Fox Home Entertainment has played the poky little puppy with its Water For Elephants release. If anyone can remember that far back, the film hit theaters way back in April. Unfortunately, it won’t see the light of Blu-Ray or DVD until November 1. With the nearly eight month gap between theatrical and in-home releases, I would assume Fox had something up its sleeve. For instance, the Fast Five release over at Universal Studios is taking awhile because the company is unveiling its “Second Screen” app. As it turns out, Fox is just slow on the uptake.
With the release running this late, one would hope the special features for the disc would be spectacular. The DVD is not. A trailer, audio commentary with Director Francis Lawrence, two spotlight featurettes on Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson, and “The Traveling Show” will round out the discs. The Blu-Ray will fare a little better. All of the DVD features will be included, plus four extra featurettes, including one on visual effects in the film. BD Live access and a digital copy will round out the bonuses with the Blu-Ray set.
What seems to be especially missing here is an interview with Sara Gruen. Just like The Help’s audience, a large portion of Water For Elephants’ audience liked the book, first. It doesn’t matter whether Gruen herself had anything to do with the movie; I’m sure she was at the premiere, and fans would have liked to have heard from her. If a studio is going to try to work in a ton of extras, it seems rational to expect the author of the source material to be included. There’s nothing smart about the Water For Elephants set. The movie made money back at the box office, and that seems good enough for Fox.
