Incredible Annoyance

So Amy and I picked up our copy of the Incredibles last night. We hit Christiana Mall, got some dinner from Saladworks in the Food Court and then headed home for some snuggling and viewing.

The annoyance? I preordered it at the Disney Store for the free lithographs, only they are only carrying the fullscreen version of the film. Best Buy and other locations have widescreen, but not Disney. And they didn't bother to tell me that was what I was buying when I preordered. It wasn't listed on any of the fliers, tickets, or advertisements. Evidently they didn't make that particular decision until halfway into the pre-order campaign.

I was not the only irate customer. And most of us were conspicuously wearing Disney merchandise. No wonder the company is losing money if this is how they treat their customers. It is a lot easier to give people what they want than it is to make them want something...

So now I either have to shell out more money for widescreen or live with it. One thing is for sure, I won't be buying from the Disney store for a while. Historically my stance on pre-orders has always been "don't". You are giving people money and getting a slip and a promise. I find that unsatisfying, especially when I can be sure to get exactly what I want with only a day or two of patience.

The DVD itself is great. On the first DVD they have a TV setup block that helps you get your contrast, brightness, and color settings right. While Amybear got a little annoyed while I adjusted settings, I thought it was a nice touch. Especially considering that my screens brightness was really out of wack. The movie itself is pretty, even if I'm missing a bunch of it with the fullscreen.

UPDATE: Michael Dean mentioned this class action lawsuit. To see if your DVDs are effected, check this list (pdf).