Several icons of Disney and Universal studios debut on Blu-ray this week:
1.) “Alice in Wonderland” (Disney, $39.99 single disc; $44.99 3-disc combo Blu/DVD/Digital) looks terrific on Blu-ray, even without the 3D (which won’t be available until late this year, and likely only with purchase of Sony 3D equipment). But unlike “Avatar,” which had 3D that was so subtle that it wasn’t missed much on Blu-ray and was more than compensated by the much more dynamic brightness of the TV image, the lack of 3D in “Alice” is much more noticeable. For those who saw it in 3D in theaters, many scenes here — the Cheshire cat, the chessboard battle scenes, falling down the rabbit hole, etc. — will seem dramatically less impactful. But those scenes still look terrific in 2D and will seem perfectly fine to everyone else who is not comparing.
And there is much else to recommend on the Blu-ray:
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— Typically inventive and quirky characters and visuals by filmmaker Tim Burton (“Edward Scissorhands,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas”)
— Fun homages to classic Disney scenes such as “The Old Mill” and the “Night on Bald Mountain”-esque finale battle with a dragon
— At least a dozen making-of featurettes (quadruple the number on DVD), including amusing and interesting comments from Johnny Depp on his approach to taking on such an iconic character (the blending of the minds of Lewis Carroll and Tim Burton “is the stuff dreams are made of”), and fascinating comments by composer Danny Elfman on his distinctive score and working with Burton.
2.) The Wolfman (2-Disc unrated Director’s Cut) (Universal, $36.98) feels a little like an update on “Werewolf in London” without the humor, at least in terms of the numerous scenes showing the elongation of human hands morphing into paw claws, and other body features transforming. Some high points of the Blu-ray:
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— Anthony Hopkins, as always, brings substance to the movie.
— An extra 17-minutes in the unrated version brings running time to 2-hours and 39-minutes.
— Two optional alternate endings radically change the outcome — I think the right one was chosen.
— U-Control presents pop-up trivia during movie and uses pop-up video to contrast 70 years of previous Universal Wolfman movies, but only during the theatrical cut, which is also on the same disc.
— Access to a stream version of original 1941 Lon Chaney, Jr. “The Wolf Man” via BD Live, pocket Blu app, or UniversalHiDef.com (teaser clip below):
3.) Disney Parks: The Secrets, Stories and Magic Behind the Scenes (Questar, Blu-ray 3-program Combo Pack Blu/DVD/Digital, $49.99; DVD six-program 6-pack, $34.99) offers Disney fans the ultimate newly-produced series (from Lightship Entertainment) of 50-minute programs thoroughly showcasing most of the attractions and featuring rare archival and construction footage and fascinating history and evolution of Disney’s two U.S. resorts and the Disney Cruise Line:
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— Sneak previews of coming attractions at Disneyland/California Adventure, including Cars Land and Little Mermaid attractions, and June 11 opening of “World of Color” multi-media water show.
— Sneak preview of Disney Cruise Line’s 2011 Dream ship and virtual video ride on world’s first “water-coaster” slide on a cruise ship (called Aquaduck) that extends over the edge of ship.
— Look at new “Stitch’s Great Escape” and enhancements to “Haunted Mansion” at Disney World.
— Illuminating separate behind-the-scenes programs on Disneyland and Disney World resorts.
— Nearly an hour of tips on little-known and exclusive dining and overnight accommodations at the parks, as well as secret access points to hidden adventures.
— An entire program dedicated to Animal Kingdom at Disney World Resort in Florida, including the new Expedition Everest roller coaster and a hotel where giraffes and other animals are right outside room balconies.
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4.) “Road to Super Bowl XLIV: New Orleans Saints” (Warner, $49.95) is one of the best Super Bowl discs yet:
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— One of the most exciting Cinderella teams to win the championship in an exciting first-ever Super Bowl overtime victory after a string of memorable nail-biting shootouts in the playoffs against great teams.
— All three playoff games and the Super Bowl presented in their original TV broadcasts for first time.
— Like watching on your DVR, with commercials and timeouts and time between many plays eliminated, knocking the Super Bowl down to 90-minutes and lengthy NFC championship against Brett Favre and Vikings down to 2-hours.
— Fun pop-up trivia such as the Colts having played all four of their Super Bowls in Miami.
— By Scott Hettrick