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

July 31, 2011 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

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!

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!

Filed Under: Blu-ray Reviews, Children's DVD/Blu-ray, GALLERY

PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES on 3D Blu-ray & DVD Announcement

July 14, 2011 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment

Dive Deeper Into the Epic Quest to Find The Fountain of Youth

Johnny Depp is Back as Captain Jack Sparrow in

Disney’s

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN:
ON STRANGER TIDES

Grossing Over $1 Billion at the Worldwide Box Office, One of the Biggest Films of All Time Sails Home on Disney Blu-ray™ Combo Pack
and Blu-ray 3D™ on October 18th

BURBANK, Calif., July 14, 2011 — The Walt Disney Studios and Jerry Bruckheimer Films are proud to present the #1 worldwide box office success of 2011 – making over $1 billion globally – Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, in stunning high definition Blu-ray™, eye popping Blu-ray 3D™ (a first for the legendary franchise) and Movie Download on October 18, 2011.

Setting sail on an ocean full of hi-def adventures, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides will debut in a Limited Edition 5-Disc Combo Pack (1-Disc Blu-ray 3D + 2-Disc Blu-ray + 1-Disc DVD + 1-Disc Digital Copy), a 2-Disc Combo Pack (1-Disc Blu-ray + 1-Disc DVD), and for the ultimate fan a 15-Disc Four Movie Collection. Additionally the movie will be available in 3D and High-Definition Movie Download.

The Limited Edition 5-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack includes hours of bonus materials offering fans a deeper dive inside Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides including immersive Disney Second Screen technology, exclusive behind-the-scenes experiences, Fountain of Youth mythology, an extensive look at mermaids, bloopers, deleted and extended scenes, and much more.

In addition, the Pirates of the Caribbean 15-Disc Four Movie Collection offers fans more adventures than ever before. The Collection is packaged in an authentic replica Pirate’s Chest, and includes a collectible map and an iconic skull disc case that holds the Blu-ray™ discs and digital copies of ALL four Pirates of the Caribbean movies, along with the Blu-ray 3D™ disc and DVD of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, directed by Rob Marshall (Nine, Chicago), and written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio (Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, National Treasure 2, Mask of Zorro), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is the latest addition to the incredibly successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise that has for years entertained audiences of all ages with its thrilling adventures,
hi-tech special effects and unique storylines.

Back as Captain Jack Sparrow, Johnny Depp (Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Alice in Wonderland) returns leading a sensational cast of talents that includes Penélope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Geoffrey Rush (The King’s Speech), Ian McShane (HBO’s “Deadwood”) and more.

The visually stunning film shot in high-definition 3D invites viewers to embark on an adventure-filled ride with Captain Jack Sparrow as he searches for the breathtaking Fountain of Youth. Along the turbulent trip, fans are forced to re-think their knowledge of fairytale creatures when they are introduced to a group of alluring yet precarious mermaids, traverse isolated islands and fight international enemies.

Details:

2-Disc Combo Pack (1-Disc Blu-ray™ + 1-Disc DVD)
SRP = $39.99 U.S./$46.99 Canada
·      Disney Second Screen
·      Bloopers of the Caribbean
·       Audio Commentary by director Rob Marshall
·       LEGO Animated Shorts: Captain Jack’s Brick Tales

Limited Edition 5-Disc Combo Pack (1-Disc Blu-ray 3D™ + 2-Disc Blu-ray + 1-Disc DVD + 1-Disc Digital Copy)
SRP = $49.99 U.S./$56.99 Canada
All of the above features plus…
·       Legends of On Stranger Tides
·      In Search of the Fountain
·      Last Sail/First Voyage
·      Under the Scene: Bringing Mermaids to Life
·      Deleted and Extended Scenes with Intros by director Rob Marshall

Limited Edition 15-Disc Four Movie Collection
SRP = $169.99 U.S./$189.99 Canada
·       Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2-Disc Blu-ray+1-Disc Digital Copy )
·       Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2-Disc Blu-ray+1-Disc Digital Copy )
·       Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2-Disc Blu-ray+1-Disc Digital Copy)
·       Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (1-Disc Blu-ray 3D +2-Disc Blu-ray+Digital Copy+1-Disc DVD)
·       1-Disc Blu-ray bonus disc that includes all-new never-before-seen short film “Wedlocked”
·       Authentic replica Pirate’s Chest, a collectible map and an iconic skull disc case.
·       And much more…

High Definition Movie Download
SRP = $39.99 U.S./$46.99 Canada
·      Bloopers of the Caribbean
·       Deleted and Extended Scenes with Intros by director Rob Marshall
·       LEGO Animated Shorts: Captain Jack’s Brick Tales

3D Movie Download
SRP = $49.99 U.S./$56.99 Canada

Disc Specifications:

STREET DATE: October 18, 2011

Suggested Retail Prices: 2-Disc Combo Pack = $39.99 U.S./$46.99 Canada

5-Disc Combo Pack = $49.99 U.S./$56.99 Canada

15-Disc Four Movie Collection = $169.99 U.S./$189.99 Canada

High Definition Movie Download = $39.99 U.S./46.99 Canada

3D Movie Download = $49.99 U.S./$56.99 Canada

Feature Run Time: 136 minutes

Rating: U.S. = PG-13 (Not Recommended for Young Children & Frightening Scenes)
Canada = PG (Not Recommended for Young Children & Frightening Scenes)
**Bonus Material Not Rated

Presentation: Blu-ray 3D & Blu-ray = 1080p High Definition 2.40:1
DVD = Widescreen 2.40:1 – Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions

Audio/Language: Blu-ray 3D & Blu-ray = English 7.1 DTS-HD MA (48kHz/24-bit), English 2.0 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 DVS Dolby Digital, French, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital (3D Blu-ray), French, Spanish 7.1 DTS0HD HR (Blu-ray)
DVD = English, French, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital

Subtitles: Blu-ray 3D & Blu-ray = English SDH, French, Spanish

DVD = English SDH, French Spanish

**applies to film content only

Film Synopsis:
From Disney and producer Jerry Bruckheimer comes all the fun, epic adventure and humor that ignited the original. Johnny Depp returns as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. A tale of truth, betrayal, youth, demise — and mermaids! When Jack crosses paths with a woman from his past (Penélope Cruz), he’s not sure if it’s love or if she’s a ruthless con artist using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. Forced aboard the ship of the most feared pirate ever, Jack doesn’t know who to fear more —Blackbeard (Ian McShane) or the woman from his past. Directed by Rob Marshall, it’s filled with eye-popping battle scenes, mystery and all-out wit.

Social Media:
For those who would like to stay connected with the world of Pirates are encouraged to:

· “Like” the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/PiratesoftheCaribbean <http://www.facebook.com/PiratesoftheCaribbean>

· Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DisneyPirates <http://www.twitter.com/DisneyPirates>

· Visit the website and mobile site: www.disney.com/pirates <http://www.disney.com/pirates>

About Walt Disney Studios:
For more than 85 years, The Walt Disney Studios has been the foundation on which The Walt Disney Company (DIS: NYSE) was built. Today, the Studio brings quality movies, music and stage plays to consumers throughout the world. Feature films are released under four banners: Walt Disney Pictures, which includes Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios, Disneynature, Touchstone Pictures and Marvel. Original music and motion picture soundtracks are produced under Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records, while Disney Theatrical Group produces and licenses live events, including Broadway theatrical productions, Disney on Ice and Disney LIVE!. For more information, please visit www.disney.com.

Filed Under: Blu-ray & DVD News, GALLERY

DISNEY/ABC TV GROUP SIGNS MULTI-PLATFORM DEAL WITH KATIE COURIC

June 6, 2011 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment

Award-winning Journalist, Best-Selling Author & Television Personality To Host and Produce Syndicated National One-Hour Daily Daytime Show Premiering in September 2012

Couric to also Join ABC News Team Disney/ABC Television Group (DATG) has signed a multi-year, multi-platform agreement with Katie Couric, award-winning journalist, best-selling author and popular TV personality, to host and produce her own nationally syndicated talk show and to join the ABC News team, it was announced today by Anne Sweeney, president, Disney/ABC Television Group and co-chair, Disney Media Networks. The program will be distributed by Disney/ABC Domestic Television and will premiere in September 2012.

Couric, the former “Today” co-anchor who was most recently anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News with Katie Couric,” a “60 Minutes” correspondent and host of the weekly online interview series, @katiecouric, will be reunited with Jeff Zucker, who will be an executive producer with Couric on the yet-to-be-named syndicated series, which will be based in New York and produced in conjunction with Disney/ABC.

In addition to hosting the new syndicated program, Couric will join the ABC News team, contributing to all programs and platforms. Beginning this summer, Couric, winner of the distinguished duPont, Murrow and Cronkite Awards and numerous Emmys, will anchor specials, contribute interviews, participate in special events coverage and bring her many talents to bear on some of the most important and interesting stories of the day.

In making the announcement, Ms. Sweeney stated: “Katie Couric is one of television’s iconic figures and we are thrilled to have forged such an exciting partnership with her. We look forward to having Katie join the best News team in the business, and to working with her to create a dynamic and successful talk show franchise.”

Ms. Couric added: “I’m very happy to be returning to the network where I began my career as a desk assistant in 1979. It is tremendously exciting to have the creative freedom to develop my own show with Anne Sweeney, the Disney/ABC TV Group and Jeff, and to contribute to such a vibrant, innovative news division. I can’t wait to be part of this incredibly talented, visionary team.”

“It was a blast working with Katie at ‘Today’ and I’m excited to do it again,” said Zucker. “And besides, it should be more fun spending time with Katie at 3 or 4 in the afternoon than at 3 or 4 in the morning.”

The eight ABC Owned stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh/Durham and Fresno, which represent nearly 23% of the nation’s TV households, have already cleared the new show in the 3:00 p.m. time slot. As part of the announcement, the network is set to return the last hour of its Daytime network block to affiliates no earlier than September 2012, but continues to support “General Hospital,” and the plans to launch “The Chew” in September of this year and “The Revolution” in January 2012.

Katie Couric is an award-winning journalist, veteran TV personality and New York Times best-selling author. Prior to joining the Disney/ABC Television Group, she was anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News with Katie Couric,” a “60 Minutes” correspondent, a “CBS Sunday Morning” contributor and anchor of CBS News primetime specials. When the “CBS Evening News with Katie Couric” debuted on September 5, 2006, Couric became the first female solo anchor of a weekday network evening news broadcast. She also writes a monthly column for Glamour magazine, which features an interview with a dynamic female role model every month, and is active on Twitter, @katiecouric.

The RTNDA honored the “CBS Evening News with Katie Couric” with the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Newscast in both 2008 and 2009. Also in 2009, USC’s Annenberg School for Communication awarded Couric the Walter Cronkite Award for Special Achievement for “National Impact on the 2008 Campaign,” and the University of South Dakota and Freedom Forum awarded her the Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in the Media. In January 2010, Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism awarded Couric the Alfred I. duPont Award for political reporting for her 2008 interviews with Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin. The “CBS Evening News with Katie Couric” was awarded a second duPont for the series “Children of the Recession.” In September 2010, The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awarded the “CBS Evening News with Katie Couric” three Emmy Awards: Outstanding Investigative Journalism in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast: “Rape in America: Justice Denied”; Outstanding Business and Economic Reporting in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast: “Financial Family Tree”; Best Story in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast: “The Battle of Wanat.” “60 Minutes” also received an Emmy for Outstanding Interview for Couric’s profile of Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, “Saving Flight 1549.”

Couric led CBS’s critically acclaimed coverage of the historic 2008 Presidential election and also launched a series of webcasts giving viewers live, exclusive Web coverage of the election and the historic beginnings of Obama’s presidency.

In 2000 Couric launched the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance with the Entertainment Industry Foundation and Lilly Tartikoff to fund cutting-edge research in colorectal cancer and generate awareness about the life-saving value of screening. Following Couric’s on-air colonoscopy in 2000, a scientifically documented 20% increase in the number of colonoscopies performed across the country was dubbed “The Couric Effect” by researchers at the University of Michigan. Couric received the Peabody Award for her “Today” show series on colon cancer.

Couric is also a co-founder of Stand Up To Cancer, and in May 2008, she and her other network news counterparts participated in the first Stand Up To Cancer broadcast, an unprecedented effort that culminated in a one-hour, commercial-free, primetime program on ABC, CBS and NBC in Fall 2008. Two years later, on September 10, 2010, Couric and her ABC News and NBC News counterparts, Diane Sawyer and Brian Williams, joined forces once again to host the second live “road-block” Stand Up To Cancer fundraising event. To date, $180 million has been pledged to Stand Up To Cancer to support “Dream Teams” of scientists from different institutions, working together to get new therapies to patients quickly.

ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and a host of cable channels donated one hour of simultaneous commercial-free primetime for the nationally televised fundraising special, which featured live performances and appearances by legendary recording artists and stars from the worlds of film, television and sports.

ABOUT THE DISNEY/ABC TELEVISION GROUP
The Disney/ABC Television Group is composed of The Walt Disney Company’s (NYSE: DIS) global entertainment and news television properties, owned television stations group, as well as radio and publishing businesses. This includes the ABC Television Network, ABC Owned Television Stations Group, ABC Studios, Disney Channels Worldwide, ABC Family and SOAPnet, as well as Disney/ABC Domestic Television and Disney Media Distribution. The Radio Disney network, Hyperion publishing, and the Company’s equity interest in A&E Television Networks round out the Group’s portfolio of media businesses.

Filed Under: American Entertainment News

DISNEY/ABC TV GROUP RECEIVES 67 NOMINATIONS FOR THE 38TH ANNUAL DAYTIME ENTERTAINMENT EMMY® AWARDS

May 11, 2011 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment

THE DISNEY/ABC TELEVISION GROUP RECEIVES 67 NOMINATIONS
FOR THE 38TH ANNUAL DAYTIME ENTERTAINMENT EMMY® AWARDS

“General Hospital” Nominated for Outstanding Drama Series, and Is the Most Honored Show

“The View” Receives 14th Consecutive Nomination for Outstanding Talk Show Host

“Good Morning America” Nominated for Outstanding Morning Program for 5th Consecutive Year

“LIVE! with Regis and Kelly” Receives its 20th Nomination for Both the Show and its Hosts

Disney Channel’s “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” Receives Three Nominations

The Disney/ABC Television Group received 67 nominations for the 38th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy® Awards announced today. “General Hospital” is the most honored show with 21 nominations, including a nod for Outstanding Drama Series. “All My Children” also received a nod in the Outstanding Drama Series category. “The View” received its 14th nomination in 14 years for Outstanding Talk Show Host, honoring Barbara Walters, Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd, having previously won in 2009, and received its 12th nomination for Outstanding Talk Show/Entertainment. “Good Morning America” received its fifth consecutive nomination for Outstanding Morning Program. “GMA” has won the award three out of four years since the category was created.

Disney-ABC Domestic Television received a total of four nominations. “LIVE! with Regis and Kelly” is honored with three nods, including the Outstanding Talk Show/Entertainment category, as well as Outstanding Talk Show Host for Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa, which marks the 20th nomination for both the show and its hosts; plus Outstanding Promotional Announcement – Episodic. Emmy winner Meredith Vieira receives a nomination as Outstanding Game Show Host for “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.” Vieira has won in this category twice before, in 2005 and 2009.

Previous nominee Alicia Minshew (Kendall Slater on “All My Children”) receives her first nomination in the Lead Actress category, along with castmate and Emmy winner Debbi Morgan (Angie Hubbard) and first-time nominee Laura Wright (Carly Corinthos Jacks on “General Hospital”). Ricky Paull Goldin (“All My Children”) receives his second nomination for the role of Jake Martin, marking his first in the Lead Actor category, along with Emmy winner Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos on “General Hospital”). “All My Children’s” Melissa Claire Egan (Annie Chandler) receives her second nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress, along with Emmy winner Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis on “General Hospital”) and Bree Williamson (Jessica Brennan on “One Life to Live”), which marks her third consecutive nomination in this category. Three-time Emmy winner Jonathan Jackson (Lucky Spencer on “General Hospital”) received a second consecutive nomination in the Supporting Actor category, along with first-time nominee Jason Thompson (Patrick Drake on “General Hospital”) and third-time nominee Brian Kerwin (Charlie Banks on “One Life to Live”).

Three first-time nominees are honored in the Outstanding Younger Actor and Actress categories: Brittany Allen (Marisa Chandler on “All My Children”) and Lexi Ainsworth (Kristina Corinthos on “General Hospital”) each receive nods, along with Chad Duell (Michael Corinthos on “General Hospital”).

ABC received a nomination in the New Approaches – Daytime Entertainment category for the “All My Children,” “One Life to Live” and “General Hospital” web series, “What Ifs…,” as well as a nomination for Outstanding Promotional Announcement – Episodic for “General Hospital’s” “Brenda’s Back” promo. ABC also received a nod for “Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade” for Outstanding Special Class Directing.

Disney Channel received five nominations, including three for hit Disney Junior series “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” — Outstanding Preschool Children’s Series, Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for Bill Farmer as Goofy, and Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition. “Imagination Movers” received a nomination for Outstanding Original Song – Children’s and Animation for “Seven Days a Week,” which was previously nominated and won in the category last year. “Tasty Time with Zefronk” was nominated for Outstanding Special Class Short Format Daytime.

Disney XD is honored with three nominations for “Kick Buttowski” – Outstanding Directing in an Animated Program, Outstanding Original Song for the show’s theme song and Outstanding Casting for an Animated Series.

The complete list of Disney/ABC Television Group nominees includes:

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
ALL MY CHILDREN – ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL — ABC

OUTSTANDING MORNING PROGRAM
GOOD MORNING AMERICA – ABC

NEW APPROACHES – DAYTIME ENTERTAINMENT
“WHAT IF…” AN ALL MY CHILDREN, ONE LIFE TO LIVE AND GENERAL HOSPITAL WEB SERIES – ABC

OUTSTANDING PRESCHOOL CHILDREN’S SERIES
MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE – DISNEY CHANNEL

OUTSTANDING PROMOTIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT – EPISODIC
GENERAL HOSPITAL “BRENDA’S BACK” – ABC
LIVE! WITH REGIS AND KELLY — SYN

OUTSTANDING TALK SHOW/ENTERTAINMENT
LIVE! WITH REGIS AND KELLY – SYN
THE VIEW — ABC

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
ALICIA MINSHEW, AS KENDALL SLATER ON ALL MY CHILDREN — ABC
DEBBI MORGAN, AS ANGIE HUBBARD ON ALL MY CHILDREN – ABC
LAURA WRIGHT, AS CARLY CORINTHOS JACKS ON GENERAL HOSPITAL – ABC

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
RICKY PAULL GOLDIN, AS JAKE MARTIN ON ALL MY CHILDREN – ABC
MAURICE BENARD, AS SONNY CORINTHOS ON GENERAL HOSPITAL – ABC

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
MELISSA CLAIRE EGAN, AS ANNIE CHANDLER ON ALL MY CHILDREN – ABC
NANCY LEE GRAHN, AS ALEXIS DAVIS ON GENERAL HOSITAL — ABC
BREE WILLIAMSON, AS JESSICA BRENNAN ON ONE LIFE TO LIVE — ABC

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
JONATHAN JACKSON, AS LUCKY SPENCER ON GENERAL HOSPITAL — ABC
JASON THOMPSON, AS PATRICK DRAKE ON GENERAL HOSPITAL — ABC
BRIAN KERWIN, AS CHARLIE BANKS ON ONE LIFE TO LIVE — ABC

OUTSTANDING YOUNGER ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
BRITTANY ALLEN, AS MARISA CHANDLER ON ALL MY CHILDREN – ABC
LEXI AINSWORTH, AS KRISTINA CORINTHOS DAVIS ON GENERAL HOSPITAL — ABC

OUTSTANDING YOUNGER ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
CHAD DUELL, AS MICHAEL CORINTHOS ON GENERAL HOSPITAL – ABC

OUTSTANDING GAME SHOW HOST
WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE – SYN

OUTSTANDING PERFORMER IN AN ANIMATED PROGRAM
BILL FARMER, AS GOOFY ON MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE – DISNEY CHANNEL

OUTSTANDING TALK SHOW HOST
LIVE! WITH REGIS AND KELLY — SYN
THE VIEW — ABC

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION/SET DECORATION/SCENIC DESIGN FOR A DRAMA SERIES
ALL MY CHILDREN — ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL – ABC
ONE LIFE TO LIVE — ABC

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT FOR A CASTING DIRECTOR FOR A DRAMA SERIES
ALL MY CHILDREN — ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL – ABC
ONE LIFE TO LIVE – ABC

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN FOR A DRAMA SERIES
ALL MY CHILDREN — ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL — ABC

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES DIRECTING TEAM
GENERAL HOSPITAL – ABC
ONE LIFE TO LIVE — ABC

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN HAIRSTYLING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
ALL MY CHILDREN – ABC
ONE LIFE TO LIVE — ABC

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN LIGHTING DIRECTION FOR A DRAMA SERIES
ALL MY CHILDREN — ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL – ABC
ONE LIFE TO LIVE — ABC

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN LIVE & DIRECT-TO-TAPE SOUND MIXING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
ALL MY CHILDREN — ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL — ABC
ONE LIFE TO LIVE — ABC

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP FOR A DRAMA SERIES
ALL MY CHILDREN – ABC
ONE LIFE TO LIVE — ABC

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MULTIPLE CAMERA EDITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
GENERAL HOSPITAL — ABC
ONE LIFE TO LIVE — ABC

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC DIRECTION AND COMPOSITION FOR A
DRAMA SERIES
GENERAL HOSPITAL — ABC

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG FOR A DRAMA SERIES
GENERAL HOSPITAL “BAD FOR YOU” — ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL “HOME AGAIN” — ABC
ONE LIFE TO LIVE “STARR X’D LOVERS”– ABC

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN TECHNICAL DIRECTION/ELECTRONIC CAMERA/VIDEO CONTROL FOR A DRAMA SERIES
GENERAL HOSPITAL — ABC

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING IN AN ANIMATED PROGRAM
KICK BUTTOWSKI – DISNEY XD

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING IN A TALK SHOW/MORNING
THE VIEW — ABC

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN HAIRSTYLING
THE VIEW — ABC

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN LIGHTING DIRECTION
THE VIEW — ABC

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP
THE VIEW – ABC

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC DIRECTION AND COMPOSITION
MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE — DISNEY CHANNEL

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG – CHILDREN’S AND ANIMATION
IMAGINATION MOVERS “SEVEN DAYS A WEEK” — DISNEY CHANNEL

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG
KICK BUTTOWSKI “KICK BUTTOWSKI – THEME SONG” — DISNEY XD

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL CLASS DIRECTING
DISNEY PARKS CHRISTMAS DAY PARADE — ABC

OUTSTANDING STUNT COORDINATION
GENERAL HOSPITAL — ABC
ONE LIFE TO LIVE — ABC

OUTSTANDING CASTING FOR AN ANIMATED SERIES
KICK BUTTOWSKI — DISNEY XD

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL CLASS SHORT FORMAT DAYTIME
TASTY TIME WITH ZEFRONK – DISNEY CHANNEL

The Daytime Emmy Awards presentation will be telecast on Sunday, June 19th, 2011 from Las Vegas for the second year in a row. Nominations were announced by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS).

Filed Under: American Entertainment News

Hannah Montana: Final Season (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

March 10, 2011 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

For “Hannah Montana” fans, this show has entertained them for five years and now the series comes to a close with the release of “Hannah Montana: Final Season”. A fitting final season and also series finale plus you get a pretty cool 28-page hardcase DVD holder/book. If your child loves “Hannah Montana”, this DVD release is worth buying.

DVD TITLE: Hannah Montana: Final Season

DURATION: 342 minutes (13 Episodes)

DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital 2.0 Sound, Widescreen (1:78:1), Dolby Digital Stereo Sound, French and Spanish Language Tracks and Subtitles

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: G

RELEASE DATE: March 8, 2011

Created by Richard Correll, Barry O’Brien, Michael Poryes

Starring:

Miley Cyrus as Hannah Montana

Emily Osment as Lilly Truscott

Jason Earles as Jackson Stewart

Billy Ray Cyrus as Robbie Stewart

Mitchell Musso as Oliver Oken

Moises Arias as Rico

For those who have followed Hannah Montana for four-plus amazing years and are ready to see how it all ends, Miley Stewart has found herself at crossroads during her senior year. After all these years, does she still have the best of both worlds? Can she continue her alter ego, Hannah Montana, or will she leave it all behind to be an ordinary girl? This exciting release invites viewers to come join Miley, Lilly, Oliver, Robby Ray, Jackson, Rico and special guest stars Sheryl Crow, Cody Linley, Dolly Parton and more as they bring the groundbreaking and beloved series to a close.

Film Clip- Are You The Boy

Film Clip-Jackson’s Advice

The end of Hannah Montana, a final goodbye to Miley Stewart and friends…

For four seasons and a feature length movie, we have seen the character of Miley Stewart struggling with having a normal life and being another person with her music persona Hannah Montana. With the release of “Hannah Montana Forever”, this latest DVD focuses on various moments in Miley Stewart’s life in which she contemplated telling the world that she is Hannah Montana. But most of all, it features the special episode “I’ll Always Remember You” when a grown up Miley Stewart is now pushed to the brink of deciding to tell the world that she is Hannah Montana.

Having a child that is a big fan of various Disney series, “Hannah Montana” has been part of our household family viewing for years. So, suffice to say that I have watched and reviewed a good share of the episodes of “Hannah Montana” to get a good feel of what the series is about.

While the ending of the first season who could have been a good series finale for actress/singer Miley Cyrus, she and the cast came back for one more final season to tie everything together and say goodbye. And possibly a good time for the singer to leave her TV persona as she has grown up, doing feature length films and has said many times in interviews that she now wants to try different things in her life that is not targeted towards a younger audience. Which is understandable as we have seen this young teenager grownup quickly before our eyes and has become a young woman.

For those not familiar with the television show that launched the career of pop star, Miley Cyrus, “Hannah Montana” is a popular Disney Channel television series which started back in 2006 and revolves around a family of three.

Miley Stewart (Miley Cyrus) is a normal teenage girl but when she goes on stage and records an album, she dons a blond wig and is known as the popular pop idol Hannah Montana.

Her father/manager Robbie (real life father, Billie Ray Cyrus) has given her the dual identity so she can live a normal teenage life. She lives with her brother Jackson (played by Jason Earles) who is a bit of goof off who tends to get himself into some sort of predicament at home or at work at the hot dog stand owned by young entrepreneur Rico (played by Moises Arias). For Miley/Hannah, she is fortunate to have her best friend Lilly Truscott (played by Emily Osment) and Oliver Oken (played by Mitchel Musso) around at times to be her voice of reason and to help bail her out of trouble.

In the third season, Miley having made a successful movie, her career is doing well but getting a taste of her old life in Tennessee, she questions if California or Tennessee should be her true home. Jackson is dealing with decisions about college (and not going to college) and living on his own. Oliver has done well in a music talent show and sees his music career starting to blossom while Lilly is now living with Miley and figuring out where she fits in with the success of her best friends. Eventually Miley and the family ended up moving but Lilly came to move in with the Stewart’s.

In the fourth season, Miley has a new boyfriend named Jesse (her guitarist), Jackson has a new girlfriend named Siena and as for Lily, she and Miley are trying to get into Standford University.

The “Hannah Montana – Final Season” includes all episodes from the fourth, final season. Included are:

EPISODE 86 – Sweet Home Hannah Montana – Robby Ray tries to bring some of Tennessee to Miley’s bedroom. Meanwhile, Jackson falls for a bikini model named Siena.
EPISODE 87 – Hannah Montana to the Principal’s Office – Miley and Lily star their senior year but Miley’s dad forgets to register her.
EPISODE 88 – California Screamin’ – Hannah tries to set her father up with the school nurse, meanwhile Jackson tries to win Siena’s heart.
EPISODE 89 – De-Do-Do-Do, Da-Don’t-Don’t, Don’t, Tell My Secret - Miley nearly blows her cover when she returns home as Hannah Montana which causes a jealous Siena to wonder why Hannah was at Jackson’s home?
EPISODE 90 -It’s the End of the Jake as We Know It – Oliver visits Lily but also to show photos of Jake (Miley’s boyfriend) that he is cheating on her. Special guest: Sheryl Crowe
EPISODE 91 -Been Here All Along – Jesse returns and Miley wants to do something good for him after he finds out his father is in Afghanistan.
EPISODE 92 -Love That Let’s Go – Miley tries to get Lily to ride her horse Blue Jeans. Meanwhile, Miley reminisces of her moments with Blue Jeans.
EPISODE 93 – Hannah’s Gonna Get This – Hannah’s producer needs a song for her album and Miley wants to create a track. Special guest: IYAZ
EPISODE 94 – I’ll Always Remember You - The kids are growing up and as for Miley, things are heating up between her and Jesse but when Jesse accidentally kisses Hannah Montana after her performance on the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno”, everyone wants to know who Hannah’s new boyfriend is. Everything seemed alright until he and Miley were together and media started to speculate why Hannah would date a boy who was two-timing her. Eventually the pressure from the media starts to work its way into their relationship and it becomes too hard on Jesse.
EPISODE 95 – Can You See the Real Me? – Miley reminisces memorable moments as Hannah Montana.
EPISODE 96 – Kiss It All Goodbye - Miley’s secret is out and now the paparazzi won’t stop bothering her. Aunt Dolly comes to the rescue.
EPISODE 97 – I Am Mamaw, Hear Me Roar! – It’s Miley and Lily’s graduation and Mamaw wants to spend quality time with Miley without the fans and media, but will she ever spend time with Miley?
EPISODE 98 – Wherever I Go – Miley gets a movie role and has to film in Paris but with college starting, will she choose to stay in college as she promised Lily or go overseas and take pare in the movie?

VIDEO, AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Hannah Montana: Final Season” is presented in wide screen (1:78:1) and is featured in English Dolby Digital Stereo 2.0 Sound with also a French and Spanish audio track available. Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Hannah Montana: Final Season” comes with the following special features:

Alternate Ending: Wherever I Go - (1:52) An alternate ending for the final episode of “Hannah Montana”. Interesting alternate ending as it showcases Bill Ray and Tish Cyrus with a very young girl (who is supposed to be Miley Cyrus) who dreams to become a rockstar.
From Auditions to Wrap: The Cast Looks Back - (5:26) Featuring the original audition tape of Billy Ray Cyrus talking about how life will not be the same for his daughter Miley if the show takes off and the cast talk about being cast for the show.
Cast Goodbyes – (1:56) The cast sit on the couch and say their final goodbyes to the audience.

EXTRAS:

“Hannah Montana: Final Season” comes with a slip-over case and a special 28-page hardcover booklet featuring iconic moments from the show, favorite guest stars, glamorous fold-out fashion spread, quotes from the cast, The Hannah Time Capsule, a Tribute to the Wig! Plus a photo with Hannah with signature is included.

With the last DVD, “Hannah Montana – Miley Says Goodbye?”, the episodes focused on the kids growing up and now having to make decisions about life, love and career. It was not known at the time if the season would be the final season of “Hannah Montana” but for the episodes alone, I felt it would have been a fitting ending if Disney chose not to renew the series.

Personally, it’s quite interesting to see how much has changed with the characters and to see them grow from these young kids to now young adults within the last five years and here we are with “Hannah Montana Forever”. For four seasons, we have seen Miley Stewart agonize about having to live the life of two people. And through each season and the feature film, we have seen her getting closer and closer to revealing herself to the public. Well, she did in the “Hannah Montana” film to her local town (who promised to not tell a soul about her real identity) but for the TV series, we see Miley now grown up. Dating a boy named Jesse and trying to hide it from the public, but when Jesse slips and kisses her during a late night talk show, now their relationship is put under a microscope.

Meanwhile, Miley and Lilly are trying to get into Stanford University and once again, being Hannah Montana has taken its toll on Miley getting into college. This season is literally the breaking point for Miley Stewart as she is sick of hiding behind Hannah Montana. It was fine when she was younger but now she has grown up and she’s tired of hiding behind the blonde hair.

I have wondered how the series would end, because the show and fortunately, the show did end with class and sticking to the formula of what made the show so popular.

Fans of the series will definitely find this DVD Release to be a fitting goodbye for “Hannah Montana”. The hardcase DVD holder and booklet really is an awesome goodbye and a wonderful bonus for the fans who have stuck with this series for five years.

Speaking of five years, this has been part of the lives of many children and my son was only two-years-old when he start watching this show and so it has been quite interesting as a parent to see watch this series and watch the cast grow up together pretty much throughout their teenagers years while being on the show.

Overall, as a father of a child who enjoys the series, the show definitely has its share of hilarious moments and while we have seen Miley and friends grow-up to become teenagers entering college, the final season maintains its storyline to entertain children, teens and parents… people of all ages and it was great to see how the writers ended this series and they did it right (all I can say is that I am so happy they did not use that alternate ending… awkward!).

If you are a fan of “Hannah Montana” or any of the cast, definitely give “Hannah Montana: Final Season” a chance. A fitting final season and finale… recommended!

Filed Under: Children's DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

DISNEY/ABC TELEVISION GROUP LAUNCHES INNOVATIVE “GREY’S ANATOMY” SYNC APP FOR iPAD

February 1, 2011 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment

New App for ABC’s Top Rated Series Offers Enhanced Viewing Experience
Powered by Nielsen’s Media-Sync Platform

Disney/ABC Television Group today announced the new “Grey’s Anatomy” Sync App for iPad App, now available on the App store. Powered by Nielsen’s Media-Sync Platform, the app provides fans of the show the ability to interact with exclusive content in real time using iPad. Lexus is the presenting sponsor of the “Grey’s Anatomy” Sync App.

Launching with the February 3rd episode, the app will allow “Grey’s Anatomy” fans to seamlessly interact and engage with specific moments in all of this season’s remaining, first-run episodes. In addition to exclusive companion content like polls, trivia, behind-the-scenes insights, production details, character bios, video and photo galleries, users will also be able to “check-in” to virtual environments within episodes, such as riding an elevator with Dr. McDreamy. Users can then share their experiences with friends and other fans of the show through their Facebook account.

In addition to engaging with episode content, users will have the ability to interact directly with Lexus’ ads through trivia and also link back directly to the Lexus website (m.lexus.com/TheHardWay).

The new offering is the latest collaboration between Disney/ABC and Nielsen following last fall’s My Generation Sync app, a proof-of-concept experiment that was initially tested last fall.

Nielsen’s Media-Sync Platform is a complete application development and operating environment that allows TV content producers and broadcasters to deploy sync-to-broadcast mobile apps in a rapid and scalable fashion. The platform relies on audio watermarks already inserted into nearly every TV program in the U.S. as part of Nielsen’s industry standard TV audience ratings service. In addition to giving viewers the ability to interact with synchronous content tied to their favorite shows, the Media-Sync platform also delivers interactive advertising modules as companions to the ads on the big screen. This capability gives viewers the opportunity to dive deeper into TV ads for products that interest them, and gives advertisers a powerful new way to extend the effectiveness of their TV ad buy.

ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy Media-Sync App is available from the App Store on iPad at www.itunes.com/appstore.

A video demo of the new “Grey’s Anatomy” Sync App can be viewed at www.abc.go.com/shows/greys-anatomy/ipad.

Now in its seventh season, “Grey’s Anatomy” is the recipient of the 2007 Golden Globe(r) Award for Best Television Series – Drama, and multiple Emmy nominations, including two for Outstanding Drama Series. The series follows the doctors of Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital who deal with life-or-death consequences on a daily basis and together discover that neither medicine nor relationships can be defined in black and white, but rather in shades of grey.

“Grey’s Anatomy” stars Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey, Patrick Dempsey as Derek Shepherd, Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang, Justin Chambers as Alex Karev, Chandra Wilson as Miranda Bailey, James Pickens, Jr. as Richard Webber, Sara Ramirez as Callie Torres, Eric Dane as Mark Sloan, Chyler Leigh as Lexie Grey, Kevin McKidd as Owen Hunt, Jessica Capshaw as Arizona Robbins, Kim Raver as Teddy Altman, Jesse Williams as Jackson Avery and Sarah Drew as April Kepner. “Grey’s Anatomy” was created and is executive-produced by Shonda Rhimes. Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Krista Vernoff, Rob Corn, Mark Wilding, Tony Phelan, Joan Rater are executive producers. Grey’s Anatomy is an ABC Studios production.

About Disney/ABC Television Group
The Disney/ABC Television Group is composed of The Walt Disney Company’s (NYSE: DIS) global entertainment and news television properties, including the ABC Television Network, ABC Studios, Disney Channels Worldwide, ABC Family and SOAPnet, as well as Disney/ABC Domestic Television and Disney Media Distribution. The Radio Disney Network, Hyperion publishing and the Company’s equity interest in A&E Television Networks round out the Group’s portfolio of media businesses.

About Media-Sync
Media-Sync, a product of a joint venture between The Nielsen Company and Digimarc Corporation, is a complete application development and operating platform that allows TV content producers and broadcasters to deploy real-time sync-to-broadcast mobile apps in a rapid and scalable manner. The unique, real-time synchronizing capabilities of Media-Sync provide content creators and marketers the ability to create complementary consumer experiences across TV and other devices. Launched in 2010, Media-Sync is available for content owners. For more information on Media-Sync, visit www. Media-Sync.tv

About Lexus
Lexus is the leading luxury automaker in the United States. With its reputation for high-quality products and exemplary customer service from its 229 dealers, Lexus has been the top-selling luxury automaker for eleven years in a row. In addition, Lexus is the luxury hybrid leader, offering five hybrids that provide the best in innovative technology and first-class luxury. When Lexus was established in 1989, it offered two models of vehicles. Now, more than 20 years later, Lexus offers variations of 10 vehicles, from the sporty CT 200h hybrid to the V10 supercar, the LFA.

Filed Under: Pop Culture

DISNEY/ABC TELEVISION GROUP LAUNCHES INNOVATIVE “GREY’S ANATOMY” SYNC APP FOR iPAD

February 1, 2011 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment

New App for ABC’s Top Rated Series Offers Enhanced Viewing Experience
Powered by Nielsen’s Media-Sync Platform

The new offering is the latest collaboration between Disney/ABC and Nielsen following last fall’s My Generation Sync app, a proof-of-concept experiment that was initially tested last fall.

ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy Media-Sync App is available from the App Store on iPad at www.itunes.com/appstore.

A video demo of the new “Grey’s Anatomy” Sync App can be viewed at www.abc.go.com/shows/greys-anatomy/ipad.

Filed Under: Pop Culture

DISNEY/ABC TELEVISION GROUP RECEIVES THREE GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD NOMINATIONS

December 14, 2010 by J!-ENT · Leave a Comment

ABC Network’s Emmy Award-Winning Comedy Series “Modern Family” Captures
Second Straight Golden Globe Nomination for Best Television Series — Comedy or Musical

And the Series’ Emmy-Winning Eric Stonestreet and Castmate Sof’a Vergara
Receive Their First Ever Golden Globe Nominations

The ABC Television Network’s “Modern Family,” the Emmy Award-winning hit comedy series that takes an honest and often hilarious look at the complexities of modern day families, received its second straight Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Television Series — Comedy or Musical. The series has also been recently honored with an AFI Award as one of the Top 10 television programs of 2010, in addition to three Writers Guild Awards nominations, including Best Comedy Series, and a Peabody Award recognition earlier this year.

In addition to “Modern Family’s” comedy series recognition, two of its actors were also recognized: Emmy Award-winning co-star Eric Stonestreet was a first-time nominee for Best Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie, along with castmate Sof’a Vergara, who received her first nomination for Best Performance by a supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or TV Movie.

The 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards will be presented Sunday, January 16, 2011 in Los Angeles.

Filed Under: American Entertainment News

Handy Manny: Big Construction Job (a J!-ENT Children’s DVD Review)

November 9, 2010 by J!-ENT · 1 Comment

“Handy Manny: Big Construction Job” is a release that brings in a new form of interactivity for educational DVD’s for your children. With the new “Discovery Mode”, children can now use the “Mickey Mote” (sold with the DVD or without) while watching an episode and partake in several fun questions about colors, shapes and sizes. Definitely a big step for educational interactive DVD’s for the children. Definitely recommended!

DVD TITLE: Handy Manny: Big Construction Job

DURATION: 67 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Dolby Digital, NTSC, Family Friend Widescreen (1:78:1 – Enhanced for 16×9 Television), Spanish Language Track

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: TV Y

RELEASE DATE: November 16, 2010

Created by Roger Bollen, Marilyn Sadler and Rick Gitelson

Directed by Charles E. Bastien

Teleplay by Mike Rabb

Story by Rick Gitelson

Executive Producer: Rick Gitelson, Roger Bollen and Marilyn Sander

Associate Producer: Luis Lopez

Theme song performed by Los Lobos

Featuring the voices of:

Wilmer Valderrama (voice of Manny)

Carlos Alazraqui (voice of Felipe “The Phillips Screwdriver”)

Dee Bradley Baker (voice of Turner “The Screwdriver”)

Nika Futterman (voice of Squeeze “The Pliers”)

Tom Kenny (voice of Mr. Lopart)

Fred Stoller (voice of Rusty “The Wrench”)

Nancy Truman (voice of Kelly)

Kath Soucie (voice of Dusty “The Saw”)

Shelley Morrison (voice of Mrs. Portillo)

Robby D. Bruce (voice of Quinn)

Put on your hard hats and team up with Handy Manny on an awesome full-length adventure! Join Manny and his Tools as they head out of town to work on an exciting construction project in Concrete Falls. Meanwhile, back in Sheet Rock Hills, Mr. Lopart tries to fill in for Manny â€“ with hilarious results! Can Kelly convince Manny to come home and save the day? Introducing new Power Tools, new songs, and a wonderful message about the rewards of taking on new challenges, Big Construction Job is fully loaded with tons of fun for everyone!

You break it, we fix it!

Welcome to the world of Sheetrock Hills where Manny Garcia, a bilingual Latino handyman helps save his city (from breaking down) with making repairs with his team of talking tools. The children’s CG animated series is created by Roger Bollen, Marilyn Sadler and producer Rick Gitelson (known for writing/producing for animated shows such as “Rugrats”, “LazyTown” and “Dragon Tales”) and is shown on Playhouse Disney.

“Handy Manny: Big Construction Job” will be one of the launch titles along with “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Number Roundup” to utilize a “Mickey Mote”, a child-friendly handheld remote to answer fun questions about colors, shapes and sizes. It’s important to note that you can use your regular DVD remote but the “Mickey Mote” is child friendly and will be much easier to use for children.

In this latest DVD release of “Handy Manny”, for “Big Construction Job”, Manny is offered a job to work in a big construction job in Concrete Falls. At first, Manny is reluctant to go but the townspeople encourage him to get the experience and thus, Manny and his tools travel to work on the construction project.

Meanwhile, while Manny is gone, everyone is depending on Mr. Lopart to take care of Manny’s handywork around town. Of course, Mr. Lopart is not that good when it comes to repairs and has trouble with multi-tasking and thus, everyone in town especially Kelly hope for Manny to return back home. But when Manny thinks that the town is doing just fine with Mr. Lopart, he feels that he doesn’t need to go back home, even though his heart misses home.

Also included is a never-before-seen episode titled “Good Fences”/”Butterflies”.

In “Good Fences”, Manny and his tools build a fence but Bernardo and his neighbor Mr. Kumar disagree on what kind of fence should be built.

In “Butterflies”, Manny is creating a special entrance for a place where butterflies. Rusty is scared of butterfleis and one day, the door was kept open and bluesie the butterfly escaped. Will Bluesie return back home?

“Handy Manny” focuses on the following characters:

Manual “Manny Garcia – Voice acting by “That 70′s Show” actor Wilmer Valderrama. Manny is half Puerto Rican and half Mexican. He is the repairman that many people call if they are in need of a talented and trustworthy repairman.

Manny’s talking tools:

Accompanying Manny to his jobs are his tools such as:

Felipe “The Phillips Screwdriver” – The tool who suggests ideas that can make problems worse. Considers himself important but also the Spanish translator of the tool group.

Turner “The Flat Screwdriver” – The grumpy tool who is always at odds with Felipe.

Stretch “The Tape Measure” - Loves to measure things and loves to count.

Squeeze “The Pliers” - Impatient and always ready to fix things.

Pat “The Hammer” – The funny and talkative person of the group, also not too smart one in the group.

Dusty “The Handsaw” – Always gives good advice and enjoys cutting wood.

Rusty “The Monkey Wrench” – Always worrying and is often scared.

Fllicker “The Flashlight” – Speaks Spanish and speaks very little English.

“Handy Manny: Big Construction Job” utilizes the new MickeyMote, a child-friendly handheld remote control, shaped like Mickey ears, that will take children’s viewing experience to a whole new level by providing an engaging interaction with their favorite Disney characters. With multiple levels of play, the new Mickey Mote will provide hours of fun, engaging and challenging adventures for kids age 2-5.

According to Disney:

The Mickey Mote works with any Disney Preschool DVD that includes Discovery Mode™, the interactive “Watch & Play” feature on the DVD! All parents have to do is program the remote control – there‟s an easy and quick set-up guide in each DVD- and select the Discovery Mode feature on the menu screen. Within minutes, kids will be easily responding to questions, throughout the story, about scenes they just watched (such as “What color is Goofy‟s hat?”) by pressing one of four color-coded buttons on the device — a yellow star, green circle, orange triangle or blue square – to click in their responses. Discovery Mode features include two levels of play, which provides more challenging questions as the child grows.

And Disney does have plans to release more Discovery Mode enhanced DVD titles that utilize the Mickey Mote.

Once families have purchased a Disney Preschool DVD that comes packaged with the Mickey Mote, they can continue to build their Disney Preschool libraries as the Mickey Mote works in compatibility with any Discovery Mode enhanced DVD. For example, kids can immediately use the remote with any of the following titles: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Road Rally, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Adventures in Wonderland, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Choo Choo, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Minnie’s Bow-Tique, Handy Manny: Manny’s Motorcycle, Adventure Handy Manny: Manny’s Big Race, Little Einsteins: Fire Truck Blast Off, My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Super Duper Super Sleuths, My Friends Tigger & Pooh: Bedtime With Pooh

Note: Discovery Mode can also be played using any DVD remote control.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Handy Manny: Big Construction Job” is featured in 1:78:1 widescreen. The animation is 3D and colorful and the type of animation that children have enjoyed from the popular Disney TV series. As for audio, audio is presented in English via Dolby Digital Sound and comes with a Spanish Language track.

Subtitles are in English SDH.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“HANDY MANNY” comes with the following special features:

DISCOVERY MODE – Using your Mickey Mote (or DVD remote), viewers can partake in Discovery Mode where they can answer fun questions about colors, shapes and sizes. Children have the choice of selecting Level 1 and Level 2 for more challenging questions.

For families looking for an educational DVD for their children, especially for young boys who are craving for animation that deals with construction and tools, you really can’t go wrong with “Handy Manny: Big Construction Job”. You get one special episode and one bonus episode included in this DVD release.

But most importantly, I like how Disney is now going towards creating more educational DVD’s. Before, these shows were more for children’s entertainment but with the addition of the new “Discovery Mode”, these releases are now educational DVD’s.

Although you don’t need to purchase a release with the new Mickey Mote, for younger children, it’s quite convenient as it’s pretty big and you only have four buttons: yellow star (up), blue square (left), green star (right and orange triangle (down). A regular remote may be too difficult and confusing for the younger children. For those that are curious about purchasing “Handy Manny: Big Construction Job” with the Mickey Mote, you will need two AAA batteries.

It’s very simple to use, just watch the episode and answer fun questions that are asked throughout the stories.

But this is a pretty big step for Disney as they are really wanting to make these DVD releases interactive and the release of both “Hand Manny: Big Construction Job” and “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Numbers Roundup” is a pretty big deal, especially for parents and children who are familiar with the Disney characters and Disney animated shows. It’s important to note that if you buy one, there is an $8 off coupon included, that you can use to purchase the other title.

Overall, “Handy Manny: Big Construction Job” is an entertaining children’s release. You get the one special plus a bonus episode (which has two episodes) and for parents who have been wanting more educational DVD releases, Disney has taken a pretty significant step by now providing that with these new “Discovery Mode” DVD releases.

Definitely recommended!

Filed Under: Children's DVD/Blu-ray

Phineas and Ferb: A Very Perry Christmas (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

October 7, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

With the holiday season around the corner, treat your children to an enjoyable, fun and packed DVD of “Phineas and Ferb” featuring a Christmas episode plus six more “Phineas and Ferb” TV episodes. “Phineas and Ferb: A Very Perry Christmas” is loaded with special features, easter eggs and more! Definitely recommended!

DVD TITLE: Phineas and Ferb: A Very Perry Christmas

DURATION: 6 Episodes (80 Minutes)

DVD INFORMATION: Widescreen (1:78:1) – Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions, Dolby Digital Surround Sound, French and Spanish Language Tracks and Subtitles

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: TV G

RELEASE DATE: October 5, 2010

Directed by Zac Moncrief, Dan Povenmire, Robert Hughes, Jay Lender, Jeff “Swampy” Marsh

Written by Dan Povenmire, Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, Martin Olson, John Colton Barry, Bobby Gaylor, Antoine Guilbaud, Aliki Theofilopoulos, Kim Roberson, Sherm Cohen, Chong Lee, Piero Piluso, May Chan, Kaz, Michael Diederich

Executive Producer: Dan Povenmire

Co-Executive Producer/Executive Producer: Jeff “Swampy Marsh

Line Producer: Natasha Kopp

Music by Danny Jacob

Edited by Ted Supa

Art Direction by Alan Bodner, Jill Daniels

Featuring the voices of:

Vincent Martella as Phineas

Thomas Sangster as Ferb

Ashley Tisdale as Candace

Dan Povemire as Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz

Jeff “Swampy” Marsh as Major Monogram

Dee Bradley Baker as Perry the Platypus

Caroline Rhea as Mom

Alyson Stoner as Isabella

Mitchell Musso as Jeremy

Maulik Pancholy as Baljeet

Richard O’Brien as Dad

Bobby Gaylor as Buford

Tyler Alexander Mann as Karl

Kelly Hu as Stacy

Olivia Olson as Vanessa

Phineas and Ferb and Perry the Platypus are gonna save Christmas! Get ready for the wildest sleigh ride ever as the hilarious heroes of summer vacation launch into their merriest and “Perry-est” mission yet! Amp up the holidays with outrageous laughs, out-of-this-world fun and totally over-the-top songs — everything you need for the ultimate Christmas extravaganza experience! In an all-new, Perry-powered adventure, Phineas, Ferb, and their pet platypus (AKA Agent P) set out to thwart Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s “naughty” plot to ruin Christmas. Will they get everything wrapped up in time for Santa’s flyby? Find out in the coolest gift you’ll get this year — packed with festive bonus features that will have you rockin’ ’round the tree!

Since 2007, “Phineas and Ferb” is an animated show that has been entertaining children on the Disney Channel with its running gags, interesting and hilarious characters. With each episode, Phineas and Ferb are both working on a project and each time, their sister Candace is always scheming to finally bust them. Meanwhile, the evil scientist Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz is up to no good and Major Monogram and the secret agent Perry the Platypus (Agent P) are doing all they can to stop Doofenshmirtz.

With the Christmas holiday season around the corner, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment is releasing “Phineas and Ferb: A Very Perry Christmas” featuring six episodes and plenty of special features.

The main characters of “Phineas and Ferb” are:

Phineas Flynn – One of the main protagonist of the show who joins his stepbrother Ferb in various projects.
Ferb Fletcher – The intelligent step-brother of Phineas who is from England and although quiet he happens to be an engineering genius. He also has a crush on Vanessa Doofenshmirtz.
Candace Flynn - A 15-year-old teen and the older sister of Phineas and step-sister to Ferb. She is always trying to bust her younger brothers. Meanwhile, she is dating Jeremy Johnson.
Perry the Platypus - The pet of the Flynn-Fletcher family and is thought of being useless. But the truth is that he is a special agent working for the O.W.C.A. (Organization With a Cool Acronym) and is constantly battling hisnemesis Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz.
Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz - A mad scientist and father of Vanessa Doofenshmirtz. his goal is to wreak havoc or take control of the Tri-State area.
Isabella Garcia-Shapiro – A friend of Phineas and Ferb and has a crush on Phineas. Also, has skills to help the boys courtesy of her involvement with the Fireside Girls.
Major Monogram – The head of the O.W.C.A. and responsible for sending Perry out on missions.
Linda Flynn-Fletcher – The mother of Phineas and Candace and step-mother of Ferb.
Baljeet Rai – The Indian-American neighbor of Phineas and Ferb and is very smart but constantly bullied by Buford.
Buford Van Stomm – Because of his size, he is looked at as a bully but the truth is that he’s a nice kid who tries to act tough.
Lawrence Fletcher – Father of Ferb and step-father to Phineas and Candace.
Jeremy Johnson – The boyfriend of Candace.

“Phineas and Ferb: A Very Perry Christmas” comes with the following episodes. Included are:

Phineas & Ferb Christmas Vacation (Season 2, Episode 84) – Dr. Doofenshmirtz wants to ruin the Christmas holiday for everyone. Meanwhile, the boys and their friends try to save Christmas.
Interview with a Platypus (Season 2, Episode 49) - The boys build a device to find out if they can translate Perry’s noises. Meanwhile, Dr. Doofenshmirtz wants to flood the Tri-State Area.
Oh, There You Are, Perry (Season 2, Episode 64) – Parry is re-assigned to a new villain, meanwhile the boys think that their pet platypus is missing and Candace blames herself for Perry’s disappearance.
Chez Platypus (Season 2, Episode 56) – Phineas and Ferb open a platypus-themed restaurant. Dr. Doofenshmirtz dates a woman who is also interested in evil things.
Perry Lays an Egg (Season 2, Episode 57) - Phineas and Ferb find an egg and think it belongs to Perry. Meanwhile, Dr. Doofenshmirtz wants revenge against the whales.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Phineas and Ferb” is presented in widescreen (1:78:1) – enhanced for 16×9 televisions and is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and French and Spanish Language Tracks and subtitles.

“Phineas and Ferb” sports vibrant colors and for the most part, picture quality should be fine for the children. If anything, the series is known for its unique character design and for the most part, the animation is quite enjoyable to watch because it’s quite different with the characters and their geometric shaped heads.

Dialogue and music are clear and are heard clearly through the front and center channels. Subtitles are in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Phineas and Ferb: A Very Perry Christmas” comes with:

Phineas & Ferb’s Virtual Fireplace – An animated virtual fireplace.
Dr. D’s Xmas Jukebox-Inator – Sing the six songs from the “Phineas & Ferb Christmas Vacation” episode.
Christmas-Perry-Oki - (33:50) Watch the “Phineas & Ferb Christmas Vacation” episode with karaoke titles during the musical portion.
Letters to Santa - Select a character from “Phineas and Ferb” to find out what they wished for Christmas in their letter for Santa (which are read by Santa).
Keep on Buildin’ – (12:04) Get to learn how the creators of “Phineas and Ferb” create a song for an episode.
“Doof Side of the Moon” (Season 2, Episode 107) – (10:59) A bonus episode of “Phineas and Ferb”. Phineas and Ferb build a big building, meanwhile Candace enlists Irving’s brother Albert to help her bust her brothers.

EASTER EGGS:

The following Easter Eggs can be accessed on this DVD (from L to R):

Christmas tree ornament on tree – Watch Baljeet do something.
Purple present under tree – (6:10) The crew (Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh and many of the staff) and voice talent take part in a joke on one of the director’s of “Phineas and Ferb”.
Wreath under snowman - Watch Phineas and Ferb do something.
Grey sock – Watch Candace do something.
Orange and blue stocking – Watch Dr. Doofenshmirtz do something.
Red ribbon (above special features) - Watch Perry the Platypus do something.

EXTRAS:

“Phineas and Ferb: A Very Perry Christmas” comes with a slip over case.

At our home, somehow “Phineas and Ferb” has become my 7-year-old son’s favorite animated series. Every day he watches the show and interesting enough, I can hear both he and my wife singing the show’s theme song and even my wife has talked about how she enjoys watching “Phines and Ferb” alongside with him.

As for me, I knew nothing about the show and I felt like a kid asking my son many questions of who is that character and that character and what is the plot of the series? So, this DVD was actually my first foray into the world of “Phineas & Ferb” and for my son, this DVD was in his words…”Awesome!”.

Because truthfully, I just thought it was a special Christmas episode and then when that episode was done, there were five more episodes to watch. And then you get to the main menu and there are Easter Eggs hidden throughout the menu, special features and you get another bonus episode of “Phineas and Ferb”, how cool is that?

Although, I may not have grasped the concept of why Phineas and Ferb’s older sister Candace is trying to bust her little brothers or why there is a secret agent platypus, I realize that this series is beloved by many, and my young son and my wife are among that demographic who love this series so much that I hear them singing the theme song nearly daily.

The episodes I did watch were fun but of course, my son can probably give the best description of this DVD and he just had one word to describe this DVD and that was “awesome”!

As a parent, the episodes were safe and fun to watch and I have to admit, for a children’s DVD, Disney has definitely released an impressive package with six episodes of “Phineas & Ferb” and many special features to go along with this entire DVD. I was very impressed by this DVD and I can definitely recommend this to parents or grandparents who want to keep their children entertained during the holiday season or a DVD for them to watch during those long holiday commutes.

Overall, this is a solid release of “Phineas and Ferb” which fans of the series can’t go wrong with it and really, there is nothing I can even fault or say anything negative about because you get so much in this DVD release. For fans of “Phineas and Ferb”, “Phineas and Ferb: A Very Perry Christmas”, my son gives this DVD five stars and a very big “AWESOME!”.

Filed Under: Children's DVD/Blu-ray, DVD Reviews

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