Walt Disney Animation Studios latest film, BOLT, is now out on DVD. If you haven’t yet seen it, now is the time to catch this film that has as much heart as any Disney film and is technically amazing as well. BOLT is the first film that Pixar Studios chief John Lasseter and new Creative Executive for Animation at the Walt Disney Company was able to really mold.
Here’s a great interview with Lasseter on how Bolt came about. (Btw, I love his answer about his favorite Disney animated feature):
Question: What is the history of Bolt?
John Lasseter: Bolt was already in existence, but it was by the name of American Dog. We restarted the story and I brought on Chris Williams and Byron Howard, two amazing young talents, to direct it. I was by their side through every step of the production of this and it’s remarkable that the studio rallied around these two directors, great leaders, and they made this film in a record amount of time.
Disney has some up with a great way to celebrate the release of the new “Platinum Edition” DVD for the 70th Anniversary of Walt Disney’s Classic Animated Feature Pinocchio, they’re making Pinocchio himself out of platinum.
The puppet, designed by LA puppetry artist Bob Baker, will be on display at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, GA for the next two months.
What do you get when you combine the latest film special effects with the classic Disney doggie adventure film? Through in a pampered pooch who gets caught up in a “ruff”-and-tumble comedy adventure and you get Beverly Hills Chihuahua, available on DVD and Blu-ray Hi-Def on March 3, 2009 from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.
Sadly, the film was predictable and many of the film’s laughs were spotted in the trailers. That said, my 5 year old enjoyed the film particularly the talking animals. It’s also a top selling DVD on amazon right now. So your tastes may vary.
Bonus features include an all-new animated short, deleted scenes and bloopers—plus Blu-ray exclusives that take viewers behind-the-scenes of the breakout hit that has captured the hearts of families and canine lovers across the nation.
Beverly Hills Chihuahua features live-action performances from including Jamie Lee Curtis (Freaky Friday) and Piper Perabo (The Prestige), the voice talents of Drew Barrymore (Charlie’s Angels), George Lopez (Swing Vote), Andy Garcia (Ocean’s Thirteen), Cheech Marin (Cars) and Paul Rodriguez (A Cinderella Story), and 200 of the cutest canines north or south of the border! With its themes of courage, friendship and fun, this heartwarming and sublimely silly action adventure is a can’t-miss DVD event for kids and adults.
When a chic Chihuahua named Chloe (voiced by Drew Barrymore) goes astray south of the border, she must find her own way back to her indulgent 90210 life. Wealthy Viv’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) diminutive darling is misplaced in Mexico by a careless dog-sitter (Piper Perabo), thrusting her into the dog-eat-dog life of an ordinary mutt. As Chloe tries to make her way north with the help of her self-appointed protector Delgado (voiced by Andy Garcia) and a pack of new four-legged friends, hometown hero Papi (voiced by George Lopez), Chloe’s ardent Chihuahua admirer, embarks on a cross-cultural mission to rescue his beloved. As Chloe goes from ridiculously spoiled to newly self-sufficient, she also learns to embrace her “tiny but mighty” Chihuahua heritage.
I’d like everyone to welcome Mike to The Disney Blog as guest author. Mike comes to us from The Pixar Blog, where this review may seem a little out of place.
Walt Disney’s second animated feature production Pinocchio arrives tomorrow on 2-Disc Platinum Edition DVD and Blu-ray Disc, in celebration of its 70th anniversary. I got an advance copy of the Blu-ray this morning and, well, I’m thrilled. Pinocchio is one of Disney’s most enduring classics, and a personal favorite for me, so it’s good to see it receive such a high-quality home video release. (The only thing better would have been a special theatrical re-release.)
Everything about the Pinocchio: 70th Anniversary Platinum Edition, from the (very shiny!) packaging to the included extras, demonstrates the work Disney put into preparing it. As for the film itself —hate to use a cliché— it’s never looked and sounded better.
The DVD version presents the newly digitally restored film in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.33:1 (that’s full screen) with a new sound mix in Dolby Digital 5.1, specially enhanced for home theaters. Included are 5.1 French and Spanish language tracks.
Disc One includes trivia and sing-along bonus features, as well as audio commentary by film historian Leonard Maltin and others. Contained on Disc Two is a documentary entitled No Strings Attached: The Making of Pinocchio that follows the production of the movie, two never-before-seen deleted scenes and an alternate ending from the Disney Archives, a featurette about Walt Disney’s ‘sweatbox’ artistic review process, live action reference footage, art galleries, a collection of deleted songs, and games. (Whoa! Have to take a breath!)
Blu-ray Disc
The Blu-ray version offers everything found on the DVD (like all the bonus features mentioned above) plus more, spread across two discs. Pinocchio is presented in stunning 1080p high definition video (1.33:1 aspect ratio) with up to 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio (48 kHz/24-bit). French and Spanish tracks are in 7.1 DTS-HD High Resolution Audio and 5.1 Dolby Digital respectively. This marks the first time that Pinocchio can be enjoyed in hi-def.
Bonus features are in 1080p, 1080i, and 480i resolutions, with audio in Dolby Digital 2.0. Included are several Blu-ray exclusive functions such as Cine-Explore and the Disney BD-Live Network.
Additionally, bundled in the Blu-ray package is a supplementary third disc, a DVD of the movie, for playing in regular, old-fashioned DVD players. Specs are the same as for the 2-disc DVD version. The inclusion of a standard DVD with Blu-ray titles is set to become the norm for Disney, as it encourages consumers to buy the Blu-ray version even if they don’t currently own a Blu-ray player. Quite smart if you plan on upgrading, but beware that there’s no extras on the DVD —they’re all on the two Blu-ray discs.
(Note: Blu-ray.com, among others, has an excellent review geared toward enthusiasts of the format.)
And now, for your enjoyment, three short previews of some of the bonus material after the cut:
Mike is the “very nerdy” writer of The Pixar Blog, a blog dedicated to news about Pixar. He resides near Toronto.
When I heard that Disney was releasing a 20th Anniversary Edition of “Oliver & Company” the first thing that came to my mind was how long ago 1988 seems. It was pre-internet, the Berlin wall still stood, and Miley Cyrus’ birth was still 4 years away. And yet Oliver & Company really pushed the boundaries for Walt Disney Feature Animation.
There was ample use of computer generated animation. All the cars on the road, Fagan’s cart, and that great staircase descent of Bette Midler’s spoiled Poodle Georgette were CGI. In fact, the staircase shot was in many ways a precursor to the great tree-surfing scene that was so spectacular in Tarzan.
In Oliver & Company, Disney presents an unforgettable musical adventure as Oliver, an adorable stray kitten (voiced by Joey Lawrence), takes Manhattan by storm! When Dodger (Billy Joel), a street-smart mutt with a weakness for mischief, befriends the homeless tabby, he introduces his new pal to his pack of pickpocket pooches, run by the nefarious Sykes (Robert Loggia).
Just as Oliver is about to begin a life of crime, he is rescued by a rich girl named Jenny, who takes him home to live in luxury with her and her spoiled poodle Georgette (Bette Midler). But when Sykes finds out about Oliver’s new benefactor, he hatches a plot to abscond with the little girl and hold her for ransom. The courageous kitty and his new found friends must race to the rescue in an electrifying chase through the city’s labyrinthine subway system in order to bring Jenny home.
Oliver & Company’s, Disney’s 27th full-length animated film, celebrates its 20th anniversary in a special edition DVD with enough fun and laughter for the whole family. The adorable gang of animal outcasts comes to you with brilliant animation, a fantastic soundtrack and the amazing voice talents of Billy Joel, Bette Midler, and Huey Lewis, that puts Oliver & Company on track to win the hearts of a whole new generation.
As for special features, the 20th Anniversary Edition comes with animated shorts, behind–the-scenes featurettes and an all-new game that the parents and kids will love to play together. Not exactly anything to write home about. The shorts are cute and memorable, but the featurettes are literally nothing new. I would have at least appreciated a retrospective from some of those involved in the project and where they are today.
If you don’t have Oliver & Company in your Disney DVD collection, now is your chance to catch up with this unique animated feature.
Disney has announced the release dates for the Bolt DVD and Blu-ray editions. I did say dates because for some reason the Blu-ray edition will arrive two days before the DVD version. Did they have to bake the DVDs longer in the oven?
Actually, I think their plan is to get you to buy the Blu-ray now even if you only own a DVD player as that version contains the movie, all the specials of the DVD, a digital file of the movie to watch on your computer, and the Blu-ray edition. In theory, this should get you to buy the Blu-ray player eventually.
The dial on the best selling ‘Radio Disney Jams’ series now goes all the way to eleven. On January 27th Walt Disney Records will debut Radio Disney Jams 11 which showcases hits from Radio Disney’s Top 30 chart with artists such as Jonas Brothers (“Burnin’ Up”), Miley Cyrus (“Fly on the Wall”), Demi Lovato (”Get Back”), Taylor Swift (“Teardrops on My Guitar”) and American Idol finalist David Archuleta (“Crush”).
In addition to the 15-track CD, Radio Disney Jams 11 includes a bonus music DVD featuring five full-length videos (“Right Here, Right Now” from High School Musical 3, Varsity Fan Club, Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus and Jordan Pruitt). Two clips – Miley Cyrus’ “Fly on the Wall” and Jordan Pruitt’s “One Love” — are live concert performances from Disney Channel’s highly-rated “Disney Channel Games” 2008.
The bonus disc also includes two Artist Sneak Peek videos. “Hannah Montana’s” Mitchel Musso talks about his song “The In Crowd” with Radio Disney entertainment reporter Jake from “Celebrity Take with Jake,” a popular on-air and online feature. The “Making of the Album” piece also highlights two other tracks, “Odd Man Out” and “Let’s Make This Last 4Ever” (written by Musso). All three songs will appear on Musso’s forthcoming debut album on Walt Disney Records.
Below the cut you’ll find the track lists and the video for the Jonas Brothers “Burning Up” which is one of the tracks. Believe it or not this video has been viewed over 55 million times on YouTube. That’s a popular piece of music.
Microsoft Research and Disney*Pixar have joined together to create a virtual tour of the universe! The tour is hosted by Wall-E, and is narrated by Academy-Award winning director Andrew Stanton. You might have seen the teaser for the tour on the DVD or Blu-ray Disc.… Read More »Tour the Universe from Wall-E’s Perspective!
