If there’s anything that makes Disney and film fans alike frustrated, it’s the Disney Vault. Exactly what is this vault and what does it means when a film is placed inside of this mysterious vault?
First of all, the vault isn’t actually a vault, but a process. While I’m certain that Disney does keep some things vaulted such as original prints and cels, to believe that these films are being drug out of a large vault every time they are re-released is incorrect. When a film is vaulted, the studio simply places a moratorium on the film and halts production on DVD and VHS versions of the film to be released to the public.
With Disney, the studio places a film “in the vault” for ten years. Once the ten year moratorium has passed, the film is then re-released to the public. What this means for fans of the films and anxious parents hoping to introduce their children to the classics is that they must scramble to find copies of the vaulted films from secondary sellers such as Ebay sellers.
As of 2006, the vaulted film to be re-released this year is Lady and the Tramp (Feb. 28). Some popular animated feature films currently “out of the vault” include Dumbo, Bambi, Cinderella, and Alice in Wonderland. Once Disney places the moratorium on these films, they will be re-entered into the vault and won’t be re-released for another ten years.
So, what’s a parent or fan to do if they want to purchase films that are in the vault, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves or Sleeping Beauty? The best way to purchase these films is to do what most people do when searching for a hard to find, out of print item: go to eBay.
Whereas it was once extremely expensive to find an out of print Disney film on VHS or DVD, the volume of sellers has somewhat leveled the playing field and, as a result, lowered the prices. Whereas you might have paid up to (and sometimes over) $100 for an out of print copy of Beauty and the Beast, a current search on Ebay shows copies selling within the $20-$30 range.
Of course, a valid question that many consumers ask is, “Why place a moratorium on the films at all?” The answer is a simple one, but upon inspection, also becomes confusing as well. Marketing. So far, the process seems to be working well. Re-release a beloved Disney film on DVD to a hungry crowd. Make sure the masses understand that this is a limited time offer and the film will be placed back “in the vault.” Consumers scramble to get their copy and sales increase because, after all, they’ve seen what happened when they put off getting that copy of Peter Pan. Then, the film is taken away and ten years from now will be re-released to hungry crowd once again.
The problem some critics have seen with this is that, with the advent of Pixar and an overabundance of children’s programming, that demand might not be there in ten years. If that’s the case, so far, it hasn’t been enough to stop the vaulting and still seems to work well – much to the dismay of the fan who suddenly has a craving to see The Little Mermaid and can’t find the DVD on the shelves of their local DVD outlet.
The bottom line is: it is cheaper to go ahead and buy the DVD at your local discounted DVD outlet than to have to buy the film online for a slightly higher price plus shipping. But what about those films that won’t be available before your child turns fourteen and suddenly no longer has an interest in animated films? For those moments, the best recommendation is to simply do search on ebay for your favorite film and purchase it from one of the many sellers listed.
In the meantime, don’t forget that another Disney Classic, Lady and the Tramp, will be hitting shelves in just a few weeks. Get it while it’s cheap, folks!