The Secret World of Arrietty (a J!-ENT Anime Blu-ray Disc Review)

I was captivated by the beauty of “The Secret World of Arrietty” and also found the story to delightful, lighthearted and enjoyable.   A more accessible, non-complex family film that once again, Studio Ghibli delivers!

Image courtesy of © 2012 GNDHDDTW. 2012 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: The Secret World of Arrietty

MOVIE RELEASE DATE: 2010

DURATION: 95 Minutes

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (48 kHz, 24-Bit), Japanese 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Original Production Audio, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English ESL, SDH, French

COMPANY: Studio Ghibli/Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: G

Release Date: May 22, 2012

Originally created by Mary Norton

Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi

Screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki, Keiko Niwa

Storyboard by Hiromasa Yonebayashi

Unit Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi

Music by Cecile Corbel

Art Director: Noboru Yoshida, Youji Takeshige

Animation Director: Akihiko Yamashita, Megumi Kagawa

Sound Director: Hiroshi Kasamatsu

Producer: Toshio Suzuki

Production by Studio Ghibli

Featuring the following voice talent:

Mirai Shida/Bridgit Mendler as Arrietty

Ryunosuke Kamiki/David Henrie as Sho (Shawn)

Keiko Takeshita/Gracie Poletti as Sadako (Aunt Jessica)

Kirin Kiki/Carol Burnett as Haru (Hara)

Shinobu Ōtake/Amy Poehler as Homily (Arietty’s Mother)

Tomokazu Miura/Will Arnett as Pod (Arriety’s Father)

Tatsuya Fujiwara/Moises Arias as Spiller

Based on the acclaimed children’s book series “The Borrowers,” by Mary Norton, “The Secret World of Arrietty” is an imaginative tale of “little people” living furtively among us, and the unlikely friendship that forms when their hidden world is discovered. The heartwarming family adventure features beautiful, stylized animation and timeless themes of friendship, courage and determination.

In 2010, Studio Ghibli (the popular anime studio known for creating “Ponyo”, “Spirited Away”, “Princess Mononoke”, “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”, “Castle in the Sky”, “My Neighbor Totoro”, “Kiki’s Delivery Service” to name few) released the film “The Secret World of Arriety”, a film adaptation of the popular children’s fantasy novel “The Borrowers” (1952) by English author Mary Norton.

The film broke records in Japan, surpassing it’s previous film “Ponyo”, opening on 1,522 theaters (a record for a Studio Ghibli film) and earn over $145 million in the box office.  The film is the 4th biggest earning anime film in Japan of all time and won “Animation of the Year” in 2011 at the 34th Japan Academy Prize.

“The Secret of Arriety” is a Studio Ghibli film directed by Hiromasa Yonebashi (“Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade”, “Ponyo”, “Spirited Away”, “Spriggan”) and a screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki (“Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”, “Castle in the Sky”, “Howl’s Moving Castle”, “My Neighbor Totoro” to name a few) and Keiko Niwa (“Tales from the Earthsea”, “Ocean Waves”, “From Up on Poppy Hill”).

The US release would feature music and vocals by French singer and harper Cecile Corbel and would feature the voices of Disney Channel actress Bridgit Mendler (“Good Luck Charlie”, “Lemonade Mouth”), Amy Poehler (“Parks and Recreation”, “Saturday Night Live”), Will Arnett (“30 Rock”, “Arrested Development”), Carol Burnett (“The Carol Burnett Show”), David Henrie (“Wizards of Waverly Place”, “How I Met Your Mother”) and Moises Arias (“Hannah Montana”, “Astro Boy”).

“The Secret World of Arrietty” begins with a 12-year-old boy named Shawn (voiced by David Henrie), who has temporarily moved to his aunt Jessica’s (voiced by Gracie Poletti) home as he rests and waits to have heart surgery.  Meanwhile, as he stays at the home, he will be taken care of by the caretaker, Hara.

When he steps onto the lawn, he sees the family cat named Nina looking at something.  When Shawn goes to check, he sees a small girl hiding from him.

The young girl happens to be Arrietty (voiced by Bridgit Mendler), a 14-year-old borrower who was retrieving a plant to bring home to her mother, Homily (voiced by Amy Poehler). When her father Pod (voiced by Will Arnett) arrives from home, he tells the family that a new “being” (human) has moved into the house and Arriety tells her family that she had seen the boy when she was out.  But the parents warn her that the rule of a Borrower is that they must never be seen by a human and if they do, they must move away as humans curiosity can lead to trouble for them.

Because Arrietty has reached an age where she can now go on borrowing adventures with her father, her first mission is to retrieve a sugar cube and tissue paper.

And as Arrietty and her father go on a mission to retrieve those items, she does quite well, but while she is trying to get the tissue paper, Shawn who is laying down on his bed, looks directly at her and starts talking to her.  Shocked by this, Arrietty fails in her mission and now because Arrietty was seen by a human, her father warns her to not have communication with him ever again.

But feeling bad that she was seen by a human, what shocks her even more is that Shawn has stopped by to bring her the sugar cube that she had dropped.  As she tells her parents, her father begins to become concerned that because Shawn knows of their whereabouts, they will need to move.

Upset that Shawn has brought the sugar cube, she climbs up to Shawn’s room and tells him that she needs no help in “borrowing” and also tells him that they must stop communication.  But as the two talk, a crow tries to attack Arriety and she is saved by Shawn.

Meanwhile, the caretaker of the home, Hara hears the noises from Shawn’s room and attacks the crow.  When she asks him what prompted the crow to go to his room, he tells her that it must be building a nest but Hara suspects that perhaps Shawn has had contact with the little people and Hara would do anything to capture them.

VIDEO:

Magical, beautiful and everything that you can expect from Studio Ghibli. I was completely in awe when I watched “The Secret World of Arrietty”.  The painted backgrounds are so detailed, so beautiful to look at and of course, that Studio Ghibli style of character design.

In this day and age, we tend to put so much into CG animated films and whenever I watch a Studio Ghibli fan, I always find it amazing of how gorgeous their films are.  From the first animated film that I watched back in the early ’90s (which was “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”) to the latest release of “The Secret World of Arrietty”, Studio Ghibli continues to show this creative style through this film. The hand painted backgrounds are absolutely beautiful, the character design continues that Studio Ghibli look and style that they are famous for and I was hypnotized, captivated and loving every minute of the film.

Presented in 1080p High Definition, detail can be seen on the painted backgrounds. Vibrant during the day scenes, amazingly detailed to the little kitchenware used by the Borrowers, its one thing I expected from Studio Ghibli and nothing less and once again, they have delivered.

There are no compression artifacts, edge enhancement, aliasing, banding or any problems in picture quality for “The Secret World of Arietty” whatsoever. This film looks absolutely magnificent on Blu-ray!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“The Secret of World of Arrietty” is presented in English 5.1 DTS Master Audio (48 kHz/24-bit) and in Japanese and French 5.1 Dolby Digital.

First the good. As one can expect from the Japanese casting, the voice acting is fantastic and the English dub track is equally magnificent.

And you want an immersive soundscape? “The Secret World of Arrietty” delivers. From the ambiance of the home on top of the hills with nothing but nature, you can hear the birds chirping, the insects, Nina the cat growling, the breeze flowing through their, great use of directional sound.  Indoors, the same thing as the Borrowers, Arrietty and her father can hear the ticking of the clocks, the scurrying of the rats and its absolutely immersive.

While this film is not the type to use LFE, there are some moments that do use a bit of lower frequency sounds but for this animated film, dialogue and music is crystal clear and great use of the surround channels for ambiance.

The other positive is unlike “Ponyo” which Disney didn’t give the Japanese soundtrack a lossless audio soundtrack, with “The Secret World of Arrietty”, a Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is included.

As for the bad, there isn’t any.  Aside it not having as many action sequences compared to “Nausicaa”, “Spirited Away” and “Ponyo”, this is not one of those type of films.   But still, “The Secret World of Arrietty” sounds wonderful and fans should be pleased with the lossless soundtracks!

Subtitles are in English ESL, SDH and in French.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

If there was only one downer of this Blu-ray release, it is that”The Secret World of Arrietty” has very little special features.  Included are:

• Original Japanese Storyboards - Watch the entire film but this time with the video showcasing the original storyboards.
• Cecile Corbel’s “Arrietty’s Song” Music Video - The Japanese version of Cecile Corbel’s “Arriety’s Song”
• Bridgit Mendler’s “Summertime” Music Video – (3:01) Bridgit Mendler, voice actress of Arrietty in the US version, sings the film’s ending theme.
• The Making of “Summertime” – (2:02) The making of Bridgit Mendler’s music video.
• Trailers & TV Spots – The Japanese trailers and TV spots.

EXTRAS:

A DVD of “The Secret World of Arrietty” is included with this Blu-ray release. The DVD is in Widescreen (1:85:1) – Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions, English and French Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, with subtitles in English ESL, SDH and French.  A slipcover is included.

“The Secret World of Arrietty” is an enjoyable, delightful and non-complex film that is visually captivating and looks and sounds fantastic on Blu-ray!

While one of the things that people will notice is that the film has the Studio Ghibli quality in look and also in character interaction, this is a Hiromasa Yonebashi directed film and a film written by Hayao Miyazaki and Keiko Niwa.  It’s a film that is not complex, not about the environment, nor is it polemic film that is driving to drive a message to the viewer.  And is more accessible for younger viewers, compared to the more serious Studio Ghibli films such as “Spirited Away”, “Princess Mononoke”, “Grave of the Fireflies” or even “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”.

But “The Secret World of Arrietty” is lighthearted and is pretty much on scale with other Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki films such as “Kiki’s Delivery Service”, “My Neighbor Totoro” and “Whispers of the Heart”.  Captivating and enjoyable films that is not entirely geared towards older viewers, a film that I can enjoy with my young son and other parents can watch with their families.  It’s essentially a family film and in some way, as a fan of Studio Ghibli films, I love the fact that the studio tends to change things up once in awhile.

I can understand if some people who prefer Studio Ghibli’s more epic storylines with a deeper message and I’m sure Studio Ghibli will continue to make those movies as they do with these lighthearted films, but with “The Secret World of Arrietty”, this is a film that I enjoyed because it’s touching, heartwarming and just overall delightful and no worries of complexity, it’s straight-forward and even my 9-year-old loved it!

And the Blu-ray is magnificent!  But not perfect.  Video and audio quality is fantastic, although this is not one of those action-intense films, the film makes up with its visual flair and ambiance.  The main low-point of this Blu-ray release is that there are not as many special features included.

Fortunately, this Blu-ray release comes with a DVD, so as summer vacation is around the corner, parents can use the DVD for those long commutes or something the children can watch during the summertime.

Overall, I was captivated by the beauty of “The Secret World of Arrietty” and also found the story to delightful, lighthearted and enjoyable.   A more accessible, non-complex family film that once again, Studio Ghibli delivers!

The Lion King 1 1/2: Special Edition (a J!-ENT Children’s Blu-ray Disc Review)

If you thought the original “The Lion King” looked amazing on Blu-ray, the second direct-to-video film “The Lion King 1 1/2″ looks vibrant and gorgeous in HD!  While it is not essential to watch this film, it’s still a fun family film focusing on Timon & Pumbaa and life before and after they met Simba.

Image courtesy of © Disney. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: The Lion King 1 1/2: Special Edition

FILM YEAR OF RELEASE: 2004

DURATION: 76 Minutes

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:66:1), English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio,French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish Subtitles

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: G (for General Audiences)

Release Date: March 6, 2012

Directed by Bradley Raymond

Screenplay by Tom Rogers, Roger Allers, Irene Mecchi, Raymond Singer, Evan Spiliotopoulos

Produced by George A. Mendoza, Jason VanBorssum

Associate Producer: Michael Paxton

Music by Don Harper

Edited by Joyce Arrastia

Production Design by Dennis Greco

Art Direction by James Gallego

Featuring the following voice talent:

Nathan LAne as Timon

Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa

Julie Kavner as Mom

Jerry Stiller as Uncle Max

Matthew Broderick as Adult Simba

Robert Guillaume as Rafiki

Moira Kelly as Nala

Whoopi Goldberg as Shenzi

Cheech Marin as Banzai

Jim Cummings as Ed

Edward Hibbert as Zazu

JAson Rudofsky as Flinchy

Matt Weinberg as Young Simba

Hilarity reigns in the motion picture comedy-adventure that takes you waaay back to the beginning before Simba’s tale began…now more fabulous than ever for the first time in a 2-disc Blu-ray Combo Pack!

From their uniquely hysterical perspective, Timon and his windy pal Pumbaa—the greatest unsung heroes of the savanna—reveal where they came from, how they helped Simba save the Serengeti and what really happened behind the scenes of The Lion King’s biggest events.

Disney has had many successes since Walt Disney created the popular animation studio back in 1923.

With the success of their live action films and their PIXAR 3D animated films, still to this day, “The Lion King”, the 32nd film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics remains as the most successful animated film for the legendary company earning over $862 million in the box office (created with a budget of $45 million) and in terms of overall animation, it’s the fifth highest grossing animated film of all time and the #1 highest grossing film when it comes to hand-drawn animation.

The film earned two Academy awards plus a Golden Globe for “Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy” and is the #4 animated film on the American Film Institute’s “10 Top 10″ list.

“The Lion King” made its debut on Blu-ray (2-disc) courtesy of a Diamond Edition on Oct. 4, 2011, as well as a 3D Blu-ray (4-Disc) and also an 8-disc “The Lion King” trilogy box set which included both direct-to-video films “The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride” and “The Lion King 1 1/2″.

And now in March 2012, both films will be released on Blu-ray separately.

“Lion King 1 1/2″ is the third film of “The Lion King” series, made in 2004 and focuses primarily on Timon and Pumbaa.  Because this is a direct-to-video film and previous voice talent have gotten older since the making of the original “The Lion King”, a few changes were made for casting such as Matt Weinberg as young Simba instead of Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Rowan Atkinson as Zazu.

Created in a “Mystery Science Theater 3000″ style, both Timon and Pumbaa are watching a film of “The Lion King 1 1/2″ as it features their back story before and after they met Simba.

The film begins with Timon wanting more responsibility as a meerkat but because he tends to get into trouble, he nearly gets his meerkat group killed when he fails to alert them that hyenas have arrived to their village.  While his mother is quite supportive of him and his Uncle Max tends to be quite critical of him, Timon becomes an outcast to the other meerkats.

Timon meets a mandrill named Rafiki who tells him that he must find his place in the world via Hakuma Matata and next thing you know, Timon goes to Pride Rock where he meets Pumbaa for the very first time.

Both Timon and Pumbaa have no family and thus, they become best friends to each other.

As the two are able to find a new home and live life via Hakuna Matata, the storyline then shifts to when both Timon and Pumbaa meet Simba for the very first time and begin to raise him.

The film shows a connection to the original “The Lion King” film but also shows how Timon is not so appreciative of Nala coming in and taking away Simba from them.  As Simba heads back to the Pride Lands to confront his uncle Scar, will his good friends Timon and Pumbaa be there with him?

VIDEO:

Each time I have watched a Disney animated classic on Blu-ray, suffice to say, there are no disappointments. Each release has been spectacular when it comes to picture quality and with the Blu-ray release of “The Lion King 1 1/2″, once again viewers are receiving a quality product as this film looks fantastic on Blu!

Forget the fact that this is a direct-to-video film, the detail of this animated film is impressive, vibrant and beautiful!

Presented in 1080p High Definition (1:66:1), the first thing you will noticed about “The Lion King 1 1/2″ is how vibrant the film is. The colors are spectacular, the black levels are nice and deep and the colorful visuals are just breathtaking. There were times where I was expecting to see some banding, especially the gradient pink to purples in the background but for the most part, the film looked awesome with no problems whatsoever.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“The Lion King 1 1/2″ is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and also includes a French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital. If you thought the video was awesome for “The Lion King 1 1/2″, the lossless soundtrack was good.  I’ve noticed a good use of the LFE and also the surround channels, but compared to “The Lion King”, it’s not as active and pronounced.   A big difference is that there was good use of ambiance of the Pride Lands in the original film, for “The Lion King 1 1/2″, most of the audio comes to play during the action and music sequences.  But for the most part, the audio for  “Lion King 1 1/2″ was OK but not super active compared to the first film but is expected as this is a direct-to-video release.

Subtitles are presented in English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“The Lion King 1 1/2: Special Edition” comes with the following special features:

• Timon & Pumbaa’s Vacation Safari - (4:57) Featuring Timon and Pumbaa showcasing video of animals that live in the wild.
• Deleted Scenes – (11:44) Director Bradley Raymond and Producer George Mendoza explain the segments that did not make the final cut.  Note: The seven deleted scenes are presented as sketches or artwork.
• Timon: Behind the Legend – (4:04) Peter Graves does a mockumentary of Timon’s childhood and features interview with Timon, his mother, Uncle Max and Pumbaa.
• Before the Beginning: The Making of Lion King 1 1/2 - (15:02) Director Bradley Raymond and Producer George Mendoza give viewers a chance to see the making of “The Lion King 1 1/2″ with interviews with the crew who were responsible in making the film.
• “Grazin’ in the Grass” Music Video  - (3:12) A Music video of “Grazin’ in the Grass” sung by Raven Symone.

EXTRAS:

“The Lion King 1 1/2: Special Edition” comes with a slipcover case and a DVD version of the feature film. The DVD is presented in widescreen 1:66:1 aspect ratio, English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and subtitles in English SDH, French and Spanish.

For those who grew up watching “The Lion King” and enjoyed the film and are now adults with their own children, “The Lion King 1 1/2″ is a fun family film as it focuses on the two crazy characters of the original film, Timon and Pumbaa!

The film goes into the past of how these two characters met, but how Timon’s life was prior to meeting Pumbaa and Simba, but also showing the audience of what took place during the time Simba lived with both of them.

While it is a direct-to-video film and is not essential to watch, if you are a fan of “The Lion King”, it’s a wonderful addition to the series and also giving fans more storylines involving the characters from the first “The Lion King” film.

While both “The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride” and “The Lion King 1 1/2″ were released as part of a Blu-ray set last year, I’m actually happy that Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has decided to release these two direct-to-video films on Blu-ray individually.   And I am quite pleased of how gorgeous the film looks on Blu-ray.  Typically one doesn’t put too much stock into direct-to-video animated films but in the case of “The Lion King 1 1/2″, the film looks absolutely vibrant and beautiful look at.  Granted, the losless audio is not as active and pronounced as the original film but it’s still very good.

Overall, “The Lion King 1 1/2″ is a great family film and for parents looking for an animated film on Blu-ray for their children to watch. Also,”The Lion King 1 1/2″ Blu-ray release also comes with the DVD version of the film.

And for those who were fans of the original film who never saw the direct-to-video films and were in awe of the Blu-ray release of the original film, what best now to watch the two than on Blu-ray!

“The Lion King 1 1/2: Special Edition” is recommended for children and families!

The Muppets: The Wocka Wocka Value Pack (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

“The Muppets” is a fantastic family film that will make you laugh, make you sing and will captivate you from beginning to end.   A film that will entertain both the younger generation and the older generation who grew up with the Muppets, “The Muppets: The Wocka Wocka Value Pack” is a wonderful Blu-ray release that is highly recommended!

Images courtesy of © Disney. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: The Muppets: The Wocka Wocka Value Pack

FILM RELEASE: 2011

DURATION: 103 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:78:1 aspect ratio), English and French 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English DVS 2.0 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home entertainment

RATED: PG (For Some Mild Rude Humor)

Release Date: March 20, 2012

Directed by James Bobin

Written by Jason Segel, Nicholas Stoller

Produced by David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman

Executive Producer: Martin G. Baker, John G. Scotti, Jason Segel, Nicholas Stoller

Associate Producer: Bill Barretta

Music by Christophe Beck

Cinematography by Don Burgess

Edited by James M. Thomas

Casting by Marcia Ross

Production Design by Steve Saklad

Art Direction by Andrew Max Cahn

Set Decoration by Trace A. Doyle

Costume Design by Rahel Afiley

Starring:

Jason Segel as gary

Amy Adams as Mary

Chris Cooper as Tex Richman

Rashida Jones as Veronica Martin

Steve Whitmire as the voice of Kermit, Beaker, Statler, Rizzo, Link Hogthrob, The Newsman

Eric Jacobson as the voice of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam Eagle, Marvin Suggs

Dave Goelz as Gonzo, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Zoot, Beauregard, Waldorf

Bill Barretta as Swedish Chef, Rowlf, Dr. Teeth, Pepe the Prawn, Bobo, Muppet Gary

David Rudman as Scooter, Janice, Miss Poogy, Wayne

Matt Vogel as Sgt. Floyd Pepper, Camilla, Sweetums, 80′s Robot, Lew Zealand, Uncle Deadly, Roowlf, Crazy Harry

Peter Linz as Walter

Alan Arkin as Tour Guide

Bill Cobbs as Grandfather

Zach Galifianakis as Hobo Joe

Ken Jeong as “Punch Teacher” host

Jim Parson as Human Walter

Eddie Pepitone as Postman

Kristen Schaal as Moderator

Sarah Silverman as Greeter

Emily Blunt as Miss Piggy’s Receptionist

James Carville as himself

Whoopi Goldberg as herself

Jack Black as Himself

Leslie Feist as Smalltown Resident

Selena Gomez as Herself

David Grohl as Animool

Neil Patrick Harris as Himself

Judd Hirsch as Himself

John Krasinki as Himself

Rico Rodriguez as Himself

Mickey Rooney as Smalltown Resident

Tyler Bunch as the voice of Foozie Bear, Thog

On vacation in Los Angeles, Walter, the world’s biggest Muppet fan, his brother Gary (Jason Segel) and Gary’s girlfriend, Mary (Amy Adams), from Smalltown, USA, discover the nefarious plan of oilman Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) to raze Muppet Studios and drill for the oil recently discovered beneath the Muppets’ former stomping grounds. To stage a telethon and raise the $10 million needed to save the studio, Walter, Mary and Gary help Kermit reunite the Muppets, who have all gone their separate ways: Fozzie now performs with a Reno casino tribute band called the Moopets, Miss Piggy is a plus-size fashion editor at Vogue Paris, Animal is in a Santa Barbara clinic for anger management, and Gonzo is a high-powered plumbing magnate.

It all began back in 1954.

A high school student named Jim Henson was working at WTOP-TV and creating puppets for a children’s show known as “The Junior Morning Show”.   Henson would continue making puppets as a Freshman at the University of Maryland, College Park as the teenager would go on to create the financially successful show “Sam and Friends” for WRC-TV.  The five minute show would feature a prototype of a character known as “Kermit the Frog”.

This would lead to Henson working on a public television children’s shown known as “Sesame Street” in the late ’60s where Kermit the Frog would appear as a news reporter.

This would lead to Jim Henson creating a British/American television show known as “The Muppets” which premiered in 1976 and a total of five series were produced until March 1981 and lasting 120 episodes.  The show known for its parodies and slapstick would feature many celebrity guests and through the series, Jim Henson and Frank Oz would create additional characters to join Kermit the Frog such as Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Scooter, Gonzo, the Swedish Chef, Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Beaker, the band Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, Camilla the Chicken, Sam the Eagle, Statler and Waldorf, Link Hogthrob, Rizzo the Rat and many more.

Although the television series ended, “The Muppets” would continue in the big screen with “The Muppet Movie” (1979), “The Great Muppet Caper” (1981), “The Muppets Take Manhattan” (1984), “The Muppet Christmas Carol” (1992), “Muppet Treasure Island” (1996) and “Muppets from Space” (1999).

While a musical telefilm was created in 2005 titled “The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz”, the masses have not seen “The Muppets” for a long time and the last film was back in 1999.  Many have felt the characters have run its course and it was over, while others felt that without Jim Henson (who passed away in 1990), it would be difficult to continue “The Muppets” legacy.

In 2008, actor Jason Segel (“How I Met Your Mother”, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) and writer/filmmaker Nicholas Stoller (“Fun with Dick and Jane”, “Get Him to the Greek”, “Yes Man”) wanted to bring back the Muppets and so the two pitched the concept to Walt Disney and next thing you know, the film would be greenlighted and filmmaker James Bobin (“The Flight of the Conchords”, “Da Ali G Show”) would directed, while Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller would be responsible for writing (Segel would also star in the film).

Cast alongside Jason Segel would be Amy Adams (“The Fighter”, “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian”, “Julie & Julia”, “Enchanted”) and Chris Cooper (“American Beauty”, “The Bourne Identity”, “Adaptation”) as the antagonist.  The film would also feature talents such as Jack Black, Rashida Jones, Alan Arkin, Zach Galifianakis, Ken Jeong, Jim PArsons, Kristen Schaal, Eddie Pepitone, Sarah Silverman, Donald Glover, Emily Blunt, Leslie Feist, Whoopi Goldberg, Selena Gomez, Neil Patric Harris, Judd Hirsch, Kohn Krasinski, Mickey Rooney and more.

The film would receive positive reviews from film critics and would be a success at the box office making over $158 million.  And now, “The Muppets” will be released on Blu-ray and DVD in March 2012.

“The Muppets” is set in a smalltown where two brothers, a muppet named Walter and his human brother Gary (played by Jason Segel) grew up.  For Gary, because of his size, he was always captivated by “The Muppet Show” in his youth and not only was he a big fan, he was inspired by them.

But as time went on and the show had ended, Walter continued to watch the show and collect the merchandise.  But where his big brother Gary would grow and go on to own his own business, Walter didn’t grow as tall and he would often be ridiculed by others for his love for “The Muppets”.

But no matter what, his big brother Gary was always there for him and even watch the series on old VHS tapes.

Meanwhile, Gary and his girlfriend Mary (played by Amy Adams) have decided to celebrate their tenth year anniversary in Los Angeles and Walter feels his big brother is so lucky because that is where “The Muppet Show” was made.  But Gary surprises his brother with an extra ticket, so they can visit the old Muppets theater.

And while the trip will be fun, for Mary, she was hoping the vacation would be just she and Gary (as he tends to bring Walter everywhere they go), but Gary tells her that it’s only for a short time in order for his brother Walter to see where “The Muppet Show” was made.

And so the three are off to Los Angeles and when they arrive at the old Muppet theater, it’s old and has not been maintained.  No one is still around and this is a big surprise for Walter.

As Walter goes inside the studio, he hides and overhears a conversation and meeting between oil tycoon Tex Richman and muppets Statler and Waldorf who are planning to sell the theater to him.  Tex tells him that his goal is to create a “Muppets” Museum.  Waldorf explains that if the Muppets can raise $10 million by the end of the week, they can repurchase the theater.

When Statler and Waldorf leave, Tex Richman tells his henchman, Bobo the Bear and Uncle Deadly that his motivation for owning the property is that the theater is on top of an oil field and he plans to destroy the theater.

No way “The Muppets” theater should be destroyed and now Walter along with Gary and Mary find Kermit the Frog and tell him the bad news.  Kermit tells Walter that he has not seen any of the Muppets in many years and has not stayed in touch with them.  But seeing how “The Muppets” show has inspired Walter, Kermit the Frog tells them that he will reunite the Muppets if Walter, Gary and Mary help him.  The three agree and off to find the Muppets they go.

The group travel all over the world in order to reunite everyone and find out that the only way they can raise $10 million is if they have a special show on television.  But can they make it happen? Especially when Tex Richman and his henchman will do whatever it takes to stop the Muppets from raising the money.  Meanwhile, as everyone is dedicated into helping the Muppets, what about Gary and Mary’s relationship.  Especially when the vacation was supposed to celebrate their 10th anniversary.

VIDEO:

“The Muppets” is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:78:1).  The film looks absolutely fantastic on Blu-ray.  You can literally see the detail in the fur of the Muppets, to the skin pores of the human talent.  The clarity, the detail and the beautiful colors featured throughout the film are vibrant and because the film utilizes a lot of color, reds and greens really do pop.  Skintones are natural and black levels are nice and deep.

I didn’t see any banding or artifacts, if anything, videophiles should be happy with the overall picture quality is flawless!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

I absolutely love how Disney is focusing on 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless soundtracks.  As expected from this film that utilizes so much music, dialogue and music is crystal clear coming through the center and front channels.  There is good use of surround channels as well from the audience of the live show to the music being utilized.

The soundtrack is absolutely immersive, especially panning from varying sides coming from the surround channels (especially during the fireworks scene). Also, the LFE is used during scenes of accidents and there is also a good amount of ambiance that utilizes the surround channels as well.  I was pretty impressed as even when the scenes are shown backstage, you can then hear the audience still in the background from the rear or surround channels, you can hear the flickering of the lights to even when one gets on the stage.

Like the video, audiophiles will enjoy this lossless soundtrack because it is equally flawless and no hissing or any audio problems were detected at all.

SPECIAL FEATURES

“The Three Musketeers” comes with the following special features:

• Disney Intermission – Groundbreaking Blu-ray feature. Pausing a movie will never be this much fun, as the Muppets take over the screen every time you stop the disc!  Whenever you pause, you get an intermission with music, audio from the Muppets, or the Muppets themselves showing up on screen or even a theater like look at the special features.
• Scratching The Surface: A Hasty Examination of the Making of Disney’s “The Muppets.” - (15:56) Hosted by unit production manager monster J.G., the cast and crew take a behind the scenes look at making Muppet and movie history.
• The Longest Blooper Reel Ever Made (In Muppet History––We Think) – (8:33) Featuring funny gaffs and gags from behind the scenes of making Disney’s “The Muppets.”
• A Little Screen Test on the way to the Read Through. - (3:19) This hilarious footage follows the Muppet gang as they go to their first table reading of the script.
• Explaining Evil: The Full Tex Richman Song -(2:38) This is the longer rap sequence featuring Tex Richman which goes into details of why he dislikes the Muppets.
• Deleted Scenes – (10:01) Featuring eight deleted scenes: “Walter’s Nightmare,” “Life’s A Happy Song Missing Verse,” “A Hero in Hollywood,” “Credit Card Club,” “Muppets in Jail,” “Bowling for Beaker,” “The Strip Mall Awards” and “The Complete Muppet Telethon Opening & More”.
• Theatrical Spoof Trailers – (9:00) Featuring seven spoof trailers: “Rise of the Muppets,” “Never” “Green with Envy,” “The Fuzzy Pack,” “Being Green,” “The Piggy with the Froggy Tattoo” and “Green with Envy, the Spoof Spoof Trailer.”
• Audio Commentary with Jason Segel, James Bobin and Nicholas Stoller - A not-so-serious audio commentary by Jason Segel (executive producer/co-writer/actor , executive producer/co-writer Nicholas Stoller and director James Bobin.  The three discuss the movie but also joke around a lot during the commentary as well.  It would have been great to feature another commentary track with the puppeteers and crew, to give a more in-depth commentary on the making of the film.

EXTRAS:

“The Muppets: The Wocka Wocka Value Pack” comes with a Blu-ray, DVD version of the film, Digital Copy and a code to download the film’s soundtrack online.  The soundtrack includes the following tracks (duration: 39:57):

The Muppet Show Theme    1 of 30    0:51    The Muppets & Joanna Newsom
“Muppet Studios, I Can’t Believe It”    2 of 30    0:04    Walter
Life’s A Happy Song    3 of 30    4:30    Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Walter, Feist & Mickey Rooney
“I Haven’t Seen The Old Gang”    4 of 30    0:20    Kermit & Jason Segel
Pictures In My Head    5 of 30    2:36    Kermit, Fozzie, Gonzo, Swedish Chef & Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem
“We Drive”    6 of 30    0:11    Kermit & Walter
Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard    7 of 30    2:42    Paul Simon
“That Spells Reno”    8 of 30    0:18    80′s Robot & Amy Adams
Rainbow Connection (Moopets Version)    9 of 30    1:03    The Moopets
“Welcome Back”    10 of 30    0:20    Kermit, Fozzie, Walter & Dr. Teeth
We Built This City    11 of 30    4:54    Starship
“Party Of One”    12 of 30    0:09    Sarah Silverman & Amy Adams
Me Party    13 of 30    1:53    Miss Piggy & Amy Adams
“We Humbly Ask”    14 of 30    0:09    Kermit & Chris Cooper
Let’s Talk About Me    15 of 30    2:33    Chris Cooper & Nathan Pacheco
“The Answer Is No”    16 of 30    0:07    Chris Cooper & Kermit
“Are You A Man Or A Muppet?”    17 of 30    0:08    Amy Adams
Man Or Muppet    18 of 30    2:58    Jason Segel & Walter
“Down At The Ole Barbershop”    19 of 30    0:07    Kermit
Smells Like Teen Spirit    20 of 30    2:24    The Muppet Barbershop Quartet
“Princesses Of Poultry”    21 of 30    0:06    Kermit
Forget You    22 of 30    2:29    Camilla and the Chickens
“It’s Time For Our Song”    23 of 30    0:04    Kermit & Miss Piggy
Rainbow Connection    24 of 30    3:09    The Muppets
“Get Out There And Help Those Guys”    25 of 30    0:06    Jason Segel
The Whistling Caruso    26 of 30    1:16    Andrew Bird
“How Charming, A Finale”    27 of 30    0:06    Uncle Deadly
Life’s A Happy Song Finale    28 of 30    2:23    Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Chris Cooper & The Muppets
Mary, Marry Me”    29 of 30    0:09    Jason Segel & Amy Adams
Mah Na Mah Na    30 of 30    2:05    Mahna Mahna and The Two Snowths

I was among the many kids who grew up watching “The Muppets”.  In fact, back in junior high and my earlier years of high school, watching the show every Monday through Friday was like an addictive ritual before heading off to school.

But like many children who grew up with “The Muppets”, I got older and “The Muppets” became nothing more but a memory of my childhood and early teenage years.

So, when I first heard of “The Muppets” making a return to the big screen and that Jason Segel and Nick Stoller were involved in rejuvenating the franchise, I have to admit that I was a bit of a skeptic.

In today’s society, Saturday and Sunday morning children shows are a rarity, even during the afternoons, you can’t find anything.  Today’s children to young adult series have been replaced by real characters and if there was any form of puppetry, it has long since disappeared from television and video games and the Internet have now become sources for children’s entertainment.

“The Muppets” have become nothing more but a memory for those of us who were able to watch the series while younger.  So, I had no idea what I would think about the film.  Especially having seen a variety of shows that I grew up with such as “The Transformers”, “G.I. Joe”, “The Smurfs” all receiving movie adaptations, “The Muppets”…how can they attract today’s audience?

So, I watched this film with my nine-year-old son.  His familiarity with Kermit the Frog would probably be from our Christmas ritual of watching “Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas” (and due to licensing, Kermit the Frog has since been removed from later DVD releases) but together we watched and I was touched by the storyline of Walter.

The character represents the child inside many of us who grew up and was captivated by these characters, but unlike Walter, I stopped watching the series and for the last 20-years, I forgot about them.

So, I was touched by seeing the character of Walter wanting to reunite the Muppets but also captivated once again by the camaraderie and the music.  From the opening song of “The Muppet Theme” and even hearing “Rainbow Connection”, I had nothing but a smile on my face because it was like returning to the days of my youth.  I admit, I probably laughed much more than my child because of my familiarity with the characters but we both enjoyed this film immensely and the additional cameos also added to the excitement.

Also, Jason Segel and Amy Adams brought a warmth to this film that was enjoyable, humorous and so much fun!  Sure, the musical segments may seem corny to some, but in the sense of how things relate to “The Muppets” and the quirkiness and craziness of the show, the musical numbers were perfect.  In fact, I have to say that I really enjoyed the music and the overall soundtrack.  For me, having grown up with the film, just to hear “Rainbow Connection” was quite sentimental as I have not heard Kermit the Frog sing that song since I was a child.

Also, another positive that I found with this film is that it’s a childrens film that doesn’t have to utilize the latest in technology.

In this day and age of CG graphics and technology, despite the characters being puppets, each character still retains their personality and watching them today, it still hasn’t grown old to me.  I’ve read that Pixar helped out in the storyline department, and if that is indeed the case, you do get some of that Pixar-style sentimental scenes included in the film.  From brotherly relationships, dysfunctional relationships and of course, those who may have wondered what happened between Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy is featured in this film.

And while Jim Henson is no longer with us, nor is Frank Oz involved in voicing the characters any longer,  it does help that the voices today don’t sound too different from the original voices.  Eric Jacobson, David Goelz, Bill Barretta, David Rudman and Matt Vogel do a wonderful job with the voice acting for this film.

But everything came together for this film, a script that touches upon nostalgia but also an appealing, captivating story for the young and old and a wonderful film that will entertain the multiple generations who experienced “The Muppets” on television and film.

As for this Blu-ray release of “The Muppets: The Wocka Wocka Value Pack”, you get a Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Copy plus a downloadable soundtrack.  But for Blu-ray enthusiasts, this film looks absolutely fantastic in HD, and the immersive lossless audio soundtrack is equally impressive.  This is a magnificent Blu-ray release if you are fans of “The Muppets”.

Overall, “The  Muppets” is a film that I enjoyed a lot.  For so long my friends have told me to watch it, but part of me rolled my eyes and felt, it was a part of my life a long time ago and I don’t know if I can get into talking puppets ever again.  I was wrong.

I watched this film with my son and we both enjoyed it a lot.  For him, it was because of its crazy characters, the crazy antics and storyline.  For me, deep inside…I was happy because I can easily remember those times of watching “The Muppets” everyday and it was one thing for me to enjoy this as a child, but now to enjoy it as a father with my children and knowing friends who are also sharing it with their children or grandchildren makes me happy, because it’s one thing from our past that a newer generation of fans can enjoy.

“The Muppets” was definitely a crazy, entertaining and fun film.  The musical elements, the characters and the overall storyline worked perfectly.  Was there anything I didn’t like?  Not really, but aside from the quacking chickens to the music of Cee Lo Green’s “Forget You”, I felt the film was entertaining and fun!  Granted, It all depends on one’s appreciation for “The Muppets”, otherwise if you never liked them to begin with, not sure if that’s going to change your opinion today.

While I don’t know what will happen to “The Muppets” from here on in, I will say that the James Bobin, Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller got this film right.  Looking back at the past Muppets films, a lot of them were kitsch and really going downhill.  Because the familiarity of the Muppets are primarily with its older viewers, Segel and Stoller realize that, as they are fans themselves and wanted a film that can appeal to both young and old, like Pixar films.  And they succeeded.

So for those who are wondering about this film, what I can tell you is that “The Muppets” is a fantastic family film that the younger generation and the older fans can really appreciate. And with this awesome Blu-ray release with wonderful PQ, AQ which is bundled with plenty of enjoyable special features (plus the Blu-ray, DVD and digital copy) plus an entertaining soundtrack, makes the “The Muppets: The Wocka Wocka Value Pack” release worth owning.

“The Muppets: The Wocka Wocka Value Pack” is highly recommended!

Lady and the Tramp: Diamond Edition (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

Heartwarming and a Disney classic that will continue to entertain generation after generation. “Lady and the Tramp: Diamond Edition” is hands down the definitive version of this film to own. A fantastic Blu-ray release that the whole family will enjoy! Highly recommended!

Image courtesy of © 2011 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

BLU-RAY TITLE: Lady and the Tramp: Diamond Edition

MOVIE RELEASE DATE: 1955

DURATION: 76 Minutes

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, 2:55:1 Aspect Ratio, English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French and Spanish 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater (DEHT), Originally Restored Feature Audio, Subtitles: Engliish SDH, French and Spanish

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: G

DVD RELEASE DATE: January 31, 2012

Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske

Story by Ward Greene, Erdman Penner, Joe Rinaldi, Ralph Wright, Don DaGradi

Associate Producer: Erdman Penner

Music by Oliver Wallace

Edited by Donald Halliday

Featuring the Voices of:

Peggy Lee as Darling/Si/Am/Peg

Barbara Luddy as Lady

Larry Roberts as Tramp

Bill Thompson as Jock/Bull, Policeman and Joe

Bill Baucom as Trusty

Stan Freberg as Beaver

Verna Felton as Aunt Sarah

Alan Reed as Boris

George Givot as Tony

Dal McKennon as Toughy

Lee Millar as Jim Dear

The Mellomen as Dogs

A classic love story unfolds in the best Disney tradition as a lovely young pedigreed cocker spaniel named Lady, who lives a pampered life, finds herself falling romantically for Tramp, an amorous street-smart pooch without prospects. Although they have fun together on several dates, including a sentimental spaghetti dinner by moonlight at Tony’s restaurant, their relationship is strained not only by Lady’s loyalty to her human family and their newborn baby, but by Tramp’s devil-may-care attitude that eventually gets Lady in trouble and tossed into the dog pound. However, good-hearted Tramp redeems himself by saving the baby from potential harm and thus wins Lady’s love and the affection of her human family.

Walt Disney’s “Lady and the Tramp” is a classic animated film that has entertained generations upon generations since its theatrical release back in 1955.

But the idea for the film actually happened nearly 20-years prior when Disney writer Joe Grant came up with an idea to make a story built around an idea inspired by his Springer Spaniel named Lady, and how his dog was pushed aside upon the birth of his child.

Grant sketched his ideas and presented it to Walt Disney and sure enough, from 1937 through the ’40s, Grant and a few others have created stories which did not receive approval from Walt Disney because the story was too sweet and not enough action.

In the 1940′s, after Walt Disney read a story by Ward Greene titled “Happy Dan, the Whistling Dog” and was inspired by this story, along with the reaction his wife Lily had when he presented her a baby Chow on Christmas morning.

“Lady and the Tramp” would star American jazz singer Peggy Lee as Darling and would sing a few songs for the film’s soundtrack.

In 1955, the film made its theatrical debut and was a enormous success in the box office. The film was the first Disney animated film to utilize CinemaScope.

While Joe Grant left Disney Studios in 1949, the story and planning still continued. While Joe Grant was not credited for the original idea, he was given credit in a special feature on the Platinum Edition release of “Lady and the Tramp”.

And now in 2012, the 15th Walt Disney animated classic, “Lady and the Tramp” receives its Blu-ray release for the first time.

“Lady and the Tramp” takes place on Christmas morning of 1909 at the home of the wealthy Dear family.

Jim Dear presents his wife Darling with a baby Cocker Spaniel on Christmas morning.  Darling names the dog “Lady” and the two treat the dog like their own child.

And we see how Lady has grown up with the family and they have grown attached to each other.  And Lady is excited to get her first license and tells her friends Jock, the Scottish Terrier and Bull and a Bloodhound named Trusty.

We are then introduced to Tramp, a stray dog on the other side of town.  Always getting into some trouble but always there for his friends.  Tramp is always wanted by the dog catchers but has been able to allude them.

But not long after, Lady starts to notice that the Dear family has started to distance themselves away from her and she asks her two friends what could be the problem.  The two explain that the Dear family are expecting a baby and when that happens, their attention turns towards baby.

Tramp hears their discussion and introduces himself to Lady and tells her that when humans have a baby, their attention towards their dog will lessen.

And eventually, Lady starts to learn quickly when the baby comes that Jim and Darling do not have as much time to spend with her.  As Jim and Darling have to go to China, they leave the baby behind with Aunt Sarah.

But as Aunt Sarah is busy with the baby (and doesn’t like Lady to be around him), Sarah’s two Siamese cats cause trouble and start breaking things around the house, knowing that they are close with Aunt Sarah, Sarah blames Lady.

The next day, when Lady goes to check on the baby who is crying, Aunt Sarah thinks that Lady is trying to bite the baby and takes her to the pet store for a muzzle.  But when the pet store owner tries to muzzle her, Lady is shocked and runs away.  She runs and ends up in another part of town and three large, mean dogs start chasing after her.  As Lady reaches a dead end, Tramp comes to her rescue and fights off the three mean dogs.

Wanting to show how much adventure lies outside of her home, Tramp shows her how life can be if she stays with him.  But throughout their adventures together, Lady is caught by a dog catcher and now Tramp must try to rescue her.

VIDEO:

“Lady and the Tramp: Diamond Edition” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:55:1 Aspect Ratio).  And for anyone who has been following the Disney Animated Classics Blu-ray releases have seen how fantastic Walt Disney Studios has been with these releases.  Remastering and restoring the video to a lot of their classics to pristine quality.  No matter how old these animated films are, they have been cleaned from any blemishes and the “Lady and the Tramp” on Blu-ray is no exception.  This film looks magnificent in HD!

The film is absolutely vibrant.  The colors and the black outline of the characters are clear and the painted art backgrounds are well-detailed and look  amazing.

There are no artifacts, banding, no softness… this is the definitive version of “Lady and the Tramp” on video.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

Just like its video counterpart, Disney presents “Lady and the Tramp: Diamond Edition” with an English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless soundtrack, French and Spanish 5.1 Disney Enhanced Home Theater (DEHT), original restored featured audio.

The 7.1 lossless track is absolutely immersive. First, the dialogue is crisp and clear, the music can be heard through the front and surround channels. There is also a good amount of ambience, especially good use of audio during moments where Tramp goes to rescue Lady from other mean dogs to the scene where Jock and Trusty try to stop the dog catcher.

Like the video portion, when it comes to audio, this is the definitive version of “Lady and the Tramp” to own thus far!

Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Lady and the Tramp: Diamond Edition” comes with the following special features:

• Disney Second Screen featuring “Inside Walt’s Story Meetings” – For those with an iPad or PC can sync their computer while watching “Lady and the Tramp: Diamond Edition” on Blu-ray.
• Inside Walt’s Story Meetings – An audio commentary featuring a recreation of Walt Disney’s story meetings utilizing archived transcripts.
• Diane Disney Miller – (8 min.) Remembering Dad – Diane Disney Miller shares stories about her father, Disneyland, his legacy and more.
• Deleted Scenes – (19 min.) Featuring three deleted scenes via storyboards: “Introduction of Boris”, “Waiting for Baby” and “Dog Show”.
• Never Recorded Song: “I’m Free as the Breeze” – A Ray Gilbert and Elliot Daniel song never used in the final cut of the film and now presented on this Blu-ray release.
• Classic DVD Bonus Features – (157 Minutes) A length in-depth look at the making of “Lady and the Tramp” plus the original Platinum Edition seven-part making of featurette titled “Lady’s Pedigree: The Making of ‘Lady and the Tramp’, “The Siamese Cat Song: Finding a Voice for the Cats”, PuppyPedia: Going to the Dogs”, “Bella Notte Music video”, theatrical trailers and more.
• Trailers – Walt Disney trailers.

 

EXTRAS:

“Lady and the Tramp: Diamond Edition” comes with a slipcover case and also a DVD version of the film presented in widescreen (2:55:1), English, French and Spanish 5.1 DEHT, original restored feature audio. Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.

Many of us who have grown up with “Lady and the Tramp” will always remember the famous scene where Lady and Tramp are eating spaghetti together and end up kissing, remember this film as a heartwarming tale of two dogs that fall in love and overcoming challenges.

It’s a Disney film that my parents watched, I’ve watched and my own child has watched and quite simply, this is another Disney classic that families will enjoy and an animated film that will keep entertaining generation after generation.

Watching this Blu-ray release of “Lady and the Tramp: Diamond Edition”, the one thing that I’ve wondered was how can they improve from the awesome “Platinum Edition”. Well, for one, the quality of the video and audio is the first thing that is noticeable. This is one film that while made in 1955, you can’t really tell this film is over 55-years-old, the restoration is that good and even the artwork holds up today.

There is also a good amount of special features included on this Blu-ray release which includes the second-screen and the “Inside Walt’s Story Meetings”, plus deleted scenes and a never-before-seen song. But still, in terms of special features, the original making of-featurette “Lady’s Pedigree: The Making of Lady and the Tramp” is still fascinating, in-depth and you learn a good deal about what it took to make this film a reality, especially the changes that were made (courtesy of Walt Disney’s wife, who spoke out about not making this film too dark).

Overall, “Lady and the Trap: Diamond Edition” is a wonderful Blu-ray release that fans will love and newer fans will just enjoy. It’s a timeless Disney animated classic but this time, it looks and sounds better than ever and worth the upgrade from DVD.

Highly recommended!

Prep & Landing (a J!-ENT Children’s DVD Review)

The award-winning Holiday TV special “Prep & Landing” finally arrives on DVD!  Featuring wonderful CG animation and an entertaining Christmas story, for parents looking for a safe and fun holiday special for their children, will definitely want to check out “Prep & Landing”!

Images courtesy of © Disney. All Rights Reserved.

DVD TITLE: Prep & Landing

TV AIR DATE: 2009

DURATION: 22 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Widescreen 1:78:1 – Enhanced for 16×9 Televisions, English and French Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0, Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: G (All Ages Admitted)

RELEASE DATE: November 22, 2011

Written and Directed by Kevin Deters, Stevie Wermers

Story by Chris Williams

Additional Story Material by Robert L. Baird, Daniel Gerson and Reid Harrison

Executive Producer: John Lasseter and Chris Williams

Produced by Dorothy Kim

Associate Producer: Jenni Magee-Cook

Music by Michael Giacchino

Edited by William J. Caparella

Casting by Jamie Sparer Roberts

Production by Billy George

Art Direction by Andrew Edward Harkness

Featuring the voices of:

Betty White as Mrs. Claus

Dave Foley as Wayne

Sarah Chalke as Magee

Mason Vale Cotton as Timmy Terwelp

David DeLuise as Dancer

Peter Jacobsen as Waterkotte

Lino DiSalvo as Gristletoe Joe

Derek Richardson as Lanny

William Morgan Sheppard as The Big Guy

Nathan Greno as Dasher

Prep & Landing is an adorable holiday story about a high-tech team of elves who ensure homes around the world are properly prepared for their visit from Santa. After working for a tireless 227 years, an elf named Wayne (voiced by Dave Foley) is upset when he doesn’t receive an expected promotion. Instead he is partnered with an idealistic rookie elf named Lanny (voiced by Derek Richardson) to execute a special Christmas Eve mission. While on their journey, Wayne and Lanny encounter unexpected challenges that push them to their limits and ultimately threaten Christmas for children around the world. But in the end, these two elves work together to guide Santa through a raging snowstorm in order to save Christmas.

When “Glago’s Guest” writer Chris Williams had an idea of an elf Christmas story and pitched to Walt Disney Animation studios shorts program, Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter felt the idea would make a great half-hour TV special for ABC.

As the idea which would later become “Prep & Landing” was greenlighted by the network, Chris Williams was then working and co-directing the animated film “Bolt” and so “Brother Bear” writer Kevin Deters and “Brother Bear”, “Tarzan” writer Stevie Wermers were brought in to co-write and direct the 22-minute Christmas special which aired in Dec. 2009.

The special which was budgeted for $14 million would go on to to be nominated for five Emmy Awards (winning four for “Outstanding Animated Program”, “Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation” for Art Director, Storyboard Artist and Background Key design) and nine Annie Awards (winning “Best Animated Television Production”, “Character Design in a Television Production and “Production Design in a Television Production”).

The TV special revolves around a Christmas elf named Wayne.  Wayne is a member of “Prep & Landing”, a job in which these specially trained elves prepare homes for Santa Claus’ visit on Christmas day.

But having worked for 227 years as a Christmas elf, Wayne believes that he will be promoted for a major job and can’t wait to leave his current job.  So, as Wayne says is confident that he has gotten the job, unfortunately he is told that the job has went to his partner that he trained.

Wayne is then introduced to his new partner, a rookie named Lanny who has looked up to Wayne’s work when he was younger and is excited to be teamed up with his idol.  But Wayne is quite bitter for not getting the promotion and he’s not so interested in giving 100% to his job this year.

So, while visiting a home, Wayne makes Lanny do all the work but unfortunately, it ends up in disaster and the boy Timmy living at the house is awaken and finds the two elves.  And because Wayne has broke protocol and did not prepare the home for Santa, Wayne has to cancel Santa’s visit.  Lanny is upset that Wayne has become so bitter but now he may have prevented the innocent Timmy from receiving a present from Santa.

When Wayne hears Timmy talking in his sleep and thanking him for his Christmas present, Wayne is now determined to make sure Santa is re-routed and that he gets his toy delivery in time for Christmas.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“Prep & Landing” is presented in widescreen (1:78:1 – enhanced for 16×9 televisions), English and French Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 and subtitles in English SDH French and Spanish.

The CG animation for this TV special is fantastic!  In fact, the overall look of the film is what makes me enjoy this TV special so much is because there was a lot of production value put into it.  I’m not just talking about characters but also objects, scenery.  The CG for this special is absolutely wonderful!

Dialogue and music is clear and too bad this special won’t be released on blu-ray (for now at least) because this is one special which would look even more wonderful in HD!

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Prep & Landing” comes with the following special feature:

• Operation Secret Santa – (6:53) Mrs. Claus hires Wayne and Lanny to find a mystery box in Santa’s office.
• Tiny’s Big Adventure – (1:09) Tiny needs to make coffee but the coffee can is too high.
• Kringle Academy Training Videos: – Featuring three animated training videos: Welcome to Kringle Academy (1:27) , Equipment Training (1:50), Do’s and Dont’s (1:33).
• North Pole News – (1:28) Newsreel with big stories for the tiniest elf!
• North Pole Commercials – (1:40) 3 Hilarious Ads Straight from the North Pole

Wonderful CG animation, enjoyable holiday story…The award-winning Disney/ABC TV special “Prep & Landing” finally gets its release on DVD!

In Dec. 2009, “Prep & Landing” aired on television and I was blown away by the CG animation but also how entertaining the TV special and literally, me and my young son wanted more!  And while I was waiting for it to be released on DVD in 2010, it never was released.  But with the characters of “Prep & Landing” returning for a new TV special titled “Prep & Landing: Naughty vs. Nice” for Dec. 2011, the first Christmas special “Prep & Landing” has been released on DVD!

And I can only hope that “Prep & Landing” will be a recurring holiday special because the animation for this film really distinguishes itself among other holiday 3D animated specials.  And for the most part, the stories are so easy to follow, are very fun to watch and for this special, it’s one holiday family film that will attract viewers of all ages.

In fact, for adults, there are a lot of in-jokes in this holiday special.  Magee has a Christmas Tree ala “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” is shown on Timmy’s TV set at their house and also little Disney additions that fans may pick up on!

I know it’s hard to recommend a holiday DVD if the episode is only 22-minutes long but fortunately, Walt Disney Home Entertainment includes two more “Prep & Landing” shorts, “Operation Santa Claus” (which features Betty White as the voice of Mrs. Claus) and “Tiny’s Big Adventure”.   In addition, there are other animated special features included on this DVD as well!

Overall, “Prep & Landing” is an enjoyable holiday special on DVD and if you are looking for an enjoyable holiday special for the children, that is safe, fun and very entertaining… I can easily recommend “Prep & Landing”!

Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World (a J!-ENT Children’s DVD Review)

The third midquel in Disney’s animated “Beauty and the Beast” trilogy, “Belle’s Magical World” features four different stories that utilizes many of the original film’s characters.  Overall, a fun and entertaining family film that children will definitely enjoy!

Images courtesy of © Disney. All Rights Reserved.

DVD TITLE: Belle’s Magical World

FILM RELEASE DATE: 1998

DURATION: 92 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: 1:33:1 Aspect Ratio, 5.1 Dolby Digital English, French and Spanish, English Subtitles for Deaf and Hearing Impaired, Frenchand Spanish Subtitles

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: G (All Ages Admitted)

RELEASE DATE: November 22, 2011

Directed by Cullen Blaine, Dale Case, Daniel de la Vega, Barbara Dourmashkin, Bob Kline, Burt Medall, Mitch Rochon

Written by Alice Brown (Fifi’s Folly), Richard Cray (The Perfect Word), Carter Crocker (Broken Wing, Fifi’s Folly), Sheree Guitar (Broken Wing), Chip Hand (Broken Wing)

Produced by Bob Kline

Associate Produced by David W. King

Unit Producer: Colin Baker

Music by Harvey Cohen

Featuring the voices of:

Robby Benson as Beast

Paige O’Hara as Belle

Jerry Orbach as Lumiere

David Ogden Stiers as Cogsworth

Gregory Grudt as Chip

Kimmy Robertson as Fifi

Anne Rogers as Mrs. Potts

Frank Welker as Sultan

Jo Anne Worley as Wardrobe

From the “tale as old as time” comes a new Special Edition inspired by the original classic, Beauty and the Beast.

Join Belle, Disney’s spirited princess, Beast, Cogsworth, Lumiere, plus some charming new friends, as they discover how teamwork and friendship can turn a once-gloomy castle into a dazzling palace fit for a princess! Adorned with delightful bonus features, your favorite characters and enchanting songs, this fun-filled, instant classic proves that true beauty shines from within!

In 1991, Walt Disney Animation Studios debuted their 30th film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics line and the film would achieve commercial success as it earned over $377 million worldwide and was the first animated film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, and the film also received six Academy Award nominations, winning an award for “Best Original Score” and “Best Original Song”.

And to capitalize on the success of the film, Disney would release the two midquel’s of the “Beauty and the Beast” trilogy: “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas” (1997) and “Belle’s Magical World” (1998).  The films would take place when Belle was being held inside the castle of the beast and both are trying to get to know each other.

For the third film “Belle’s Magical World”, all voice actors for the original animated film returned with the exception of the role of Mrs. Potts (previously voiced by Angela Lansbury) which was voiced by Anne Rogers.

When the video was first released in 1998, the film consisted of three segments but in 2003, for the “special edition” DVD release, it was changed to feature a fourth segment titled “Mrs. Pott’s Party”.  With the release of “Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas” on Blu-ray, Disney has also decided to re-release the third film in the trilogy on DVD.

“Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas” is a film about misunderstandings and is broken up into several stories that involve misunderstandings among the characters.

To first preface of what the original film was about.  An enchantress who is disguised as an old beggar asks the prince for shelter for the night in exchange for a rose.  The prince refuses and the enchantress punishes him by turning him into an ugly Beast.  She gives the Beast a rose and tells him that it will bloom until his 21st birthday.  He must love and be loved in return before the rose petal’s have fallen off, or else he will be a Beast forever.

While the third film takes place during the time that Belle was kept in the castle, the Beast’s servants are worried that they need to do all they can to make Belle fall in love with the prince before the petals have fallen off.  But the problem is that the Beast and Belle keep having arguments.

The first segment “The Perfect World” revolves around the Beast and Belle eating together.  But with the Beast getting warm and sweaty, he demands the windows to be opened which makes his servants cold.  As Belle tends to defend everyone in the castle because of their fear of the Beast, she gets into a heated argument and insults the Beast.

When Webster (a dictionary) translates continuously the insults that Belle has called the Beast, the Beast in anger, swats him and the relationship between Belle and Beast start to sour.  But when Crane (papers) and LePume (a quill) takes things into their own hands in order to bring Belle and the Beast together, they don’t realize what problems they have caused when the Beast finds out the truth.

For the second story, “Fifi’s Folly”, it’s the anniversary of Lumiere’s first date with Fifi  and the nervou Lumiere goes to Belle for advice on how to celebrate the special occasion.  But Fifi mistakes Lumiere’s time with Belle as being romantic and becomes very jealous, to the point that she wants to get revenge for what she thinks is a betrayal of their relationship.

For the third story “Mrs. Pott’s Party”, Mrs. Potts is depressed about the weather, so Belle and friends want to have a surprise party for her.   But when Lumiere and Cogsworth become a rival in composing music for the party, they begin to sabotage each other’s work.

In the final story “The Broken Wing”, Belle and Beast have lunch but when an injured bird flies into the castle, her attention is diverted towards the bird and it angers the Beast.  The Beast puts the bird in a cage and forces him to sing.  Belle wants him to release the bird immediately but the Beast will not.  Will this latest argument prevent the two from ever falling for each other?

VIDEO & AUDIO:

With the release of “Beauty and the Beast: Enchanted Christmas” and “Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World”, I was surprised to find out that the latter would not be released on Blu-ray but only on DVD.  For the most part, this is the same DVD release from 2003 but with more special features.

“Belle’s Magical World” is presented in 1:33:1 aspect ratio and 5.1 Dolby Digital English, Spanish and French.  Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.

It’s important to note, unlike “Enchanted Christmas”, there is no CG animation. If anything, compared to the last “Beauty and the Beast” midquel, the budget for this production was obviously lower.

While I don’t personally own the original 2003 DVD to do any comparisons, I will say that the picture quality seems slightly muted and does have white specks and scratches.  The quality is quite similar to an ’80s or ’90s animated film in terms of presentation, as the film does look its age.  Colors are not as vibrant and would lead me to believe why this film did not receive the HD treatment, unlike “Enchanted Christmas” which was released on Blu-ray.

But the film does feature beautifully painted backgrounds and there are not as many frames (as some characters stay still in the background) but it’s not terrible.  I know many people back then who were not as thrilled that Disney didn’t give the film the same production quality as the original film and even the last direc-to-video film “Enchanted Christmas”.  Granted, the first film is a big budget film that cost $25 million to make, “Enchanted Christmas” was created by Walt Disney animation’s Vancouver studio which was later shutdown due to budget cuts.  So, this third film, a direct-to-video midquel obviously had a lower budget as it cost less to produce and doesn’t feature the CG animation that the first two films had.

But I doubt that the children will complain, mostly the adults who try to compare this direct-to-video film with the high budget original film or the last midquel but considering this is a lower budget production, I understand why older “Beauty and the Beast” fans were disappointed with this film back in 1998.  But overall, DVD is good and what I would expect from a direct-to-video film and because it is more geared towards the children, I’m sure they will have fun watching it.

As for audio, “Belle’s Magical World” is not a film that has an immersive 5.1 soundtrack but for the most part, its dialogue and music are crystal clear.  I heard no hiss or crackle during my viewing of the film.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World” comes with the following special feature:

• Disney’s Sing Me A Story with Belle – (22:58) A hybrid live/animated short feature featuring a non-animated Belle with cuts of animated and puppet-based characters.  Belle encourages children to look beyond outer appearances to discover what is important.
• Belle’s Delightful Dinner Game – Help Belle plan a special dinner for the Beast.
• Disney’s Song Selection – Select you favorite song from the film to sing-along-to.
• Enchanted Environment – (3:00) featuring an animated 3D environment with music.

EXTRAS:

“Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World” comes with a slipcover case.

“Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World” for me was a film that seemed as if it was targeted primarily for a younger demographic.

As the original film definitely attracted people of all ages, because of the way the film was broken up to segments, I do agree with earlier reviewers who felt that the film seemed like a cartoon that you would see on television.  But I also feel that the film was made for the children.  Not focused more on the relationship of the Beast and Belle but to showcase all the characters and show a storyline about miscommunication and relationships.  After a heated argument or debate, its important to work things out.

For me, this was a direct-to-video film and I didn’t have any high expectations for video quality or even for its storyline.   Granted, Disney has changed its strategy when it comes to their approach for direct-to-video releases (as seen with their “Tinkerbell” films) but back in the ’90s, the midquels were literally videos created to bank on the enormous popularity of the original animated film.

While I don’t think the special features would make me recommend a re-purchase of the DVD, for those who own the original, I would only recommend this if you loved the music and want the sing-a-long portion of it.  Otherwise, you’re good with the original DVD that you have.

Overall, “Beauty and the Beast: Belle’s Magical World” was an OK film.  I enjoyed the fact that they involved a lot of the characters from the original animated film but by doing that, I understand how some viewers feel it’s like watching several episodes of a cartoon.  But with that being said, it’s a very good family film and a story that children will definitely enjoy!

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Space Adventure (a J!-ENT Children’s DVD Review)

It’s time for another “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” educational DVD for the young children with “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse:  Space Adventure”. With “Discovery Mode”, children can now use the “Mickey Mote” or DVD remote control while watching an episode and partake in several fun questions about colors, shapes and sizes. Featuring two fun episodes for the younger children plus a Digital Copy and glow-in-the-dark stickers!

Images courtesy of © Disney. All Rights Reserved.

DVD TITLE: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Space Adventure

DURATION: 70 Minutes

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

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: TV Y

RELEASE DATE: November 8, 2011

Featuring the voices of:

Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse

Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck

Bill Farmer as Goofy

Tress MacNeille as Daisy Duck

Russi Taylor as Minnie Mouse

Jim Cummings as Pete

Corey Burton as Ludwig Von Drake

April Winchell as Clarabelle Cow

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Space Adventure is a 45 minute, full-length space-themed escapade, geared for kids 2 to 5 years of age, that invites young viewers to discover outer space and use their problem-solving skills while they watch. In this specific adventure, Mickey and pals head to space where they tour the Moon, Mars and the Rings of Saturn as well as meet new alien friends while on the hunt for a unique space treasure.

“MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE” is a children’s television animated series (presented in CG) that airs on the Disney Channel’s “Playhouse Disney” block targeted towards pre-school children.

The series is created in a similar style as “Blue’s Clues” and “Dora the Explorer” in terms of the main character interacting with the viewer. Disney’s “MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE” features Mickey Mouse as the main character communicating with his friends and then occasionally looking towards the viewer for help in a variety of adventures. Mickey uses a variety of tools and a compass inside the clubhouse to help them solve their problems and get from point A to point B. And then during the mission, Mickey offers various ideas of paths they can take and asks the viewer which path should he take.

“Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Space Adventure” is the latest MMC DVD release to utilize the “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.

But the Mickey Mote can be used with Disney Preschool DVD that includes the Discovery Mode and to date, there are more than 11 titles that can be used with the remote control (look at the back of the packaging to make sure).

With this latest release, you get a Digital Copy release of “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Space Adventure” as well!

In this latest DVD release of “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”, for “Space Adventure”, there are a total of two episodes included on the DVD.

• Space Adventure – Mickey and friends go to space to look for treasure.  Can you help Mickey and friends get to their destination?
• Goofy’s Thinking Cap - A never-before-seen episode. Clarabelle is hosting a scavenger hunt and Goofy gets a thinking cap to assist him.  Can you help Mickey, Goofy and friends complete the scavenger hunt?

What is a Mickey Mote?

“Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Numbers Roundup” 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:

“MICKEY MOUSE CLUBHOUSE” features colorful CG animated episodes for the children. Nothing too detailed but simple and clean, vibrant colors and literally fun looking, enough for the young children to enjoy. Presentation this time around is in Widescreen (1:78:1). As for the audio, audio is presented in Dolby Digital Surround Sound plus French and Spanish language tracks.

Subtitles in English SDH are offered.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Space Adventure” 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.
• Program Remote – Instructions on how to use your remote control to program the Mickey Mote.

EXTRAS:

“Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Space Adventure” comes with a Digital Copy and also glow-in-the-dark stickers.  Plus a slip cover case.

For families looking for an educational DVD for their children, you really can’t go wrong with “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Space Adventure”. You get a total of two episodes included in this DVD release.

With this latest Mickey Mote DVD release, young fans of Disney will enjoy this space exploration episode of “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” and the fact that many of Mickey’s friends are featured.  From Martian Mickey of Mars to Moon Men Chip n’ Dale and Pluto from Pluto, children can expect a lot of educational fun with this latest DVD.

Also, among the Disney releases targeted towards children, “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” is probably the best out there from Disney that caters to the education of your young child (2-5 years old). Similar to other popular children’s shows which require your children to help the character decide on how to solve a puzzle, it was one thing to allow the child say it out loud but now with the introduction of “Discovery Mode”, using the new Mickey Mote (or your own DVD remote), children have more interactivity with these episodes.

While this release does not come with the Mickey Mote, you should be able to find other DVD’s that do.  But “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Space Adventure” can be used with a Mickey Mote or remote control.

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 “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Minnie’s Masquerade” with the Mickey Mote, you will need two AAA batteries.

Programming the remotes are easy, for example, by holding the front of your DVD/Blu-ray remote towards the front of the Mickey Mote, pressing a combination of two buttons on the Mickey Mote starts the programming session and you see a green light on the Mickey Mote front light up. By clicking four times up on your DVD/Blu-ray remote, you will see the Mickey Mote green light flash (this means it learned the up button). Then you repeat by pressing down four times, left four times and right four times for the Mickey Mote to learn all four directions. And if you mess up during the programming, no problem, you can easily repeat it.

On the Discovery Mode, for children, to keep things simple, the Discovery Mode don’t ask what directions to press but more of pressing the color of a button for the correct answer (which is typically a color that is featured on the Mickey Mote). 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 Disney’s new Mickey Mote + DVD Set is a pretty big deal, especially for parents and children who are familiar with the Disney characters and Disney animated shows.

As for the DVD, you get a Digital Copy which probably is great for those who own a laptop, iPad or iPhone (or device that works with iTunes or Windows Media Player), so definitely great for commutes or areas where you want to keep the young children occupied with a fun “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” episode that is educational and fun.

Overall, “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Space Adventure” is an entertaining, educational children’s release and is definitely recommended!

Spooky Buddies: Blu-ray + DVD (a J!-ENT Children’s Blu-ray Disc Review)

The buddies are back in this darker, fun and enjoyable Halloween family film for the kids.  “Spooky Buddies” is Halloween-themed, so it may not be for the younger children but for the children who have grown up with the Buddies and are slightly older, they will most likely enjoy it.

Images courtesy of © Disney. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Spooky Buddies: Blu-ray + DVD

FILM RELEASE: 2011

DURATION: 88 minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:78:1), English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (48 kHz/24-bit), French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English sDH, French, Spanish

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: G

Release Date: September 20, 2011

Directed by Robert Vince

Written by Robert Vince and Anna McRoberts

Produced by Anna McRoberts, Robert Vince

Music by Brahm Wenger

Cinematography by Mike Southon

Edited by Kelly Herron

Casting by Lorna Johnson

Production Design by Michael S. Bolton

Set Decoration by Shirley Inget

Costume Design by Stephanie Nolin

Starring:

Tucker Albrizzi as Bartleby

Jennifer Elise Cox as Mrs. Carroll

Elisa Donovan as Janice

Jake Johnson as Sam

Rance Howard as Mr. Johnson

Mitchell Duffield as Devil Kidd

Pat Finn as Frankendude

Hardy Gatlin as Skip

Max Charles as Joseph

Nels Lennarson as Joseph’s Dad

Sierra McCormick as Alice

Michael Teigen as Sheriff Dan

Frank C. Turner as Sheriff Jim

Harland Williams as Warwick

Diedrich Bader as the voice of Hound

Ameko Eks Mass Carroll as Ghost Boy

Frankie Jonas as Pip (voice)

Tim Conway as the voice of Deputy Sniffer (Voice)

Nico Ghisi as Budderball (Voice)

Ty PAnitz as Mudbud (Voice)

Debra Jo Rupp as Zelda (Voice)

Ryan Stiles as Hoot (Voice)

Charles Henry Wyson as Buddha (Voice)

Skyler Gisondo as Billy/B-Dawg (voice)

G. Hannelius as Rosebud (voice)

In Spooky Buddies, the lovable ―Buddies‖ — talking pups B-Dawg, Budderball, Buddha, Mudbud, and Rosebud — embark on a spine-tingling journey across town to a shadowy mansion shrouded in legendary secrets. In a race against the mysterious Howlloween Hound, the Buddies and some new friends — Pip, Zelda, Rodney and Skip — must stop Warwick the Warlock to save the world from his dastardly deeds. Their brave exploits in this trick-or-treat adventure highlight the importance of friendship, courage and teamwork.

The Buddies are back for another family film for 2011 titled “Spooky Buddies”.

For those who have watched the previous “Buddies” films (Note: buddies are the children of Buddy the Golden Retriever, the star of the “Air Bud” films of the ’90s), the good news for fans who enjoyed the more involving storyline with the  last year’s film “The Search for Santa Paws”, co-writer and director Robert Vince and co-writer Anna McRoberts continue with the same formula where the film is not all about the buddies but bringing back the “Air Bud” style of featuring the story around the human characters.

“Spooky Buddies” is a film that begins in the 1930′s as the evil warlock, Warwick (played by Harland Williams) is needing five dogs of the same bloodline as a sacrifice to open a portal to unleash evil spirits.  So, Warwick has gathered five beagles, including a dog named Pip to sacrifice.

But the Deputy and the people families of those who lost their dogs descend to the home of Warwick where he is in the process of feeding the energy to the evil Halloween Hound.  As Pip’s young owner, Joseph, tries to rescue his dog…it’s too late.  He has been turned into ghost, while it’s actual body has been turned to stone.

But because the police and the families interfered with Warwick’s plans right before he was to become successful, Warwick escapes into the evil mirror along with the Halloween Hound.  Unfortunately, for the owners of the dogs, especially young Joseph…his beagle Pip is lost and is thought as dead.  But what they don’t see is the ghost of Pip floating around, calling after them.

Fast forward over 80-years later and a teacher is taking the children on a field trip of various Halloween haunts in the city.  One of the areas where she takes the kids is where the “Halloween Hound” incident took place. Despite it being a true story, many now disregard as just a scary tale.

But one day, the Buddies sneak into the house and the five dogs hear Pip’s voice and are scared by it that they think the house is haunted.

Meanwhile, Billy, the owner of B-Dawg is asked by the teacher of what his next school assignment will be and he tells them that it will be about if the “Halloween Hound” incident was real or fake.

So, as Billy and friends do research on the incident, they visit the police station and are taken to the evidence box where Billy is given a few things for his research.  One is Warwick’s magical staff and the book of spells.  But what Billy doesn’t know is that by having that staff, he has now awakened both Warwick and the Halloween Hound and also brought them to the present-time, during Halloween night.

And for Warwick, his plans of unleashing the portal continues but first, he must get his staff and spell book from Billy.  Meanwhile, the Halloween Hound looks for five new dogs of the same blood to unleash the portal and this time, his targets are the Buddies.

Can Billy and friends stop Warwick from accomplishing his evil plans?

 

VIDEO:

“Spooky Buddies” is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:78:1) and I have to say that the film looks awesome on Blu-ray.  A lot of outdoor shots with sunlight and many costumes of various colors, it definitely lends to the vibrant colors of the film.  But also during Halloween night, the black levels are nice and deep but for the most part, detail of the costumes and the closeup of the dogs look great!

So, there is a good amount of detail this time around and I didn’t detect any artifacts, combing, banding or any significant problems while watching the film. Another quality Disney presentation on Blu-ray.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Spooky Buddies” is a dialogue-driven film and the dialogue is crystal clear as its coming through the center and front channels.  But one will notice with this latest film is how much of the music plays a big part, especially as it is utilized in the surround channels.  A pretty solid soundtrack for this film courtesy of Brahm Wenger and also you get a pretty groovy cover of “Monster Mash” during the Halloween party segment of the film.

Subtitles are presented in English SDH, Spanish and French.

SPECIAL FEATURES

“Spooky Buddies” comes with the following special features:

• DIGS: Rosebud Edition – (4:01) Hosted by Leo Howard (of “Kickin’ It”, “Leo Little’s Big Show”, “G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra”), canine Rosebud gives viewers a tour of where she lives, her garments and more.
• Monster Mash Music Video – (3:05) The guys of Disney show “Shake It Up” (Davis Cleveland, Adam Irigoyen and Kenton Duty) sing a new version of “Monster Mash”.
• Treasure Buddies: Sneak Peek – (4:24) A sneak preview of the next Buddies film, “Treasure Buddies”.

EXTRAS:

“Spooky Buddies: Blu-ray + DVD” comes with a slip cover case and also comes with a DVD presented in Widescreen (1:78:1 – enhanced for 16×9 televisions), English, French and Spanish Dolby Digital and subtitles in English SDH, French and Spanish.

For those who love the adventures of B-Dawg, Budderball, Bhudda, Mudbud and Rosebud….the Buddies are back!  This time to save the world from an evil warlock who wants to open the portal and bringing in bad spirits to the real world.

Having reviewed the “Air Bud” films and also the “Buddies” films in the past, I like the fact that Robert Vince and Anna McRoberts are continuing on the focus on the human characters and not entirely on the Buddies.  While the previous earlier films had focused entirely on the “Buddies” and was targeted towards a more younger audience, with last year’s “The Search for Santa Paws”, there is more production value, a much more deeper screenplay that incorporates the characters much more, also including the Buddies as expected  and also including more music.

The same can be said about the latest film “Spooky Buddies”. Like previous “Buddies” films that showcased the importance of friendship, courage and teamwork.  Those elements are still incorporated into this latest “Buddies” film but this time around, it’s a Halloween-themed film and it’s a bit darker than any of the previous “Buddies” films.

And it’s important to note that although rated “G” for a general audience, for parents who are wondering if this is a film they can show to their young 3-6 year-olds, I don’t know if it would be appropriate because there are some darker themes that may spook younger children.

For example, seeing a warlock sacrificing young puppies and turning them to stone, an evil warlock going after kids who are trying to runaway from him, or the warlock turning a adult friend into a zombie to the warlock scaring trick or treaters.  Especially the brooding Halloween Hound.  The dog with its green eyes and it’s evil intention, that may spook some children.  For those who are used to the wholesomeness of the series, this latest film does have its darker moments that probably is more appropriate for children.

There is also a very short religious segment of the film that features the Bible and the children seeking safety in a church.  I know some people may be bothered by this.

But overall, because you expect a Halloween theme for “Spooky Buddies”, it’s what you get.   A slightly scary but fun story for the older kids, may not for the younger children.  My eight-year-old watched it with no problems.  And because he has grown up with the Buddies films, he knew it wasn’t going too be scary, especially in the context of comparing it to other children’s scary movies or shows like “Goosebumps”. “Spooky Buddies” is rather tame.

“Spooky Buddies” comes with a Blu-ray & DVD. Both picture quality and audio quality is well-done in HD and although there are not many special features included in this release, there is the “Buddies” tie-in with the kids of the hit Disney show “Shake It Up” and also the tie-in with Disney’s “Kickin’ It” star Leo Howard which fans may be interested in.

And similar to “The Search for Santa Paws”, you have a few stars such as Harland Williams (“The Whole Nine Yards”, “Dumb and Dumber”), Rance Howard (“Night Club, “The Dilemma”), Jennifer Elise Cox (“Pretty the Series”, “The Brady Bunch Movie”), Pat Finn (“I Love You, Beth Cooper”) and Elisa Donovan (“Clueless”).  Also, doing the voices for the film such as Diedrich Bader and Ryan Stiles (both from “The Drew Carey Show”), Debra Jo Rupp (“That 70′s Show”), Tom Conway (“SpongeBob SquarePants”), Frankie Jonas (“Jonas”) and more.

Also, enjoyed the CG for Pip the Dog and the visual effects for this Buddies film is definitely much better than the CG that was used in previous films, so I’m glad that the “Buddies” films have better production and continuing the character-driven storyline.

Overall, “Spooky Buddies” is another family fun “Buddies” film.  Darker and a little creepier that previous Buddies films but I did enjoy Robert Vince and Anna McRoberts experimenting with the film, especially a more darker themed film involving the Buddies but I think that (older) children who grew up with the Buddies may find this one to be a bit fun, silly, dark but enjoyable.  But for parents who have younger children, you may want to pass on this one as this film may be a bit too scary for them.

The Incredibles: 4-Disc Combo Pack (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Disc Review)

Fantastic!  “The Incredibles” Blu-ray release features awesome picture quality, a magnificent lossless audio track and also new special features plus the original DVD special features as well!  This is a wonderful release and a must-buy for Pixar and “The Incredibles” fans!  Highly recommended!

Images courtesy of © Disney. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: The Incredibles: 4-Disc Combo Pack

FILM RELEASE DATE: 2004

DURATION: 115 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, Widescreen (2:39:1), English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 2.0 DVS, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: PG (For Action Violence)

RELEASE DATE: April 12, 2011

Written and Directed by Brad Bird

Produced by John Walker

Executive Produced by John Lasseter

Associate Producer: Kori Rae

Assistant Producer: Katherine Sarafian

Music by Michael Giacchino

Cinematography by Andrew Jimenez, Patrick Lin and Janet Lucroy

Edited by Stephen Schaffer

Casting by Matthew John Beck, Mary Hidalgo, Kevin Reher, Jen Rudin

Production Design by Lou Romano

Art Direction by Ralph Eggleston

Featuring the voices of:

Craig T. Nelson as Bob Parr/Mr. Incredible

Holly Hunter as Helen Parr/Elastigirl

Samuel L. Jackson as Lucius Best/Frozone

Jason Lee as Buddy Pine/Syndrome

Sara Vowell as Violet Parr

Spencer Fox as Dashiell “Dash” Parr

John Ratzenberger as Underminer

Eli Fucile as Jack Jack Parr

Maeve Andrews as Jack Jack Parr

THE INCREDIBLES follows the adventures of a family of former superheroes who are rediscovering the true source of their powers—in one another. Once one of the world’s top masked crime fighters, Bob Parr (a.k.a. Mr. Incredible) fought evil and saved lives on a daily basis. But 15 years later, he and his wife Helen (the former Elastigirl) have been forced to take on civilian identities and retreat to the suburbs. Today they, and all superheroes, live as mere mortals. Bob and Helen lead all-too-ordinary lives with their children, Violet and Dashiell “Dash” Parr, who go out of their way to appear “normal,” and new baby Jack-Jack As a clock-punching insurance man, the only thing Bob fights these days is boredom and a bulging waistline. Itching for action, the sidelined superhero gets his chance when a mysterious communication summons him to a remote island for a top-secret assignment. Now, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance, the family must come together and once again find the fantastic in their family life.

In 2004, Pixar Animated Studios would go on to unfamiliar territory and that is creating a film not based on animals or insects but to create an animated film featuring humans.

With the first five animated films from Pixar Animation Studios/Walt Disney having great financial success, needless to say, there was a lot of challenges and stress that the crew had to face this time around and to spearhead the project was Brad Bird, the writer and director who has worked on “The Simpsons” and “The Iron Giant” (and would go on to direct the Pixar animated film, “Ratatouille”.

Needless to say, “The Incredibles”, which was budgeted at $92 million became a box office success, earning over $631 million worldwide, receiving nearly positive reviews from all critics and winning two Oscars for “Best Achievement in Sound Editing” and “Best Animated Feature Film of the Year”.

And now this successful animated film receives its HD treatment with a new Blu-ray release in April 2011 featuring new special features.

“The Incredibles” begins with showing us how people with superhuman abilities have helped society and one of the most popular heroes is Mr. Incredible (voiced by Craig T. Nelson).  And shows us how a young fan named Buddy wanted to become his technological sidekick but is rejected by Mr. Incredible.

Mr. Incredible would go on to marry Elastic Girl (voiced by Holly Hunter) and all would seem to go quite well for the couple…until one day.

One night, a man who was trying to kill himself, leaped off a building and was caught by Mr. Incredible.  The man didn’t want to be caught and was hurt during the rescue process by Mr. Incredible and thus sued the superhero for millions and eventually winning.  This led to more lawsuits by the people against superheroes and in order to prevent the government (who was supporting the superheroes) from losing any more money, the superheroes were relocated and given new identities as part of the Superhero Relocation Program, so they can live their lives normally.

We are then taken to Bob (Mr. Incredible) and Helen (Elastic Girl) Parr’s life in suburban Metroville.  Together, the couple have a shy daughter named Violet Parr (voiced by Sarah Vowell) who has the power of invisibility, Dashiell Robert “Dash” Parr (voiced by Spencer Fox) who has the power of lightning quick speed and a baby named Jack-Jack (voiced by Eli Fucelle and Maeve Andrews) who doesn’t seem to have any special powers.

Bob’s life is quite unhappy as he hates his job at an insurance company in which the boss wants him to not side with the clients all that much and to help the stockbrokers.  He also dislikes how much weight he has gained and Bob misses his old life of being Mr. Incredible and once a week (on Bowling Night), he and former superhero Frozone/Lucius Best (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson), listen to the police scanner to observe crime in the city.

Meanwhile, Helen is the patriarch of the family who is proud that Bob has become a family man and avoided becoming a superhero.  She also tries to watch over her children, especially Dash who tends to get into a little trouble at school.

One day, as Bob is called into his boss’s office, it looks as if he is going to be fired and while his boss is admonishing him, he looks outside and sees a thief robbing an innocent victim and when his boss refuses to let him save the victim, Bob loses it and accidentally injures his boss, loses his job and once again, causes problems for the government (who has to pay for the damages).

Meanwhile, a mysterious person named Mirage (voiced by Elizabeth Pena) has been observing Mr. Incredible and manages to send him a package.  In the package, Bob is told that if he goes on a mission to stop Omnidroid 9000, a robot that has went out of control in a remote island, he would get paid three times his salary and also can do real superhero work and get paid for it.

Without telling his wife and family, Bob takes the offer.  We then see how Bob has changed from being unhappy, to happy and now making good money.  Meanwhile, his wife Helen thinks that Bob is moving up in the company and thinks that is why he has been quite happy of late.  But support changes to jealousy when she listens in on a conversation between Bob and Mirage and thinks maybe he is having an affair with another woman.  Then she discovers that his ripped costume has been mended and that the only person that can work on his costume is the famous superhero fashion designer, Edna Mode.

As Bob goes on the next mission, he is told by Mirage that she works for  a secret government agency ran by a person he knows.  When Mr. Incredible finds out who it is, it is Buddy (voiced by Jason Lee), the boy he rejected as his sidekick many years ago and that he has become “Syndrome” and the only reason why he has hired Mr. Incredible was to avenge himself against him and other superheroes for denying him.  Also, that he has killed other super heroes by luring them to the island to fight Omnidroid and used these heroes to fight Omnidroid in order to make better designs after these heroes revealed its weakness.  And now, he will become a superhero by staging an accident in Metroville and making people believe that he will stop the Omnidroid when it attacks the city.

Unfortunately, Mr. Incredible tries his best to outwit and escape from Syndrome but finds himself unable to escape the new and advanced Omnidroid and now is being held captive.

As for Helen, after visiting Edna, she feels that her husband may be in trouble (or will be in trouble after she is done meeting with him) and plans to go meet with him at the island that he left to.

While, Helen borrows a plane of a friend and flies it to the island, as she is preparing for her visit and also to tryout the new outfit that Edna had created for her, she finds out that Violet and Dash have become stowaways and rode on the plane without her permission (also sporting the outfits that Edna made).

But before she can be upset, unbeknown to Helen and the kids, Syndrome has fired missiles at their plane and successfully destroying it.  Mr. Incredible can’t believe that Syndrome has killed his family but Helen and the kids actually survive and now Helen, ala Elastic Girl will do what she can to save her husband from trouble.   But can she prevent her children from getting in trouble as well?

Will “The Incredibles” be able to stop Syndrome?

VIDEO:

“The Incredibles” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:39:1).  First, let me first say that even though this animated film was released back in 2004 and within the improvement of computer animation in the last six years, the film still manages to hold up very well!   In fact, this is probably the best video version to date as the Blu-ray really shows off the vibrant colors of the film.

Hair strands are much more notable, but also the detail of the fabric of the clothing is also much more present and detailed that you can see the actual stitching.  Blacks are inky and deep and the special effects absolutely look awesome.    And while I didn’t see any compression artifacts or any major defects on the picture quality, I did notice very little banding.  In one scene, where Mr. Incredible shows off his new red costume, you can see a little banding but really, this is the best I have seen of “The Incredibles” by far.  From the debris, to the presentation of the city and jungle landscape, this film looks awesome on Blu-ray!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“The Incredibles” is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 2.0 DVS, French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1.   And if there was one thing that really shined for this film on Blu-ray, it was the lossless soundtrack as not only was dialogue crisp but every sound and boom, you can feel it via LFE.  I love action films that know how to use the LFE and really make you fel it and in this case, “The Incredibles” delivers!   Also, the surround channels are well-utilized as you can hear various ambiance from surrounding objects to little rustling that can be heard as well.  Literally, the lossless soundtrack delivers in immersive sound that really gives you a feeling of the action that is taking place!  Awesome!

After watching “The Incredibles” so many times on DVD, the soundtrack, while very good, never made me take notice as it did with it listening to it on Blu-ray.  Not only was this lossless soundtrack magnificent, it definitely make a big difference during my viewing and enhanced my love for the film.  Audiophiles will love the lossless soundtrack!

As for subtitles, they are in English, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“The Incredibles” comes with the following special features:

DISC 1

• Director’s Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by producer John Walker and director Brad Bird.  Both go in-depth on the characters, the action, the performance, their powers, animation and more.
• Animator’s Commentary - Featuring audio commentary by supervising animators Tony Fucile, Steven Hunter, Alan Barillaro and animators Gini Santos, David DeVan, Kureha Yokoo, Dave Mullins John Kahrs, Robert Russ, Angus MacLane, Travis Hathaway, Doug Frankel and Peter Sohm.  Both commentaries are split but definitely worth listening to if you are wanting a career in the industry. 
  
• Boundin’ Commentary – Featuring director Bud Luckey’s commentary for the short.  This feature has optional commentary.
  
• Jack Jack Attack – (4:42) A new animated short of what took place when the baby sitter was watching over Jack Jack.
• Jack Jack Attack Explored – (4:43) Featuring commentary by director Brad Bird, story supervisor Mark Andrews and character designer Teddy Newton and animator Bret Parker on the making of this short.
  
• The Incredibles Reunited – (22:06) Director Brad Bird, producer John Walker, supervising technical director Rick Sage, character designer Teddy Newton, supervising animator Tony Fucile, production designer Lou Romano, story supervisor Mark Andrews talk about the challenges the film faced during planning and production, the original ideas, making things credible, the relationships of the characters, using humans in a Pixar film, storyboarding, a staff with energy depleted, impressions of how they feel about the film today and more.
• Elle’s Anthem – (7:15) Composer Rolfe Kent talks about the 91-piece orchestra and recording the music for the film.

DISC 2

• Paths to Pixar - (5:53) – A featurette about the story artists, storyboarding for “The Incredibles”, the importance of storyboarding, the pitch and getting your food into the door.
• Studio Stories: Gary’s Birthday - (1:25) A story how a party for the group ended up with the group receiving a cake that said “Happy Birthday Gary”.
• Ending with a Bang: Making the End Credits – (1:35) A featurette about the 2D expression of the 3D of the film ala ’60s illustrations used for the ending credits and the making of them.
• The New Nomanison: A Top Secret Redevelopment Plan – An interactive map of the New Nomanison island.  Featuring an introduction (3:30).
• Deleted Scenes in HD - (33 minutes) A total of seven deleted scenes presented in HD.
• Incredibles Teaser in HD – (2:01) The original theatrical trailer for “The Incredibles” presented in HD.
• The Making of the Incredibles – (27:30) The original making-of featurette of “The Incredibles”.
• Classic DVD Content – The following are content that appeared on the original “The Incredibles” DVD such as Story (7:15), Character Design (5:30), Evolution (2:45), Building Humans (6:17) and Building Extras (2:00).
• Easter Eggs – Featuring the original easter eggs from the DVD release of “The Incredibles” including Incredible Socks (3:33), Dancing Bob (:30), Cake (:30), Buttons and Doors (2:30), H3A Classroom, Angus’ Guards, Incrediblunders, Frank & Ollie,Ball & Scooter and Markisms.
• Publicity – Character Interviews (6:30) and Trailers (featuring theatrical and TV trailers).

EXTRAS:

“The Incredibles” comes with a slip-over cover case.  A DVD is included and is presented in 2:39:1 – Enhanced for 16×9 televisions, English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital EX, subtitles in English SDH, French and Spanish.  Also, included is a digital copy of the feature film which works with iTunes and Windows Media Player.

Pixar is known for creating a good number of wonderful films but I have to admit that “The Incredibles” has continued to become one of my favorites and probably is the only Pixar animated film that I have watch possibly over a dozen times and have not gotten tired of it.

I remember when I first watched the film, I was just amazed not just by the animation and design but also the storyline and the relationship between Bob and Helen and just grown-up things that happen in the film that probably would fly over the head of children but make the adults smile.

And I’m sure that many people own this film on DVD, it’s whether or not you want to upgrade to the Blu-ray version.  And the answer to that is YES!  You do want to upgrade as it is not only jsut a better video and audio transfer but you also have new special features featuring the crew of “The Incredibles” really giving us fantastic insight of what went on behind-the-scenes in the creation of this film.

We hear about the challenges and the long hours it takes to create an animated film but in the case of “The Incredibles”, I never knew that a higher-up at Disney opposed the film, I never knew about the intense feelings the crew had and how morale was low at one point because of communication issues.  There was a lot of things that happened during the making of this film and you start to realize how much of a challenge these individuals, these departments at Pixar had to face when creating this film.  Definitely it was not easy but at the end of the day, the entire crew delivered another Pixar hit!

Not only was it well-received, not only did it make a lot of money but it was a film that managed to hook in both young and old.  And it’s important to note that at the time when Pixar Animation Studios had films based on toys, insects, animals, etc., to have an all-human based storyline that was well-planned, well-written and well-executed made “The Incredibles” so entertaining and fun!

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone Magazine wrote that “The Incredibles” was #6 on his list of the best films of the decade and to tell you the truth, when I think about films that I have watched more than 3-5 times in the last decade, there are not many.  “The Incredibles”, I have probably watched about a dozen times or even more than that.  There are not many films that deal with many realistic issues that couples face and yet putting a superhero/sci-fi twist to it, “The Incredibles” is an exciting film that will continue to entertain generations to come.

“The Incredibles: 4-Disc Combo Pack” is an excellent release.  A first Blu-ray disc with the movie and new special features, a second Blu-ray with new and all the classic DVD special features, a DVD and also a digital copy of the film.  This is truly a magnificent release from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment and fans should be happy with this release, especially with how awesome this film looks on Blu-ray and its wonderful lossless soundtrack.

Highly recommended!

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

Disney’s 50th Walt Disney Animated feature “Tangled”, is a delightful and heartfelt animated film for the entire family.  On Blu-ray, the animation is just gorgeous and the lossless soundtrack is great.  “Tangled” has now become one of my favorite Disney animated features and I can definitely give this film my recommendation!

Images courtesy of ©Disney. All Rights Reserved..

TITLE: Tangled

FILM RELEASE DATE: 2010

DURATION: 100 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:78:1), English 7.1 DTS Master Audio, French & Spanish 7.1 DTS-HD DR, English 2.0 DVS, Subtitles: English SDH, French and Spanish

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: PG (For Brief and Mild Violence)

RELEASE DATE: March 29, 2011

Directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard

Based on the Fairy Tale by Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm

Screenplay by Dan Fogelman

Produced by Roy Conli

Executive Producer: John Lasseter, Glen Keane

Music by Alan Menken

Editing by Tim Mertens

Casting by Jamie Sparer Roberts

Production Design by Douglas Rogers

Art Direction by Dan Cooper, David Goetz

Featuring the Voices of:

Mandy Moore as Rapunzel

Zachary Levi as Flynn Rider

Donna Murphy as Mother Gothel

Ron Perlman as Stabbington Brother

M.C. Gainey as Captain of the Guard

Jeffrey Tambor as Big Nose Thug

Brad Garrett as Hook Hand Thug

Paul F. Tompkins as Short Thug

Richard Kiel as Vlad

Delaney Rose Stein as Young Rapunzel

When the kingdom’s most wanted—and most charming—bandit Flynn Rider (voice of ZACHARY LEVI) hides out in a mysterious tower, he’s taken hostage by Rapunzel (voice of MANDY MOORE), a beautiful and feisty tower-bound teen with 70 feet of magical, golden hair. Flynn’s curious captor, who’s looking for her ticket out of the tower she’s been locked away in for years, strikes a deal with the handsome thief, and the unlikely duo sets off on an action-packed escapade, complete with a super-cop horse, an overprotective chameleon and a gruff gang of pub thugs. Tangled is a story of adventure, heart, humor and hair—lots of hair.

Enjoyable, vibrant and all-out fun, “Tangled” is another wonderful animated film from Disney!

In 2010, the 50th Walt Disney Animated Classic was released!  Based on the fairy tale “Rapunzel” by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, the film adaptation is directed by Nathan Greno (“Bolt”, “Meet the Robinsons”, “Chicken Little”, “Mulan”) with Byron Howard (“Chicken Little”, “Brotehr Bear”, “Lilo & Stitch”, “Mulan”, “Pocahontas”) and a screenplay by Dan Fogelman (“Bolt”, “Cars”, “Fred Claus”).

“Tangled” would feature the voices of Mandy Moore (“A Walk to Remember”, “Saved”, “The Princess Diaries”), Zachary Levi (“Chuck”, “Less Than Perfect”, “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel”), Donna Murphy (“The Fountain”, “Spider-Man 2″, “Trust Me”), Ron Perlman (“Hellboy” films, “Sons of Anarchy”, “Chronus”), M.C. Gainey (“Beerfest”, “Sideways”, “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines”), Jeffrey Tambor (“The Hangover”, “Arrested Development”, “The Larry Sanders Show”) and Brad Garrett (“Everybody Loves Raymond”, “‘Til Death”, “Ratatouille”).

The film was a success in the box office as the $260 million film would make over $551 million worldwide and has received mostly positive reviews from film critics.

“Tangled” begins with a pregnant Queen who is ill.  Immediately, her guards search for a cure and that cure would come from a magical healing flower.  But wanting that flower for herself is an elderly woman named Gothel (voiced by Donna Murphy), who wants to use the flower in order to stay young.

The guards managed to give the ill queen the flower via a drink and immediately she gets better and gives birth to a baby girl and names her Rapunzel.  One day, while the king and queen were sleeping, Gothel kidnaps the baby and keeps her in an isolated tower.  We see how Rapunzel’s hair carries the magic from the flower and each time Gothel is with her, she is able to maintain her youth.  And Gothel would raise Rapunzel up to her 18th birthday.

Every year, on her birthday, Rapunzel sees lights in the sky and wonders why it only happens on her birthday.  So, with her turning 18, she hopes to tell Mother Gothel if she can go see the lights outside the castle but Gothel lies to her and tells her that only bad things are outside of the castle and she can never leave.

Meanwhile, a thief named Flynn Rider has stolen the tiara of the missing princess from the castle and he and his thugs are being chased and are literally wanted dead or alive.  Flynn manages to escape from the guards (while barely being caught by the lead guard’s horse, Maximus) and finds a cave which takes him to the isolated tower.

As Flynn climbs up the tower to hide, he is immediately hit in the head with a frying pan by Rapunzel.  She keeps Flynn in her closet and takes the satchel with the stolen tiara and hides it.

Rapunzel is hoping to tell Gothel but when Gothel tells her that she will stay inside the tower forever, Rapunzel decides not to tell her mother but gives her a diversion to leave by telling her that what she wants for her birthday is a certain type of shell, so she can paint.

Gothel tells her that it will take three days to get it and come back but as long as Rapunzel doesn’t talk about leaving the tower, Gothel will get that shell that she had requested.

With Gothel gone, Rapunzel and her little chameleon Pascal awaken Flynn.  When he wakes up,  of course, Flynn wants the satchel with the tiara returned to him but Rapunzel tells him that she will only give it to him if he takes her out to the area where the lights are, so she can see them and when he takes her back home safely, then she will return the satchel/tiara back to him.

Both Flynn and Rapunzel strike a deal and Rapunzel ventures outside the tower for the first time, conflicted because she really wants to see the lights, which Flynn tells her are actually light lanterns lit up for a missing princess every year.  Meanwhile, Gothel finds out that there is a pursuit for Flynn Rider and she begins to worry that someone may find the isolated tower and Rapunzel, so when she goes back to see if Rapunzel is there, she finds her gone.

With Flynn being a wanted man, he drags Rapunzel into his adventures of trying to hide from the guards and also introducing her to a group of men who may not be the nicest men in the area.

As for Gothel, seeing how she is with Flynn, she will do what it takes to make sure Rapunzel returns back home but also, doing all that is necessary to kill Flynn.

What will happen to Rapunzel and Flynn?  Check out “Tangled” available in a 2-Disc Combo Pack on Blu-ray plus a DVD version of the film!

VIDEO:

“Tangled” is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:78:1 Aspect Ratio) and I don’t think anyone has found anything negative to say about a modern Disney animated film on Blu-ray and the same can be said for “Tangled”.  Immediately when you start watching “Tangled”, you are greeted with vibrant colors, black levels are nice and fine detail crammed into every frame.  From the detail on the trees, to the detail of Rapunzel’s hair, watching the folds on the clothing of the characters to the details of the Tower, the greenery…”Tangled” features colors and detail galore.

If there was one scene that really caught my eyes was during the chase scene (which applies to audio as well).  The way the mountains look, the way the water looks, even down to the grain of the wood, “Tangled” looked absolutely fantastic.  I was very impressed by the animation for this film.

I detected no artifacting, digital noise, edge enhancement but I did detect slight banding in two spots.  One where both Flynn and Rapunzel were sitting near a camp fire and another scene with a lot of red.  It was noticeable but aside from those short moments, I detected nothing that would have spoiled the film.

Personally, for the majority of the film, “Tangled” was a visual feast and I was quite impressed by how detailed the film was but also how much went into the physics for Rapunzel’s hair.  Overall, awesome PQ!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Tangled” is presented in English 7.1 DTS Master Audio, French  Spanish 7.1 DTS-HD NR and English 2.0 DVS.  While not as strong as other Disney action-based films, still “Tangled” is no slouch as you can hear the wind, plants rustling, the stomping of the hooves of Maximus, the arrows being shot by the guards who are trying to get Flynn Rider and the bumps and slams into Flynn Rider’s noggin from the pan used by Rapunzel.

But possibly the best segment where LFE, surround and rear-surround channels come into play is the chase scene when the guards and Maximus are going after Flynn and Rapunzel.  That was quite impressive audio-wise!

So, there are many moments of immersive audio that you can hear from the surround channels but because this is not an all-action film, one can expect crisp dialogue through the center channels and the score by Alan Menken as well as the music from “Tangled” through the front channels but also at times utilizing the surround and rear-surround channels.

The lossless soundtrack is quite appropriate for a film like “Tangled” and I don’t think anyone can be disappointed by it.

Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Tangled” comes with the following special features:

• Deleted Scenes – (12:36) Featuring three deleted scenes: The Jaunty Moose, Chemistry Develops and Vigor the Visionary featuring intros by directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard on why the scenes were cut.  Note: Scenes are sketches and not 3D rendered.
• Original Storybook Opening - Originally, the film would feature a storybook opening but the directors felt they wanted to do something different.  So, included are the the two storybook openings version 1 (3:57) and version 2 (4:02).
• 50th Animated Feature Countdown – (2:03) A countdown featuring clips of all 50 Disney Animated films.
• Extended Songs – Featuring the extended songs “When Will My Life Begin” (3:35) and “Mother Knows Best” (4:12) with intro by directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard.
• Untangled – The Making of a Fairy Tale – (12:28) Featuring the making of “Tangled” hosted by Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi.
• Tangled Teasers – (9:12) Featuring nine animated teasers for “Tangled”.

EXTRAS:

“Tangled” comes with a slip-over cardboard case.  The accompanying DVD is presented in Widescreen (1:78:1), English & Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English 2.0 DVS with subtitles in English SDH and French Subtitles.

This is an update to my previous review as I decided that I had to watch this film again as the first time, I felt I was concentrating too much on the visuals but this time around, I wanted to embrace the musical side to the film as well and I’m glad I did!

Not only did I enjoy it much more the second time, I just realized how awesome this Blu-ray release is by just really focusing on the lossless soundtrack and just finding that right position where the sound effects, especially the music just came alive.

“Tangled” turned out to be a wonderful, delightful animated film by Disney and a wonderful experience that had that romantic comedy but yet darker and magical feel such as “The Little Mermaid” and even “Snow White”.

And as mentioned earlier in my review, this is a wonderful Disney film that wasn’t made by Pixar and perhaps that is a good thing because Disney animated classics have built themselves upon fantasy and adventure and what best to have their 50th animated film to carry on the tradition that Walt Disney had done long ago for his films and that is to have a film that can entertain people of all ages but to also to have elements based on a well-written script.

Sure, John Lasseter may have had his hand in this film as an executive producer but you have to give credit to directors Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, especially screenwriter Dan Fogelman for taking on a well-known fairy tale and making an enjoyable film out of it.  Personally, I felt that the creators and staff were able to create a fresh and innovative storyline based on the fairy tale of “Rapunzel” but not make it so kitschy and keeping it fun, humorous and even heartfelt.

While a few may have felt that it was wrong for Disney to use the title of “Rapunzel” and go with the title of “Tangled”, I can understand why they did it.  With “The Princess and the Frog”, many felt the film did skew towards a younger female demographic and “Rapunzel” would have probably done the same.  Enough of the foolishness of even debating about the name, focus on the film and you realize how fantastic of an animated film “Tangled” truly is.

This time, you have Rapunzel and the swashbuckling thief, Flynn Rider and you have a film that the boys and girls will love, but throw in a few deeper and slightly darker elements to make the film rated PG and you have all the ingredients to make a wonderful animated film.

The voice acting for the film was wonderful.  Both Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi have wonderful chemistry ala voice acting and for the most part, the characters and the talented hired for the film were well-cast by Disney.  I’m not sure who did the singing voice for Rapunzel (as I know Mandy Moore can sing) and even for Flynn (can Zachary Levi sing?), but will say that I was quite pleased with both talent’s voice acting performance.

The musical score by Alan Menken was actually quite memorable and like he has done for animated films like “Beauty and the Beast”, “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin”, the music is quite strong.  The musical numbers for “Tangled” are catchy and fun but while the music and the songs really provided a wonderful backdrop to the awesome visuals.  At first, I felt that I was unfair to the music as I kept complimenting the visuals but the second time around, I made it priority to listen to the music and I found myself absolutely loving it.  Menken really created music that complimented the film and once again, he has done a fabulous job.

As for the Blu-ray release, “Tangled” looks absolutely beautiful on Blu-ray and the music and lossless audio soundtrack is wonderful and works for this type of film.  While there are a good amount of special features with this release, I have to admit that I was a bit surprised as I was expecting a whole lot more (as Disney tends to spoil you with a lot of special features) for “Tangled”.  But still, that’s after years of being spoiled by Blu-ray releases from Disney but for what was included, there are still a good number of special features to keep viewers busy.

Overall, “Tangled” is a delightful film that will entertain families although because it’s rated PG and does nearly show a death scene, it was a necessary move by Disney that made the film work.  The film still manages to display the magic of Walt Disney through it’s look and feel and also continuing the tradition of quality with its Blu-ray releases as “Tangled” simply looks beautiful and sounds great via HD.

While not as special features heavy as I would have hoped (and expected) to see from a Walt Disney film, “Tangled” is still an enjoyable and wonderful film for the entire family and I definitely recommend it!

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