Mars Needs Moms: 2-Disc Combo Pack Edition (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Review)

A sci-fi, action adventure Disney animated film that can be enjoyed by the whole family!  “Mars Needs Moms” also will satisfy Blu-ray fans with its awesome PQ and immersive AQ.  Recommended!

Images courtesy of ©2011 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Mars Needs Moms

FILM RELEASE DATE: 2011

DURATION: 98 minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (widescreen 2:40:1), English 7.1 DTS-HD MA (48 kHz/24-Bit), English DVS 2.0 Dolby Digital,  French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish

RATED: PG (For Sci-Fi Action and Peril)

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: August 2, 2011

Directed by Simon Wells

Screenplay by Simon Wells, Wendy Wells

Based on the book by Berkeley Breathed

Produced by Steven J. Boyd, Jack Rapke, Steve Starkey, Robert Zemeckis

Associate Producer: Ryan Chan

Line Producer: Peter M. Tobyansen

Music by John Powell

Cinematography by Robert PResley

Edited by Wayne Wahrman

Production Design by Doug Chiang

Art Direction by Brian Flora, Norman Newberry, Mike Stassi

Featuring the voices of:

Seth Green as Milo

Dan Fogler as Gribble

Joan Cusack as Mom

Elisabeth Harnois as Ki

Mindy Sterling as Supervisor

Kevin Cahoon as Wingnut

Tom Everett Scott as Dad

Take out the trash, eat your broccoli — who needs moms anyway? Nine-year-old Milo (Seth Green) finds out how much he needs his mom (Joan Cusack) when she’s nabbed by Martians who plan to steal her mom-ness for their own young. In a race against time and oxygen, his quest to save her knows no bounds. And with some unexpected help, Milo just might find his way back to her — in more ways than one.

Simon Wells is known for his storyboard art work for “Shrek 2″, “Antz”, “Madagascar”, as well as directing animated films such as “An Americna Tail: Fievel Goes West” and “The Time Machine”.

This time around, Wells joins filmmaker/producer Robert Zemeckis (“Back to the Future” films, “The Polar Express”, “The Monster House”, “Beowulf”) for the animated film “Mars Needs Moms”.  A film based on the book of the same title by Berkeley Breathed.

“Mars Needs Moms” begins with an alien race observing a mother and her son.

The film revolves around a nine-year-old boy named Milo (motion capture by Seth Green, voice-over by Seth Dusky) who is beginning summer vacation.  Hoping his father would return back from his business trip, unfortunately due to weather his father won’t be able to come back in time.

For Milo, he is tired of his mother (voiced by Joan Cusack, “Working Girl”, “Say Anything”, “Toy Story” films) telling him to clean his mess and take out the trash.  His mom tells him that he can watch a movie on pay-per-view if he eats all his broccoli, unfortunately Milo tries to feed it to the cat and the cat gets sick.

Upset that Milo didn’t eat his food, she tells him to go to bed.  When she goes to check on him, he’s jumping on his bed and it leads to an argument between mother and son and Milo telling his mother that he wishes that he never had a mom.

Shocked by what he said, Milo’s mother sheds a tear and for Milo, he knows he hurt her feelings.  Unable to sleep, Milo goes to apologize to his mother but to find out that she has been abducted by aliens.  He goes to her aid and tries to save her but she is brought inside the spacecraft.  As Milo bangs on the UFO, Milo’s hoodie gets caught in its hydraulic legs and Milo is brought into the spacecraft when the legs are brought back in.

The aliens arrive back to their planet and realize that they have a stowaway.  They try to shoot at Milo but with advice from a voice (that speaks English), Milo jumps into a chute and lands into a landfill where he encounters aliens.

He tries to communicate with them to no avail.  But he is instantly whisked away to an area by another human named Gribble (voiced by Dan Fogler, “Take Me Home Tonight”, “Kung Fu Panda”, “Horton Hears a Who?”).

Gribbe explains that Milo is in Mars and everyone above the planet are female while those in the trash sites are all male.

Gribble explains to Milo that his mother was taken because of her mothering skills.  The aliens try to take her memories and install them to robots who are responsible for taking care of the babies (which are born from the ground).  As for what happens to the mother, he doesn’t want to tell Milo the truth that she would be killed in the process.

As he explains to Milo that if he wants to save her, he has less than six hours to do so.  And as Milo leaves to rescue his mom, Gribble expects that Milo will not have any success and that he will rescue him and have a real human friend on Mars.

So, Milo disguises himself as an alien under Gribbles instructions (and also gives him a translator so he can understand what the aliens are saying).  As he walks around with the other alien military units, he sees a colorful picture of flowers.  Gribble explains to him that someone has been spraying graffiti in various areas and the rule of the planet, known as the “Supervisor” is after whoever is responsible for it.  Gribble also explains to Milo that the Supervisor is not to be messed with.

As Milo tries to go up and find the area where his mom is taken, the aliens catch on to his plan and he is pursued.  Through a bug planted on Milo, they are able to find out that he is communicating with Gribble and capture him.  Meanwhile, as Milo runs from the military, he is rescued by the alien named Ki (voiced by Elisabeth Harnois), who is responsible for spray painting flowers everywhere.

She is an alien who works for the supervisor.  And one day Ki discovered a video from the late ’60s of hippies and flower power that she is amused by it and has made it her goal to paint flowers everywhere.

As Ki tries to protect Milo from trouble but also knowing she has to get back to work, the two split ways and Milo goes back to search for Gribble at his living area.  Unfortunately it has been destroyed and as for Gribble, all that is left is his possession and what Milo finds is a t-shirt with a picture of Gribble (with his name George Ribble and his mother).

Milo figures that Gribble was like him and lost his mother and now Milo will do what he can to help his mother and Gribble escape.

But as Milo is able to save Gribble with quick thinking, both of them are now being pursued by the aliens.  Gribble then tells Milo the truth of the day his mother was captured and killed.  Determined to not let Milo’s mother die, Gribble agrees to help him…but they also get help from Ki (who is now wanted for helping Milo and Gribble escape).

As Ki spends time with both Gribble and Milo, Ki starts to fall for Gribble (especially how she loves how he turns red when he talks to her) but also to discover a rock formation of pictures of her alien race taking care of children.  For Ki, this is a shock because they were raised by believing that robots raise the children on Mars but if the picture is true, that means the Supervisor has been lying to all of her fellow species all this time.

So, now the three join forces in trying to rescue Milo’s mother.  But can they do it in time?

VIDEO:

“Mars Needs Moms” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:40:1).  The film looks absolutely great in HD.  With the animation process that Robert Zemeckis used for “Polar Express”, he tries to bring that realism to “Mars Needs Moms”. There is great detail on the facial expressions, especially how the talent were motion-captured.  There is a sense of realism with the characters and I absolute love the CG detail for not only the characters but their surroundings.  And the detail really does show on Blu-ray.

Because the film takes place on Mars, there is a good number of scenes that showcase fire, many reds, oranges and browns and for the most part, these vibrant colors really pop.  There is a lot of detail when it comes to the metallic parts, the gears, the weapons, the spacecraft,  computer displays, etc.

But I know that for many people, the main contention of the CG animation is the overall look of the characters.  For one, “Mars Needs Moms” follows up the style that Zemeckis did with “The Polar Express” and that is CG animation with realism.  Disney is know for its Pixar films and there is a difference when it comes to their style of films.

Personally, I enjoyed the look of Zemeckis’ “The Polar Express” and even “The Monster House”, especially how the technology was used on “Beowulf”.  But for a children’s film, the look might be too creepy.

I showed it to my son and to me, he wasn’t bothered by it.  He actually enjoyed the film , so I know critics have tried to come up with reasons of why the film didn’t perform well in the box office and some point towards the animation but I personally don’t think the animation was the problem.

If anything, the CG looks great on Blu-ray and those who didn’t watch the film in theaters, will definitely enjoy it in HD!

As for teh DVD, the DVD is presented in widescreen (2:40:1 aspect ratio) – enhanced for 16×9 televisions.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Mars Needs Moms” is presented in English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (48 kHz/24-bit) and English DVS 2.0 Dolby Digital, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital.

The lossless soundtrack for “Mars Needs Moms” is fantastic!  From the blasts of the spacecraft, the sounds of Milo falling in the trash heap, the laser blasts to the sounds of the oxygen mask shattering, there is a good amount of surround sound usage in this film but also how there is slight echoes to the dialogue of characters depending on the rooms that they are at.

So, while there is crystal clear dialogue and music coming from the front and center channels, the surround and rear surround channels are used very well throughout the film.  I was absolutely pleased by the lossless soundtrack.

As for the DVD version, the DVD is presented in English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English DVS 2.0 Dolby Digital.

Subtitles are in English SDH, Spanish and French.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Mars Needs Moms: 2-Disc Combo Pack Edition” comes with the following special features:

• Fun with Seth – (2:28) How Seth Green made things much more fun for the cast and crew behind-the-scenes.
• Martian 101 – (2:51) Developing the alien language for “Mars Needs Moms”.
• Deleted Scenes with Simon Wells introductions – (28:51) Featuring the extended opening and deleted scenes.  Featuring the Full Motion-Capture experience.  Behind the scenes footage of the actors‘ performances are captured. 7 deleted scenes of which four are exclusive to the Blu-ray 2D release. Some cool scenes ended up on the cutting room floor. Now you can see them with introductions by director Simon Wells.

EASTER EGG:

Highlight “Fun with Seth” in Special Features and press up and you will see a panel show flowers.  Click and you will access the “Flower Power” easter egg.

• “Flower Power” Easter Egg – (:51) the name of the show that Ki watched and learned English from.

EXTRAS:

“Mars Needs Moms: 2-Disc Combo Pack Edition” comes with a Blu-ray and DVD version of the film and special features.  Also, included is a slipcover case.

A fantastic family film with a good amount of action and adventure. “Mars Needs Moms: 2-Disc Combo Pack Edition” is absolutely wonderful on Blu-ray!

“Mars Needs Moms” despite its title that may make children think this is a film for daughters, the film is definitely for children who love action and adventure, and also add sci-fi to the mix!  The film was much more than I expected and watching it together with 8-year-old, we both enjoyed the film from beginning to end.

Of course, I am aware of how the film did terribly in the box office.  As many critics have pointed the finger towards Zemeckis’ and his use of the CG technology of realism not being for the children.  The fact is that many children’s films tend to have featured on animals and or objects, Zemeckis’ films use actual beings and tries to interject realism to those characters.

We have seen the efficacy of films such as “The Polar Express” and “Monster House” and while not following the typical Disney formula of human characters that lack realism or not using animals or objects as its main characters, “Mars Needs Moms” in my opinion is not the animation that was at fault. Granted, some people may find the realism creepy, I didn’t, my son didn’t and I just don’t think that the animation was at fault.

I personally feel that the title had something to do with it.  Call it something else without “Moms” in the title or focus on the adventures that are taking place in Mars and it gives young kids a different idea of what the film is about.  Heck, call it “Space Adventures in Mars” and that would probably get children all excited.

“Mars Needs Moms” will definitely be an eye-opener for parents as we see the mom and child arguments (more like, children not wanting to listen and are being a bit more rebellious at the age of 8-years and older) and just that opening sequence alone shows you the mindset of children and children probably will not want a title with “moms”, they may love their moms but as these kids grow older, the less they will publicly acknowledge it and probably will not want to be seen in a public theater watching a film about rescuing mom.

The title also gives a feeling that the film is maybe for young little girls when in fact the film can be enjoyed by any child and families but not limited to a certain demographic.  So, it makes me wonder if the title was even tested with children to see what their reactions are.  Sure, we know that children love their moms but children at that age are also trying to be defiant and rebellious towards their moms as well.

Regardless of what transpired in the box office, I do feel that this film can have new life on video.  The story is fun, the Blu-ray of “Mars Needs Moms” is absolutely gorgeous. There is a lot of detail, vibrant colors and for Disney Blu-ray fans, they know what to expect and that is quality when it comes to picture quality.  And for audio, once again…fantastic!  7.0 DTS-HD MA lossless soundtrack and you get an immersive soundscape.  Wonderful audio quality and once again, fans with a home theater system will definitely enjoy this Blu-ray release!

I do feel that Disney went a little lax on the special features.  Aside from deleted scenes, the other two features are only two minutes long.  An audio commentary would have been nice or even a gag reel.

With the Blu-ray release, you have two choices.  One is a 2-Disc Combo Pack with the Blu-ray and DVD and then there is the 4-disc combo pack which those with a 3D-enabled television and Blu-ray player can enjoy the film in 3D and also get the regular Blu-ray, DVD and also digital copy of the film.  It’s important to note that the 4-disc version also has a special exclusive feature in 3D.

Overall, “Mars Needs Moms” was a lot better than I expected.  In fact, as a parent of a child who is also starting to back-talk with his mother, not eat his broccoli and also complaining about chores, I watched my son’s reaction to the film, especially during its most emotional moment.  But realizing that while the film has plenty of action and adventure to keep children interested in the film, there is also a message for the children to also respect their mother.

It’s a situation I’m sure many mothers and their young children go through but I was glad to see how that message of mother/child bond was integrated into the film.

While “Mars Needs Mom” may not have the typical Disney look for its CG animation, I still feel it was an enjoyable sci-fi, adventure family film.  I’m not saying its perfect, nor is it great but it is enjoyable, fun and a family film that parents and children can enjoy together.

Recommended!

Toy Story: Special Edition (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

15 years later, “Toy Story”, the ultimate classic from Pixar/Disney gets the HD treatment on Blu-ray.  Awesome picture quality and lossless audio and plenty of special features.  This is the definitive version to own!  Highly recommended!

Images courtesy of © WDSHE. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Toy Story: Special Edition

DURATION: 81 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:78:1), English 5.1 DTS-HD MA, English DVS 2.0 Dolby, Spanish and French 5.1 Dolby Digital EX

COMPANY: Pixar/Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: G (General Audiences)

RELEASE DATE: March 23, 2010

Directed by John Lasseter

Story by John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Andrew Standton, Joe Ranft

Screenplay by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow

Executive Produced by Ed Catmull, Steve Jobs

Produced by Bonnie Arnold, Ralph Guggenheim

Music by Randy Newman

Edited by Robert Gordon, Lee Unkrich

Art Direction by Ralph Eggleston

Featuring the Voices of:

Tom Hanks as Woody

Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear

Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head

Jim Varney as Slinky Dog

Wallace Shawn as Rex

John Ratzenberger as Hamm

Annie Potts as Bo Peep

John Morris as Andy

Erik Von Detten as Sid

Laurie Metcalf as Andy’s Mom

R. Lee Ermey as Sergeant

Sarahe Freeman as Hannah

Toy Story, the first full-length computer-animated feature film, is “a wonder to behold.” – People Magazine. Experience a hilarious fantasy about the lives toys lead when they’re left alone. Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), an old-fashioned cowboy doll, is Andy’s favorite. But when Andy gets Buzz
Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen) for his birthday, the flashy new space hero takes Andy’s room by storm! Their rivalry leaves them lost with a toy’s worst nightmare — Sid, the toy-torturing boy next door. Woody and Buzz must work together to escape, realizing along the way that they’ve got a friend
… in each other!

When it comes to animated classics, “Toy Story” is definitely one title that is among a great group of titles.  Also, it was the first film for the CGI animation company Pixar, who would become the tour-de-force of creating animated CGI hits such as “A Bug’s Life”, “Cars”, “Monsters, Inc.”, “Finding Nemo”, “The Incredibles”, “Up”, “Wall-E” to name a few.

And set for launch on June 18, 2010 is “Toy Story 3″ and to celebrate the upcoming film, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will be releasing “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2″ on Blu-ray.

The first “Toy Story” was co-written and directed by animator and Pixar Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter who has worked with Disney since 1983 with “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” and co-written by Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton and Joe Ranft.

Released in 1995, “Toy Story” was a major success as the $30 million dollar film went on to make over $361 million worldwide.

The film revolves around an old-fashioned cowboy doll named Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) who belongs to a young boy named Andy.  When Andy is not in his bedroom, his toys come to life.  Woody as the leader of the toys is joined by Mr. Potato Head (voiced by Don Rickles), Slinky Dog (voiced by Jim Varney), Hamm the piggy bank (voiced by John Ratzenberger), Rex the insecure Tyrannosaurus (voiced by Wallace Shawn), the porcelain Bo Peep (voiced by Annie Potts), Sarge the leader of the Army Men (voiced by R. Lee Ermey) and others.

With Andy celebrating his birthday, everyone knows that there will be new toys and of course, they worry if Andy will pay more attention to the toy that is coming to the home.  And sure enough, Andy gets Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen) for his birthday, a popular sci-fi action figure.

Immediately, Buzz enters Andy’s bedroom thinking that he has arrived in an inhabited planet but learns that he is joined by other toys.  A rivalry quickly develops between Woody and Buzz Lightyear as Andy starts to shift his attention to his new toy but also Buzz begins to become a popular toy amongst the other toys.

Meanwhile, while this is going on, Andy’s toys are shocked by Sid hurting another toy.  Everyone is scared of Sid but no one dares cross him and sure enough, Sid ends up blowing his toy up with a firecracker, to the dismay of Andy’s toys who are watching.

Buzz wants to save the toy, nut of course, Woody being jealous of Buzz tries to disprove Buzz especially his features and tries to remind him that they are toys which Buzz has a difficult time believing.

But the atmosphere changes when Woody knocks Buzz out the window and Woody quickly becomes the disliked toy amongst the group.  Fortunately, when Andy and his family go out for pizza, Andy grabs Woody but also Buzz manages to join them.  When Andy’s family arrives to the gas station and gets out of the car, Woody and Buzz get into a fight leaving both toys falling out of the car.  When Andy’s family arrives, they leave and thus both Woody and Buzz are left alone in the middle of nowhere.

Will Woody and Buzz managed to find their way back home?

VIDEO:

“Toy Story” is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:78:1).  For a film that was created back in 1995, “Toy Story” still looks beautiful on Blu-ray.  Sure, the detail is nowhere near what we see on the “Toy Story 3″ teaser (included on the special features) but the film just looks fantastic on Blu-ray.  For example, seeing the detail that was made for Rex the Tyrannosaurus, to the threading of the chairs, the vibrant colors of the film, the detail of the road and again, even for a film that is 15-years-old, it still rivals a few of the CG animated film and TV shows that we see in the present.  The film looks absolutely beautiful.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Toy Story” is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD Maser Audio and English 2.0 DTS-HD, English DVS 2.0 Dolby, Spanish and French Dolby Digital EX.  And again, for a 15-year-old film, “Toy Story” sounds magnificent on lossless.  From dialogue and Randy Newman’s music coming from the front and center channels, surround and rear surround channels for the effects and LFE during the booms.  Audiophiles will be pleased that the lossless audio is quite immersive.  So, expect scenes such as Sid blowing up his action figures, the rocket on Buzz’s back ignited, fallen toys and toys being scattered and much more.  I was very impressed by the lossless audio.

As for subtitles, subtitles are presented in English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Toy Story” includes the following special features:

• The Story: An Exclusive Sneak Peek at Toy Story 3 – (2:02) In this short featurette, “Toy Story 3″ director Lee Unkrich introduces viewers to new characters that will appear on the third film and the all star cast voicing the new characters.
• Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs:
  o Episode One: Blast Off – (3:27) Buzz reports back about his adventure to the International Space Station.
• Paths to Pixar: Artists – (4:49) In this series of shorts, Pixar artists talk about their career path and share advice to aspiring filmmakers and animators.
• Studio Stories: A series of amusing anecdotal shorts about life at Pixar.
  o “John’s Car” – (1:27) A short story that recounts how Toy Story director John Lasseter refused to stop driving his beat-up car even after the film’s success.
  o “Baby AJ” – (1:38) A short story that tells the hilarious story of how important Halloween is to the Pixar team and how one Pixar employee dressed up as the over-sized baby from the short Tin Toy to win a prize.
  o “Scooter Races” – (2:16) A short story which takes the audience on a rousing scooter race around the studio with John Lasseter and other employees.
• Buzz Takes Manhattan – (2:13) Spectacular footage from Buzz Lightyear’s premiere as a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon.
• Black Friday: The Toy Story You Never Saw – (7:34) The Toy Story filmmakers discuss the early cut of the film that very nearly shut down production entirely.
• Filmmakers Reflect – (16:35) A special feature shot in 2005 with the filmmakers John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton and Joe Ranft talking about their experiences working on the film.
• Making Toy Story – (20:17) Filmmaker looking back at their characters and ideas used for making the film, the making of the film from design, movements and more.
• The Legacy of Toy Story – (11:42) Filmmaker, critics, stars talk about why “Toy Story” succeeded and their thoughts when they watched the film.
• Designing Toy Story – (6:12) Animators, character designers, story artists, painters, etc. talk about designing for “Toy Story”.
• Deleted Scenes – (9:50) Ten deleted scenes.
• Design – Featuring Character Galleries (4:05), 3-D Visualization (5:41) and Color featurettes (7:54).
• Story – (13:56) Various story and Film comparisons.
• Production – (13:41) Discussion on production tour, layout tricks, animation tour, multi-language reel.
• Music and Sound – Featuring the music video for “You Got a Friend in Me” (2:15), Designing sound (6:35) and Randy Newman videos.
• Publicity – (10:46) Character interviews, trailers, TV spots and more.

EXTRA:

Included in the “Toy Story” Special Edition is a DVD of “Toy Story.  The DVD is featured in Widescreen (1:78:1) – Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions and is in English 5.1 EX with English SDH subtitles.

“Toy Story” is one of those films that is just a must-own in whichever format its released in and now that it will be available on Blu-ray, “Toy Story: Special Edition” is definitely worth it. I was impressed by how this 15-year-old film looks on Blu-ray and how much of the detail still pops out today.  As mentioned earlier, despite its age, it still looks better than a few CG animated TV shows and even some films that were released in the last five years.

Everything about this film still holds up today.  The CG animation, the voice acting is fantastic and overall story is well-written.

“Toy Story” is where the Pixar magic all began.  This film catapulted Pixar Animation Studios as the most well-known animation studio in the planet and since then, every film created has been successful domestically and worldwide.

I know for many owners of the previous DVD release, one must wonder why must they upgrade again.  It all comes down to picture and audio quality.  And like most Pixar Blu-ray releases, this special edition Blu-ray release is full of special features.   This Blu-ray release is a no-brainer, in fact, you want to own both “Toy Story” BD releases because they are both quite worth it and watching it on HD was much better of an experience than I expected.

I will say that if you own the “Ultimate Toy Box Set” that was released in 1999, you will want to hang on to that set because although the Blu-ray’s do have new additional content, a lot of content from the Ultimate Toy Box Set are NOT included on the Blu-ray release.

Granted, I know this will be a bummer for many, but the picture quality and the audio quality is so much better on the Blu-ray release plus you get new additional content.  So, the Blu-rays are definitely worth owning.

Overall, “Toy Story: Special Edition” is a fantastic film and because it is a pretty impressive upgrade, the Blu-ray release is the definitive version to own at this time.  Definitely recommended!

G-Force (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

Jerry Bruckheimer’s first 3D film features guinea pigs and a mole trying to save the world.  Seems like an over-the-top concept but overall, “G-Force” is a fun, crazy and action-packed family film that the children will enjoy!  The Blu-ray release features a 3-disc release with plenty of special features and solid picture and audio quality.  Definitely a family film worth checking out!

Images courtesy of © WDSHE. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: G-Force

DURATION: 88 Minutes

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (2:40:1), English 5.1 DTS-HD (48 kHz/24-bit), French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish

RATED: PG (For Some Mild Action and Rude Humor)

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RELEASE DATE: December 15, 2009

Directed by Hoyt H. Yeatman, Jr.

Screenplay by Cormac Wibberley and Marianne Wibberley

Story by Hoyt Yeatman

Executive Producer: Duncan Henderson, David P.I. James, Chad Oman, Mike Stenson

Producer: Jerry  Bruckheimer

Co-Producer: Todd Arnow

Associate Producer: Terry Rossio

Music by Trevor Rabin

Cinematography by Bojan Bazelli

Edited by Mark Goldblatt, Jason Hellman

Casting by Ronna Kress

Production Design by Deborah Evans

Art Direction by Ramsey Avery, Daniel R. Jennings

Set Decoration by Leslie E. Rollins

Costume Design by Ellen Mirojnick

Starring:

Bill Nighy as Leonard Saber

Will Arnett as Kip Killian

Sam Rockwell (as the voice of Darwin)

Jon Favreau (as the voice of Hurley)

Nicolas Cage (as the voice of Speckles)

Penelope Cruz (as the voice of Juarez)

Steve Buscemi (as the voice of Bucky)

Tracy Morgan (As the voice of Blaster)

Keli Garner as Marcie

Zach Galifianakis as Ben

Tyler Patrick Jones as Connor

Gabriel Casseus as Agent Trigstad

Jack Conley as Agent Carter

Piper Mackenzie Harris as Penny

A top-secret, highly trained trio of guinea pig super spies is assigned to stop a dastardly plot to take over the world in G-Force, a gorgeously rendered CGI adventure from famed producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Squad leader Darwin (voiced by Sam Rockwell) will do what it takes to guarantee the success of his team, which also ncludes Blaster (Tracy Morgan), an outrageous weapons expert with tons of attitude, and Juarez (Penelope Cruz), gorgeous martial arts pro. With the help of Speckles (Nicolas Cage), a star-nosed mole, and myriad other members of the animal kingdom, the G-Force tries to derail evil appliance mogul Leonard Saber’s power grab. It helps when your fly-on-the wall reconnaissance expert is, well, a fly on the wall!

What happens when you take a secret government program of trained animals and combine them with the latest in high-tech spy equipment? The result is G-FORCE.

The film became the first 3D film on the big screen by producer Jerry Bruckheimer (“National Treasure” films, “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, “The Rock, “Con Air” and “Top Gun”) who teams up once again with Academy Award-winning visual effects master Hoyt H. Yeatman (“The Abyss”, “Mighty Joe Young”, “The Rock” and “Con Air”) who directs the film.

The film about animals saving the world didn’t go to well with the critics but at the box office, “G-Force” was quite successful as the film which was budgeted at $82.5 million made over $281 million worldwide.

Featuring an all-star cast, “G-FORCE” revolves around a secret US Government program using guinea pigs Darwin (voice by Sam Rockwell) as the squad leader, Blaster (voice of Tracy Morgan) as the outrageous weapons expert with attitude and Juarez (voice of Penélope Cruz) as the sexy martial arts pro and taking part in top secret espionage missions.

Joining the guinea pigs is star-nosed mole, Speckles (voice of Nicolas Cage), the computer and information specialist, the computer and information specialist and Mooch, the reconnaissance expert.  Also, featuring pet shop layabout Hurley (voice by Jon Favreau) and territorial hamster Bucky (voice of Steve Buscemi).

The film also stars Bill Nighy as the sinister industrialist Leonard Saber, Will Arnett as Special Agent Kip Killian who is bent on shutting down G-FORCE, Zach Galifianakis as the creator and father figure of G-FORCE, Kelli Garner as the team’s veterinarian and many more.

The main premise of the story is that industrialist Leonard Saber is developing a major weapon that would be unleashed on the world in 29 hours.  Ben, the developer of G-Force has the team infiltrating his compound during party to steal a memory card which would reveal his plans for the government.  Of course, Ben is doing this without authorization but feels that this is his best shot in showing the government that G-Force can be used effectively to counter evil.

Of course, things don’t go quite as well as the memory card does not the sensitive information that guinea pig Darwin (the team leader) had seen on Saber’s computer.  This infuriates Special Agent Kip Killian who shuts down G-Force and tells Ben that the guinea pigs will now become guinea pigs for experimentation by the government.  As the government tries to capture the animals, G-Force vet Marcie manages to free the G-Force team by shooting them outside of the building.  The problem is that the team is without their high tech equipment and will need to fend for themselves as they try to find a way to stop Saber’s scheme to destroy the world in a short amount of time.  The problem is, the team end up at a pet shop and are now being put up for sale.  Can the team stop Saber in time?  Or are they stuck inside the pet shop?

The “G-Force” Blu-ray release comes with the Blu-ray, a DVD and a digital copy.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“G-Force” is featured in 1080p High Definition (2:40:1).  The actual merging of CG animation and real characters actually works extremely well for this film.  Sony Pictures ImageWorks did a wonderful job on the CG and special effects.  A lot of good ideas were implemented in the film in terms of the animation of the G-Force team.  Especially hair effects as you can see the detail of the animals when they are wet or dry.  As usual with Disney releases on Blu-ray, picture quality is fantastic.  Along with the details of the G-Force team, their surroundings are detailed and when outdoors, the colors are vibrant.  Blacks are nice and deep and I spotted no problems with artifacting, banding at all.

Audio is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD (48 kHz/24-bit) and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital. Lossless audio is actually pretty well done.  Good utilization of the rear channels for the action scenes, as explosions and glass shattering comes out quite clear from the surround channels.  “G-Force” tends to use quite a bit of music from the Black Eyed Peas, Lady GaGa and Flo Rida, so the music is quite clear and contains quite a bit of bass.  Subwoofer tends to utilize the bass of the music quite a bit.  But overall, a solid lossless audio track.

As for the voice acting, I felt the talent did a good job.  Nicolas Cage really surprised me with his squeaky, nerdy voice for  tech master Speckles.  Penelope Cruz as the voice of female guinea pig Juarez worked quite well.  Although, Tracy Morgan sounds like Tracy Morgan but overall, the voice talent did a good job.

Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“G-Force” contains several special features in 1080p or 1080i, English 5.1 or 2.0 Dolby Digital and with English SDH, French or Spanish subtitles:

• Cine-Explore with Darwin, Blaster and their Creator – While watching the film, you can watch along with Darwin, Blaster and Directory Hoyt Yeatman.  As you watch, the movie will pause when a video comes up, showing behind-the-scenes of the film.  Unlike previous Blu-ray releases where the picture is picture-in-picture, Cine-Explore features the film in a stylized window while other G-Force related footage or facts are being shown on screen.  Very cool feature!
• Blaster’s Boot Camp -  (4:41) A featurette with Blaster (voiced by Tracy Morgan) explaining the training that one must do in order to become part of G-Force.
• G-Force Mastermind- (4:13) Director Hoyt H. Yeatman talking about how the concept came from his five-year-old son.  Young Hoyt talks about how the idea came about and his experience of working on the film.
• Bruckheimer Animated -(3:12) A featurette about Jerry Bruckheimer’s involvement in CG work for past films.  Featuring Jerrry Bruckheimer and Hoyt Yeatman and how the two worked together in “Armageddon”, “Con Air”, etc. and past films that Bruckheimer utilized animation and technology.
• Access Granted: Inside the Animation Lab - (7:51) Utilizing Sony Pictures ImageWorks to do the animation and special effects for the film.  A tour is given by Hoyt Yeatman of the headquarters and showing how various parts of animation were created (lighting, hair, etc.).
• G-Farce Bloopers – (1:49) Bloopers from “G-Force”.
• Deleted Scenes -(6:18) A total of six deleted scenes: March of the Cockroach, Mooch’s Donut Regiment, B-B-Bunies, Undercover Pets, Hurley Under Attack, World Domination.
• Music Videos – Featuring three music videos: “Jump” by Flo Rida feat. Nelly Furtado, “Ready to Rock” by Steve Rushton and “Go Go-Force”.
• Learn How to Take Your Favorite Movies on the Go – (1:04) A promo trailer for DisneyFile Digital Copy.

“G-Force” may not have been a popular film among the critics but for a family film, “G-Force” was actually fun.  The idea of “G-Force” came from Hoyt H. Yeatman’s five year old son at the time about wanting to use his animals to take on bad guys.  And it’s an idea that visual master Yeatman toiled around his head and six years later, became a feature film.

Special effects were done quite well and there are many big budget films where CG animation and real-life filmmaking just doesn’t work but for “G-Force”, it worked quite well (especially if it costs over $80 million to make, it better work well).

Parents may wonder why the film has a PG rating and there is mild action with the team trying to take on Saber’s “weapons” but in terms of the rude humor, there is a lot of farting (courtesy of the gassy guinea pig Hurley) and scenes where the rodents are stuck in a sphere and you hear jokes such as “get your butt out of my face.  No, you get your face out of my butt” type of jokes but that is the worst it gets.  Now of course, there are scenes where a child puts one of the G-Force team members in a remote control car and crashes it into G.I. Joe action figures or tries to jump a ramp with it inside the car.  And another scene where a girl plays dress up with the guinea pig and puts nail polish and lipstick on the animal.   Of course, parents who have children with hamsters or guinea pigs will best explain to them not to do that at home despite seeing it onscreen.

As far as the Blu-ray release is concerned, you get a solid 3-disc release (Blu-ray, DVD and digital copy) and plenty of special features to keep the children busy during this holiday season.  The “Cine-Explore” feature was especially well-utilized on this Blu-ray release.

In the end, this film is a enjoyable, action-packed family film targeted for the children.  I’ve read many reviews by critics who just have a disdain of rodents saving the world via technology and look at it as a stupid concept.  Granted, for some of those reviewers, I’m sure when they were children, the concept of Lassie, Flipper and Benji were probably regarded by critics of their time as a bit over-the-top as well.  Granted, those animals were not hooked up to high tech devices and were used to save the world but granted, this is not the film to exactly take seriously.  The same happened with the release of “Stuart Little” back in 1999 and critics had a hard time moving past the talking rodent but sure enough, that film inspired sequels and direct-to-DVD movies and was quite successful.

Overall, I felt it “G-Force” was a fun concept.  Where “Stuart Little” was more of a happy film about family, “G-Force” was about camaraderie and trying to save the world.  Sure, the concept is farfetched but if you’re taking this film that seriously, you’re not going to enjoy this film at all.  I watched it along with my six-year-old and we both enjoyed it.  And as a parent, I felt it was a fun film with action, hijinks and a lot of music from The Black Eyed Peas.

Definitely a family film  and a Blu-ray release worth checking out!

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

“The Blu-ray looks fantastic.  For this classic film from 1937 to look so vibrant, so spectacular, so beautiful 72 years later is a testament towards Disney’s restoration and remastering.  The picture quality is absolutely pristine.  The new lossless  7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is magnificent.  But most of all, if you thought Disney set the bar high in 2001 with the ‘Platinum Edition’ release, this ‘Diamond Edition’ sets the bar even higher as it celebrates the talent who worked on the film and triples the amount of special feature content.  This is probably the most content I have ever seen in terms of special features for a video release of a film.   “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition” is not only magnificent, it’s also highly recommended!”

Images courtesy of © Disney. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition

DURATION: 84 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (48 kHz/24-Bit), French and Spanish 5.1, DEHT Restored Original theatrical soundtrack, Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish

COMPANY:  Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: G (General Audience)

Release Date:  October 6, 2009

Based on the fairy tale by Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm

Directed by David Hand

Story adaptation by Ted Sears, Richard Creedo, Otto Englander, Dick Rickard, Earl Hurd, Merrill De Maris, Dorothy Ann Blank  and Webb Smith

Produced by Walt Disney

Music by Frank Churchill, Leigh Harline, Paul J. Smith

Art Direction by Ken Anderson, Tom Codrick, Hugh Hennesy, Harold Miles, Kendall O’Connor, Charles Philippi, Hazel Sewell, Terrell Stapp, McLaren Stewart, Gustaf Tenggren, John Hubley

Starring:

Adroama Caselotti as Snow White

Lucille La Verne as the Queen/Witch

Roy Atwell as Doc

Eddie Collins as Dopey

Pinto Colvig as Sleepy and Grumpy

Billy Gilbert as Sneezy

Otis Harlan as Happy

Scott Mattraw as Bashful

Moroni Olsen as Magic Mirror

Harry Stockwell as Prince

Marion Darlington as Bird Sounds and Warbling

Stuart Buchanan as Huntsman

No film in history has captured the world’s imagination like Walt Disney’s first full-length animated masterpiece.  Through astonishing Blu-ray high definition technology, experience this timeless classic in its most spectacular presentation ever! With an all new, state-of-the-art digital restoration and Disney enhanced High Definition sound, the breathtaking animation and unforgettable music o the most revered Disney film of all time will enthrall you like never before!

Join the beautiful princess Snow White as she escapes her jealous stepmother, the queen, and befriends a lovable group of dwarfs.  When she falls under the queen’s wicked spell, only true love’s kiss can save her.

The Blu-ray looks fantastic.  For this classic film from 1937 to look so vibrant, so spectacular, so beautiful 72 years later is a testament towards Disney’s restoration and remastering.  The picture quality is absolutely pristine.  The new lossless  7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is magnificent.  “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition” is highly recommended!

For Walt Disney, seeing a play back in 1916 of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” based on the fairty tale by the Brothers Grimm definitely made the producer to attempt something that has never been done before and that is to create a full-length color animated film.

Known for their “Silly Symphony” animated shorts, the 1937 animated film definitely silenced anyone who thought that Disney was not able to pull off a full-length animated feature.  Even Walt Disney’s wife thought that no one would want to watch a film that starred dwarfs but needless to say, the film that was called “Disney’s Folly” by naysayers would receive critical praise and even demand by fans for a sequel.  The film would be not only be a classic animated film which was honored by the American Film Institute as the “Greatest Animation of All Time”.  Even today, adjusted by inflation, the film is considered one of the top 10 money making films in America of all time.

In 2001, when the “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was released on DVD, the DVD was one of the films that were known for its innovation, winning a “Video Premiere Award” for “Best Overall New Extra Features” and nominated for “Best DVD Menu Design” and “Best New, Enhanced or Reconstructed Movie Scenes”.

But now in 2009, the film makes its High Definition entry on Blu-ray with 1080p High Definition picture quality and 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio sound.  Also, a Disney Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack (two Blu-ray discs and a DVD version of the film) which comes out on October 6,  seven weeks before its Deluxe Two-Disc Classic standard definition DVD which will be released on Nov. 24th.  It’s also important to note that a limited edition collector’s set will also be available

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is a film about a princess named Snow White who lives with her wicked stepmother, the Queen.  Her stepmother always consults the magic mirror on who is the fairest one of all, and the magic mirror would reply that she is but this time the mirror tells the Queen that Snow White is the fairest one of all.

Not a caring stepmother, she has Snow White working as a Scullery Maid and is seen wearing clothes that are patched up and are in tatters.  But Snow White is always jovial, singing and playing with her animals who respond to her.

But one day, a prince comes to her and wants to be with her, the wicked step mother sees this and is immediately jealous.  The wicked queen asks her huntsman to take Snow White into the forest where she can pick wildflowers and then he will kill her and as proof of killing her, he must return with Snow White’s heart in a box.

As the huntsman, goes to do what the Queen has ordered him to do, he can’t.  He tells Snow White that her stepmother has ordered him to kill her and that he should run as far as she can.  Snow White does and takes refuge at the home of the seven dwarfs: Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy and Dopey.

Can Snow White keep safe away from her evil step mother or will the Wicked Queen get to her?

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” gets its 1080p High Definition transfer and its absolutely beautiful.  Viewers can choose to watch the film in its original 4:3 (1:33:1)  format and watch it  with DisneyView featuring Tony Bluth’s artwork on the side (for those who have widescreen televisions).  According to the guide included with this release, restoration experts took full advantage of the newest breakthroughs of digital imaging technologies to produce this classic.  The process took nearly a year of cleanup and scanning over 350,000 frames of the original 75-year-old negative.  And the digital artists then removed dust and scratches from the cels.

The picture quality is absolutely beautiful for a film that is 72-years old.  The restoration and remastering has removed all dust and scratches.  I don’t think I’ve seen any blemishes on video.  The picture quality is absolutely beautiful as art backgrounds just look absolutely divine. I don’t think I have realized how exquisite the backgrounds were, especially the amount of emotion that went into the animation.    Picture quality for “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition” is definitely magnificent and I look forward to seeing Disney continue this trend of remastering their classic animated films.  As for DisneyView, similar to “Pinocchio”, Toby Bluth’s painted borders that are on the sides of the animation matches the animation quite fine and was definitely my preference over standard black bars.

As for the accompanying DVD, the DVD is featured in an aspect ratio of 1:33:1.

Audio is presented in English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (48 kHz/24-bit), the original mono presentation and also French and Spanish 5.1 DEHT restored original theatrical soundtrack.  The film is dialogue and music driven with the soundtrack being front and center channel driven.  Music is also featured during the surround and rear surround channels as well.  Dialogue and music is crystal clear and understandable.    During the more emotional sequences, such as Snow White running away from home in the forest, definitely makes the room quite immersive, albeit a short while but overall, a good use of utilizing the music of Snow White through all channels.  There are other parts that really come through on all channels such as a shriek by Snow White coming clear from the rear surrounds which was quite nice (and surprising).  Overall, a solid lossless audio soundtrack for a 72-year old animated film.

As for the audio of the accompanying DVD, the DVD comes with an English, French and Spanish 5.1 DEHT soundtrack.

Subtitles are provided in English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition” is absolutely loaded with special features.  In fact, I think this is the most special features I have ever seen for any video release of a film ever.  Special features range from 1080o High Definition and 480i Standard Definition.  Soundtrack is in English, French and Spanish 2.0.  Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.  Also is a booklet including a navigational overview of the special features included on both Blu-ray discs.

Special features included are:

DISC 1:

• Magic Mirror – Using the latest in Blu-ray technology, the iconic magic Mirror guides the audience through the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition features with ease, serving as the host for an incredibly immersive experience. The Mirror will recognize viewing patterns, knows where the audience has left off and will even suggest where to navigate next. This marks the first use of this technology in a Disney Blu-ray release and provides viewers with the control to personally create a customized Snow White experience.
• DisneyView – Disney’s pioneering animated feature is brought to the modern era of widescreen high definition viewing by allowing the user to expand their viewing experience beyond the original aspect ratio of the film. Utilizing Disney Blu-ray technology, acclaimed Disney artist Toby Bluth was able to draw beyond the borders of the classic full frame cinema and fill the otherwise dark edges of the screen with beautiful custom imagery, giving audiences a new view of the animated classic favorite.
• About DisneyView – Disney artist Toby Bluth tells how the movie inspired him to create the superb DisneyView art.
• Backstage Disney – Snow White Returns - (8:44) – Visiting Disney’s Animation Research Library and finding newly discovered storyboards for a Snow White featurette that was never made.  Also, the popularity of the dwarfs.
• Deleted Scenes – Two scenes that were cut out of the film.  “The Soup Eating Sequence” (4:07) and the “Bed Building Sequence” (6:23)
• Audio Commentary - Featuring rare recordings from Walt Disney discussing “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and audio commentary by animation historian John Canemaker.
• The Princess and the Frog Sneak Peek (7:45) – Featuring a brief sneak peek of the opening sequence of the upcoming Disney animated feature film “The Princess and the Frog” and an intro by Director/Writers Ron Clements and John Musker.
• “Someday My Prince Will Come” music video – (3:34) A music video featuring Tiffany Thornton (actress from Disney’s “Sonny with a Chance”).
• Family Play – Featuring the following games: What Do You See? (Decipher the Scrambled Image), Mirror, Mirror on the Wall (Which Princess are you most like? – With BD-Live, a personal message from their favorite princess will then call them on the telephone), Jewel Jumble (Test your Matching Skills – Players put jewels from the dwarf’s mine in the proper order.).
• Screen Saver – Viewers can activate screen saver and choose the delay (to go on around 5, 10 or 20 minutes).
• Learn How to Take Your Favorite Movies on the Go – (1:01) A trailer of Disney File Disc.

Disc 2:

• Backstage Disney: Hyperion Studios – Audiences are digitally transported to 1937 to discover first-hand Hyperion Studios, the original studio Walt Disney himself built where Snow White was conceived and developed. Viewers will virtually walk the halls of this historic landmark, experiencing life at Hyperion Studios in the 1930s. This lengthy, informative and brilliant“Backstage Disney” feature contains newly dimensionalized archival photos, never-before-heard animator recordings, archival transcripts and rare footage of Walt himself revealing how Disney’s gifted filmmakers crafted the very first animated feature.Hours of footage of the original studio that Walt Disney and the animators worked at in creation of the early Disney shorts and their first animated feature film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”.  Even the sub-menus have content and comments from the animators who worked at Hyperion Studios back then.

- The One that Started It All – (17:08) Disney’s first attempt at a full-length animated feature film and how naysayers responded to the film.

- Family Business – (1:57) Wilfred Jackson talks about working at Hyperion Studios

- View Where it All Began – (11:41) The history of Hyperion Studios

* The Story Room - Ken Anderson and Frank Thomas would talk about working with Walt Disney for “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”.

- Five Bucks a Gag – (1:46) Discussions of how Walt Disney would pay $5 or $10 for people to submit their gags.

- In Walt’s Words: The Huntsman – (3:28) Ron Clements talks about how Walt Disney’s meetings were back then and how they differ from how meetings are done today’s animated films.

- Walt’s Night Prowls – (1:52) How Walt Disney would go through the staff’s garbage cans and post on the board of what he thought about the things they threw away.

- Babes in the Woods (8:04) – Walt’s interest in European stories and how “Babes in the Woods” was originally based on “Hansel & Gretel”.

- Stories from the Stories Room – (1:14) A story of how the animators would have thumbtack targets.

- Gabby, Blabby and Flabby – (1:14)  A list of names in consideration for the Dwarfs.

-  Abandoned Concepts Gallery – Using your remote, you can see the various pictures in the abandoned concepts gallery. Nine pictures per page, seven pages total.

- Storyboard Art Gallery – Using your remote, you can see the various pictures in the abandoned concepts gallery. Nine pictures per page, 14 pages total.

* The Music Room

- David Hand’s Dirty Trick – (1:18) How David Hand upset Walt Disney

- The Music in Show White – (6:14) Michael Glachino (composer of “Up”) talks about the importance of music and the music in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”.

- The Skeleton Dance – (6:02) John Musker talks about Silly Symphonies and introduces the first musical short titled “The Skeleton Dance”.

- Music Room Host – (:48)  How staff would work together in the music room back then for Disney’s animated shorts.

* Art Department

-  The Idea Man – (1:41) Original recordings from Disney staff as they talk about the talent of Albert Hurter.

- Creating the World of Snow White -(6:53) The authenticity of the Brothers Grimm tale through visual styling.  A European style and influenced by artists from Europe who worked at Disney on “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”.

- “Music Land” – (10:15) – Michael Giaimo talks about Albert Hurter who drew quick sketches and would create hundreds and thousands and showcase expressions.  Giaimo introduces the “Silly Symphonies” animated short – “Music Land”.

- Visual Development Gallery – Using your remote, you can view the visual development gallery.  Nine pictures per page, 17 pages total.

- Gustav Tenggren Art Gallery – Using your remote, you can view the art gallery.  Nine pictures per page, two pages total.

- In Walt’s Words: Cleaning the Cottage – (7:03) Eric Goldberg talks about Walt’s favorite sketch artist.  Featuring recordings of Walt Disney.

* Character Design- Ward Kimball talked about how Hurter’s sketches would go to character designers.

- In Walt’s Words: The Dwarfs – (5:49) John Musker introduces a re-enactment of the Dwarf meetings.

- Color Tests Gallery - Using your remote, you can view the color tests gallery with nine images per page, two pages total.

- Character Design Gallery – Using your remote, you can view the five sketches.

* Background and Layout – David Hand talks about the layout man.

- Setting the Stage – (4:04) – Don Hahn talks about staging in animation.  Viewing original artwork from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”.

- Layout Gallery -Using your remote you can view through the layout gallery.  Nine pictures per page, 13 pages total.

- Backgrounds Gallery – Using your remote you can view through the background gallery.  Nine pictures per page, three pages total.

* Animation Department

- Bringing Snow White to Life – (11:33)  A featurette about the nine key animators of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”.

- Goddess of Spring - (10:04) Andrew Stanton introduces the 1934 Silly Symphony animated short, “Goddess of Spring”.

- The Animators’ Favorite Animators – (2:00)  Old recordings from the animators talking about their favorite animators that they worked with.

- Playful Pluto – (8:09) Paula Sigman introduces us to personality animation through the animated short “Playful Pluto”.

- Blowing Off Steam – (2:17) Milt Kahl about animators would blow off steam and the pranks they would pull on other staff members.

- Animation Art Gallery – Using your remote, you can view the animation art gallery.  Nine pages per page, five pages total.

* Live Action Reference – Ward Kimball talks about how they wanted to accomplish “believability” for “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”.

- Live Action Host – (:50) John Musker talks about rotoscoping and more.

- Drawing on Real Life - (1:37) Wilfred Jackson  and others talk about how they would act things out for the storyboards.

- Live Action Reference Gallery – Using your remote, you can view the live action reference gallery which features nine photos per page, three pages total.

- Giving Voice to Snow White – (2:46) -  How Adrianna Castelotti was cast for the role as Snow White.

* Sweatbox - David Hand talks about the sequences of the film and having to approve them in a sweatbox.

- Sweatbox Host – (:53) Eric Goldberg talks about the screening and approval of their work and progress in rooms with no ventilation aka the Sweatbox and how the name continues to be used today.

- Sweating it Out – (1:09) Ollie Johnston would talk about working with Walt Disney in the sweatbox.

- Deleted Bedroom Fight Scene – (2:26) A fight scene amongst the dwarfs that was cut out during a sweatbox session.

* Ink and Paint - Marcellite Garner talks about working at Hyperion.

- Life in the Nunnery - (1:59) Lucy and Isabelle Wheaton talk about how the women (inkers and painters) were not supposed to fraternized with the men at the animation department.

- Flowers and Trees – (8:31) Paula Sigman talks about the color pallet.  The first technicolor and animated film to receive an Academy award – “Flowers and Trees”.

- The Challenges of Ink and Paint - (1:41) Marcellite Garner talks about how women were not in the animation department at the time.  How women began as painters and became inkers.

- Painted Cells Gallery – Using your remote, you can view the painted cells gallery.  Nine cells per page, two pages total.

* Camera Department – Wilfred Jackson talks about the camera department.

- Decoding the Exposure Sheet – (6:47) Don Hahn talks about the exposure sheet and the making of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”.

- The Old Mill - (9:06) Introduction to the first animated short by Ron Clements using the multi-plane camera, “The Old Mill”.

- Stories from the Camera Department – (2:04) Eustace Lycett talking about working in the camera department.

* Sound Stage

- Steamboat Willie – (8:02) Eric Goldberg talks about sound in Disney.  Goldberg introduces the Disney short “Steamboat Willy”.

- Walt’s Early Masters of Sound - (1:51) Jim MacDonald talks about the sound stage.

* Walt’s Office -  Maurice Noble, background artist talks about Walt.

- Working with Walt – (1:48) Wilfred Jackson talks about working with Walt.

- Publicity Gallery – With your remote, you can view photos of the publicity for “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”.  Nine pictures per page, four pages total.

- Production Photos Gallery – With your remote, you can view production photos.  Nine pictures per page, three pages total.

• Classic DVD Bonus Features (featured on Blu-ray)
  

- Animation Voice Talent – (6:18) A featurette with interviews with the animators, voice talent and Disney historians in regards to “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”.  How Walt Disney wanted the right voice for the characters.

- Disney Through the Decades – (40 minutes) A featurette covering Disney from the 1930′s all the way up to the 2000′s but also chronicling each release of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” through the decades.  Each portion is introduced by celebrities such as Ming Na, Robby Benson, Angela Lansbury and more.

- Dopey’s Wild Mine Ride – A video game to save Snow White in which viewers make decisions with their remote control.

- “heigh-ho” Karaoke Sing Along – (2:42) In this portion, viewers can choose sing-along (with music and vocals) or karaoke (music only) for the song “heigh-ho”.

DVD:

The included DVD comes with the following special features:

• The Princess and the Frog Sneak Peek (7:45) – Featuring a brief sneak peek of the opening sequence of the upcoming Disney animated feature film “The Princess and the Frog” and an intro by Director/Writers Ron Clements and John Musker.
• “Someday My Prince Will Come” music video – (3:34) A music video featuring Tiffany Thornton (actress from Disney’s “Sonny with a Chance”).
• Audio Commentary with Walt Disney

When the first “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” Platinum Edition DVD was released back in 2001, I felt that the DVD set the bar of the amount of special features and how innovative a DVD can be through seamless branching technology.  Needless to say, the DVD won several awards for its technology and so, when the announcement came that “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” will receive a Diamond Edition Blu-ray disc release, I was curious to see how Disney could top themselves because that release was already phenomenal.

I have since gone through the Blu-ray release and all I can say is…Wow!

Disney has not only topped the Platinum Edition release, they have set the bar once again for a Blu-ray release and the amount of content that can be included on a Blu-ray and let alone, how awesome they were able to digitally restore the classic 1937 film.

There was no doubt in my mind that Disney would give their first animated feature on Blu-ray the best treatment as possible and as this release is a celebration of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, it’s also a celebration of the talent behind the film.  Those who were involved with Hyperion Studios that created the “Silly Symphonies” animated shorts back in the early 1930′s and using the technology at that time and building it, in order to create their first full feature animated masterpiece.

In fact, not only do we get audio of those who worked on the film but we also are treated with those classic animated shorts such as “Babes in the Woods”, “The Skeleton Dance”, “Music Land”, “Goddess of Spring”, “Playful Pluto”, “The Old Mill”, “Steamboat Willie” and more.   And to make things even more impressive, these shorts are featured in HD (not cleaned up but still much better than their DVD counterparts). This Blu-ray release manages to capture the various process of the film from creating the story, the music, the art, the backgrounds, the layout, the animation, the live action references, decisions at the sweatbox meetings, ink and paint and how women were involved in the animated process at the time, the camera department, soundstage, etc.

So much is included on both Blu-ray discs in terms of special features, so much went into restoring this film, that this release is one, if not the top video releases of all time.  I have no doubt in my mind that probably ten years from now, this Blu-ray will be highly revered for its content.

I know that many people own the 2001 Platinum DVD Edition of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and are wondering if it’s worth the double dip and the answer is YES!  There is just so much included on the Diamond Edition, way more than the 2001 Platinum Edition.  Also, if you are now wanting these classic Disney films in High Definition, its definitely worth the move to see this classic film in High Definiton.  But I must say that you should not toss away your 2001 DVD edition because there are video clips such as the “Excerpt from The Story of Silly Symphony”, “Excerpt from Tricks of Our Trade”, “Camera Tests”, “Abandoned Concepts”, vintage audio (radio shows and spots are not included) and several songs and deleted scenes which are not included on this Diamond Edition release.

So, overall it’s a no-brainer that “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition” is definitely worth it.  For High Definition fans, the film looks and sounds absolutely gorgeous on Blu-ray.  And as mentioned, the sheer amount of content included in this release is absolutely incredible.

I really don’t have any negatives but me being nitpicky that it would have been nice to have certain special features such as the vintage radio/audio content , a few deleted scenes, songs and video clip excerpts from the 2001 Platinum Edition DVD included on the Diamond Edition.  And personally, for me that is the only thing that prevents me from calling this release absolute perfection.  There was one other thing and that is my Blu-ray discs came in a black DVD case, not the standard blue casing.  I was told that there will be two releases (in different casing, not inc. the limited edition) with one in a blue Blu-ray case and another using black DVD casing in order to educate those new to Blu-ray.

I do think that Diamond Edition and the Platinum Edition are quite different in terms of presentation of special features and the goals were quite different of what kind of special features would be presented.  With the Platinum Edition, its solely focused on “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and in the Diamond Edition, there is more focus on giving the viewer the history of Walt Disney and the animators of how they got from Silly Symphonies to using their skills and technology in creating the first animated feature film.  So, as I have said earlier in my review, this release is more or less, a celebration of those who worked on the film and giving recognition to those animators and staff members who took part in that film and the work that they did earlier, that became instrumental in creating Snow White.

So, overall…the Diamond Edition is just incredible when it comes to the actual digital restoration of this classic film and a release that is absolutely packed with special features.   “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition” is a solid release that raises the bar of what Disney is capable of in terms of content in a home video release.  This is truly a magnificent release and is highly recommended!

BOLT (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

“The BOLT Blu-ray release scores a perfect 10 for picture and audio quality!  A magnificent release (the Blu-ray comes with the BD, DVD and a digital copy)  for the family and  for home theater enthusiasts!“

Images courtesy of © WDSHE. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: BOLT

DURATION: 95 minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080P High Definition 1:78:1, English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (48 kHz/24-Bit), Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, English SDH Spanish

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: PG (For Some Mild Action and Peril)

RELEASE DATE: March 22, 2009

Directed by Bryan Howard and Chris Williams

Screenplay by Dan Fogelman and Chris Williams

Produced by John Lasseter, Lisa M. Poole, Clark Spencer and Makul Wigert

Original Music by John Powell

Film Editing by Tim Mertins

Art Direction by Paul Felix

Cast:

John Travolta (voice of Bolt)

Miley Cyrus (voice of Penny)

Susie Essman (voice of Mittens)

Mark Walton (voice of Rhino)

Malcolm McDowell (voice of Dr. Calico)

James Lipton (voice of the Director)

Chloe Moretz (voice of Young Penny)

Grey DeLisle (voice of Peny’s Mom)

Sean Donnellan (voice of Penny’s TV Dad)

Enjoy the ultimate Bolt experience with this action-packed Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack.  Disney’s sensational animated comedy adventure is Super-Powered on Blu-ray with pristine picture and theater-quality sound.

Bolt is the star of the biggest show in Hollywood.  The only problem is, he thinks the whole thing is real.  When the super dog is accidentally shipped to New York City and separated from Penny, his beloved co-star and owner, Bolt springs into action to find his way home.  Together with his hilarious new sidekick Rhino, Bolt’s #1 fan, and a street-smart cat named Mittens, Bolt sets off on an amazing journey where he discovers he doesn’t need super powers to be a hero.

Features the vocal talents of John Travolta and Miley Cyrus and loaded with totally awesome blu-ray bonus features you can’t see anywhere else, Bolt saves the day on Blu-ray Disc.

The BOLT Blu-ray release scores a perfect 10 for picture and audio quality and special features!  A wonderful release!

The 48th animated feature from Walt Disney Animation Studios features an all-star cast with voice courtesy of John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Malcolm McDowell, Susie Essman, James Lipton and many more and was released in theaters in Nov. 2008 and immediately, it was a clash of the titans as the animated film had to go against box office heavyweights such as the latest 007 film “Quantum of Solace” and the vampire hit “TWILIGHT”.   The film opened #3 in the box office making over $26 million but worldwide grossing over $286 million.  Needless to say, this film was financially successful.

The film revolves around a dog named Bolt (voice by John Travolta), along with his owner Penny (voice by Miley Cyrus), the duo try to find Penny’s father who has been kidnapped by the nefarious Doctor Calico (voice by Malcolm McDowell).  Penny’s father is known to have developed a treatment to give an animal super powers and Bolt, happens to exhibit super strength, laser eye beams and killer growl.

With an awesome chase scene and explosions galore, you realize that the whole scene was part of the filming of the hit television series “BOLT”.  For Bolt, he does not know that he’s a normal dog.  Filming for so long, he’s under the assumption that his powers are real and when he mistakenly believes that Penny has been kidnapped, Bolt goes into superhero mode and escapes and runs amok in the studio and eventually falling into a box filled with Styrofoam and shipped from Hollywood to New York City.

While Bolt roams around the city, he is not sure why his powers is not working and assumes that it’s because of the Styrofoam.  He befriends a bunch of pigeons who try to help Bolt and listen to his story about his owner being kidnapped by a mad doctor with green eyes along with his cat.  Meanwhile, the pigeons have been harassed by a cat named Mittens, so the pigeons concoct a scheme by telling Bolt that the cat who has Penny is Mittens and thus, Bolt goes after the cat.

Bolt interrogates and threatens Mittens and makes sure he is close to him at all times for her to help him find Penny.  Mittens finds out that he is from Hollywood and tells him that he must find a way from New York and get back to Hollywood and thus the two go on a road trip.  Along the way, they run into a hamster named Rhino (voiced by Mark Walton) who is an obsessed fan of Bolt and the “BOLT” TV series and is willing to help Bolt find Penny and thus the three go through major challenges in their cross-country trip to Hollywood.

“BOLT” is an enjoyable, action-packed family film that combines almost the Michael Bay style of action (major action and explosions galore) along with the beautiful and artistic animation utilized for this film.  Everything just looks incredible and you can’t help but be amazed by the amount of detail in the computer animation and the background paintings and how much work your home theater system audio-wise during the action scenes.  Just wonderful!

The “BOLT” Blu-ray release comes with a total of three discs.  The first is the Blu-ray disc, the second is a digital copy and the third is the DVD of the film.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“BOLT” is most definitely one of the most beautiful works of animation at this current time.  The creative group went all out in trying to create this action-packed world of “BOLT” by using Michael Bay films as a reference and when you think of Michael Bay, you think of car chases, explosions, multiple automobile crashes, explosions and even more explosions.  The animators captured that action that almost looks realistic with its use of lighting and incredible detail.  And for the background scenes, the film goes towards a painted style of background that is lush and just beautiful.

The Blu-ray definitely brings out the beauty of this film with its use of sunlight and it’s clear blue skies, amber sunlight and much more.  Absolutely, beautiful in 1080p High Definition (with an aspect ratio of 1:78:1).

The audio is just as impressive, featured in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, you literally feel the action all around you.  There is so much action in this film that this is what High Definition audio was made for.  Clear audio coming from all various channels and hearing the concussive booms from your sub-woofer and front channel speakers to hearing the sounds coming from all around you.  Absolutely awesome audio quality!

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“BOLT” also features quite a bit of special features.  Include are:

• Super Rhino – BOLT breakout star Rhino, the hyperactive hamster, gets a chance to headline his very own adventure!  If you thought “BOLT” was action packed, this short of Super Rhino is just full of action and more explosions!  Almost five minutes long, a fun and enjoyable animated short!
• A New Breed of Directors: A Filmmakers’ Journey - First-time directors Chris Williams and Byron Howard take fans along as they traverse the road from concept to completion.  A four minute featurette of showcasing a new generation of Directors with Chris Williams who worked at Disney as a story artist and Byron Howard as an animator.  An informative featurette on the creation of the film and the challenges in the film (such as the leash attached to Bolt and Mittens).
• Act, Speak! The Voices of Bolt – Viewers join the voice cast in session: John Travolta (Bolt), Miley Cyrus (Penny), Susie Essman (Mittens), James Lipton (Director) and Mark Walton (Rhino). A near 10-minute featurette on the voice acting experience of everyone in the film and how they were selected for the position.  The most impressive part of the featurette was the segment on Mark Walton because he’s a Disney employee who typically is used a temp stand-in for voicework but he did such a great job with Rhino that they gave him the role.  What is most impressive is how they surprised him of how he learned that he got the role.
• Creating The World of Bolt – Bolt’s painterly backgrounds have wowed audiences across the globe. The filmmakers explain how they fashioned the unique look of this CG movie.  This near 7-minute featurette is quite interesting of how Art Director Paul Felix brought back the painted backgrounds that Disney was known for in the past but now utilizing these backgrounds in a more for a modern sense.
• Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary – Two deleted scenes which include “Dog Fight in Vegas” and “River Sequence”.   The deleted scenes are storyboards with voice acting.
• “I Thought I Lost You” Music Video featuring the movie’s stars, Miley Cyrus and John Travolta singing together with clips from “BOLT”.  A near two-minute music video.
• In Session with John Travolta and Miley Cyrus – A behind-the-scenes look at recording Bolt’s signature song “I Thought I Lost You.”  A one minute segment featuring both Travolta and Cyrus singing together.
• Bolt’s Be-Awesome Mission – In order to defeat the Green-Eyed Man, Bolt has to find his way through three challenging levels in an exciting interactive game. Viewers can join in collecting clues, conquering ninjas and unleashing the power of the Super Bark!  I usually don’t get into DVD or Blu-ray type of games but “Bolt’s Be-Awesome Mission” is one of the better created mini-games in look and gameplay.
• Bolt Art Gallery – Animation enthusiasts can check out the film’s early creative concepts in the Bolt Art Gallery, which contains the building blocks of a big screen blockbuster, from storyboards to character mock-ups. Gallery sections include Visual Development, Character Development, Storyboard Art and Color Script Images.
• BD-Live including Movie Chat, Movie Mail, Movie Challenge and Movie Rewards

“BOLT” is just another magnificent release from Walt Disney Animated Studios.  For those who love the super hero style of animated film such as “The INCREDIBLES”, your definitely going to enjoy this film. In fact, the animation for “BOLT” is just breathtakingly beautiful, the amount of detail on the hair of the animals, the detail on the objects surrounding them, the lush backgrounds.  “BOLT” just receives a perfect 10 in picture quality and also in audio quality.

And because of it’s high rated amount of destruction and explosions, this is the first Walt Disney animated film to have a PG rating since the release of “DINOSAUR” (2000). For parents wondering if they should caution themselves from purchasing this for their children, I can tell you that I watched it with my 6-year-old and there is nothing for parents to fear for.  The animated film is lighthearted, cute and again, if you enjoyed a film such as “THE INCREDIBLES”, then “BOLT” is fine for your family.  Again, the PG rating is mainly because of the filming of the TV series (within the film) that the dog, Bolt is part of and it’s an action-based series ala Michael Bay style with chase scenes, explosions, destruction, etc.

Again, another Disney masterpiece with a definitive release via High-Definition on Blu-ray.   Amazing picture quality, audio quality, informative and enjoyable special features, this release is absolutely wonderful!  “BOLT” is one of the few Blu-ray releases that you want to show off to friends of why High Definition is absolutely worth it!

And speaking of Blu-ray, so far every Blu-ray disc release from Disney has not disappointed me yet.  “BOLT” just continues the strategy by Disney of giving you more than less and this magnificent release comes bundled with not just the Blu-ray disc but also knowing that families with children can benefit by having a DVD version as well (especially for those long commutes) plus a digital copy for those who want to watch on their laptop or portable device.

With all the positives, there must be negatives right?  Not really.  If I had to nitpick, I would love more lengthier featurettes but other than that, this is a solid release.

All in all, “BOLT” is highly recommended!

MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

“Hilarious and extremely entertaining!  If you enjoyed “MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA” in the theater, you’re going to enjoy the picture and audio quality on Blu-ray! Overall, this is a great example of a perfect Blu-ray release.  Perfect in all categories and a release worth owning!”

Images courtesy of © Paramount/DreamWorks Home Entertainment

TITLE: MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA

DURATION: 89 minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, 5.0 Dolby TrueHD, 5.1 Dolby Digital, Stereo, Subtitles: English, English Subtitled, French Dubbed & Subtitled, Spanish Dubbed & Subtitled

COMPANY: DreamWorks Home Entertainment

RATED: PG

Release Date: February 6, 2009

Directed by Eric Darnell and Tim McGrath

Produced by Mireile Soria and Mark Swift

Written by Eric Cohen, Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath

Music and Sound by Hans Zimmer and will.i.am

Cast:

Ben Stiller as Alex

Chris Rock as Marty

David Schwimmer as Melman

Jada Pinkett Smith as Gloria

Sacha Baron Cohen as Julien

Cedric the Entertainer as Maurice

Andy Richter as Mort

Bernie Mac as Zuba

Alec Baldwin as Makunga

Sherri Shepherd as Mom

will.i.am as Moto Moto

Tom McGrath as Skipper

Chris Miller as Kowalski

Christopher Knights as Private

Your favorite castaways are back – still together and still lost! One of the top movies of the year, DreamWorks Animation’s MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA is “even better than the first!” (Mark Hyman, FOX-TV). You’ll laugh out loud as this outrageous comedy takes you on an African adventure like no other.

Hilarious and extremely entertaining!  If you enjoyed “MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA” in the theater, you’re going to enjoy the picture and audio quality on Blu-ray!  Fantastic!

The popular castaways of “MADAGASCAR” are back!  In the first film, we learned about how the popular animals that came from a New York zoo ended up in Madagascar but now, the gang try to return back to New York but things don’t go quite as planned.

The film starts off with a lion (Zuba played by Bernie Mac) and his cub Alex (played by Ben Stiller).  As Zuba is trying to get his son to learn how to fight, his son is more interested in playing with a butterfly.  Both share a similar mark on their paw which Zuba is proud of.

But as Zuba wants to spend more time with his son, his rival Makunga (played by Alec Baldwin) challenges him yet again for alpha dominance among the Pride and while they fight, Alex sees a rope and starts following it.  He is eventually captured by hunters and sold and ends up at the zoo in New York.  Zuba tries to rescue his son to no avail.

Flash forward to the present time as Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria, Julien, Maurice, the three penguins Skipper, Kowalski and Private (and two monkeys) are gearing up to go back to New York in a plane which is being propelled by a slingshot.

Unfortunately, Mort has accidentally tampered with the plane and suddenly the plane crashes in Africa.  While the penguins try to find a way to fix the airplane, Alex and friends take a walk around the area and discover many, many animals in the wild that look like them.  Alex feels that the place they are at is quite similar.  The leader of the pride, led by Zuba who represents the animals asks them to leave but his wife takes a look at Alex and looks at his paw.  Both lions realize that Alex is their long lost son who they thought was killed by hunters.

The three celebrate and the others try to get used to hanging out with animals like them.  Meanwhile Zuba’s rival Makunga feels this is his chance to get the leadership position by reminding Zuba that the only way Alex can stay amongst them is to take the Rites of Passage test and Makunga will do what he can to sabotage it by having Alex banished along with his father.

Meanwhile, Marty who thought he was a unique zebra discovers that all the zebra’s can do the things that he does.  Gloria has a crush on a hippo named Moto Moto (played by will.i.am) and Melman who is still in love with Gloria decides to become a doctor in the village.

But things start to go astray with the friends as Alex and Marty’s friendship is tested, especially when Marty can not tell the difference between Marty and the other zebras.  Melman is just jealous of Gloria and Moto Moto and Gloria has no clue that Melman is in love with her.

Things are not going as well as the friends would have thought in their new home.

“MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA” is a very entertaining film and the animation just screams of CG awesomeness that can be seen from the hair on Zuba with the white strands among the darker strands of hair to the water and the physics of water and just the beautiful landscape of how the animators really tried to capture the beauty of Africa from its weeds, the hills, the trees especially the clouds.

Also, what was amazing is the number of talent used in this film and I didn’t know until watching the special features is that “MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA” was the final film which featured popular comedian Bernie Mac before his death and that it was screened for the family and even included a dedication for him in the ending credits.

The voice acting was very well done by each talent and again, I am totally impressed by the storyline and how beautiful the film looked and how great it sounds on Blu-ray.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

The film is featured in 1080p High Definition (AVC-encoded) transfer that is beautiful!  Needless to say, when it comes to picture quality, DreamWorks Entertainment has not let anyone down.    If anything, I think there is a high anticipation that the film look great on Blu-ray and the animators successfully have done so.  Detail on nearly everything from the land, the clouds, solid objects, the water, the ground, the hair on the characters.  You name it, they went all out in making sure the visual experience of watching this film, videophiles will just fall in love for it.  For me, water physics is one of the most difficult things for animators to do.  And to see how far they have gone with making liquid look natural, especially in this film and how it reacts and how great it looks is amazing!    I didn’t notice any artifacting and overall, the picture quality is perfect!

As for the audio, audio is featured in TrueHD5.1. Equally as impressive as the video quality, dialogue is clear, music is alive (especially how it’s used in the rear channels) and a great use of ambient noise.  From the noise of the airplane to several actions sequences especially near the end of the film, really great delivery of audio.  Again, another perfect soundtrack to along with the perfect video quality!

SPECIAL FEATURES:

And DreamWorks didn’t stop with the video and audio quality, they also added plenty of special features to keep “MADAGASCAR” fans busy.  Included in the special features are:

• Commentary: Filmmakers’ Commentary -  A very good audio commentary from co-directors Tom McGrath and Eric Darnell with producers Mireille Soria and Mark Swift in regards to animation, working with the talent, working with the design team and this commentary features optional English subtitles.
• Commentary: The Animators’ Corner - Unlike the commentary above, you can watch the four via picture-in-picture but this time you get certain animated storyboards and much more including brief shots of the talent in the recording studio.
• Commentary: Trivia Track - The trivia track well thrown in tidbits that you will see via graphic on the bottom of the screen with tidbits from the film.  Such as “animators named the clouds as individual characters when they were working on them” or “creating the movement of the water was one of the difficult challenges for the animators” and many, many more information from the film.
• Featurette: It’s a Family Affair: The Cast of Escape 2 Africa HD - This featurette was highly entertaining as each talent was interviewed in regards to their role.  And you learn that Ben Stiller had his children involved in recording of the scenes, as did Jada Pinkett Smith had her daughter due the voice of a younger Gloria.  Moto Moto’s sexy voice by will.i.am and much more.  Also, the director and Ben Stiller talking about working with Bernie Mac and so forth.  A very entertaining featurette!
• Featurette: The Making of Escape 2 Africa HD - An overview on the production of the film.
• Featurette: Crash Landing HD – A fun featurette in how the crew worked out the storyboard for the crash landing and even coming up with ideas using a couch and how the characters would end up flying around the plane by enacting certain scenes.  Interesting featurette on how that scene came about!
• Featurette: African Adventure HD - In order to capture the essence of Africa, the director, producers and some staff had to experience it by going there.  Being near wild animals, seeing how they interact, how beautiful the landscape was and trying to capture that in the animation and more.
• Featurette: Jambo Jambo: Swahili Speak HD - An informative featurette on learning swahili.  There is about 36 minutes of learning various words and phrases in Swahili (especially in how it relates to the film).
• Featurette: The Bronx Zoo: Madagascar HD - The Bronx Zoo is one of the few zoos to have animals from Madagascar and featuring some of the animals from the exhibit.
• Featurette: Popcorn Panic (#101) HD - An episode from the upcoming Nickelodeon animated series featuring our favorite Madascar penguins, Julien, Maurice and Mort.  In this case, a no feeding animals popcorn rule has been enforced and the penguins and animals are not too happy about it and try to get their hands on popcorn.
• Featurette: Gone in a Flash (#103) HD - An episode from the upcoming Nickelodeon animated series featuring our favorite Madagascar penguins and characters such as Julie, Maurice, Mort and other zoo friends.
• Music Videos: “Move It, Move It” Music Video HD,  “Big and Chunky” Music Video HD, “She Loves Me” Music Video HD
• Alex’s Dance Off HD - If your kids want to learn the dance moves of Alex, this is the way to go!
• Music Videos: Sing Along HD – Sing along to the songs sung in the film!
• Music Videos: DWA Jukebox HD - Featuring a music clip from “MADAGASCAR”, “THE BEE MOVIE”, “SHREK 1 & 2″, “KUNG-FU PANDA, “Over the Hedge” and more.
• Games: Test Flight of Air Penguin Game - A point and click video game for the family.
• Easter Eggs: There are six Easter Eggs according to DreamWorks, I have yet to find them!

“MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA” is an entertaining and highly enjoyable film!

If anything, my son has had “Madagascar in the Brain” with his constant singing of will.i.am’s “Move it, Move it” song and for Blu-ray, Paramount has released animated titles that were just solid in picture and audio quality and “MADAGASAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA” does not disappoint in any category.

The storyline was well-written, with so much talent involved, each has done a tremendous job for their characters and you really have to give the crew a standing ovation in accomplishing one of the most awesome animated sequences with the high amount of detail from the characters, outdoors, objects.  You name it, they did a spectacular job in making this film look so beautiful!  And of course, the audio is just as spectacular and the music and audio during the action sequences is just as alive.  To top it off, the Blu-ray is just filled with special features galore!

Overall, this is a great example of a perfect Blu-ray release.  Perfect in all categories and a release worth owning!