Synopsis:
Bolt (John Travolta) is a super-powered dog who can run faster than a train, jump higher than a helicopter, shoot laser beams from his eyes, and use a devastating bark. He is a canine with only one mission, to use his powers to protect his lovable owner, Penny (Miley Cyrus). There’s only one problem, he’s actually an ordinary dog in a tv show, he just doesn’t know it. When he accidentally gets shipped to New York, Bolt must learn that he may be ordinary, but he doesn’t need superpowers be a hero. With the help of some new friends, Mittens (Suzie Essman) and Rhino (Mark Walton), Bolt must make it across the country to find his way home.

Review:
I never actually saw this movie at the theaters, but I found a brand new blu-ray at the local used-cd store at a great price, so I bought it just because. A friend had seen the movie and said it was worth the watch, and I figured it would make a great blu-ray. I was not disappointed. This is a fun family movie and it makes a beautiful hd movie.

Plot: The story is predictable in its exposition. Most people who watch it won’t be surprised by the plot, but they will be surprised at how much they enjoy it. Its a nice mix of touching, exciting and hilarious. Though I couldn’t name an example, I feel like all of the characters have met before in another movie. A misguided and under-powered hero makes an enemy-to-become-friend and a hapless sidekick achieve success. Been there done that, but for some reason, still enjoying it.

Voices: I don’t like Miley Cyrus and John Travolta didn’t have to do much. Suzie Essman is not so memorable either. Mark Walton, on the other hand, makes the movie (at least for me.) Rhino is awesome and he really does steal the show. He’s a little hamster in a plastic ball that has a really big personality.

Media: The blu-ray is a nice presentation of the film and has some nice extras. I particularly enjoyed the Rhino short. I also got a good laugh watching John Travolta sing with Miley Cyrus. It was disturbing yet fascinating. The picture is great and this is definitely worthy of being called high definition.

Overall: The movie is fun, entertaining, and great for families. It is just funny enough to be worth it even if you don’t have kids and just enjoy animated movies (like me.) I will say one thing, the box claimed it was the best Disney movie since The Incredibles, and that’s just not true (have you heard of Wall-E?) Anyway, when it comes down to it, Bolt is definitely fuzzworthy. Its just not fuzzy enough to beat some of the more memorable Pixar films.

Review:

Plot: This film follows the basic animals on a mission kind of scenario. Its mildly predictable, but there are a few surprises and all of the things that happen aren’t formulaic. I’ll be honest, I didn’t reallize from the trailers that the plot would be so conservation-themed. It carries a great message, I just didn’t know it was coming. A lot of people I spoke to about this before I saw it said the movie wasn’t funny. I disagree. There were plenty of laugh out load moments and when I wasn’t laughing, I was distracted by the incredibly cute penguins. It definitely appealed to the (very large) kid in me, but it isn’t as funny as classics like Toy Story.

Graphics: I thought the CGI in this film was great. All of the penguins looked real (not cartoonish) and the motion was fluid. This movie definitely has included great techniques from the previous generations of CGI films. Apparently (I heard this from a friend), the movie has been criticised for using actors as opposed to CG people in the film. I think the use of actors makes the message in the film a little more serious and relatable. CG people would just weaken the moral in my opinion.

Overall: This movie is definitely worth the watch. If you have kids, I would recommend a matinee showing. If you’re a big kid like me and just like animated movies, I would consider just waiting for the DVD. Enjoy!

Synopsis:
When four animal friends bust out the zoo for a night on the town, things get wildly out of control. Alex (Ben Stiller), Marty (Chris Rock), Melman (David Schwimmer), and Gloria (Jada Pinket Smith) quickly find themselves in crates on the way to a wildlife preserve. En route, their crates get knocked overboard and they wash up on the shores of Madagascar. Now these four pampered zoo animals must adjust to life in wild….

Review:
I must say I was a bit dissappointed with Madagascar. I had high hopes for this movie, but it seemed to fall in line with the last few mediocre animated films. It seems that Dreamworks Animation is having difficulties finding success after Shrek and Shrek 2 (which I’m watching while I write this). This movie left something to be desired. I was continuously waiting for that gut busting moment, but it never came.

First of all, the voice talent was a bit lacking. Stiller and Smith were ok, but Rock and Schwimmer were horrible. The voices just didn’t work with the characters for some reason. I can’t stand Chris Rock’s voice to begin with. Put it behind a wierd looking zebra and you have a problem. Schwimmer’s voice is, as someone else put it, a bit distracting. His vocalization of Melman, the hypochondriac giraffe, is a bit annoying. I keep seeing Ross not Melman. It just doesn’t seem to work.

The other thing is that the peripheral characters tend to be more entertaining than the main characters. I loved the squad of commando penguins. They are the true source of amusement in this movie. Their attempts to get to Antarctica are hilarious. What’s even better is what happens when they get there. The tribe of lemurs on the island are also pretty funny. Though they’re cute, they don’t compare to the penguins.

If you get the DVD, you’ll be lucky and get a bonus: A Christmas Caper featuring the penguin squad. I have to say that I loved this eleven minute short and I enjoyed it more than the whole movie. This one is definitely worth the rental, but make sure you get the bonus cartoon. It makes all the difference.

Synopsis:
Andy got a toy for his birthday. It walks, it talks, it…..has an identity crisis?!?! Jealousy rages when a new toy becomes a young boys favorite. This is the first installment of the Toy Story franchise. It is the fillm that introduced us to Woody, an old school cowboy who’s used to being number one; Buzz, a futuristic spaceman who’s not quite sure who (or what) he is; Hamm, a pushy porker with a pension for pennies; Rex, a domesticated dino in need of therapy; and Mr. Potato Head, the opinionated hot head.

Review:
I should preface this review with a qualifier: most of my comments are about the DVD, not about the movie. The virtues of Toy Story as a film are worthy of another review. Though the fact that it is celebrating its 10th anniversary, makes such a review pointless. But I should do one, so here it is: the movie is great. That sums it up.

Now to the DVD: There are two things that make a DVD a good one, choices for watching the movie and bonus material. I was a little dissappointed with the format choices on this DVD. Despite the two discs, you only get the widescreen version of the movie. I personally prefer widescreen, but I also like having the choice. I have the Finding Nemo: Collector’s Edition and it has both the widescreen and fullscreen versions of the film. Surely the 10th anniversary is a bigger deal and warrants both versions of the film. It has the standard audio and subtitle options as well as commentary tracks. I guess it is worth mentioning that the disc does come with a 5.1 surround sound track. Sadly my sound system isn’t quite there yet.

Now the bonus features make up for what the film options lack. My favorite feature (found primarily on disc two) is the crayon sheriff’s badge. By selecting star with your remote, you get minute long sequences that were not part of the movie. They’re pretty good, especially the little green aliens. The scenes are fully rendered, but I’m not sure that all of the voice talents were used. Sometimes Buzz and Woody seem a little off. It could be my imagination, but then again maybe not.

The next fun feature is the claw game. Its a replica of the game Sid plays when he finds Buzz and Woody at Pizza Planet. Now, I’m kinda partial to claw games. For some reason, I have a knack for the claw game at the local theatre. I wasted a fair bit of time trying to find all of the outcomes for the game. A pretty good addition. The game could be a little more smooth, but then again you can’t expect much from a DVD player. Its no XBOX.

Last little bonus I wanted to mention is the deleted scenes. This is something they tend to tout when promoting DVDs. The annoying things is that for most animated features, its simply the storyboards that the writers sketched while the movie was in pre-production. I hate to say it, but they’re generally not that impressive. I was pleasently surprised when I found two rendered deleted scenes on the bonus disc. They were not fully rendered but they were better than still-frames.

Overall a decent DVD. I hesitate to suggest going out an buying it. I do own it, but I bought it second hand for less than half the retail price (currently $18-$23). Disney DVDs unfortunately are overpriced and stay overpriced, regardless of how old the movie is. If you just want the movie (like I did), get it second hand or online. If you want it for the extras, they are seriously not worth the current price tag. And in case you’re wondering, Toy Story 2 is being re-released to DVD on December 26th and Tarzan is being “released from the Disney Vault” on October 18th.