"Up"? More like down...

[codeman38]

(Here's an accessibility fail for you: I was trying to edit one of my posts but accidentally deleted it because the buttons are too close together on my phone screen. And of course, there's no confirmation before the post is deleted if the device you're using doesn't support JavaScript.

Anyway, here's the post I was trying to edit... sorry for losing the comments, guys!)

---

I just received Pixar's Up on DVD from Netflix.

There are NO CAPTIONS OR SUBTITLES on the Netflix version of the DVD, or at least on the copy that I received. (There aren't any menus or extra shorts, either, but the subtitles are particularly important for me.)

The retail version has subtitles in English, French and Spanish, at least according to the packaging and the reviews that I've found. WHAT HAPPENED HERE?!

I even posted a screenshot on Twitpic of the subtitle menu in Apple's DVD player as proof, because I know nobody's going to believe me. (I checked to see if there was a closed-captioning track, too, because some discs have that but not subtitles; there isn't one of those, either.)

Edited to add: Apparently this isn't a fluke; several other people have tweeted about the Redbox DVD having the same "rental" disc ID and also lacking subtitles. If you're trying to get deaf people to buy the retail DVD, this is so the wrong way to do it, guys.

Edited further to add: At least one confirmation on Twitter of Blockbuster also having the un-captioned version.

Edited still further to add: Just confirmed with my own eyes that one of the Up DVDs in a brick-and-mortar Blockbuster store is the caption-less version... despite the box very clearly showing the icon for subtitles. Anyone up for suing Disney for false representation?

Edited yet again to add: Twitter user TheFarmerJoe contacted Disney and got an explanation: the removal of captioning was intentional, because they view closed captioning as a bonus feature. FAIL FAIL FAIL FAIL x 1000.

Comments

[jmtorres]

I recall back when American Beauty first came out in rental, the VHS had captioning for about thirty seconds before it screwed up and then was not present the rest of the movie. We tried rental places all over town; apparently this entire first-run batch of rental VHS was screwed up. I wonder if they take less time and care with the rental batches than with the subsequent consumer releases?

[codeman38]

It's bizarre, though-- because the rental release came out concurrently with the retail release. Perhaps the rental version was still pressed earlier?

[jeshyr]

Captioning as a BONUS!?

Yeah, like being able to understand the movie is totally not a standard expectation .... MAJOR FAIL.

[codeman38]

Yeaahhh. To say I was disappointed when I put the DVD in and there wasn't any captioning would be a huge understatement. >_<;;

Worst thing was that on both Netflix and Blockbuster, it was listed as being subtitled. Had it been labeled as not subtitled, I would've still been annoyed, but at least I wouldn't have been disappointed.

Found out that a local rental shop has a retail copy of the DVD that does include captioning, so I'm anxiously waiting for that to be returned.

(Really, though-- anyone want to start a letter-bomb campaign to Disney?)

[lady_ganesh]

(I'd be happy to, yes. Do they do this with all their releases, do you know?)

[codeman38]

It looks like Marlee Matlin has already had some influence:

http://twitter.com/MarleeMatlin/status/5807301183

Of course, this says nothing about recalling the *existing* copies...

[lady_ganesh]

Damn, I love her. I followed a Twitter path and submitted a complaint; we'll see what happens next, I guess.

[codeman38]

Oh, and I just sent a tip to Consumerist about this. Figured they might be interested in the false-advertising aspect.