Walt Disney Classics (also known as The Classics from Walt Disney Home Video and Disney's Black Diamond edition) was a video line launched by WDTNT to release Disney animated features on home video.[1] The first title in the "Classics" line was Robin Hood which was released towards the end of 1984. This was followed by 19 other titles until early 1994, with The Fox and the Hound. Disney followed up on the "Classics" series by porting over the released titles (except Pinocchio, Fantasia, The Fox and the Hound, The Great Mouse Detective, The Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin)[2] to the "Masterpiece Collection" line, while continuing to use the "Classics" moniker in countries outside North America until 2007. Starting in the 2010s these videocassettes also dubbed "Black Diamond" became highly sought-after due to a public misconception about their rarity and actual value.
See main article: Walt Disney Home Video (VHS).
In 1980, Disney established its own video distribution operation as part of Walt Disney Telecommunications and Non-Theatrical Company (WDTNT) with Jim Jimirro as its first president.[3] Home video was not considered to be a major market by Disney at the time. WDTNT Co. also handled marketing of other miscellaneous ancillary items such as short 8 mm films for home movies. Disney's first releases on videotape were 13 titles that were licensed for rental to Fotomat on March 4, 1980.[4] This first group of titles on VHS marketed under the Walt Disney Home Video brand included 10 live action movies and 3 compilations of short cartoons: Pete's Dragon, The Black Hole, The Love Bug, Escape to Witch Mountain, Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The North Avenue Irregulars, The Apple Dumpling Gang, Hot Lead and Cold Feet, On Vacation with Mickey Mouse and Friends, Kids is Kids starring Donald Duck, Adventures of Chip 'n' Dale. Numerous other titles and re-releases were released at later dates throughout the early 1980s. These all came in a while clam-shell case which gave a distinctive appearance.
The Walt Disney classics include 15 animated feature films – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Fantasia, Bambi, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians, The Sword in the Stone, The Jungle Book, The Aristocats, Robin Hood, The Rescuers and The Fox and the Hound – which had only been shown at theaters, not television or any other format (except for The Sword in the Stone, which aired on television in 1985 for the first time).[5] These 15 movies laid the foundation upon which the Disney company was built. During each re-release to theaters (on a roughly seven-year cycle), they earned money comparable to new releases; it was thought the company would lose this revenue if they released the feature films on video or television. By the time the Masterpiece Collection replaced the Classics collection in the domestic market, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and The Aristocats were the only two of the original 15 classics (and in fact, the sole two pre-1985 single-narrative animated features) that had not yet been released to video or shown on television.
All of the single-story animated features made by Disney were included in the list of 15 classics except for two. The exceptions were Dumbo and Alice in Wonderland, both of which had been shown on television at the earliest opportunity. The Disneyland TV series began with The Disneyland Story, but the very next thing to be aired was Alice in Wonderland (broadcast November 3, 1954), which was edited to fit into the one-hour TV time slot. The following season began on September 14, 1955, with a one-hour version of Dumbo. Both of these movies were released on video within the first two years of the creation of Walt Disney Home Video; the videos were only briefly available for rental before they became available for sale. Despite always being available, Dumbo and Alice in Wonderland have made millions of dollars in subsequent home video releases.
| width=10% | Release Date | Title | Initial cost (USD) | Copies sold (Domestic) | Short summary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | December 3, 1984[6] | Disney thought the idea of releasing any of its animated classics might threaten future theatrical reissue revenue. Robin Hood, however, was viewed as a good first choice because it was not held in as high esteem as some of the other titles.[7] The film went on moratorium on April 30, 1987, then was re-released on July 12, 1991.[8] By the time the movie was re-released on July 12, 1991, the issue price had dropped by $55.[9] | ||||
| 2 | July 16, 1985[10] | Pinocchio was reissued theatrically in 1984 to great success, grossing over $26 million at the domestic box office. In the following year Disney announced a July 16, 1985, release date for Pinocchio, with a $1 million advertising campaign which they claimed was the first national network TV spot campaign for a single video title. The VHS price was lowered considerably for the re-release which ran from November 5, 1985 to January 31, 1986. A newly remastered edition of Pinocchio was released on video on March 26, 1993.[11] | ||||
| 3 | November 5, 1985 | Dumbo | The price of Dumbo was also dropped to $29.95 along with Robin Hood and Pinocchio in 1985. Dumbo never went into moratorium, and was repackaged in 1989 with additional promotions in 1991. | |||
| 4 | March 1986[12] | The Sword in the Stone was repackaged in 1989 with the release of Bambi and was repromoted with another VHS re-release in 1991. | ||||
| 5 | May 28, 1986[13] | Alice in Wonderland was originally released as a rental-only in the Walt Disney Home Video line. It was re-released on May 28, 1986 for sell-through for the first time as part of Disney's "Wonderland Campaign".[14] This movie was never placed on moratorium and was repromoted in 1991. | ||||
| 6 | October 14, 1986[15] | 1,000,000+[16] | Sleeping Beauty was the first title to be released in VHS Hi-Fi and in stereo sound. The film became the centerpiece for Disney's $6 million promotional campaign, "Bring Disney Home For Good" which featured all six of the animated Classics released up to the end of 1986.[17] The film went into moratorium on March 31, 1988.[18] | |||
| 7 | October 7, 1987[19] | Lady and the Tramp | Following the success of Sleeping Beauty, when Disney released Lady and the Tramp on October 7, 1987 the VHS already had 2 million pre-orders. Lady and the Tramp eventually sold 3.2 million copies, making it the best-selling videocassette at the time. It later lapsed into moratorium on March 31, 1988 along with Sleeping Beauty, having grossed in sales revenue.[20] | |||
| 8 | October 4, 1988[21] | Cinderella | A limited edition lithograph, created by animator Marc Davis was available to anyone who pre-ordered the title between July 11 and October 3, 1988. It was announced in advance that the film would go into moratorium on April 30, 1989. Cinderella was another success for Disney having grossed in sales revenue. | |||
| 9 | September 28, 1989[22] | Bambi | Bambi was the first Disney video to have a cross-promotion. The price of $26.99 could be reduced with a $3.00 rebate (available until the end of January 1990) by sending in proofs of purchase of two tubes of Crest toothpaste. The film went into moratorium on March 30, 1990.[23] | |||
| 10 | May 18, 1990[24] | The Little Mermaid | The Little Mermaid was priced at $26.99, the same as Bambi, but this time a $3 rebate was available from Disney with no additional purchase required. Disney promised its biggest TV advertising campaign ever, along with extensive print advertising.[25] By July 30, 1990, The Little Mermaid had sold 7.5 million cassettes, and it eventually sold 10 million units, making it the top-selling video release of 1990.[26] The film went into moratorium on April 30, 1991. | |||
| 11 | September 21, 1990[27] | Peter Pan | Peter Pan was released with a cross-promotion with Nabisco, available from the release date through the holiday season. This allowed consumers a $5.00 rebate with the purchase of three boxes of crackers, bringing the effective retail price under $20.00. The film later went into moratorium on April 30, 1991. | |||
| 12 | May 3, 1991[28] | The Jungle Book | The Jungle Book was originally sold for $24.99; a $5.00 rebate was offered by Nabisco, reducing the price even further. The film later went into moratorium on April 30, 1992. | |||
| 13 | September 17, 1991[29] | The Rescuers Down Under | The Rescuers Down Under was priced at $24.99 with a $5.00 mail-in refund available from Procter & Gamble. It later went on moratorium on April 30, 1993.[30] | |||
| 14 | November 1, 1991[31] | Fantasia | Roy Disney originally objected to Fantasia being released on VHS as part of Walt Disney Classics series as he felt it was too important to the family's legacy. Michael Eisner was eventually able to convince the Disney Family to let the film be released. Fantasia was Disney's first animated film to be released simultaneously worldwide (in North America plus 46 international territories). | |||
| 15 | April 10, 1992[32] | 101 Dalmatians | 101 Dalmatians went on moratorium on April 30, 1993.[33] | |||
| 16 | July 17, 1992[34] | The Great Mouse Detective | The Great Mouse Detective went on moratorium on April 30, 1993. While the exact amount of copies sold is unknown, a projected amount of 5,000,000 copies was given by The New York Times on July 16, 1992. | |||
| 17 | September 18, 1992 | The Rescuers | According to Billboard Magazine, The Rescuers was expected to sell 5 to 6 million videos. It later went on moratorium April 30, 1993. | |||
| 18 | October 30, 1992[35] | Beauty and the Beast | Beauty and the Beast sold 20 million cassettes and brought $200 million in revenue. Disney opted to delay the laserdisc release for the theatrical version of Beauty and the Beast until September 29, 1993,[36] making a film festival-screened "work-in-progress" print on disc available in the interim. It was the first Disney animated film to have a widescreen laserdisc release. Beauty and the Beast went on moratorium on April 30, 1993. | |||
| 19 | September 29, 1993[37] | Aladdin | Aladdin is the best-selling release of the Walt Disney Classics line. The VHS was first released on September 29, 1993, although it was not officially advertised until October 1. By early 1994, it had sold more than 25 million cassettes with over $500 million in revenue. Disney delayed the laserdisc release of Aladdin for nearly a year; it was eventually released, in both letterbox and pan-and-scan formats, on September 21, 1994.[38] Aladdin went on moratorium on April 30, 1994. | |||
| 20 | March 4, 1994[39] | The Fox and the Hound | This film was the last film released in the Walt Disney Classics line and went on moratorium on April 30, 1995.[40] |
Decades after their release there has been a public misconception that every "Black Diamond Edition" title from the Walt Disney Classics VHS line are rare and valuable. According to Kodak, "Tapes don't last for long due to remanence decay of the magnetic charge, causing blacked-out scenes, discoloration and eventually, entire loss of footage." They also gave a time frame by saying that tapes "degrade 10% to 20% throughout 10 to 25 years".[41] Kristy Ambrose from "The Gamer" called the phenomenon a "craze" which might be driven by nostalgia, and also stated that "Consumers have been learning some hard lessons about market manipulation and the power of trends".[42] Rain Blanken from WDW magazine called the ebay listings "bogus" and "hyped up" warning people that "Every outlet is saying these are listed for high prices… not sold."[43] This is also mentioned by Snopes which call the claim "Are 'Black Diamond' Disney VHS Tapes Worth Thousands of Dollars?" mostly false. They state that no buyers are bidding anywhere close to those asking prices for the tapes. Those that did sell for thousands of dollars are described by Snopes as a "rarity/fluke".[44]
In terms of consignment, Heritage Auctions has placed in their "Vintage VHS Tapes Value Guide" that the most desirable VHS tapes released between 1979 and 1990 are still in their original factory shrink wrap.[45] Further value is added if studio watermarks are present on the wrap. In regard to Disney "Black Diamond Editions", Heritage states that aside from a couple of titles, Disney animated films released on VHS after 1990 are not worth anything significant, and "Only the earliest of Disney VHS produced prior to 1985 hold any value to most collectors."[45] Things to look for on their guide include a sealed tape, a studio logo on the shrink-wrap, and if the latest year listed on the back of the cover is prior to 1986.[45]