1987's
G.I. Joe: The Movie, which came out a year after the end of the classic regular cartoon series, wasn't actually "a movie"...not in the traditional sense of the word. Although this animated work had been produced with the intent to be shown theatrically, it ended up going direct-to-video in response to lower-than-expected box office takes on other Sunbow theatrical films that came out in 1986 (namely
Transformers: The Movie and also, to a lesser extent,
My Little Pony: The Movie). Following the VHS tape release of the production in 1987, it was also made available for syndication on TV. In both cases, the aspect ratio of the animation - originally intended to be shown in widescreen for theater viewing - was modified to a square "full screen" format as befit the 1.33:1 televisions that were common at the time. When Rhino released the film on DVD in 2000, it was also in full screen format (that disc has been discontinued for some time now).
Given the semi-theatrical origins of
G.I. Joe: The Movie, we've honestly had a tough time here debating whether or not we should cover a new home video release of the production at TVShowsOnDVD (after all, we didn't cover Rhino's release). However, we have at times covered post-series direct-to-video "films" for other shows (including
Stargate, Battlestar Galactica, Prison Break, Futurama and an upcoming one for
Drawn Together). Since that's the case, we decided that there's no real reason to exclude
G.I. Joe: The Movie from our coverage, just because it was created 23 years ago!
So it is with great pleasure we pass along word to fans that Shout! Factory is moving ahead with plans to release
G.I. Joe: The Movie on both DVD and high-def Blu-ray Disc, sometime
later in 2010. A specific release date hasn't been finalized yet, but it is clear that the work on this project is moving along nicely. Shout! DVD producer Brian Ward
tweeted a week ago that an "excellent condition print" of the movie has been located, and to expect "a complete HD transfer" in 1080p on the Blu-ray version. Shout!'s plans are apparently to present this production for the first time ever in the widescreen video format, as originally intended by the producers (per storyboards and film logs currently in Shout!'s possession).
Even before confirming that the high-def Blu-ray version was a go (to accompany the already-planned DVD version), Shout! was already putting together a number of extras for this release..as much as they can squeeze onto a single disc. At the beginning of this month, an audio commentary track was recorded with Buzz Dixon, who was the Story Editor on the series (and wrote a huge chunk of the episodes as well), and who served as a story consultant on
G.I. Joe: The Movie; it is meant for inclusion on Shout!'s upcoming release. Also being considered is the possibility of including any of the remaining "knowing is half the battle" PSAs that were left off of Shout!'s previous DVD releases of the regular series (this assumes, of course, that decent source material has since been located for each of them...which is why they had been left off the earlier DVDs).
The final list of bonus material for Shout! Factory's release of
G.I. Joe: The Movie, on DVD and Blu-ray Disc, will be revealed soon, when the studio issues a formal announcement. At the same time we'll find out the specific release date, pricing, and hopefully the package art as well. Our thanks to every one of our readers who wrote in, encouraging us to cover this story. Stay tuned for updates, as further developments occur.
Also, don't forget that owners of Shout!'s
G.I. Joe - A Real American Hero: Complete Collector's Set will already have an empty space available in the disc storage area of the "footlocker," just waiting for their copy of
G.I. Joe: The Movie to go. Just a reminder that the folks at the "Factory" have been planning for this all along!
