Columbia Tri-Star Home Entertainment has released details on the DVD release of the groundbreaking animated feature, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, which will go on sale on October 23rd.  Although the Final Fantasy film was a disappointment at the box office, especially given the extraordinary amount of publicity generated by the hyper-realistic computer animation style, the groundbreaking film did move a lot of collectors' figures (see 'Final Fantasy Figures Flying'), and the betting here is that the 2-disk Final Fantasy DVD, which is loaded with special features, will be a big hit with animation collectors (and home theater buffs).  The two-disk set has a very reasonable (for DVDs at least) SRP of $29.95, with a minimum advertised price (MAP) of $24.95, which should provide some protection for retailers.

 

The first disk includes the film (1.85:1 Widescreen presentation enhanced for 16x9 TVs) plus two feature length commentaries, an isolated soundtrack with commentary by composer Elliot Goldenthal, theatrical trailers, interactive animated menus, and scene selections with motion images.  The second disk includes the interactive documentary, The Making of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, an alternate opening sequence, seven in-depth character files, a matte art feature, a feature that allows viewers to re-edit a pivotal scene from the film, exclusive DVD-ROM interactive features including a complete screenplay and a virtual tour of Square Pictures' state of the art studio.

 

Note the growing number of interactive features. Not everyone will want to take advantage of these (some will require a computer or PS2 player), but animation fans should find hours of fun in all these extras.  This coming fall and the subsequent holiday season will see an enormous number of mega-DVD releases (see 'Phantom Menace DVD Bows in Oct,' 'Shrek DVD Raises the Bar,' etc.).  The window between when a film is released theatrically and on DVD keeps shrinking.  Final Fantasy is still playing now (albeit at the cheap theaters), and its DVD release is just two months away; it used to take over a year for a film to appear on video. The acceleration of films from theatrical release to video means that almost all of this summer's hit movies will be available on DVD for holiday shoppers.  Combine this with the accelerated re-issuing of classic films on DVD (see 'The Most Influential Film in the History of Comics') and the increasing use of DVD Box Sets to collect popular TV series, season by season (see 'Simpsons Season 1 DVD Set') and you have the recipe for the most crowded fall season in video history.  But with its specialized appeal to animation fans and its plethora of extra features, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, will get its share of what should be a very big fourth quarter for DVD sales.