You are here: Home / Archives for Blu-Ray reviews

The Search For Santa Paws (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

December 9, 2010 By

The Search for Santa Paws from Disney is a direct follow-up to last year’s Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws.  There are three stories going on simulataneously – Santa and his new puppy Paws (who starts out as a stuffed dog and is enchanted to become real) go to New York to find out why kids there have lost their Christmas spirit, Mr. and Mrs. Huckle who have inherited a toy store and need to turn a profit by Christmas, and an orphanage for girls run by a lady who hates Christmas and doesn’t allow toys or singing.

The movie does have some dark moments. Santa gets hit by a taxi in New York and then mugged, and when the thief steals the magic crystal necklace that connects him to the North Pole, he gets amnesia and forgets who he is. The orphanage lady locks the girls in the basement for punishment and takes any toys the girls get and puts them in an incinerator, and when she steals Paws’ magic crystal, he is turned into a stuffed dog and is also tossed in the incinerator (but don’t worry, one of the orphans bravely rescues him just in time).

But there are also a lot of happy moments in the movie. Santa takes a job working at the Huckle’s toy store as their store Santa and soon it’s the most popular toy store in New York. Paws bands together with a group of cute street dogs to find Santa, and two of the orphans find a new family. And Paws is just the cutest fluffiest dog you’ll ever see! My 5 year old wasn’t at all bothered by Santa getting hurt or by the orphanage scenes, she was focused on all the dogs.

One thing I want to mention is that although this movie has dogs in it, and Santa Paws from last year’s Santa Buddies movie, it does NOT have the rest of the Buddies in it. What it does have is a lot of cute kids, cute dogs, and cute songs. Once you get past the first few scenes of unpleasantness, it’s a heartwarming story of the importance of believing in Christmas.

Bonus Features:

  • English, French and Spanish language tracks
  • An interactive Animated Pop-Up Book- ‘Buddies’ puppy star Rosebud reads a holiday story featuring new canine friends from The Search for Santa Paws
  • Sing-Along Mode- colorful lyrics added to the film’s song sequences, so audiences can sing along to the films’ fantastic new songs
  • Music Video- tween favorite Debby Ryan (Disney Channel’s Suite Life on Deck) performs a great new arrangement of ‘Deck the Halls’
  • Deleted scenes

Kaitlyn and I have watched The Search for Santa Paws three times now and we find it adorable every time! Highly recommended for purchase or rental.

Filed Under: BLU-RAY and DVD Reviews, Featured Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Holiday Gift Idea – Disneynature OCEANS Blu-ray/DVD Combo

December 6, 2010 By

Disneynature OceansThere are just some movies that seem to be the reason Blu-ray was invented, and Disneynature OCEANS is one of them.  From the studio that brought you Disneynature EARTH comes this stunning look at some of the most amazing aquatic creatures you will ever see. The film is co-directed by Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud, and narrated by Pierce Brosnan. The crew spent four years going around the world to find the most amazing creatures, and used state-of-the-art underwater filmmaking to make viewers feel like they have suddenly left their living room for the bottom of the ocean.

I found this movie to be absolutely mesmerizing. I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen even when I couldn’t quite tell what I was looking at. There are some creatures living deep in the ocean that you can hardly even believe exist! Some are just ugly as heck, like the rockfish, and some are stunningly beautiful, like the blanket octopus that looks like a piece of silk rippling through the water. The otters will make you go “awww”, and the whales breaching up out of the water will make you go “WOW”.

It’s not all pleasant though, the filmmakers don’t shy away from tough subjects. Newborn baby turtles are shown racing towards the shore, you’ll find yourself on the edge of your seat cheering on the front-runners, but you also know that any minute, a bird is going to swoop down and snatch one up. I call those “circle of life” moments, and as hard as they are to watch, it’s an important teaching moment for kids. I explained to Kaitlyn that while it’s okay to feel sad for the turtle, think about the baby birds that just got a meal.

With a running time of just 84 minutes and a rating of “G”, this is a movie the whole family can watch. Amazon.com has it for $24.99 which includes the Blu-ray version and a standard DVD.  A highly recommended holiday gift!

Filed Under: BLU-RAY and DVD Reviews, Holiday Gift Guide 2010 Tagged With: , ,

Holiday Gift Idea – Ramona and Beezus Blu-ray

November 28, 2010 By

I was so excited when I first heard that Ramona and Beezus was getting made into a movie,  because Beverly Cleary’s Ramona books were some of my favorites when I was a kid. Even though the movie switched the title around – the book this movie is based on is titled “Beezus and Ramona” – I thought they did a fantastic job of both staying true to the book while making the story appeal to a modern audience. Bravo, 20th Century Fox!

We received Ramona and Beezus on Blu-ray for review. I popped it in on a Saturday afternoon, hoping Kaitlyn would sit still and at least watch some of it with me. The boys asked what I was watching and I told them, and neither of them left the room, much to my surprise. And to my greater surprise, both of them watched the movie all the way through and said it was “pretty good”, which is extremely high praise coming from 14 and 11 year old boys!

The adorable Ramona, who is 4 in the book, is a kindergartner in the movie and seems closer to age 6.  She’s played perfectly by newcomer Joey King. Her older sister Beezus (the name comes from Ramona’s inability to pronounce Beatrice) is played by Selena Gomez (“Wizards of Waverly Place”), her parents by John Corbett (“Sex and the City”) and Bridget Moynahan (” Blue Bloods”). Other stars in this movie include Ginnifer Goodwin (“Big Love”), Josh Duhamel (“Life as We Know It”), and Sandra Oh (“Grey’s Anatomy”).

Ramona is a free spirit with a soaring imagination, who believes that anything is possible. Her daydreams are part of the movie, like when she jumps from a hole in the side of the family’s house (they are renovating) and imagines herself flying through the air on a parachute.  When Ramona learns that her father has lost his job and they might lose the house,  she sets out to earn enough money on her own to save her house while her dad finds a new job.

Meanwhile, her aunt Bea (Goodwin) realizes that a neighbor is the boy who broke her heart in high school and is trying to resist his charms, and Beezus is falling for a classmate.  Ultimately, this is a sweet movie about the importance of being true to who you are and about loving your family for themselves.

BLU-RAY BONUS FEATURES:

Deleted Scenes
Gag Reel
Show & Tell Film School – Director Elizabeth Allen tells kids the “secrets” to  becoming a director and a filmmaker.
My Ramona with Author Beverly Cleary – Author Beverly Cleary talks about her inspiration for the Ramona books and what it took to write them.
Theatrical Trailer

GREAT GIFT FOR: Ramona and Beezus is rated “G” and could be given as a gift to any age, but I think it would be an especially great gift for tween girls ages 9-12.  $27.99 with Free Super Saver Shipping on Amazon.com.

Filed Under: BLU-RAY and DVD Reviews, Holiday Gift Guide 2010, Tags Tagged With: , ,
« Older Posts