After much tribulation, and around one-thousand titles plus in my video collection, I have settled on a 3-part arrangement: Movies & Series - Exercise & Dance - Japanese Animation. Blu-ray and DVDs are intermixed in my collection as many are combo packs. I keep the VHS videos separate, converting them to DVD as they are released. Any videos that are 'burned' copies or VHS to DVD, are kept separate from the main collection in a portfolio.
I begin with Movies & Series. This section includes Live-action, CGI, Animated films; documentaries; educational films; concerts; musicals; cartoons; and television series. I at one point divided this category further by separating the movies, animation, and series, then further still by dividing by studio. This proved to be a moot point since videos are frequently re-released under new studio control as the rights change hands. Lumping the categories together proved to be a more efficient use of my shelf space. Thus it has become my largest selection.
I'd like to take a moment to recommend anyone with a large collection consider custom building their own shelves to save money. I move every 2 years so my design can be altered to work around any space and existing furniture.
My next collection is Exercise & Dance. For Exercise, I have Workouts - Chi Jon - Pilates. For Dance, I have Belly Dance - Dance Workouts - Everything else. The reason I divide them this way is because I teach Belly Dance and don't want to dig to find what I need.
Last is my Japanese Anime collection. I mix movies and series together (including live-action) because many of the series have feature films or mini-series know as OAVs. These movies are often continuations, prequels, or inserts to the series using the same characters. Another section I sometimes separate is the Yaoi, depending on shelf space and who is going to have unsupervised access to my collection. Currently, it is intermixed. I also separate the Gibi Studio (is that spelled correctly?) content. This is animation, despite Disney (who provided the dubbing) marketing it as non-anime in many of the stores. That's the basic breakdown.
Movies & Series. I used to work for Suncoast. The rule of thumb is that titles beginning with numerical numbers are first. Followed by alphabetizing which will include titles where the number is spelled instead. Optionally, some individuals may prefer to keep all number titles together, you would start with the numerical '10 Kingdoms' and follow it by the spelled 'Twelve Kingdoms'. It comes down to personal preference.
My collection begins with numerical content such as 8-mile and 12-years a Slave. Next comes the ABCs which intermix spelled titles. The first challenge is also the easiest. Disney's Aladdin. I start with Disney's animated Aladdin feature film followed by the two sequels, then the animated TV-series based on the film, and last is the Disney Live-Action reboot. Easy as pie.
Under the B's I have all of my Batman movies. I start with the 1990s films, placing them in order of release, followed up with the animated movies, and last the 2000 films in release order. The Batman/TMNT film I keep with my TMNT collection. Another example would be the Barbie videos. I start with the animated cartoon movie "Barbie and the Rockers", then the CGI movie collection. There are about 26 Barbie movies in total, released by two studios, sometimes with multiple releases a year. For this, I first divide the collection by year. Next, I place the videos in the release order.
In both these examples, I disregard the individual video titles and instead lump them as a generalized set; Batman and Barbie. The difference is Batman plays on a universe and the movies follow a timeline. Barbie videos do not have a pre-established universe or timeline so they are stand-a-lone. You could easily list them in alphabetical order based on their individual titles instead.
Moving onward, we come to Cinderella. This is a great example! I start with the Disney Animated film of Cinderella because it came first. I follow it up with the sequels 2 and 3. Next, I have two of the musicals, the Disney Live-Action. I place these in order of release date. Same goes for my Snow White collection. The exception is titles such as 'Hook' and 'Ever After'. Respectively, you could place these videos with your Peter Pan or Cinderella group. This is a good option if you have small children. I have opted for placing these titles in their alphabetical order instead of with their group because when I skim I look for a title first and constantly found myself looking in the wrong section before remembering I grouped it.
Sequels, Prequels, Spinoffs: The best example is Star Wars. Release dates are pointless with this series. Especially if you have collector sets or uncut. Start with the originals, episodes 4, 5, 6. Most of use have these videos in a box set. If you have both the originals plus the remix or collector editions, place them after the originals. Now, going in chronological order of the Star Wars universe, place Episode 1, 2, and 3 before the originals. Now take the two 2D animated movies and place them between episodes 2 and 3. These films cover the timeline for Anikan's Jedi Trials. He comes back in the 3rd movie as a Jedi Master. After episode 3 comes the first CGI movie 'Clone Wars'. Now, skip ahead of the originals and place the new Star Wars movies Episodes 7-9. Now you have the prequels and the sequels taken care of.
To finish up, look at the tv-series 'clone wars' and 'Mandalorian' and squeeze those into the proper place on the timeline. Last, you have the Spinoffs. 'Solo' could be a spinoff or a prequel depending on your POV. I personally view it as an Origin film, so I place those before the prequel. You may want to separate these videos or keep to the timeline option. However, they all should be on your shelf in one place under Star Wars. I use this same formula for X-Men, which has a lot of spinoffs and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, intermixing the many different TV series with the animated and live-action films.
The problem I struggle with the most is the 'T' section. Many videos have titles beginning with 'The' but sometimes, this word is disregarded when alphabetizing. An example would be 'the little mermaid' vs 'little mermaid'. Which letter do you alphabetize it under when both would be correct? I'm currently struggling with 'The Neverending Story'. I have the three movies which include 'the' in the title. But this is disregarded when you look at the TV series box set which is placed under 'N' at the store. Currently, I have mine in the 'N' section but it jumps every now and then. Any suggestions regarding this title or this rule? I'd love to hear it!
All that is left is the Anime. I start simple and take all the Gibi Studio content - this would be Princess Mononoke - the Girl Who Lept Through Time - Spirited Away - and place them together in order of release date. Specifically: If it is a Miuzake (? sp) original, I use the Japanese release date. For anything from the Studio that is not Miuzake, I use the American release date. If that fails, I simply place them in the order in which I purchased them. LOL. Next are titles containing numbers followed by letters.
I place series in order of the season. Followed up by specials releases, OVAs, then live-action adaptations. In the case of Card Captor Sakura, I have the original series season one and two. Than the OVAs, followed by the new continuation series they did in 2019, season 1 part 1 and part 2. Still waiting on Season 2's release. For American cartoons, a good example is the many Sonic the Hedgehog series or Gargoyles series 1 season 1 & 2 followed by series 2 season 1.
I hope this helps to clarify filing options. Personal preference should always be what you aim for. Also, in a store - don't expect sequels that do not bear the original title to be kept together unless in a packaged deal. An example would be 'Peter Pan' and 'Return to Neverland' They are filed under 'P' and 'R'. That's all for now. Sorry it turned out so long.
Ja'ne!