5.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Witness this epic “tail” of what happens when an eccentric professor makes a discovery that could tip the age-old balance of pet power. Now an inexperienced young beagle pup will undertake the ultimate mission impawsible: saving humankind from total catastrophe!
Starring: Jeff Goldblum, Elizabeth Perkins, Alexander Pollock, Miriam Margolyes, Myron NatwickFamily | 100% |
Comedy | 83% |
Adventure | 40% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
German: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Latin & Castilian
English SDH, French, German SDH, Italian SDH, Portuguese, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Talking animals will never die. Not in the strictest sense, of course -- chatty as they were, Mister Ed, Francis the Mule, Babe, Milo, Otis, Paulie, Shadow, Sassy and Chance have all gone on to meet their maker -- but, long after you and I are gone, studios and filmmakers will be trotting out new breeds of sociable, four-legged extroverts for our grandchildren's children. Ironically though, talking animals never seem to evolve either. Stilted slapstick, cheesy dialogue, tired sight gags, second-rate special effects, wooden performances and grade-school humor continue to dominate everything from G-Force to Alvin and the Chipmunks, and the genre shows no signs of changing. So here we are, a mere two weeks away from taking our wide-eyed offspring to see yet another talking-animal dud, Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore; the only time the release of forgotten kiddie fare like Cats & Dogs makes a lick of sense.
Insert pithy puppy quip here...
Absurdly colorful and unabashedly groomed for the kiddies, Warner's ultra-vibrant 1080p/VC-1 transfer wears its genre stripes proudly. Unfortunately, the resulting picture is so unnatural, so garish and unsightly at times that it comes undone. Primaries pop, but tend to be overbearing; skintones are warm, but often appear cast in orange Jell-O; black levels are deep, but crush background details; contrast is strong, but overwhelming, suggesting some serious boosting occurred at some point during post-production or specifically for this Blu-ray release. (Having never seen Cats & Dogs before this week, I can't say which for certain.) Adding insult to injury, errant softness and print damage hamper various scenes, and artifacting, banding, and some soupy digital noise rear their ugly heads throughout. That's not to say the presentation is without merit. Detail is quite good -- the majority of the film's furs and fine textures are nice and clean, and object definition is typically sharp and satisfying (without any egregious ringing) -- and several sequences capitalize on their high definition potential. It's a passable transfer, but it lacks polish and consistency, leaving the whole of the presentation stranded by the side of the road.
Cats & Dogs isn't going to fry your receiver either. Paired with a flat, front-heavy DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, the film offers little and delivers even less. Canine voices and feline mews float above their human masters' dialogue, making for a noticeably contrived, at-times stagey soundscape. Worse, the tenor of the animals' musings ranges from thin to full, and pinched to natural. Acoustics are all but ignored -- which is fine since the rear speakers are rarely tasked with anything more than pitter-patter ambience and score support -- and dynamics are pushy and artificial. Even so, decent LFE output brings some much needed oomph to the table, John Debney's music is bright and lively, and lines are never lost in the mix. It's tough to tell whether the track's shortcomings should be attributed to the film's original sound design or a less-than-ideal lossless mix, but it hardly matters. Cats & Dogs doesn't boast sonic finesse, immersive prowess or a particularly engaging experience. Is it adequate? Sure. It's loud and lively enough to leave five-year old audiophiles grinning from ear to ear. But is it remarkable? Not at all.
How is it that a film like Cats & Dogs has special features to spare, yet many a beloved catalog release barely earns a theatrical trailer? Sigh... I blame Fate's insatiable appetite for human misery. Ah well. The Blu-ray edition of Cats & Dogs arrives with a commentary, several featurettes, storyboard comparisons, concept sketches and other bonuses. Initial copies of the release also include a $7.50 voucher for Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore; a blessing for parents like myself who already promised their tykes a trip to the theater.
What awaits those who pick up a copy of Cats & Dogs? A mediocre talking-animals adventure, a problematic video transfer, an average DTS-HD Master Audio track, an unfulfilling supplemental package, and a free ticket to see the film's upcoming sequel, The Revenge of Kitty Galore. In other words, not enough to warrant a purchase. However, such a knee-jerk assessment doesn't factor in one all-important aspect of this release: the sheer joy young children will exude when a Blu-ray copy of Cats & Dogs arrives in the mail. Worth a few bucks? In my house it is.
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