Is the only FULL home release of Midnight Castle & Escape Catrina the 90s VHS?

[Itcheeee]

I've been trying to buy all the G1 media in order, but so far it seems all the DVDs are the tv cut versions of these two specials. Is the only choice the costly 80s VHS? Catrina isn't too much but the Midnight Castle one is quite...over priced. I want to watch them on my TV, youtube uploads were taken down by Hasbro (Why? They don't sell the uncut versions!) and Daily motion doesn't work on Roku anymore. I really want to own the G1 animated library any way Thanks for any advice.

EDIT: Found the uncut VHS and got it for a decent price! Thanks everyone

[Ponyfan]

I think all the DVD releases were made from the MLP and Friends versions of Rescue at Midnight Castle and Escape From Catrina. 

Sometimes I wonder if Hasbro might have lost the original masters for both specials since neither one has been seen uncut since the VHS releases.  The first special was  also released as "Firefly's Adventure" with a Firefly in I think the Surprise pose.

http://mylittlewiki.org/wiki/File:Movie_firefly_(3).JPG

That is also the entire uncut original My Little Pony/Rescue at Midnight Castle special and I think it's usually a little less expensive than the clamshell VHS.  There's also another copy of the original VHS that comes in a cardboard case instead of the clamshell one. 

Ponyfan





 

[Shaz]

There's a VHS tape that has uncut versions of both on it, as well as some other episodes. It's called "The Biggest Ever Video" and offers "3 hours of pure pony pleasure"! I don't know how expensive it's likely to be though.

[Carrehz]

There are a couple of VHS releases but yes, the only uncut releases are VHS-only, the DVD versions are all edited.

I think they started taking stuff off YouTube, etc around when the most recent DVD set was released... which would be fine and make sense if it wasn't for these two specials being edited on the DVDs...!

[PinkieLopBun]

If you can't find a VHS that you're willing to pay for, you could make your own DVDs with what's on Dailymotion. There are sites that will allow you to download from there (not sure I can link them here, but you can look them up on Google). I can't help you with the actual DVD making since I've never done that before, but I thought I'd throw that option out there.

[Lilja]

It's a shame the full versions of the two specials have not been made available outside of VHS. The original intro sequence to Rescue at Midnight Castle is beautiful, and the MLP 'n Friends version cuts out more than half of it. And it's really sloppily cut too. Likewise the removal of Catrina and Rep's song in Escape from Catrina weakens the story in that one.

But yeah, at this point it's likely no one has the original masters anymore. Since the specials were made part of the TV series they probably figured that's good enough. I wonder if things would've been different if that had never happened.

[kingluke]

You can watch all the episodes on kimcartoon.to.

There are some suggestive ads but I’ve been watching without many issues. You type in my little pony and friend. The picture shows a g3 pony but the episodes are g1.

I do have fireflies adventure on vhs tape coming in the mail. Not sure if it works though.

[Carrehz]

I think they probably lost the original masters, too. Ditto the cut song in "The Glass Princess". The original specials are one thing, but I'd have expected "Hurry" to be reinstated for DVDs if that had just been edited out for TV airings or whatever.

Though I do also wonder if they actually realize those eps ARE edited from their original versions. And, yeah, if things would be different if they hadn't been edited for time to begin with. It's interesting to think about.

[tailrustedtealeaf]

I'm miffed that Tubi doesn't have the uncut version. Such a shame, I did find what I think is the original version on YouTube but the quality is poor and it's in three parts.

[Itcheeee]

I think all the DVD releases were made from the MLP and Friends versions of Rescue at Midnight Castle and Escape From Catrina. 

Sometimes I wonder if Hasbro might have lost the original masters for both specials since neither one has been seen uncut since the VHS releases.  The first special was  also released as "Firefly's Adventure" with a Firefly in I think the Surprise pose.

http://mylittlewiki.org/wiki/File:Movie_firefly_(3).JPG

That is also the entire uncut original My Little Pony/Rescue at Midnight Castle special and I think it's usually a little less expensive than the clamshell VHS.  There's also another copy of the original VHS that comes in a cardboard case instead of the clamshell one. 

Ponyfan

Thanks for clearing that up! I didn't know the Firefly release was the full version but I'll keep my eye out for that now too

Post Merge: March 20, 2021, 11:45:20 PM

There's a VHS tape that has uncut versions of both on it, as well as some other episodes. It's called "The Biggest Ever Video" and offers "3 hours of pure pony pleasure"! I don't know how expensive it's likely to be though.

Just looked it up and it's a PAL region tape sadly. It seems it be rare as the US version. Probably cause the box art is nice.

Post Merge: March 20, 2021, 11:46:25 PM

There are a couple of VHS releases but yes, the only uncut releases are VHS-only, the DVD versions are all edited.

I think they started taking stuff off YouTube, etc around when the most recent DVD set was released... which would be fine and make sense if it wasn't for these two specials being edited on the DVDs...!

This is what I was thinking exactly! Why couldn't they just release the full version on dvd? :/ Pretty silly if you ask me but that's Hasbro nowadays.

Post Merge: March 20, 2021, 11:47:53 PM

If you can't find a VHS that you're willing to pay for, you could make your own DVDs with what's on Dailymotion. There are sites that will allow you to download from there (not sure I can link them here, but you can look them up on Google). I can't help you with the actual DVD making since I've never done that before, but I thought I'd throw that option out there.

I've never quite figured that out. Not sure if my old laptop can even burn DVDs. Sure wish I could, as there is no official option.

Post Merge: March 20, 2021, 11:49:05 PM

It's a shame the full versions of the two specials have not been made available outside of VHS. The original intro sequence to Rescue at Midnight Castle is beautiful, and the MLP 'n Friends version cuts out more than half of it. And it's really sloppily cut too. Likewise the removal of Catrina and Rep's song in Escape from Catrina weakens the story in that one.

But yeah, at this point it's likely no one has the original masters anymore. Since the specials were made part of the TV series they probably figured that's good enough. I wonder if things would've been different if that had never happened.

I think they did lose the masters, or actually didn't realize they were so edited.

Post Merge: March 20, 2021, 11:50:59 PM

You can watch all the episodes on kimcartoon.to.

There are some suggestive ads but I’ve been watching without many issues. You type in my little pony and friend. The picture shows a g3 pony but the episodes are g1.

I do have fireflies adventure on vhs tape coming in the mail. Not sure if it works though.

The dirty ads are why I don't use that site, and my old laptop isn't pleasant to watch things on. Overheats quickly. I'm hoping to find a way to watch it on my Roku or find the vhs. Even a fake DVD at this point lol

Post Merge: March 20, 2021, 11:52:55 PM

I'm miffed that Tubi doesn't have the uncut version. Such a shame, I did find what I think is the original version on YouTube but the quality is poor and it's in three parts.

Same! Tubi disappointed me so much. I may have to settle for the awful 3 part YT upload for now. Shame as the specials have such nice animation I wanted to see it again in decent quality.

[Ponyfan]

I think they probably lost the original masters, too. Ditto the cut song in "The Glass Princess". The original specials are one thing, but I'd have expected "Hurry" to be reinstated for DVDs if that had just been edited out for TV airings or whatever.

Though I do also wonder if they actually realize those eps ARE edited from their original versions. And, yeah, if things would be different if they hadn't been edited for time to begin with. It's interesting to think about.

I always forget about "Hurry" being lost also.  I also think that Hasbro doesn't realize that the masters they have now for those episodes aren't the originals.  I've never understood why "Hurry" was cut after the original release when all the other songs were left intact.

When Shout Factory went to Hasbro to get the masters for Jem, there was a lot of uproar from Jem fans when the Shout Factory set was released because some of the episodes were different than the ones on the Rhino releases.  A lot of people kept asking for the "real masters" (the ones Rhino used) to the point that the CEO of Shout Factory finally released a statement that the masters they used were the only full episode versions of the episodes Hasbro had at the time. 



@Itcheeee I'm glad I could help. I think Firefly's Adventure VHS gets overlooked sometimes because of the name change from My Little Pony/Rescue at Midnight Castle. 


Ponyfan


 

[Pokeyonekenobie]

Does anyone know if the versions on this release had the cut songs?
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[Ponyfan]

Does anyone know if the versions on this release had the cut songs?
visitors can't see pics , please register or login

 

Yes, they are cut out on that release too. 


Ponyfan

[Carrehz]

Ponyfan - yeah, I heard about the Jem thing - I think I remember reading somewhere that the same thing happened with the 80s Transformers show? One of the releases used an early master that didn't include retakes (corrected animation errors), or something like that? Funny how these things happen.

I wish we knew why "Hurry" was edited out, it's so weird... from what we know about it, I really can't see any reason they'd cut it... I also wish footage of that sequence would turn up! Hopefully one day.

[Itcheeee]

I think they probably lost the original masters, too. Ditto the cut song in "The Glass Princess". The original specials are one thing, but I'd have expected "Hurry" to be reinstated for DVDs if that had just been edited out for TV airings or whatever.

Though I do also wonder if they actually realize those eps ARE edited from their original versions. And, yeah, if things would be different if they hadn't been edited for time to begin with. It's interesting to think about.

I always forget about "Hurry" being lost also.  I also think that Hasbro doesn't realize that the masters they have now for those episodes aren't the originals.  I've never understood why "Hurry" was cut after the original release when all the other songs were left intact.

When Shout Factory went to Hasbro to get the masters for Jem, there was a lot of uproar from Jem fans when the Shout Factory set was released because some of the episodes were different than the ones on the Rhino releases.  A lot of people kept asking for the "real masters" (the ones Rhino used) to the point that the CEO of Shout Factory finally released a statement that the masters they used were the only full episode versions of the episodes Hasbro had at the time. 



@Itcheeee I'm glad I could help. I think Firefly's Adventure VHS gets overlooked sometimes because of the name change from My Little Pony/Rescue at Midnight Castle. 


Ponyfan

I didn't know about the Jem releases! I planned on buying the series on DVD myself and would of bought the Shout version. Definitely going with Rhino now! Thanks for the tip