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!

Bambi: Diamond Edition (a J!-ENT Blu-ray Review)

A timeless animated classic!  “Bambi: Diamond Edition” on Blu-ray looks and sounds more incredible than it has ever been before.  If this 1942 masterpiece resonates strongly with you or you are a Disney fan looking to upgrade to “Bambi” in High Definition, you won’t be disappointed.  “Bambi: Diamond Edition” is another must-own Disney animated classic on Blu-ray and is highly recommended!

Images courtesy of © Disney. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Bambi: Diamond Edition

FILM RELEASE DATE: 1942

DURATION: 70 Minutes

BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition Full Screen (1:33:1), English 7.1 DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby DEHT Language Tracks, Restored Original Theatrical Soundtrack, Subtitles: English SDH, English ESL, French and Spanish

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: G (All Ages Admitted)

Release Date: March 1, 2011

Directed by James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, David Hand, Graham Heid, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield and Norman Wright

Story by Felix Salten

Story Direction by Perce Pearce

Story Adaptation by Larry Morey

Story Development by Vernon Stallings, Melvin Shaw, Carl Fallberg, Chuck Couch, Ralph Wright

Produced by Walt Disney

Music by Frank Churchill, Edward H. Plumb

Art Direction by Tom Codrick, Robert Cormack, Lloyd Harting, David Hilberman, John Hubley, Dick Kelsey, McLaren Stewart, Al Zinnen

Featuring the voices of:

Hardie Albright as Adolescent Bambi

Donnie Dunagan as Young Bambi

Stan Alexander as Young Flower

Peter Behn as Young Thumper

Thelma Boardman as Mrs. Quail

Tim Davis as Adult Thumper

Sam Edwards as Adult Thumper

Ann Gillis as Adult Faline

Otis Harlan as Mr. Mole

Eddie Holden as Chipmunk

Sterling Holloway as Adult Flower

Cammie King Conlon as Young Faline

Mary Lansing as Aunt Ena/Mrs. Possum

Margaret Lee as Thumper’s Mother

Clarence Nash as Bullfrog

Bobby Stewart as Baby Bambi

John Sutherland as Adult Bambi

Paula Winslowe as Bambi’s Mother

Fred Shields as Great Prince of the Forest

As morning light breaks across the meadow, a young deer named Bambi is born and hailed as ‘Prince of the Forest.’ Soon Bambi emerges from the thicket on wobbly legs, much to the delight of his new friends, Thumper, the playful rabbit, and Flower, the bashful yet lovable skunk. But the fun of nibbling on fresh blossoms and frolicking through the woods is only the beginning. Exploring his new world, and guided by the wisdom of Friend Owl, Bambi learns valuable life lessons with every adventure – experiencing the power of friendship, family, and love along the away.

Back in 1923, Felix Salten wrote a novel titled “Bambi, a Life in the Woods” in Austria.  Five years later, the novel would receive its English translation and became an instant hit and a classic.

This led to MGM producer and director Sidney Franklin purchasing the rights to a film version of “Bambi, A Life in the Woods” in 1933 but because he felt it would be too difficult to make it into a live action film, he sold the rights to Walt Disney in 1937.

But Walt Disney was not a healthy company at the time.  “Pinocchio” and “Fantasia” were box office flops and it didn’t help that the International audience that Disney depended on for revenue was lost due to World War II.  And as for Bambi, as the budget started to reach up to over $800,000, it seemed as if the company would not be able to make their next film.  Fortunately, Walt Disney, who is a wonderful businessman, managed to woo Bank of America in getting the funding for “Bambi”.

While “Bambi” would become an instant classic for Disney throughout the last 70-years, back in 1942, the film still faced problems due to World War II and would also lose money in the box office, but it would regain its income in 1947 and would also receive the ire from hunters who felt the film was harsh towards them.

But needless to say, “Bambi” has come an instant classic in Walt Disney’s line of animated films (“Bambi” is the fifth film from Walt Disney) and it also paved the way for the animation industry as the film would lead to the hiring of Disney’s first female animator, the film would utilize multiplane camera technology, would feature an impressionist style courtesy of artist Tyrus “Ty” Wong and his artwork of the forests would be groundbreaking for its time and an inspiration for future artists.  Also, the film would feature a lot of paint and colors developed during the making of the film and would eventually lead to newer colors which would be used for future Walt Disney animated films.

Also, “Bambi” was created on an extreme budget and it was a learning experience for Walt Disney and the studio.

As “Bambi” has had its DVD release in 1997 (as part of the Masterpiece Collection Version) and in 2007 as a Platinum Edition, the film will receive its 2011 Blu-ray release as a Diamond Edition to celebrate it’s 70th year.This new release features a new enhanced digital restoration, newer special features and the use of Disney View and the introduction of Disney’s Second Screen technology.

“Bambi” is a film that features a doe giving birth to Bambi.  As Bambi learns to walk, he befriends a young rabbit named Thumper and a skunk named Flower.

We see how Bambi learns from his mother, from learning to walk, learning about the meadow and warning him of the dangers but also introducing him to his father, the Great Prince of the Forest.

As Bambi grows up, he meets a young fawn named Faline at the meadow but during this time, he quickly learns the danger of man, as hunters begin shooting towards the animals.  Bambi and his mother managed to escape death and she explains to him about the dangers of man being the forest.

As the animals go through a rough winter, trying to find food, his mother teaches him how to eat the bark from a tree and Bambi learns from Thumper on how to slide on ice.

By the end of the Winter, a hungry Bambi is shown a patch of new grass that has grown, in which he can eat.  As the grass is a sign of the arrival of spring, his mother can sense a hunter nearby and warns Bambi to run.  Both mother and Bambi run as fast as they can and a the shot of a rifle is heard.  As Bambi runs quickly back home, he waits for his mother to arrive, but she has not come back.

What has happened to Bambi’s mother?  And how will Bambi survive on his own?

VIDEO:

“Bambi” is one of the most wonderful looking animated films that still looks magnificent 70-years-later.  The artwork is highly regarded by artists and although not realistic, you get a feel of a painted style, a brilliant artistic use of paint in animation brought to Disney’s attention courtesy of Tyrus Wong.  It was a look that Disney had wanted and amazingly implemented to “Bambi” and the overall look of the film is even more impressive on Blu-ray.

“Bambi” is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:33:1).  The colors are vibrant, the blacks are nice and deep and the character designs and animation look absolutely cute but also its lines are absolute clean.  But it’s how the artistic backgrounds and foregrounds compliments the animation is quite amazing!

“Bambi” has never looked this magnificent and I am impressed by how much of an upgrade this film looks compared to its previously awesome Platinum DVD release only four years ago.  There is no compression artifacts, no banding, no scratches or dust, it looks perfect!

If you love this film, you definitely need to upgrade to Blu-ray because “Bambi” looks fantastic in HD!

Because the film is presented in 1:33:1, once again, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment brings back the “DisneyView” featuring the art of Lisa Keene, so instead of the black bars on the side, you can opt for colorful artwork that matches the scenes of the film.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Bambi: Diamond Edition” is presented in 7.1 DTS-HD High Resolution Audio, French and Spanish Dolby DEHT  Language Tracks and restored original theatrical soundtrack.  It’s important to note that Disney chose to go with High Resolution audio over lossless DTS-HD Master Audio.  But the audio is still fantastic as you can hear the thunder and lightning throughout your surround channels, you can hear Frank Churchill and Edward Plumb’s wonderful score and while this film is primarily dialogue and music driven, there ares some scenes where the audio sounds fantastic (primarily the final half hour of the film).

The soundtrack is not to immersive, but “Bambi” is not an action-driven film. So, the audio is well-utilized when it matters most and its during those more intense, action-based scenes.  Needless to say, this is a wonderful lossless high resolution soundtrack.

Subtitles are in English SDH, English ESL, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Bambi: Diamond Edition” features the following special features:

• Bambi: Inside Walt’s Story Meetings – A pretty awesome featurette.  It’s hard to tell you the duration as my player wouldn’t give me the duration time for this feature but because it is featured in a way where you can watch various features separately, you can listen to Walt Disney and staff’s audio meetings on “Bambi”, you can also see two deleted scenes, the making of the film, two bonus animated Disney shorts, anecdotes and more.  The sequence does show picture-in-picture while the film is playing on one side you get to watch this special feature on the other side.  It’s clearly one of the best Disney special features I have seen thus far!
• Disney’s Book of Knowledge - An interactive game based on multiple choice and for players to earn stickers (on-game stickers).
• Disney Second/View/What is Disney SecondView – This feature allows people to watch a film on their iPad or laptop and sync it with what they are watching on TV, so you can use the iPad or laptop like a remote but while watching it on screen of your portable device.
• Two Leaves – (3:07) An original concept of how Disney and crew were thinking of creating dialogue between two leaves but opted not to use it on “Bambi”.
• Bambi Stuck on a Reed - (1:20) Another concept that was not used for “Bambi” but is featured on this Blu-ray.
• Twitterpated – (1:53) An explanation of what “Twitterpated” is.
• Bambi Interactive Galleries – An extensive look at the films sketches, background paintings production pictures, storyboards and visual development.
• Deleted Scenes – Featuring two deleted scenes (featured on the original 2007 DVD) – Winter Grass (:56) and Bambi’s First Snow (2:31).
• The Making of Bambi: A Prince is Born – A wonderful making-of featurette (about an hour long) featured on the original DVD.  This featurettete goes into the art and Disney hiring its first female animator, the hiring of Tyrus Wong, who brought the look and feel of Bambi’s artistic backgrounds because he wanted to move up in his job from in-between animation, the music of “Bambi”, the history of “Bambi” and how the book was adapted into an animated film and more.
• Tricks of the Trade - (7:18) Walt Disney talks about the multi-plane technology used on “Bambi”.
• Inside the Disney Archives – (8:39) A visit to the vault to look at unused art and sequences from “Bambi”.
• The Old Mill – (8:58) A 1937 Silly Symphonies animated short.
• Original Theatrical Trailer – (2:12) The original 1942 theatrical trailer for “Bambi”.

EXTRAS:

“Bambi: Diamond Edition” comes with a Blu-ray slipover case and a DVD fof the film.  The DVD features an introduction by Diane Disney Miller and also includes the enhance edition of “Walt’s Story Meetings” and DisneyPEdia: Bambi’s Forest Friends.  The DVD is presented in 1:33:1 aspect ratio, 5.1 Dolby English, French and Spanish language tracks and subtitles in English SDH, French and Spanish.

“Bambi” is a classic that will continue to entertain generation after generation.

It features a wonderful, touching story about family and how they continue to survive in the wild but faces the challenge of man.  Granted, I understand that this film may not satisfy hunters (as many of them were upset by the film during its original release) but for my family, as my wife and I, both have grown up with this film and it was one of the first Disney films that we introduced to our son.

We both felt that it was a family film that featured cute characters, innocent characters but also showed the importance of family, listening to rules and of course but also a first step of explaining to them about what was transpiring between Bambi and his mother and what happens later in the film.

So, as this film has resonated so strongly for my family, I’m sure it’s a film that many other families will love.  Afterall, it has entertained generation after generation for 70-years.

And with this film now being released on Blu-ray, I do have to say that this is one of the most beautiful classic animated film from Disney on Blu-ray thus far.   Call me biased but not only is the artwork magnificent, everything about it… from the animation, it’s character design, the cast (the voice actors were magnificent and how they used the young voice actor’s accidental pauses during the recording and actually using it in the film was brilliant!), its music and the storyline, everything works in harmony.  The nature of the film had a unique style, the use of the multiplane cameras also gave it a distinct look.  I really enjoyed this Blu-ray release!

Now, of course, comparing the special features to other animated classics from Disney on Blu-ray, it may seem that “Bambi” has less special features.  In the past, the special features were all separated but the way its done on “Bambi”, they were combined as one full special feature.  So, for example “Bambi: Inside Walt’s Story Meetings”, this may seem like on feature but really, there are about ten special features in that one feature alone.  For “The Making of Bambi”, there are five special features and of course, the other additional special features, if added, you get a lot included in the “Bambi: Diamond Edition”.  Granted, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” and “Pinocchio” are still excellent as they go way beyond what one would expect for special features but this release is still quite solid!

Overall, if this 1942 masterpiece resonates strongly with you or you are a Disney fan looking to upgrade to “Bambi” in High Definition, you won’t be disappointed.  “Bambi: Diamond Edition” is another must-own Disney animated classic on Blu-ray and is highly recommended!

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Minnie’s Masquerade (Mickey Mote+DVD Playset) (a J!-ENT Children’s DVD Review)

Starting with this DVD release of “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Numbers Roundup”, Disney is creating a new form of interactivity for educational DVD’s for your children. With the new “Discovery Mode”, children can now use the “Mickey Mote” (sold with the DVD or without) while watching an episode and partake in several fun questions about colors, shapes and sizes. Definitely a big step for educational interactive DVD’s for the children. Highly recommended!

Images courtesy of © Disney. All Rights Reserved.

DVD TITLE: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Minnie’s Masquerade

DURATION: 120 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: February 8, 2011

Directed by Rob LaDuca

Written by Bobs Gannaway & Leslie Valdes

Producer/Story Editor: Leslie Valdes

Executive Producer: Bobs Gannaway

Line Producer: Bradley Bowlen

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: Minnie’s Masquerade starring Disney’s Fab Five — Minnie, Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Daisy – takes viewers on an all new adventure as they dress-up in their favorite costumes for Minnie’s Masquerade Ball. In this episode, Minnie needs some help getting everything ready for her party including making royal crowns for their costumes, searching for Sir Goofalot’s lost shoe, stringing up paper lanterns and much, much more. At the ball, Professor Von Drake hosts the great Clubhouse Costume Show and gives out prize ribbons to all the friends who have dressed up in some funny and fancy costumes. All it takes is a heaping helping of imagination…and the right Mouseketools.

“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: Minnie’s Masquerade” is the third DVD release along with “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Numbers Roundup” and  “Handy Manny: Big Construction Job” 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).

In this latest DVD release of “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse”, for “Minnie’s Masquerade”, we get a total of five episodes (24 minutes each).  One of the episodes is a never-before-seen episode and premieres on this DVD:

• Minnie’s Masquerade – Goofy has lost his boot for Minnie’s masquerade, will Mickey and friends be able to help Goofy in time?
• Minnie’s Mouseke-Calendar - Minnie is missing her Mouseke-Calendar and so Mickey and friends go to look for the pages.
• A Surprise for Minnie – Mickey forgot it’s Valentines Day and needs to come up with a surprise for Minnie.
• Secret Spy Daisy – Secret Spy Daisy is contacted to stop Pete from stealing Clarabelle’s secret recipe.
• The Friendship Team – Twelve party hats are missing, help Mickey, Minnie, Daisy and Pluto find them.

“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 enough for the young children to enjoy. Presentation this time around is in Widescreen (1:78:1), previous DVD’s were in full screen (1:33:1). 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: Minnie’s Masquerade” 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: Minnie’s Masquerade” comes with a free mask inside plus color your own DVD cover.

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

With this latest Mickey Mote DVD release, as the other two DVD’s did have a more targeted release for young boys (and can be enjoyed by girls as well), “Minnie’s Masquerade” features the character Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck more and thus, is targeted for the young girls but because of the involvement with Mickey Mouse, Donal Duck and Goofy, boys can still easily enjoy this release as well.  Pretty much, the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes are geared for both boys and girls but for this release, they chose episodes that primarily feature Minnie Mouse.

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.

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 mentioned, “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Minnie’s Masquerade” is for the young girls but yet boys can still enjoy it.  For the girl’s, by purchasing this release, you also get a free mask inside and a color your own cover (reverse of the DVD cover).

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

Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 (a J!-ENT Children’s Blu-ray Disc Review)

An enjoyable, fun and safe family film! The sequel is geared more towards a younger audience but it has a storyline that would interest parents and adult viewers. If your children enjoyed “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” and also enjoy Disney’s “Buddies” or “Santa Paws” films, they will definitely enjoy “Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2″.

Images courtesy of © Walt Disney Studios Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2

FILM RELEASE DATE: 2011

DURATION: 84 Minutes

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

COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

RATED: G (All Ages Admitted)

RELEASE DATE: February 2, 2011

Directed by Alex Zamm

Written by Dannah Feinglass, Danielle Schneider

Characters by Jeffrey Bushell

Produced by David Hoberman, Brad Krevoy, Todd Lieberman

Executive Producer: Mike Callaghan, Sara E. White

Music by Chris Hajian

Cinematography by Robert Brinkman

Edited by Marshall Harvey, Heath Ryan

Casting by Cathy Sandrich

Production Design by Richard Holland

Art Direction by Charles Daboub Jr.

Set Decoration by Don Diers

Costume Design by Kristin M. Burke

Starring:

Marcus Coloma as Sam Cortez

Erin Cahill as Rachel

Susan Blakely as Aunt Viv

Lupe Ontiveros as Mrs. Cortez

Castulo Guerra as Mr. Cortez

George Lopez (voice of Papi)

Odette Yustman (voice of Chloe)

Miguel Ferrer (voice of Delgado)

Ernie Hudson (voice of Pedro)

Zacharary Gordon (voice of Papi Junior)

Chantilly Spalan (voice of Rosa)

Emily Osment (voice of Pep)

Madison Pettis (voice of Lala)

Delaney Jones (voice of Ali)

Tom Kenny (voice of Sebastian)

Loretta Devine (voice of Delta)

Bridgit Mendler (voice of Appoline)

Alyssa Milano (voice of Biminy)

Jon Donahue (voice of Antonio)

Jon Huertas (voice of Alberto)

Elaine Hendrix as Colleen Mansfield – Appoline’s Owner

Brian Stepanek as Mr. Kroop

Morgan Fairchild as Female Commentator

French Stewart as Male Commentator

From the creators of Beverly Hills Chihuahua, everybody’s favorite talking Chihuahuas are back in a comedy that’s a pack of outrageous fun for the whole family. Puppy mayhem turns the lives of newlywed Chihuahua parents, Papi and Chloe, upside down when their playful puppies present one challenge after another. But, when their human owners find themselves in trouble, the tiny pups will stop at nothing to save them—because in good times and hard times, the family always sticks together. Papi, Chloe and the puppies embark on a heroic adventure, proving once again that big heroes come in small packages.

Mud Slide

French Poodle

The Beverly Hills Chihuahuas are back!

Papi and Chloe return for another adventure in the sequel to the popular children’s movie “Beverly Hills Chihuahua”.

Since the ’90s, Walt Disney Home Entertainment has successfully bringing talking (voice-over) canines to live action films which began with the “Air Bud” films to its “Buddies” and “Santa Paws” films and the fun continues with this direct-to-video film which features the return of many of the canine characters from the first film.

In the sequel, both Papi (voiced by George Lopez) and Chloe (voiced by Odette Yusman) have just gotten married. Hardcore dog lover, aunt Viv (played by Susan Blakely) has thrown a luxurious party to celebrate the wedding of both dogs and now Sam Cortez (played by Marcus Coloma) and Rachel (played by Erin Cahill) are talking about marriage.

But with aunt Viv and Rachel planning a trip to the rainforest, Sam and Rachel can discuss it later but for now, the celebration is for the marriage of Papi and Chloe.

Four months later and we see that Papi and Chloe are parents of five young chihuahua: One boy, Papi Jr. and four girls, Rosa, Pep, Lala and Ali.

Chloe is starting to get upset with Papi because he acts more like a playmate to his kids than a father and she wants him to show authority, since the kids are starting to pick up on their father’s bad habits.

But Papi feels that being a father is quite difficult but he’s ready to try, in order to make Chloe happy.

Sam then takes Papi, Chloe and the kids to meet with his family in Los Angeles to meet with his parents and their dog Pedro (voiced by Ernie Hudson).  Upon arriving, the little ones are afraid of Pedro because of his menacing smile but Papi let’s them know that his brother is a nice dog.

As for Sam, he finds unpaid bills at his parent’s home and is very concerned.  Mr. Cortez tells Sam that they are unable to pay their bills and now they are in danger of being evicted.  Because Mr. Cortez threw his back, he is unable to work and through the landscaping business, and with the economy so bad, the only employee left is Sam.

Unfortunately, the Cortez are behind by $40,000 and if they don’t pay it, they will lose the house. At first Sam considers asking Viv (because she is wealthy) but Mr. Cortez will not allow it because it is a family affair.  And if they lose the house, Sam’s parents would have to move to Arizona to live with Mr. Cortez’ sister.

Meanwhile, as for Papi, Chloe and their kids, Chloe is starting to get upset that Papi tells them stories and the kids acting out on it.  As Papi loves telling the stories of the chihuahua warriors, Papi Jr. jumps on the window ledge to pretend his fighting a snake.  But he falls off the ledge and before he crashes down on the pavement, he is rescued by a familiar friend, the German Shepard Mexican police dog, Delgado (voiced by Miguel Ferrer).

Delgado has come to Los Angeles in hopes that Chloe can help him out.  Delgado tells her a story that he had two children but while on a case, a criminal threatened to kills his two German Shepherd pups and in order to prevent them from getting hurt, Delgado took them to the LAPD and dropped them off anonymously and to save him from being hurt, he never said goodbye.  His two pups have now grown up to become part of the K-9 division of the LAPD and he just wants to talk to them, but his two dogs are still hurt about their father abandoning them.

As Sam and his family try to get the bank to give them time enough to raise money to pay for the house, unfortunately the bank won’t wait.  As the bank visits the house the next following day, they try to inspect the house but Papi and friends will not allow it.  They prevent the employees from staying in the house and it angers the bank rep even more and tells them that instead of getting two weeks, now they are expected to leave immediately by nighttime.

Stressed and not knowing what to do, Sam gets a call from Rachel and he explains to her the problem but Sam will not allow her to help or talk to her Aunt Viv.  Sam tells her that it is a family problem but Rachel tells him that she is family as they are supposed to get married but still, Sam won’t allow it and Rachel is heartbroken.

Not sure what they can do, Chloe sees her rival Appoline in the newspaper and reads that there is a dog show that night and the winner can win $50,000.  More than enough money for the Cortez to save their home.

So, Papi, Chloe, Delgado and Pedro decide to take part in the dog show to win the money and Sam and the Cortez are hoping one of them will win.

Can they win the dog show and get the money needed to save the Cortez’ home?

VIDEO:

“Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2″ is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:78:1 aspect ratio) and the PQ is great!  The colors are vibrant and while the costume design are not as super-detailed like the first film (as there was impressive costume designs in the previous film), the sequel still manages to hold up by its frequent daytime shots.  Colors really pop out for this film and the detail on the chihuahua is well-done.

It’s important to note that as the last film would focus on many locations, the primary focus of this second film is inside the home of the Cortez family or at Viv’s mansion ala indoors.  While the outdoor shots are typically outside of the home until you get to the dog show and with the puppies roaming around Los Angeles.

Blacks are nice and deep, the flashbacks show effective lighting and skin tones, pigmentation, stubble, fabric, grass, dirt to the hairs of the dogs are well-detailed.  There is a good amount of grain, but you tend to see some low-light noise at ties.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

“Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2″ is presented in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital.  The film is primarily center channel and front channel driven.  There are times during the film especially the scene with the dog show in which you hear crowd ambiance, cameras taking pictures of the dogs but the film is primarily center and front-channel driven, dialogue is absolutely clear while the film also tends to showcase quite a bit of music.

Subtitles are presented in English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2″ features the following special features:

• Music Video: “This is My Paradise” By Bridgit Mendler – (2:37) The star of “Good Luck Charlie” and “Wizards of Waverly Place”, Bridgit Mendler sings “This is My Paradise”.
• Blooper Faux Paws – (3:22) Bloopers from “Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2″.
• Beverly Hills Chihuahua Challenge – interactive game show led by Papi.  A Q&A multiple choice game in which you use your Blu-ray remote (or keyboard) to select the right answer.
• Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure Sneak Peak – (1:57) A sneak peak of Ashley Tisdale’s “High School Musical” spinoff film.

EXTRAS:

“Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2″ comes with a slip over case plus a DVD featuring the film and the special features.  The DVD is presented in widescreen (1:78:1 – enhanced for 16×9 televisions), audio is presented in English, French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital.  Subtitles are in English, English SDH, French and Spanish.

“Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2” is a fun and enjoyable family film!  If your children loved the first film or if they loved Disney’s “Buddies” or “Santa Paws” films, they will definitely enjoy this sequel!

There was no doubt that there was going to be a sequel to “Beverly Hills Chihuahua”.  As the first film grossed over $29 million in its opening weekend and $117 million worldwide, similar to the “Air Bud” films from Disney during the the late ’90s, you pretty much knew there would be direct-to-video sequels and to capitalize on the future of original film and have future installments, the main characters would have to produce children and sure enough, similar to how “Air Bud” spun off to having “Buddies” films, I wouldn’t be surprised if we started seeing films starring these little chihuahuas.

While the first film had star power, the direct-to-video does feature a good number of talent especially the return of George Lopez and Odette Yustman to provide the voices of Papi and Chloe, as with Miguel Ferrer returning as the voice of Delgado.  We have a new Aunt Viv, a new Sam Cortez and a new Rachelle for this sequel and for the most part, these three do a good job and one can only hope that for future installments, to keep things consistent, hopefully Disney uses these same talents for the next film.  It was one thing about the “Air Bud” films that would get out of hand, you had the same kid but always different talents playing the parents or sister.  Hopefully, we see Marcus Coloma, Erin Cahill and Susan Blakeley return in the near future.

Also, what makes this sequel different aside from one having a larger budget and was a film as opposed to a direct-to-video release, the first film tend to balance a storyline between Sam and Rachel’s growing relationship and Papi and Chloe’s relationship to appeal to both parents and children.  While “Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2″ does tend to focus more on the dogs, especially the puppies and thus targeting a younger demographic, there is a storyline for adults that is relevant and that is how the downward economy is hurting family’s and in this case, Sam’s parents are losing their home.  So, while children may not understand this, it is a storyline that adults can understand and also share interest in this film, so “Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2″ appeals to audiences of all ages.  But this sequel is definitely more geared for the younger children.

As for the Blu-ray release, parents will get the best of both worlds as the Blu-ray release does come with a DVD, which is perfect for family’s on long commutes, especially before Spring Break and the Summertime.  This film will definitely keep children busy.  Picture quality is very good for this Blu-ray, as the lossless audio is very good but not too immersive but still clear and understandable.  And there are a few special features which are once again more targeted for a younger demographic.

Overall, “Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2″ is different from its predecessor but still family-geared.  While I do enjoy the first film much more (primarily because it was a film, higher budget, various locations and had a romcom storyline between Sam and Rachel, I do feel that the younger audience and their parents will still enjoy this film.

The sequel is more geared towards the young viewers and if you have children who enjoyed the first film, the “Buddies” or “Santa Paws” films, they are definitely going to enjoy this movie as well. In fact, I recommend this film to parents who are looking for a safe family film to watch with their children.

Next Page »