a few classics on Blu-ray
Ever since the early days of the format war, many have questioned Disney's dedicated to the format because over the years as Disney has released a few classics out of its vault onto DVD, Blu-ray fans were left looking through the window. About a year ago we finally got word that Disney was going to stop this trend and release Sleeping Beauty on Blu-ray -- complete with BD Live extras -- and now we got word that there are more classics to follow. In the next two years, Disney plans to release Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio and Beauty and the Beast on Blu. This is a great sign the Disney is finally pulling out all the stops and putting all its weight behind the new HD format, but only time will tell if these family favorites will be enough to help Blu-ray replace DVD and not be replaced by digital downloads -- anytime soon anyways.
