Disney Movie Club Shuts Down: An Ode to Disney Physical Media

On Tuesday, it was announced the Disney Movie Club (DMC), the preeminent DVD and Blu-ray subscription service, was shutting down for good. A longtime staple of the physical media community, the DMC gave members access to the studios’ catalog by offering exclusive and often discounted titles, giving collectors a convenient way to receive all of the latest releases by mail. Following the closure of the club’s Canadian branch—and the ceasing of physical Disney media in Australia altogether—this news didn’t come as much of a surprise. Still, for those of us who hold onto DVDs and Blu-rays like the treasures they are, it is certainly disappointing.

The Disney Movie Club has been around for 23 years, seeing DVD technology take off, the decimation of VHS, and the launch of Blu-ray and Disney+. Throughout most of those years, the Disney Movie Club also allowed collectors a way to buy and relish titles that were not available elsewhere, making it a special resource for people who love movies.

Always a pioneer of new technology, Disney Home Entertainment consistently pulled out all the stops in the early 2000s to demonstrate what could be done in this new home media format. In these early years, they were known for packing their DVD releases full of behind-the-scenes documentaries, deleted scenes and other content that would satisfy the hunger of rabid Disney fans. Yes, LaserDiscs had provided access to some great features, but DVD was a whole new world (pun intended).

To this day, 2001 remains a glorious year for Disney collectors. That year, the company’s first animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, received its debut DVD release: A two-disc “platinum edition” featuring deleted songs, behind-the-scenes footage and helpful guides (including one by Roy E. Disney himself) on how newcomers could use this technology. Also released was the first wave of the now out-of-print Walt Disney Treasures DVD sets. Hosted by critic Leonard Maltin, this was the first time many of the classic Mickey, Donald and Goofy cartoons were readily available. And finally, 2001 saw the launch of the Disney Movie Club under the significantly clunkier title the “Disney Movie Collection By Mail.”

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Though the specific number of titles you were required to purchase varied over the years, the Disney Movie Club’s initiation remained more or less the same: To gain access, would-be members would commit to buy a certain amount of Disney titles over the next year or two, and, as a bonus, would receive several free titles up front. Designed as a mail-away program, the membership was a way for Disney fans and collectors to acquire the newest Disney DVDs as they were hitting the market. By 2002, it received a new website and was called the “Disney Movie Club,” a title that remained in effect for the rest of its existence. In 2005, DMC took the brand to the next level. Rather than just selling existing home video releases, they began to offer exclusive titles, first on DVD, then VHS and eventually Blu-ray. This movement began with lesser-seen titles like Benji the Hunted and Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken. By 2008, they capitalized on this business model to a fuller extent, with “Disney Exclusives” that were clearly advertised as “not available in stores.”

Featuring distinctive bright yellow covers, these DVD releases brought countless movies to club members. For years, this was the only way to view significant titles from the Walt Disney Company’s history. So Dear to My Heart—a 1946 animation/live-action hybrid, following in the tradition of Song of the South (and a personal favorite of Walt’s)—was released as a club exclusive in 2008. It is currently not available to stream on Disney+. Another example is The Sword and the Rose—Disney’s third live-action feature following Treasure Island and The Story of Robin Hood—which starred the legendary Glynis Johns as Mary Tudor, Queen of France. It is still unavailable to purchase on physical media elsewhere and is also not available on Disney+.

Ironically, the Disney Movie Club was seeing a resurgence as recently as 2021. Following no new releases since 2019, that year saw 16 new Blu-ray exclusives become available, several of which are unavailable to stream. For years, animation fans had been asking for The Black Cauldron on Blu-ray but, in a continuation of Disney’s known aversion to the film, they’d put off releasing it until 2021. Other major releases that year included the creepy ‘80s duo The Watcher in the Woods and Something Wicked This Way Comes, as well as Make Mine Music—the only Walt Disney Animation movie still not on Disney+.

This loss of the club is not one that is unfamiliar or unique to the physical media community. For years, people have claimed that physical media is doomed, soon to be completely overtaken by streaming. Still, the Blu-ray has continued to thrive with boutique labels like the Criterion Collection, Kino Lorber and Shout! Factory. But the distinct structure of the Disney Movie Club was the first, and last, of its kind. The closest modern equivalent would probably be the Warner Bros. Archive Collection, which prints small amounts of older films on DVD and Blu-ray—though you don’t need to be a member to purchase. In its heyday, though, being a part of DMC was like being part of some exclusive secret club, having the ability to see movies available nowhere else. Though Disney is certainly not a boutique company, its physical media releases are something that collectors are proud of, with collections we hope to maintain.

Given all of this information, the pressing question is this: How and when will these exclusives become available again? With the Disney+ platform including many of these films, I’m sure the company is in no rush to bring them all to physical media again. However, all one has to do is check eBay to learn that there is indeed a market for Disney media. Those aforementioned Walt Disney Treasures DVDs? All of them are out of print and highly collectable, with the highest-priced titles reaching into the hundreds of dollars. And, despite the company’s efforts to restore some of their classic cartoons for Disney+, hundreds more are completely unavailable to stream or purchase.

My guess is that those Disney Movie Club exclusives will end up the way of the Treasures. They will hit eBay for exorbitant sums and physical media collectors will be forced to make a choice that we have had to make time and time again: Shell out the big bucks to complete our collections or wait, hoping the price will either go down or the titles will become more readily available.

In the entertainment industry, nothing feels stable. Mergers are constantly rumored. Movies and shows are being removed from streaming platforms for a quick buck, destined to be banished to the dreaded vault and never to be legally seen again. Following the announcement of the Disney Movie Club shutdown, more related news came out that was a bonafide shocker: Walt Disney Home Entertainment was going to suspend operations as it currently stands. Instead of releasing titles under their own label, Disney will begin to license their titles to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, ending a business that started back in 1978. With all of these changes underway, it’s hard to know where the future of Disney physical media lies. Perhaps Sony will utilize this opportunity and surprise everybody with releases that match or improve upon previous Disney releases, either those made for the club or otherwise. But then, when faced with the reality of the physical media landscape, that could just be a foolish wish upon a star.

Josh Sharpe is the current TV intern at Paste. His other bylines include TheaterMania and Collider. To hear about his thoughts about film, TV, and musical theatre, follow him @josh_sharpe22 on all socials.

An Ode to the Disney Movie Club