Of his successful partnership with Ron Clements, Musker says, “We’re both relatively agreeable Midwestern types, and we each have slightly different strengths and approaches. Ron is more structure-oriented and makes sure that the overall story doesn’t disintegrate during the course of too many rewrites. I tend to be more concerned with specific details and gags. We constantly go over each other’s scenes and drafts and add new ideas and suggestions in the process.”

Clements and Musker joined forces once again to usher traditional, hand-drawn animation back to Walt Disney Animation Studios with their feature animated fairy tale, The Princess and the Frog. Below are some questions held during this interview with some coming from this very site’s own forum and staff.

Q: Being a Louisiana native, its eery how well you got the cajun Raymond character and extremely entertaining. Was their alot of research involved in the Raymond character and the film as a whole?

John Musker: We wanted to do right by Louisiana and the culture there including the great Cajun populace. John Lasseter really wanted authenticity so we took several trips down there. We met with a number of people including a man named Reggie who was our bayou tour guide. We noted his speech patterns, and picked up more phrases at jazz Fest. We also did research where we read stories written in a “Cajun” voice and found Cajun glossaries online. Best of all though, we cast Jim Cummings as our firefly. When he auditioned he did a great Cajun accent and we learned he had a home there for several years and had worked with Cajuns in the Merchant marines. He was able to improvise in his Cajun speak, so he added a lot of flavor to our gumbo.

Q: This is a return to 2-D animation for Disney. Is there anything new with the technology this time around?

John Musker: Our “ink and paint” system was different. We used “Harmony” instead of CAPS, our old system that had been mothballed. With this new system we were able to evaluate scenes in full color and do paint adjustments to the characters without having to repaint the entire scenes. We also were able to evaluate all elements “in continuity” which was something new. Our character animation was done on paper just as Snow White was. Our effects animation, i.e., the water ripples, magic, shadows, etc. for the first time
was done without paper. Those elements were drawn on a pressure sensitive tablet with a stylus.

Q: Randy Newman’s score lends itself beautifully to both the location and time period. Was he the first composer you had in mind for the film, and at what point in the production did he begin developing the music?

Ron Clements: We pitched the idea for this movie to John Lasseter in March of 2006. We pitched it as a hand drawn film with an African American heroine, and as a musical with Randy Newman doing the music. John said yes to all those things. We thought of Randy almost immediately because his music is iconic, classic Americana, and we knew he spent his boyhood summers growing up in New Orleans. We met with Randy the following May, took him through the story, and talked about the placement of songs and styles of music. Randy took to the project immediately. He hadn’t written many musicals before but he was a great collaborator and we were thrilled with his brilliant work.

Q: In one scene, King Triton rolls past on a Mardi Gras float in an obvious reference to “The Little Mermaid.” There are dozens of less obvious references to other Disney movies like “Aladdin,” “The Lion King,” “Pete’s Dragon,” “The Jungle Book,” and even “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Was this a conscious collective homage, or are those classics so much a part of everyone’s consciousness that they just sort of crept in?

Ron Clements: Almost all this stuff was deliberate and done for our own amusement. Actually most of the Mardi Gras floats are based on movies John and I worked on. Along with the “Mermaid” float, their are brief shots of an “Arabian Nights” float, a Greek mythology float, and a “pirate” float. There are also caricatures of John and I on the mermaid float throwing beads to the crowd. There are many other caricatures of people who worked on the movie that pop up throughout. Many other Disney refrences as well. We don’t want any of this stuff to be distracting. Just a little something extra for whoever may catch it.

Check It Out:

The Princess and the Frog the Movie on Blu Ray (debut Blue Ray March 16)

The Princess and The Frog (Three Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo with Digital Copy)

When Chuck the astronaut (Dwayne Johnson) just happens to be millions of miles away from home. He lands in the backyard of Neera (Jessica Biel) during a family BBQ. As he gets off his ship and plants his countries flag into the ground. He gets the shock of his life as he discovers we are not alone in this galaxy. He looks around only to notice all of the green aliens that reside on Planet 51.The aliens quickly worry about the arrival of Chuck and determine that his arrival is the start of an alien invasion of the human kind. They are convinced that Chuck is there on a mission to destroy their beloved planet.

This is an interesting film, at least when you look at it on paper. How many times haven’t we seen the aliens attacking planet Earth? Or, see the Big Apple being destroyed as if there isn’t any other city in the world that the aliens might be interested in. Anyway, for Planet 51 the tables have completely turned, the humans have landed in an alien planet, but to my surprise the aliens appear to be in the 50s – 60s. Still driving around nice classic cars, TV broadcasting is still in black and white, the occasional hippies, the quality of life appears to be much better, and at least that’s my interpretation of things. I was surprised on how well the recreation of a great era was done in an alien like form.

During the movie I am sure many of you were all to catch the few mock ups of various films done in history for example did you guys happen to catch the E.T. scene? Or, how about the classic “Dancing in the Rain” act? All was very nicely done and it wasn’t just thrown in the screen at the last minute. I feel that it’s a good change of pace from all the other animated films out there. Although there is plenty of good things about this movie, I feel that some of the comedy was somewhat forced. The main character Chuck carried much arrogance that he was annoying at one point until the tables turn at end. Don’t get me wrong the film is rather entertaining.

Planet 51 is presented in 1080p/MPEG4-AVC encode and an aspect ratio of 2.35:1. From the opening scene of Planet 51 the colors are rich and hues are amazing. Detail is exceptional and is almost a 5 star presentation from Sony Pictures. The only gripe I really have on Planet 51 is that in some scenes the image is flat and lacks some detail. Some scenes just use too much gray and green. Other than that Planet 51 is clean and smooth on Blu-ray. It’s pure eye candy!

Planet 51 arrives on Blu-ray with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. Right from the beginning of the movie the sound begins with a boom. The dialogue is clear and clear, the bass is used perfectly when needed especially during explosions where you can hear it loud. The rears are used perfectly during the action scenes, ambiance and atmosphere sounds are introduced throughout the film. Sony did a great job with the audio!

Planet 51 comes with a decent amount of extras that include some cast commentary and behind the scenes featurettes as well as games for the younger crowds. Below is a breakdown of the supplements.

Planet 51 (HD): A game where players have to zap robots and asteroids as they try to prevent Chuck from landing safely.

Extended Scenes (HD): Scenes that add to the shortened versions from the theatrical release.

The World of Planet 51 (HD): “The World…” grabs its virtual camera and spins it around many of Planet 51 different backdrops. Pretty much every key location is showcased, giving viewers a chance to check out some of the attention to detail they might have missed the first time through.

Life on Planet 51 (HD): Footage of the actors at work recording for Planet 51. They go on to chat about their time together and about the movie. Later the making of the movie is discussed that includes storyboards and the designing of the movie.

Planetarium- The voices of Planet 51 (HD): Cast talks about their roles in the movie and their experience while making Planet 51.

Planet 51 Music Video Montage (HD): Footage from the movie plays against snippets from “Aliens Exist” by Blink 182 and “Spaceman” by The Killers.

Animation Progression Reels (HD): Six of Planet’s 51 sequences are tackled here. The screen is chopped into four quadrants: rough renders, storyboards, animatic, and the polished finished product.

Shameless Plugs (HD): A lot of trailers and promos

Planet 51 does make a good effort and is quite enjoyable, but maybe it’s because I have kids and I usually watch any animated film now. The story is entertaining and a good flick to watch with your kids. The Blu-ray features a decent amount of supplements that your entire family will enjoy and carries an impressive video and audio transfer. I recommend at least a rent of Planet 51.

Check It Out:

Living Landscapes HD Rocky Mountains [HD DVD]

The Man Who Fell To Earth - Criterion Collection [Blu-ray]

Old Dogs makes its way to Blu-ray disc in a nice 3 disc edition case including both the Blu-ray and DVD release along with a digital copy on the third disc. A valiant effort by Disney for a movie that falls short.

I tried to like this movie, I really did. But Old Dogs needs to be taken out to the pasture and put out of its misery, euthanized, the big sleep, beddy bye time, you know … SHOT! The movie is filled with cheap laughs, every scene stinks of “Hey, what could we do here to make this funny? Oh, how about we drop something on someone? Or slam a trunk on a hand model’s hands!?” Truly lame. The exact opposite of smart, intelligent, witty humor like that of the likes of Jerry Seinfeld for instance. Who knows, maybe I’m not just totally old enough to appreciate such “Old Dog” humor. Nehhhhhhhhh.

The movie has a great cast, but I often wondered if they too knew how stupid this was and were just in it for the quick buck or if they literally thought that this film had potential. Besides the main actors in John Travolta, Robin Williams and Seth Green the film also has many cameos in Dax Shepard all the way to the late great Bernie Mac! In many terms, this cast would be a new directors wet dream but falls short with a cheaper than cheap slip-trip-fall humor style coupled with atrocious writing. Too predictable, and honestly Travolta just couldn’t nail this part no matter how hard he seemed to try. His body language and mannerisms alone seemed totally off from the norm.

Maybe if you are in a stupid movie mood you can find senseless enjoyment in last year’s Turkey day flick. And I’m not talking a “Super Troopers” mood, more like a “Hot Shots Part Deux” mood. How this movie qualified for a PG rating is also beyond me, it definitely borders at PG-13 many times in my opinion. Usually with a Disney movie of PG rating I don’t have to worry about anything that my daughter is seeing (being that she is 7) but there were times when I wasn’t very fond of certain dialogue or fingers held closely to the fast forward button.

As for the good, regarding the movie? Of course there are some good cheap laughs that you can’t help but snicker at and a few instances of good comedy writing like after the instance at the tanning salon. Case in point, if you have already seen this and like it then you will love the blu-ray and you should definitely pick it up with the current Old Dogs $10 off manufacture coupon Disney is offering. I’m not going to go in full detail about this film as because it’s a film with a wild script that’s hard to make much sense of so if you’re going to watch it you’re not going to want to know any spoilers beforehand but if you really must just read the back of the case. I’m also not a fan of spoilers in reviews! “Here, let me tell you the entire movie so that when you rent/buy it you can be even less entertained!” Uhhmm, no.

Old Dogs leaps onto Blu-ray with a typical lovely blu-ray transfer in 1080p goodness. As always Disney still gives a lot of attention to detail with their transfers and that is a plus considering this release. There is quite a few bright instances in this flick and many warm settings as well but Disney hits them out of the park with very few instances of over saturation in my humble opinion. I’m not going to say I was blown back by the picture quality, but it was still way above average taking into consideration all other blu-rays I’ve viewed. Once more, fans of the movie will be happy to know that this film has been given the proper attention in regards to picture quality.

Old Dogs barks onto Blu-ray but lacks a bit of bite due to the sheer nature of the film. With that aside, Old Dogs howls with its great DTS HD Master 5.1 Audio track. Sure, there isn’t earth shattering bass scenes or those that get an audiophile all geeked up but none the less the film’s track is great with its lossless track. Plenty of work from the fronts and center channel speaker in your setup on this one as the film sound majority is front heavy with very few engulfing scenes so to speak involving the rears in unison. Dialogue clarity is clear and tightly mixed and I don’t really see anyone having any major problems with the audio quality of this release as it does the job well. Another good audio mix from Disney.

The Old Dogs supplemental package is a bit on the light side but I gotta give some thumbs up to Disney for the DVD and digital copy. Although I know many folks don’t care for these extras but they make great use in my family house hold and for watching on the ipod touch for the kiddo.

Audio Commentary: This audio commentary featuring Director Walt Becker, producer Andrew Panay, and writers David Diamond and David Weissman showed me what type of people have to come together to make a movie of this magnitude lol. So bad it was funny.

Young Dogs Learn New Tricks (HD): In this feature, the two kiddos interview John Travolta & Robin Williams.

Deleted Scenes (HD): An alternate ending plus two deleted scenes that are a bit on the lackluster side.

Bloopers (HD): As always bloopers can give a personal insight and amusing laughter and this one does just that.

Music Videos (HD): “You’ve been a Friend to Me” by Bryan Adams and “Every Little Step” by John Travolta and Ella Bleu.

BD-Live Functionality

Old Dogs releases onto blu-ray with a great video transfer and awesome lossless audio track given the film’s nature, but even all of that still makes it hard to look past the rather cheesy written script. Fans of this movie or people who seem rather interested in checking this out can rest assured that it got its fair shake in the video and audio department and the bonus dvd and digital copy are nice for make up of some rather small supplements. However, this is the 3 disc edition as opposed to the single disc edition which is also offered for purchase. None the less fans should have no problem snagging this title especially with the $10 coupon offered by Disney, but those unbeknownst of this movie are better off for a rental if you must.

Check It Out:

Old Dogs - 3 Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (Includes DVD + Digital Copy)

Old Dogs (Single Disc Blu-ray)

Disc Features

• ‘Starstruck’ and ‘Stupid Love Letter’ music videos
• Kerplunk! Bloopers from Rome
• Deleted Scenes
• Crazy Casanovas, Bloopers From the Set
• Extended Pain with the Suitors
• Alternate Opening and Ending

Eight long years have passed since the MacManus brothers, Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus), and their dad Noah (Billy Connolly) killed Joe Yakavetta in front of terrified witnesses in a court, since then they have disappeared in Ireland. When the brothers are informed that a priest in Boston has been assassinated, the boys decide it is time to return. During their return back to the U.S., the brothers meet an interesting character and soon to be a part of the crew, Romeo. Back in Boston, the trio of detectives Dolly, Duffy, and Greenly meet the new FBI assignee to the case, Special Agent Eunice Bloom. The boys must now face a new Yakavetta boss and find new revelations about Noah’s past that appears to still haunt him.

So first things first, it would not have been the same if the original cast would not have comeback. Well they did. Flanery and Reedus are back to reprise their roles as Connor and Murphy, Connolly returns as Noah, and David Della Rocco also makes a quite cameo, which by the way his rant is filled with inspiration and filled with testosterone it’s simply epic in my books. One of the new faces in this sequel is Clifton Collins Jr. who plays Romeo. I got to admit that at first I just felt that his character was somewhat odd like it didn’t quite fit in the grand scheme of the film, but as story moved along it started to remind me of Rocco as the obnoxious one in the bunch. Julie Benz plays Eunice Bloom who was the partner of Smecker and at the beginning this was the role that made me weary of this film. Let me explain, her character resembles that of Smecker, her way of proceeding and explaining the crime scene was very similar so obviously your first question probably is, will she pull off what Dafoe did? She did a decent job with the character she was given and I think it’s unfair to judge her in comparison to Dafoe. I happen to have enjoyed everyones overall performances.

During the announcement in Comic Con, Troy Duffy said that The Boondock Saints 2 had everything the first did and more. Well I don’t entirely agree with him. While I do feel the essence of the first film is retained on the sequel, the story is not as great as the first was. After several views of the film I feel like pieces might have been rushed, I could be wrong, but something just didn’t click. On the other hand, Duffy does a great job in telling the past of Noah, which gives a much depth to the character. I suppose this answers some questions left from the first film, at least that I had. Sadly, the film isn’t quite as good as the first, but it will appease the fans. One last thing Troy has given us a nice surprise I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day arrives on Blu-ray with a MPEG4-AVC encode framed at 2.35:1. If you remember the first film you will probably remember the blue tint and the pale look of the skintones, well this film looks very alike. Several scenes feature that blue tint and the pale skintones, however, several characters have a very healthy color. The black colors appear to be deep, bold and well reproduced throughout. The colors like red, yellow, pink, etc. shine only when called upon from the shiny guns Romeo is carrying to the pink speedos Gorgeous George is wearing. The fine details are well reproduced the signs of aging on some characters is very noticeable; you can also take a look at Eunice’s facial skin and be able to see the texture. This is a very nice looking Blu-ray.

The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day arrives on Blu-ray with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track that is more than satisfying, but it’s not quite on par with the visual quality of the film. The audio is very front heavy and only occasionally makes use of any surround sound effects. Other than that, the dialogue is crisp and the music of the film perfectly captures the Irish bagpipes and rock & roll to get your blood pumping. I would have expected the shootouts to have a great sound all around, but these scenes are usually taken over by the background music.

This release comes with a nice set of supplements and some of them have some nice reminiscing from the actors, but let’s get to the breakdown of the extras shall we?

Audio Commentary – featuring Writer/Director Troy Duffy, Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus and Billy Conolly talk about the film scene by scene, this is a commentary while the movie is playing. Very informative commentary and worth at least one play through.

Audio Commentary – featuring Writer/Director Troy Duffy and Williem Dafoe. This is a good audio commentary; both men offer some nice insights and talk about various things as the movie progresses. Highly recommended.

Deleted Scenes – two deleted scenes have been included; “Detectives Mourn Greenly’s Death” and “Romeo Plays Chess”

Unprecedented Access: Behind the Scenes – This is self-explanatory, just takes a look at behind the scenes of the film.

Billy Connolly and Troy Duffy: Unedited – This is a rather entertaining featurette. Both men talk about the films and what it represents to each other, how it came to be, the kind of persons they are, etc. I recommend you make some time to watch this.

The Cast Confesses: Secrets From The Set – The cast talk about their colleagues, the movie, the shooting locations, what they went through to get the roles, and more.

Inside the Vault: The Weapons – This feature deals with all the weapons used throughout the film.

The Boondock Saints Hit Comic-Con – The filmmakers and cast go to Comic Con to announced the release of the long awaited sequel.

Movie Trailers – Black Dynamite, Universal Soldier, The Damned United, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, H2: Halloween II, Breaking Bad, Snatch, Moon, Zombieland and The Da Vinci Code.

The long awaited sequel is finally here, The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day, but while the hardcore may overlook the few flaws of the film others might realize their high expectations might be let down. The movie is entertaining without a doubt and personally the wait for me was well worth it. The Blu-ray packs a nice transfer with a good amount of supplements so I find it very difficult for those that loved the first film to skip this. If you have seen the first film I highly recommend this release, if not then I suggest you rent it and then get the sequel because is well worth it as a whole.

Disc Features

• Steven Spielberg and the Original War of the Worlds
• Designing the Enemy: Tripods and Aliens
• Revisiting the Invasion
• Production Diaries
• The H.G. Wells Legacy
• Characters: The Family Unit
• Pre-visualization
• We Are Not Alone
• Scoring War of the Worlds
• Galleries
• HD Theatrical Teaser Trailer

Check It Out:

Band of Brothers [Blu-ray]

Victory at Sea Deluxe Edition [Blu-ray]

Disc Features

• Cast and crew commentary
• Behind-the-scenes footage
• Documentary about the notification process
• Q&A with the cast and crew
• Copy of the shooting script

Check It Out:

The Messenger [Blu-ray]

Messenger the Story [Blu-ray]

Disc Features

• BD Exclusive: movieIQ+sync™ featuring the “Nine” Playlist and BD-Live connect you to real-time information on the cast, music, trivia and more while watching the movie!
• Commentary with Director Rob Marshall and Producer John DeLuca
• 8 Featurettes
• BD Exclusive: Sophia Loren Remembers Cinecitta Studios
• BD Exclusive: Screen Actors Guild Q&A
• 3 Music Videos

Check It Out:

District 9: Blu-ray Collector's Set with MNU Vest & Production Notes [Blu-ray]

Star Trek (Limited Edition Blu-ray Gift Set with Replica Starfleet Division Badges) [Blu-ray]

Purchase Amelia [Blu-ray]

Two-time Academy Award® Winner Hilary Swank delivers an unforgettable performance as Amelia Earhart, the legendary American aviatrix who boldly flew into the annals of history. Richard Gere co-stars as her charismatic business partner and adoring husband George Putnam. Bound by ambition and love, their enduring marriage could not be broken by Amelia’s determination to fly — nor her passionate affair with Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor). Equal parts gripping drama, stirring romance and epic adventure, Amelia will take your breath away and send your spirit soaring!

Audio: English: 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio
Language: Dubbed: English / Subtitled: English, French & Spanish
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: Widescreen: 2.35:1

Check It Out:

Lang: Amelia - featuring La La La Human Steps [Blu-ray]

Aeon Flux [Blu-ray]