Incredibles DVD Freezes in My Player

Incredibles DVD Freezes in My Player (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog)

The other day, my wife picked up a copy of the widescreen, 2-disc DVD of The Incredibles. The movie disc loaded, played the FBI warning, then froze on the screen that threatens our little family with legal action if we ever offend The Mouse.

I’m used to the annoying tendency of DVDs to refuse to let you jump right to the menu, but this was ridiculous. The screen froze at the warning, and didn’t do anything. The only way we could get the DVD out was by shutting off the player.

The bonus features disc plays just fine, and the disk that hung in on our DVD player worked just fine in my laptop. The DVD has imprinted on it “www.TheIncredibles.com/support,” but that URL leads to an error. Hacking the URL leads to a Disney site containing no obvious technical assistance.

We brought the box back to Wal-Mart to exchange it, and the same thing happened.

My son suggests that we return the DVD and get a videotape instead, but I doubt Wal-Mart will allow that. Maybe somebody else Googling for this problem will find this page and we can commiserate…

14 thoughts on “Incredibles DVD Freezes in My Player

  1. I can commiserate! I experienced and was googling for exactly DGJ’s problem. I’ll try the “stop” solution.

  2. Hey man, thanks for the reply.

    I did it! I couldn?t let it go and spent two full hours like an idiot pushing all the options again and again, it works fine in my computer but still gives the ?CHOOSE MORTAL? menu immediately on putting it in the computer.

    At last I noticed the long-forgotten-about and never used subtitles button on the remote control.

    It cycles through the machines reading of the subtitles options available on the disc but I discovered that using the arrow buttons highlights the numbers and on/off states of each option AND you can simply select en/on to en/off from within the machine, independently of the disc menu. No more subtitles.

    Feeling silly but triumphant I learned something.

    PS I love drawing and so comics, but superheroes have always done my head in, never appealed to me. I found Spiderman 1 (not seen 2) terrific with real warmth in the characters and the storytelling. Big surprise.

  3. I do think that the flawed nature of the Marvel characters is definitely part of their appeal. I’ll have to look more carefully at that scene before I comment on it… parts of that movie are too scary for my daughter, so I think my wife and son got into the habid of fast-forwarding through a lot of the goblin scenes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that movie without the kids around…

  4. Come back to Spider-Man for a moment. Dennis, when you called Spider-Man/Peter Parker and Green Goblin/Norman Osborn just “comic book characters,” does that mean there is no personal connection for you to them? Marvel built a huge fan base in the 1960s because they featured “real heroes with real problems” earning it respect among the counterculture. The discussion between Spidey and Goblin in the movie about how people love to see a hero rise, but fall even more, is a brief nod toward Aristotle’s tragic hero.

  5. As I recall, there’s a phone number on the DVD. My wife called it, told whoever answered what VCR we had, and was told to push “Stop” before the FBI warning apperas.

    That probably won’t help your particular situation, Crushed, but there might be a workaround for you.

    Did you check to see whether your DVD works in another player or on a computer? Just an idea.

  6. I absolutely can NOT turn the **&$@ subtitles off on my brand new much anticipated Incredibles disc 1 of a two disc set. Disc 2 plays fine. When I put disc 1 in I get a three-choice language menu before I can even get the good old piracy warning. If I don’t choose here ( CHOOSE, MORTAL! ) it won’t go any further. When I turn off the subtitles in the menu they continue in the film whether I resume or start again from the beginning.

    Helpful suggestions?

    Well, back to reality!

  7. One of the key things that made the incredibles so enjoyable was the set design and general “feel” of the film. There is a stylistic nod to the Bond movies (villain with a volcano lair and a monorail? Hello, 1960’s) which only adults of a certain age will appreciate. Also, the fact that “Mr Incredible” drives a Nash Rambler is a bit of comic genius. That’s really the only “pop culture” bit I remember form the film. It’s not loaded with pop culture baggage the way Shrek was. The Shrek films are good too, but in a different way.

    By the way, if you like the incredibles, you’ll love “The Venture Brothers”, a spoof/homage to Johnny Quest and shows of that ilk. Available only on ADULT SWIM, cartoon networks late night animation block. (lots of other great shows in that block too…Futurama, Family Guy, Harvey Birdman, Aqua Teen hunger Force and lots of great Anime. (Bebop))

    Look at me, shilling for the Turner network….what manner of monster have I become?

  8. The wife & kids came with me to see it in the theater. (First time we did that since Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie.) Loved it. A few weeks ago, I saw it as an in-flight movie, and was impressed at how much it stood up. The superhero kids have plenty to do, but it’s more a parent movie than a kid movie, and the animation is sufficiently complex that it’s more like an action/spy thriller than either a kid or a parent movie.

    I used to love “The Greatest American Hero,” a short-lived 80s series about a high school teacher (I think) who gets a supersuit as a gift from a flying saucer. That show poked fun at the superhero genre, too.

    And “Mystery Men” was a fantastic movie, too.

    The X-Men didn’t really do all that much for me, and just the other day for the first time I watched Spider Man (we’ve owned the DVD for ages and one of the kids asked to watch it). I can appreciate it, and I liked the characters, but The Green Goblin and his human counterpart were… well, they were comic book characters. That in itself wouldn’t be a problem, but they were plunked down in an otherwise very human bildungsroman.

  9. For what it’s worth, the Incredibles is an excellent film. Your inner geek will rejoice at the gentle ribbing the movie gives the “superhero” genre.

  10. My wife says she called the 1-800 number printed on the DVD. The person who answered told her that as soon as you see “Play” on the screen, push “Stop” — before the FBI warning loads. That lets you skip ahead to watch the movie.

    That’s a pain, but at least we’ve got something to go on. (I haven’t tried it myself.)

  11. region problems with your DVD player? Is it a “universal” model? Many of the ultra-inexpensive models are setup to play all regions. It could be that the DVD is checking for this and not allowing itself to be played on anything but a genuine “Region 1” DVD player. I’d check the manual for your DVD player and see what it says about region encoding. and then I’d write a harshly worded letter to Disney and the MPAA for making it difficult to consume their goods. Region encoding is stupid and flies in the face of common sense about economics. Basically, they’re selling crippled products at a premium price here and selling them at pennies on the dollar in other parts of the globe. Good for Disney’s bottom line, bad for consumers.

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