Film

A Scooby-Doo prequel seemed like a simple concept… Take the characters kids love and go back to when they were closer in age to the actual core audience and have them go on a fun adventure. However when you have a lackluster attempt with a lame script, then it’s a little less simple.

The film takes us to when the gang is just finishing high school and is going to spend the summer at a lake house party, however upon arrival there are some spookier guests who want to crash the party. The film builds most of its premise on relationships between Fred and Daphne as well as Shaggy and Velma only to completely scrap the idea at the end as if the entire film wasn’t about these two couples… It felt really forced and just completely disenfranchises the whole movie.

The other thorn in my side was the lack of Scooby-Doo in the film. There seemed to be extended scenes that simply excluded Scooby with the only reason that I could think of was that it would cost less to not have to pay animators to keep having Scooby pop up, which leads to the next thorn in my side… Why does Scooby’s 3d model look like a creepy skeleton? It felt very low budget however when you look at the quality of the monsters there’s a definite difference.

Overall the film just lacks any entertaining moments… it’s predictable on the level that even kids are going to think it’s one dimensional. In comparison to the older live action Scooby-Doo movies this film comes off as a cheap cash-in attempt that fails on many levels. Skip it.

Video

Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster’s video quality is definitely clean and sharp. There’s little to no noticeable noise or grain and details are nice and sharp. Unfortunately the crisp image only makes the horrendous CGI Scooby-Doo stick out even more. It’s actually odd that the Scooby model sucks so much considering the Lake Monster has a decent texture and shading pass… I’m assuming they either ran out of money or wanted to recreate the cartoony Scooby by creating a creepy skeletal rendition without eyelids…

The colors of the film are pretty natural if not a bit flat, with pale skin tones and unimpressive black levels, the general palette of the film leaves much to be desired. The footage also manages to stay very sharp and shows off with skin textures and fine hairs, which also wreaks havoc on the Scooby-Doo model due to the fact that the 3d model has a very smooth surface texture where there should be detailed fur… No matter how you slice it, the video looks good and that makes the 3D elements look shoddy.

Audio

Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster’s audio is on the same level of the video. Albeit there’s nothing wrong with the quality, there just isn’t anything special. I would hope for a bit of a lively mix that really enthralls and pumps up the audience would be great for the silly and over-the-top subject matter but instead we’re given a pretty by-the-numbers mix.

The dialogue is clean and centered and most of the mix is played through the front. Some of the sounds of the lake and woods come through the surrounds but overall the front speakers get most of the work. As far as the foley goes, we’re given some blended sound effects that don’t stick out.

The low frequencies fall a bit flat as well, with only a few moments to shine, the sound design doesn’t really play up the bassy notes in the score or thuds of the monsters thrashing around. It brings the motif of “good not great” full circle.

Special Features

Besides some trailers there are three actual extras. Two behind-the-scenes featurettes which look at the musical sequences from the movies as well as the gags from the film, both are filled with EPK style interviews with some glimpses of behind-the-scenes footage. Also there is a gag reel to round out the trio, but even with all of this there’s nothing that really caters to the target audience of this release… Are kids really going to want to watch some interviews about how the filming went?

Final Thoughts

Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster’s is a lame story backed up with average video and audio specs as well as a lack of kid friendly bonus features. There just isn’t a good enough reason to ever put this Blu-ray back into your player after the first go around so if you’re interested than a rental is all I can suggest, but I’d say stick to the original live action films and leave this one on the store shelf.

Film  

I guess the best way to describe Gnomeo & Juliet is to think of it as Romeo & Juliet meets Toy Story meets the Hatfields and McCoy’s. The film is set in the fenced in back yard gardens of two adjoining rowhomes in England. The homes are owned by a man and a woman who do not get along. One house is painted blue, the other red. One address is 2B the other Not 2B. get it?

Not only do the two owners not get along, neither do the garden gnomes that inhabit each garden. The red home has red colored gnomes and the blue house, what else, blue colored gnomes. When humans are not watching, the gnomes and all other garden trinkets such as frog fountain ornaments come to life. When humans are watching, they freeze in place, wherever they may be. Sound familiar?

While the film is produced by Elton John’s Rocket Films, it did so in partnership with Disney, so I guess this little bit of “borrowing” was OK. In any event, the gnomes each hate the other group with a passion, with the hatred at times bubbling over into violence and often clouding their collective judgment.

One day, Juliet, a red gnome and daughter of the leader of the red gnomes, sees an orchid growing out of the roof of a nearby greenhouse, that has a flower on it that bears the mark of Cupid’s arrow. She decided that she must have it and slips into a black sock and heads out to get it. As she reaches for it, a blue gnome, Gnomeo, reaches for it too. Their eyes lock onto each other and they fall quickly in love, not realizing that they are both from another clan. They quickly come to realize that but nonetheless try to continue a clandestine love affair.

Along the way, they meet a lonely plastic pink flamingo, Featherstone, who is integral in fostering their love for each other. Needless to say, their family and friends were not accepting of their relationship and in the end, a mass war breaks out between the two clans that threatens their entire existences. Gnomeo & Juliet is filled with many of the characters of Shakespeare albeit in different forms, including Shakespeare himself, although just as a statute.

The story is fairly clever and at times a bit too clever as well as predictable. The film features the voices of the likes of Emily Blunt, James McElvoy, Michel Caine, Jason Statham, Ashley Jensen, Patrick Stewart, Ozzie Osbourne and even Hulk Hogan. Quite a diverse group!

The film is filled with the songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin, orchestrations based on their music by Elton John’s one time band mate James Newton Howard and a very pedestrian song written and sung by Elton John and the current flavor of the day, Stefani Germanotta, aka Lady Gaga. Gnomeo & Juliet is certainly a cute and at times charming film that does have its moments. While I did enjoy the film a tad, I didn’t like it enough to give a rating any better than a rental. Still, it is worth a look and a film that the entire family can enjoy. Rated as a rental only.

Video  

When it comes to CGI films and those produced by the folks at Disney, the bar is pretty high in terms of video quality. Some of the best demo material out there is Disney product, namely the Pixar stuff, which looks stunning. You can now add Gnomeo & Juliet to that list. The video presentation here met all of my expectations. The image is crystal clear with deep blacks, bright and bold color that is beautifully saturated and detail that is just off the charts. The clarity, depth, detail and resolution on this release is simply stunning and of reference quality all the way. When it comes to Blu-ray computer animated films from the folks at Disney, they sure know how to deliver and deliver they do again with Gnomeo & Juliet.

Audio  

I was just slightly less impressed with the audio than I was with the video. Not that it is bad in any way, it is excellent. The audio has a full, smooth, warm and round sound that is very easy on the ears. Transparency and imaging are excellent. The surrounds are used fairly aggressively throughout the entire film to create a nice immersive sound filed. Perhaps it is because I watched this film shortly after I Am Number Four, but I found that the bass just didn’t mine the very deepest bass regions to warrant a full 5 star rating. Overall, the sound is excellent but falls just a tad, and I mean a tad, short in the areas of deep bass and overall dynamics, enough that I can’t quite give it a 5 star rating. I have no doubt however that fans of the film wont mind.

Special Features  

Gnomeo & Juliet is available in 3D as well as 2D. I was provided with a copy of the 2D combo pack which include the film on Blu-ray as well as DVD. The extras such as they are are rather pedestrian. They include 2 alternate endings, one alternate opening sequence for the film, one alternate scenes and 6 deleted scenes. All come with introductions from director Kelly Asbury of Shrek 2 fame and are all presented in storyboard style with no CGI at all.

The main featurette is a look at the making of the film with Elton John entitled Elton Builds a Garden which discusses the brief history of Rocket Pictures and the making of the film, including interviews with Elton, James Newton Howard and Kelly Asbury.

Also included is the brief Frog Talk with Ashley Jensen as she voices the character of Nanette the frog. Also included is an even shorter featurette “The Fawn of Darkness” that takes a look at Ozzie Osbourne as he voices the character Fawn.

We also get a rather brief “Crocodile Rock” music video featuring Elton John and Nelly Furtado.

Final Thoughts  

While Gnomeo & Juliet is certainly an interesting idea and a novel take on the classic Romeo and Juliet, I really can’t give it a recommendation higher than that of a rental. If you have kids, by all means, give it a look. I am sure they will enjoy it.

As for films, if a film about a particular comic book super hero is a hit, you soon see a slew of films adapting just about every comic book super hero one can find. Then there are the films based upon old TV shows or even cartoons. While some are good, i.e. Star Trek for example, most are just awful, like for example the Scooby Doo films. When I see such stuff, I can’t help but think that they were better off leaving that material alone, as the old stuff was so much better. I thought of this when I saw the trailer for the film Yogi Bear. Sure I love the cartoon as a kid, but a full length live action animated film based on the cartoon. It sounded like a dreadful idea. Just having viewed the film on Blu-ray, I have to say that I was right.

Film  

One of the best things that I can say about the film Yogi Bear is that it is amazing how close Justin Timberlake’s voicing of Boo Boo is to the original. Dan Aykroyd’s Yogi is pretty good too. Also, the film isn’t all that long, clocking in at 80 minutes. That is about it. The rest of the film is utterly forgettable and no where near as charming as the original Hanna-Barbara cartoons were. This is probably due to the length of a full length film vs. the very short cartoons. I mean, just how long can you make a film about a talking bear that loves to steal pic-a-nic baskets? That is the real issue with the film, stretching a simple 5 minute cartoon into a 80 minute film. That results in a ton of filler, which is basically what this film is. Although 80 minutes long, this film could have been done in 15.

The plot is simple. It is set in Jellystone Park where Yogi with the assistance of Boo Boo continues in his quest to steal the pic-a nic baskets from the patrons of the park and uses various devices lifted right out of the various old cartoons. Of course, Ranger Smith is there to stop him. The film’s villain is Mayor Brown, a political opportunist if I ever saw one (aren’t they all?) who decides to sell off the park to a logging concern in an effort to balance the budget and kick off his candidacy for governor. Mayor Brown figures the populace will be happy as each citizen will get a thousand bucks out of the deal and he will get his kickback and a new powerful political position. In the meantime, a beautiful stretch of wilderness will be destroyed.

Needless to say, with the help of a long though extinct frog faced turtle, Ranger Smith, Yogi and Boo Boo work together to save the park from sale and its eventual ruin. Yogi Bear is very predictable. If you are my age and recall the old cartoons so fondly, you will find the film, at best, to be only mildly amusing. If you have never seen the cartoons, I guess Yogi Bear is worth a look but for the rest of us, I would recommend that you skip this one.

Video  

There is nothing wrong with the video presentation here. It is good but not exactly an earth shattering encode. Everything here is good. The color palette is natural looking and the park scenery, filmed in New Zealand, looks great. Detail, clarity, depth and black levels are all good but far from reference. I could not detect any obvious evidence of edge enhancement or digital noise reduction. The overall image is bright, clear and detailed but lacks the color saturation, detail and deep blacks of a reference visual presentation.

Audio  

I was not expecting a reference audio experience with this film as as such, was not disappointed with the DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 track included here. The audio track has nice overall fidelity with solid if unspectacular bass. The dialogue track is well recorded and well placed in the mix. The overall sound design is certainly competent. Most of the film is rather front heavy with the surrounds used for the sound effects and only really kick in during those sequences, such as the fireworks sequence at the lake and the scene on the raging rapids near the end of the film. Other than those sequences, the surrounds don’t attract that much attention during the film. Much like the video, the audio here is solid if unspectacular.

Special Features  

The main extra on this Blu-ray/DVD combo pack, is the Spending a Day at Jellystone Park which is a pain to navigate to watch some short interviews with the cast and crew about the making of the film. The interactive feature takes you to different sections of the part where you are prompted to click on icons to access the featurettes about the making of the film. Also included is a Yogi Bear mash-up featuring scenes from the old cartoon series and a “Are You Smarter than the Average Bear” game which is a interactive identify the food on the picnic table game suitable for the very young only. Also included is a new computer generated Looney Tunes featurette entitled Rabid Rider, featuring Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner. That one is worth a gander. The rest, not so much.

Final Thoughts  

Yogi Bear is a rather lame full feature length live animation action film based on the old Hanna Barbera Yogi Bear TV cartoon. While it features solid if unspectacular audio and video presentations, the film itself should really only appeal to the very young. The rest may be better off skipping this one entirely.

Film  

I will say for the outset that I did enjoy Tangled. It is a warm, charming and at times, funny film. The problem is that we have seen this same type of story line and presentation before many times from Disney. This film fails to break any new ground and is basically a rehash of familiar Disney faire although quite nicely dressed up in some beautiful looking CGI.

The film is a basic retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale. The film starts out setting the scene for the film. We are introduced to the character of Gothel (voiced by Donna Murphy), an old haggard looking woman who happens upon a magic golden flower, which glows when she sings to it and which, in turn, makes her young again, sort of like finding the fountain of youth only in a flower. It is only by singing to the flower on a regular basis that she is able to live several hundred years. However, a problem develops for Gothel when the Queen of the kingdom becomes gravely ill while pregnant.

The King sets his men out to find a magic flower which will heal the Queen and save their child. The King’s men happen upon the flower despite Gothel’s efforts to hide it and dig it up and bring it to the King. The King then cooks the flower in a broth and feeds it to the Queen. The plan works and the Queen recovers and gives birth to a daughter who happens to have bright glowing blonde hair, which it turns out, has the same magical power as the flower.

Gothel decides to brake into the castle and steal the child, who she raises alone and secluded in a 70 foot tower, which is well hidden from the kingdom. Gothel forbids the girl, who she names Rapunzel (voiced by Mandy Moore), from ever leaving the tower, and scares her with tales of how dangerous the world is. While she claims that she is doing so to protect Rapunzel, she is actually doing it for very selfish reasons, as Rapunzel’s long flowing blonde hair glows when Gothel sings to it and restores her youth, just like the flower did.

Gothel’s greatest fear arrives when Rapunzel turns 18. Rapunzel is enamored by the glowing lights she sees rising into the night sky each year on her birthday and wants to leave the tower to see just what they are. It so happens that on her birthday, the tower is discovered by a thief, Flynn Rider (voiced by Zachary Levi), who is fleeing the castle and the king’s men after stealing the crown that was reserved for the king’s lost daughter.

When Flynn climbs his way into the tower, he is captured by Rapunzel with the aid of her trusty frying pan and her pet chameleon. Rapunzel hides the crown and Flynn agrees to help Rapunzel make her way out of the castle to see the mysterious lights in exchange for the return of the crown. The fact that Rapunzel has left is soon discovered by Gothel, who tracks them down as they begin an adventure to escape Gothel and her thugs, with the aid of Rapunzel’s Chameleon and a horse named Maximus. Will Rapunzel find true love? Will she be reunited with her real parents? Well, what do you think? You will have to watch the film to find out.

While I enjoyed the film, it is predictable and has some really forgettable music from Alan Menken, which sounds oh so familiar. Sure the film has its moments and sure looks and sound great, but I can really only imagine watching this film once. Recommended for families with young children. For the rest of you, I would recommend that you give it a look, but on the basis of a rental only.

Video  

I was expecting a great looking film and was not disappointed in the least by the video quality on this release. The CGI here is fantastic. The film simply looks beautiful, with a bright color palette, deep blacks, exquisite levels of detail, depth and clarity. Parts of this film have a golden glow which looks amazing and really matches the overall tone of the narrative. This is one great looking film and a natural for the high resolution and detail that only Blu-ray can bring into the home. If you loved this film in the theater, you know how good it looks. It may even look better at home than it did in the theater, the image quality here is that impressive.

Audio  

The audio track here is every bit as good as the video. The best word I can use to describe the audio is sumptuous. The fidelity is top notch with a clear full and smooth sound with excellent depth and transparency. The surrounds are used aggressively and very effectively throughout the film providing a sense of total immersion. Dynamics are excellent with deep, tight and powerful basis which sounds fantastic and will put any subwoofer through its paces. While the music is a bit pedantic, it does sound great. The dialogue track is also well recorded and well placed in the mix. Technically, this is a well designed sound mix which boasts excellent fidelity and in a word, sounds fantastic and should thrill fans of the film just as much as the video will.

Special Features  

I was not as pleased as much by the extras as I was the film. The extras include three deleted scenes introduced by directors Byron Howard and Nathan Greno, which are essentially story boards with voice overs and very primitive looking. We also get extended versions of two of the songs featured in the film, “When Will My Life Begin” and “Mother Knows Best,” which were scaled down for inclusion in the film.

Also are included are two original story book openings for the film and 9 “Tangled Teasers”, which are a collection of commercials made for the theatrical release of the film. Also included is a 50th Animated Feature Countdown, which is just that, a brief countdown of all 50 Disney animated films, beginning with the first, Snow White,and ending with Tangled.

The most extensive of the extras is the featurette hosted my Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi entitled “Untangled: The Making of a Fairy Tale” which is a real puff piece on the making of the film and frankly, not all that informative. I could really take or leave these extras and really didn’t find anything included all that interesting or informative.

The version of the release that I received is a two disc combo pack, which includes a DVD copy of the film as well. A 3D version of the film is available as well for those so inclined.

Final Thoughts  

While far from Disney’s best, Tangled is a charming film that is worth a look, if just for its stunning video and audio presentations. Recommended for families with young children and as a rental for the rest of us.

Disney restorations of their classic film have generally drawn their share of praise as they really do look and sound terrific. However, as with anything, they also have their share of detractors. The issues those detractors have is with the removal of all grain from the images and the use of more vibrant colors than the detractors claim were present in the originals. How they know that is not quite clear as there is no way anyone can really recall what a film looked like in the theater 2 years ago let alone 60 year ago.

Making comparisons between the Blu-ray and prior DVD or even laserdisc and VHS copies of the films doesn’t strike me as all that useful either as that would assume that the masters those editions were made from were true to the original. All we can really do is judge the look and sound of the film as encoded on each individual release, and not make judgments based on our possibly flawed memories of days gone by.

Film 

Bambi was originally released to theaters back in 1942. The film took approximately 5 years to make and due to budget issues at Disney during the war, was scaled back in terms of the original anticipated length and clocks in at around 70 minutes. Over the years, despite its place in the pantheon of animated films, Bambi has taken quite a hit from parental groups due to its subject matter, which some feel is a bit too much for the age of child the film is aimed at. The death of Bambi’s mother is felt to be a little too harsh for young children to consider. Single parenthood is an issue that is at the center of many of Disney’s films and frankly, as a parent, I think some of these groups are taking things a bit to far in their criticism of the film. I would have no hesitation in showing Bambi to a child of almost any age.

Bambi is a sweet and charming film about the beauty of nature and the animals of the forest. It centers on Bambi, a young deer and his friends the rabbit Thumper and the skunk Flower, as they grow up in the forest and learn about life and love and the dangers and tragedies we all encounter during our lives. At it core, the film is pro nature but there are those over the years who feel that is anti hunter, as it is hunters who take the life of Bambi’s mother and whose carelessness burns down the beautiful forest near the end of the film.

While the film can be viewed as having a political message, I chose to look at the film for what is really is, a sweet film about some lovable creatures in a beautiful setting, celebrating life and finding one’s first true love. While a bit dated by today’s standards, Bambi nonetheless is a classic film and one that belongs in the collection of any fan of animated films and is very highly recommended.

Video 

While I am getting older (it sure beats the alternative), I am no where near old enough to have seen Bambi when it was originally released in theaters in 1942 or during its more successful re-release in 1947. Heck, I wasn’t even a gleam in my father’s eye back then. Needless to say, I have no recollection of what the film originally looked like and will not judge this release by that standard. I will say without hesitation that Bambi on Blu-ray looks better that I have ever seen it at home, and by a wife margin. In a move that will no doubt frustrate some film purists, all of the film grain has been removed from the image. The resulting image is there very clear, so clear that one can more fully appreciate the impressionist paintings that form the backgrounds of the animation.

Unlike some of the other classic Disney films, the images here do not leap off the screen, due in part because of the color palette used as well as the impressionist backgrounds. The color palette consists mostly of various shades of brown, tan and gray, with some green, blues, oranges and reds thrown in. While the various characters are beautifully animated, they lack the fine subtle details of some of the other Disney films. The backgrounds in particular lack much in the way of detail and on purpose. Only a hint of a tree or shrub is drawn rather than an accurate representation of one. As a result, the overall image is bit on the soft side. Again this is deliberate, much like a classic Monet painting. Bambi is a highly stylized and truly beautiful piece of animation, with out without the film grain and was a joy to behold on Blu-ray.

Audio 

Given the age of the film, I was not expecting a great sound mix. However, I was more than pleased with the new 7.1 DTS HD Master Audio included with this release. The sound design provides a more than adequate sense of immersion, with quite effective use of the sounds. It is amazing that they were able to squeeze such an effective sound mix out of what I presume were at best two channel masters. Bass response is good as well with the classical music score and sound effects sounding particularly impressive, again given the age of the film and the state of the recording technology of the day.

The only real issue I have with the audio here is the overall fidelity. This is not the fault of the encoding process but the original sound elements, which have the thinness that one normally associates with the sound of the time period the film was made in, lacking the lushness of a newer recording. The technology just does not exist yet to transform those old sound elements into a more modern and more lush sounding aural experience. Given the age of the film, the audio presentation here is excellent and should really impress fans of the film.

Special Features 

Bambi is presented as a combo pack, containing both a Blu-ray and DVD copy of the film. The main extra included here is the Inside Walt’s Story Meetings-Enhanced Edition, which is an interactive feature which runs alongside the running of the film, with voice re-enactments of the actual transcribed production meetings between Walt Disney and his staff, where they discussed how to put this film together. During this feature, the actual film runs on screen in a small box. I found one aspect of this presentation to be quite interesting, namely the use of real animals for the basis of the film’s character animation. Walt Disney did not want the animals to look as cartoonish as they did in Snow White for example so he brought in real deer, rabbits and the like for the animators to study and form the basis of their animations. As a result, although clearly stylized for the purpose of adding personalities, the animal characters look much more life like than they ever appeared in prior Disney animations.

Also included are:

• Two never before seen deleted scenes, pieced together from the original storyboards for the film found in the Disney archives.
• Two Disney short cartoons “The Old Mill” and “Ice” featuring Pluto, which were used as templates for scenes in the film, such as Bambi walking over ice for the first time.
• A deleted song “Twitterpated” which is a term used in the film to describe how one feels at the onset of love.
• A Disney Big Book of Knowledge Game which uses the film as a learning tool and classic DVD features such as “The Making of Bambi: A Prince is Born” which takes a look at how the film was made, touching on such topics as the animation process, the use of child actors and the like.
• A “Tricks of the Trade” excerpt from a 1957 Disneyland TV show discussing the multiplane camera used in the production of Bambi. “Inside the Disney Archives” does just that, with Disney Supervising Animator Andreas Deja.
• Disney Second Screen which requires the use of a laptop or iPad which enables you to stream content about the film from the web as you watch the film. Isn’t just watching the film enough anymore?

Final Thoughts 

Bambi is yet another of the “Big 5″ Disney animated features that has finally made its way to Blu-ray. It features a total restoration of the video elements and a new 7.1 audio mix. This release is not to be missed and is very highly recommended.

Film 

I am sure that all of you are well familiar with the film Alice in Wonderland. The film was released to theaters in 1951 and is based on the beloved children’s book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll which is now well over a hundred years old. Alice in Wonderland was in production at Disney for 20 years as Walt Disney struggled with adapting the book to film, which turned out to be quite difficult. There were numerous renderings of the film performed and it was not until Disney artist Mary Blair’s renderings of the sections of the story in the second half of the 1940′s that Disney found the visual look that would make the film possible.

The film tells the story of Alice who is sitting in the English countryside while listening to her sister reading a history book to her. She dozes off and images that a white rabbit with a large pocket watch runs by. Alice follows him and falls down a rabbit hole, to a magical land below the Earth. While there, she encounters several fascinating characters, including the famous smiling Cheshire Cat, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, The Madhatter and the Queen of Hearts, who seemingly want to cut off everyone’s head. Alice finally awakens from her slumber and returns to reality but presumably, will always remember the adventures she experienced while dreaming.

Of all the early classic Disney films, Alice in Wonderland is probably the hardest to get one’s mind around due to the fact that it is really so surreal. However, it is one that I have always enjoyed since seeing in on TV as a child. Despite it’s age, the film holds up beautifully 60 years after its release and was a joy to experience in high def on the Blu-ray format, especially the unforgettable tea party scene with the Madhatter, voiced brilliantly by Ed Wynn. Disney’s Alice in Wonderland is highly recommended for film fans of all ages.

Video 

Alice in Wonderland is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1:33:1 with black bars on the side filling out the 16:9 aspect ratio of the high definition format. These bars can also be replaced with artwork as part of Disney View for those so inclined The picture is simply beautiful, with a bright and bold and beautifully saturated colors and deep and inky blacks. The film is awash in greens, blues, reds and yellows that simply pop off the screen. The layering of one set of images over another to create a particular scene is very evident, given the excellent black levels which creates an excellent sense of depth.

The image is also razor sharp and crystal clear. It would appear that film grain was removed in the re-mastering process which may be an issue for some purists out there. However, while I am one of those who would prefer that film grain be presented to the best extent possible, I have no issue with the work done here, given the beautiful results and the fact the original art work itself from which the film was made was grain free. While it appears that film grain was removed, the rest of the film is untouched. Note for example the misspelling of Lewis Carroll’s name during the opening title sequence. There is no question that Alice in Wonderland has never looked anywhere close in the home to how it looks on Blu-ray, and is another in a string of fabulous restorations from the folks at Disney. Very well done.

Audio 

I was not exactly looking to be bowled over by the audio here given the age of the film and was therefore not disappointed with the audio. I did most of my listening to the 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio track but also did a comparison to the Dolby Digital mix as well. For me, the clear winner was the DTS HD master Audio track which had a richness and smoothness of sound that the Dolby Digital track just could not match.

In comparison the Dolby track sounded thin, shrill and shallow. The lossless DTS HD Master Audio track is the only way to go. While the original film elements were remixed to the 5.1 format, the sound field is rather front heavy with only very occasional aggressive use of the surrounds speakers. I was not expecting a dynamic sound experience and didn’t receive one. However, the dialogue, music and effects were all recorded very well and presented here about as well as they could have been.

I really can’t image the film sounding any better than it does on the lossless track featured on this release given the age of the film. I did not one anomaly with the audio and that is that the Dolby Digital track and not the DTS HD Master Audio track was the default audio track. Therefore, make sure that you select the lossless track at the start of the film. Switching back and forth between the lossless and lossy tracks during the opening title sequences of the film, the superiority of the former is readily apparent.

Special Features 

Alice In Wonderland is presented in a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack. The release therefore contains two discs, one containing the Blu-ray release and all the extras and a DVD release. Surprisingly, the release does not also contain a digital copy of the film.

The Blu-ray copy contains a few new extras that were not contained on the previous DVD release of the film. The first is entitled “Through the Keyhole: A Companion’s Guide to Wonderland” which runs concurrent with the film. The film itself appears in windows moved around the 16 x 9 frame with artwork, text as well as interviews with various film and Disney historians, discussing Lewis Carroll’s life and the book itself, as well as the 20 year effort on the part of Walt Disney to adapt the book into a film. This extra is presented in HD.

Also included is a Painting the Roses Red game which I didn’t find all that interesting. Also included is a short into, in color by the way, of Walt Disney’s introduction of the film when it was shown on TV for the first time in 1959 at Christmas. While I am old, I am not old enough to remember that showing as I was just a baby!

We also get two very short featurettes where the voice of Alice, Kathryn Beaumont, introduces a newly discovered pencil test of the Alice Shrinks sequence as well as the live footage of her talking to the doorknob in the beginning of the film, which the animators used as the basis of their animation.

The remaining extras are those ported over from the prior DVD release of the film and include the following:

• I’m Odd: A Newly Discovered Cheshire Cat song with an intro by Kathryn Beaumont
• Thru the Mirror Mickey Mouse Short (presented now in HD)
• Art gallery
• “Reflections of Alice” featurette where film and Disney historians discuss the making of the film
• “Operation Wonderland” which is a visit to the studio during the making of the filmOne hour Christmas TV special from the early 1950′s where ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his two “sidekicks”, Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd are invited to a Christmas party at the studio where Walt Disney shows the quests the magic mirror featured in Sleeping Beauty which shows scenes from classic Disney films including Snow White and Song of the South to the quests and TV audience.
• 1930′s era silent short “An Alice Comedy: Alice’s Wonderland”, based loosely on Lewis Carroll’s work, where a young girl visits Walt Disney and the studio and falls into the world of cartoon animation, much like Alice falls down the rabbit hole in the film
• Original 1951 and 1974 theatrical trailers for the film
• Walt Disney TV introduction from 1954 and 1964
• An excerpt from The Fred Waring TV show
• Deleted materials including the deleted scene “Pig and Pepper”, “From Wonderland to Neverland: The Evolution of a Song” which recalls how a song originally intended for the film ended up in Peter Pan, a deleted storyboard concept: Alice Daydreams in the Park and original song demos “Beware The Jabberwock”, “Everything Has a Useness”, “So They Say”, “Beautiful Soup”, “Dream Caravan”and “If You Believe in Me”.

All in all, I found the history behind the making of the film quite interesting and well worth your time.

Final Thoughts 

In Alice in Wonderland, another Disney classic has made its way to Blu-ray and has never looked or sounded any better in the home and is highly recommended for film fans of all ages.

Film 

The film opens at a top secret base in Germany where a worker finds a small dog outside his office. He brings the puppy inside and introduced her to his own dog, Rex. He instantly detects something is wrong and begins barking at the dog, which leads to the worker bringing him outside. When Rex looks in through the window he sees the puppy taking pictures of top secret documents who then takes off her disguise and reveals to be Kitty Galore (Bette Midler), a villainous cat. Rex reports the crime to HQ.

The remainder of the film tells the story of a group of humans, dogs, and cats all playing a role in bringing down Kitty Galore and her sinister plans.

Well a movie like this obviously isn’t very appealing for adults, I found that it was bearable for myself; and probably would be rather entertaining for children. The voice acting was pretty impressive as there were a lot of recognizable voices and cool effects.  There weren’t a whole lot of recognizable faces as far as the actual actors were concerned, but I did really like Katt Williams and Chris O’Donnell who you don’t get to see too often. Obviously their performances aren’t Oscar worthy but I think they fit in perfectly with this movie.

Ultimately Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore was a pretty decent movie; there were aspects of it for the whole family. While I wouldn’t recommend an adult go and rent it for themselves, I can easily recommend this one for a family. The story is actually kind of cool, and the effects are pretty spot on. There are some good laughs, for both children and adults; so at the end of the day I’m going to give this one a nod for its genre.

Video 

Presented in 1080p 1.85:1 aspect ratio and encoded in MPEG-4, Cats and Dogs 2 looks great on this Blu-ray presentation.

The CGI itself might not be the most technically sound, but it still managed to look good and not soft or artefact ridden. The only problem I found was the occasional CG shot looking extremely soft, clearly a restriction of the technology and not the transfer. Otherwise detail looks extremely sharp with everything clearly in view.

Minor problems aside, the video presentation is simply great looking and will please fans of the film.

Audio 

Warner has included a 5.1 DTS-HD track with the release of Cats & Dogs 2 and wow does it sound good.  The “action” sequences use the rear channels and bass to create some impressive sounding atmosphere.  I was actually finding myself much more involved in the movie than I probably should have because of the quality of the track.

The weakest point of the track would be the presentation of the dialogue.  This is by no means bad, but from time to time dialogue did sound a bit flat. Overall this small blemish does not take away from an otherwise great sounding track.

Special Features 

While this disc is not packed with extras… there are  a few fun special features included:

• Meow-Takes: Outtakes and Gag Reel
• The Best of the Best Cat vs Dog Animated Showdowns
• Dogs Dishing: Tails from the Bark Side of Hollywood
• Looney Tunes – Coyote Falls

Final Thoughts 

Cats & Dog: The Revenge of Pussy Galore is a good film for the whole family, and while I haven’t seen the first one I can’t compare the two, I can tell you it didn’t leave me confused in any aspects of the plot. I chuckled pretty often but the laugh out loud moments aren’t too frequent. Nonetheless I recommend this one to for families. As far as the disc itself is concerned I was a little disappointed with the video; there were some opportune moments in which they could have showcased as nice crisp transfer but didn’t end up rising to the occasion. The audio was definitely a step up though, and was very well utilized. But where they really dropped the ball was with the supplements which were pretty well nonexistent, a true disappointment.  Overall I’d probably take a pass on this disc, unless you really liked the film otherwise I’d just stick with a rental.

Film

The story follows Kate an “Alpha” wolf and Humphrey an “Omega” wolf as they are caught and relocated across the country away from their pack, which is endangered by a pack of rival wolves. The two must journey all the way back home and on the way meet a French Canadian Goose and Duck that help them in their travel back.

The plot is as one dimensional as it sounds and unfortunately its subpar story is flushed out to pad the length. It takes 25 minutes for the wolves to even be transported and it wasn’t for the sake of in depth character development, rather it was to make room for awkward slapstick comedy and an odd musical number with no lyrics… only howls. From their it takes another ten to fifteen minutes to introduce an antagonist in a rival pack of wolves and as quickly as they’re introduced, the threat vanishes almost as quickly without a real confrontation. The voice acting is pretty run of the mill, unfortunately even though I’m a Justin Long fan, I found his attachment to this project bewildering… Dennis Hopper who voices the leader of the rival pack is unfortunately wasted in his final role and it made me sad to think that the man behind so many great roles wasn’t used to his fullest extent for if anyone involved had the power to save this film… It’s Dennis Hopper (RIP).

The comedic relief comes mostly from slapstick and an awkward blend of adult-aimed innuendo that feels like it’s in there to try and apologize if there’s a parent who was forced to watch the movie. Albeit there was one or two moments where I found myself chuckling, it really doesn’t make up for the fact that the film doesn’t say anything new or tread any water that hasn’t been treaded hundreds of times previously and more successfully.  The travel home that the main characters take becomes a comedy of errors and nothing more, there’s no depth to the plot at all… Kids will love it, parents will probably want to find something to bide their time while they’re watching it.

Video

Alpha and Omega’s video is displayed using the MPEG-4 AVC codec at 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The video quality is pretty decent. It’s artefact free and doesn’t suffer from noise, however the clean image allows us to better see the terrible animation.

If you were to watch Wall-E before watching this film you’d probably think this film was ten years old. From the very choppy animation of the stampedes to the lack of expression on any of the characters, the low budget animation just feels rushed and doesn’t help the lacking story at all. The softness of the animation is also a breaking point when even video games have finer hair detail than the fur of the wolves. Ironically, Pixar was initially one of the bidders on the script for Alpha and Omega, but lost out to Lionsgate… I feel like they may be happier now.

The compositing is also pretty bad, when foreground elements such as wolves don’t blend well with it’s surrounding areas or it feels like the animation of the dog running just doesn’t connect with the background elements. Fortunately the image is bright and vivid enough to attract the attention of children, but much like the source material… Don’t expect much.

Audio

Alpha and Omega’s audio comes at us using the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 codec. The audio is definitely better than the video component on this disc and although some of the elements such as the song are a bit cheesy we’re given a pretty solid mix that helps get us along this bumpy ride.

The dialogue is clean and comes through clearly while sound effects are just as clear. The mix is front heavy with little use of the surrounds, but the dynamic aspect of the mix comes from the fairly accurate usage of Low frequency to sell things like the stampede, thunder or the bear attack. However the lack of said LFE during things such as the bear roaring and other scenes that could’ve used them, make the audio a bit inconsistent and thusly not live up to it’s potential.  Compared to the other aspects of the disc the audio is the saving grace, but even so it falls flat to scrutiny.

Special Features

Alpha and Omega’s extras are pretty light. With a standard EPK style “Making of” that focuses on the actors to a featurette called “Wolves in the Wild” that displays actual footage of wolves and how the filmmakers used their qualities and eccentricities to shape the characters in the movie. The extras don’t really feel like they’d hold the attention of a kid, who is the obvious target here… There’s a deleted scene (just one) which consists of a gag where Humphrey tries impressing Kate once again and ends up making a fool of himself… For a film that only consisted of lame gags like the one cut, I’m interested to know the thought process on how they decided which scene to take out.

There’s three lame “games” added to try and make this a reasonable purchase but they’re really just boring trivia and a game that’s similar to a maze. They’re aimed specifically to kids who will compare this to an xbox and laugh.

Final Thoughts

Alpha and Omega is predictable and run of the mill fodder for children. It’s lack of interesting visuals or a solid audio track makes this disc an easy skip… The lack of extras simply solidifies the already airtight case against the film.

Film

A loose adaptation of Ian Fleming’s novel, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, follows an interesting inventor, played by Dick Van Dyke) who is the recently widowed father of two children who do a bit of misbehaving when they decide to  skip school and lollygag…  Unfortunately they are caught by Truly Scrumptious, which is a name suited for a different novel by Ian Fleming, and they are delivered back to their father.

The father and Truly come from very opposite classes, but as the story progresses we see some interest being formed as she spends time together. Eventually we get to the point where the car comes into play which is where my first criticism comes in… I realize older films like to be epic and have this general pace of a smooth sweeping epic motion but when it comes down to a super car, just get to the bloody car.

The car is a dilapidated race car that the boys take interest in and the father decides to fix it up for his next project and in doing so creates a super car that can trek water. And eventually we’re introduced to the antagonist of the story who is a villain who wants to steal Chitty Chitty Bang Bang from its creator.

As my aforementioned complaint, which is my primary one, the film is slow and has a lot of padding that could be cut out. From unnecessary songs to the fact that it takes a very long time to get the car to the point where it becomes special, the film is just slow, which doesn’t help the fact that today’s audience really has become accustomed to faster paced material.

Video

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’s video is displayed using the MPEG-4 AVC codec in its original aspect ratio of 2.20:1. The film looks pretty astonishing considering its age; the negative used is free of scratches or dust and retains all the detail and clarity that is expected from a well handled release.

The film has been refined nicely and the colors are surprisingly vivid while skin tones remain authentic. There’s also a good amount of contrast which helps keep the black levels at  a nice level while avoiding that grey overcast look that is common with older catalogue releases that aren’t as respected.

There’s a bit of grain that’s noticeable, but that’s not a big deal nor is it reasonable to expect differently considering the context. Although the film has been cleaned nicely, there’s a bit of noticeable noise during lower lit scenes. However the film is a good example of a film that wasn’t just slapped together.

Audio

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’s audio comes at us using the English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 codec, and as always, I’m excited to see more 7.1 mixed Blu-ray’s getting released. With Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, it’s impeccable that the audio quality be the best that it can be considering the music is what makes this film a classic. Luckily we’re given a very authentic recreation of what was heard back in the sixties.

The dialogue is clear, noise-free and centered while the rest of the mix manages to stay fairly balanced and spread amongst the rest of the speakers. The sound effects and foley showcase the ambience of the mix while the music displays the dynamic range.

The music in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was written by Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman, Richard whom may be familiar to those who’ve seen Iron Man 2; he wrote the old Stark Expo theme that plays during the archive footage presentation. It’s funny how even today the golden age composers still carry that distinguished sound with them.

Special Features

Although the film is a cherished classic, the special features section isn’t given as much love as the fans may hope for. There’s a retrospective featurette with Dick Van Dyke and a demo of a Sherman Brother’s song. But besides that it’s mostly gimmicky extras like a sing-a-long version and photo galleries. I would’ve liked to have seen a commentary with Dick Van Dyke or even a film historian. For a catalog release we’re lucky to get some decent features, but it’s a little light for my taste.

Final Thoughts

The film is a Disney classic, but in a world of Pixar the dated effects and weak plot will have a hard time capturing the attention of the film’s original demographic, however with a decent amount of special features and currently the best A/V presentation, this is a release aimed directly to the fans but is at least worth a rental.

Film 

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Houle is directed by Zack Snyder and is based on the Guardians of Ga’Hoole books written by Kathryn Lasky. The plot for the film is fairly simple. It starts out with two young owls, Soren and Kludd, who are brothers captivated by stories told by their father, Da, surrounding the legend of the Guardian owls, who have saved owldom (?) from being dominated by the “Pure” owls, intent on world domination.

Soren dreams of one day becoming a guardian himself while Kludd doubts that they actually really existed. Kludd believes them to be nothing more than stories. While they are brothers, it is clear that Kludd is jealous of Soren as Soren shows better skills at flying than Kludd. It is this jealousy that forms the basis of Kludd’s betrayal of Soren after they are swept away by a group of evil owls who are members of the Pure.

These evil owls have been sent out by the Pure to traverse owldom to kidnapp young owls to turn them into slaves for the Pure who are planning a comeback against the Guardians and all that is good. The Pure queen sees something in Kludd, probably his jealousy and the ego inside him which they appeal to turn him into a warrior owl. Soren refuses to give in and manages to escape with another young owl he befriends.

Soren is on a mission to find the Great Tree and the Guardians, to warn them of the impending attack from the Pure, and has to brave a long and dangerous trip over the ocean to the Great Tree. It is there that Soren is taught the ways of the Guardians and joins them in their battle again the Pure.

The plot lines here are very familiar, good vs. evil, brother against brother and jealousy. The appeal to Kludd’s dark side is eerily familiar to the appeal of the dark side of the force in that galaxy far far away. The use of the term “The Pure” also harkens back to another evil empire that attempted world domination in the 1930′s and 40′s. Even though the plot lines are simple and all too familiar, they do teach lessons well worth learning and remembering at any age. The film does feature some violence that some small children may find a bit disturbing. All in all, I enjoyed this film and think that those looking for a film that the whole family can enjoy together will feel likewise. Recommended.

Video 

As I have come to expect from computer animated films, the video quality here is exceptional and worthy of nothing less than a full 5 star rating. The video is perfect in all respects, featuring rich and well saturated colors, deep blacks and top tier levels of clarity and detail. The beautiful whites on the faces to the King and Queen of the Guardian owls is striking. The fine features on the faces and wings of the owls are simply beautiful. One can count each and every feather on the faces of the owls as well as all the fine details and color gradations in their very expressive eyes.

The film is available in 3D as well but as I do not have a 3D display (and don’t get me started on why!), I received the 2D combo pack for review. Even in 2D, the depth of field here is striking and of truly reference levels. The placement of the 3D effects is obvious as well and at times a bit to obvious if you asked me. This is a film that was designed as a 3D presentation from the first day but nonetheless. looks superb in 2D. The overall quality of the images here are so good that they certainly didn’t leave me pining for 3D or that I somehow was missing something not experiencing the film in 3D.

Audio 

The audio on Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole is excellent as well although not quite as good as the video. The sound design is excellent with aggressive use of the surrounds to provide an excellent sense of immersion throughout the entire film. The various sound effects are perfectly placed in the sound field with spot on perfect panning effects.

The overall fidelity is awesome, especially the dialogue track, which is one of the better ones I have heard in terms of startling real sounding human voices. The only real issue I had with the sound, and it is a very minor one, is that the bass didn’t quite reach the very bottom levels of the best sounding tracks. While the bass was certainly deep and tight, it was simply not as deep as the very best sounding tracks, lacking that nth degree of room rattling bass that is the hallmark of a reference audio track. Other than that shortcoming, this is a great sounding film.

Special Features 

The guess that you can say that I was a bit underwhelmed by the extras on this release. The best and really, the only extra worth your time, is the new Looney Tunes short, “Fur of Flying” featuring The Roadrunner and Wile E Coyote. It was great see a new short in HD and 5.1 audio. It is available in 3D on the 3D combo pack and looks and sounds sensational in 2D.

The other extras include the featurette “True Guardians of the Earth” in which one of the characters in the film, Digger, discusses the roles that owls play in the environment with Rico Rodriquez of “Modern Family”. In “Rise of the Guardians” we are shown the fully illustrated story that Da (Soren and Kludd’s dad) tells his family about their culture and history. Also included are two interactive challenges where you help Soren and his sister Eglantine dress for their next story and the other where you match the owls’ favorite food.

The film also contains the WB Maximum “Kid” mode, where Soren is your guide through the world of Ga’Hoole as you watch the film. Also included are 4 artwork galleries and the “To The Sky” music video by Owl City.

Final Thoughts 

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, is a charming family film that features a reference video presentation and an nearly reference audio presentation as well. The violence in the film may be a bit rough for very young children but overall, is recommended for families looking for a quality family film. Recommended.