6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
It’s Lucky to the rescue when his owner, Maya Dolittle (Kyla Pratt), finds herself in hot water – Hollywood-style! Dropping her dreams of becoming a vet, Maya (and Lucky) travel to L.A. where her talent for talking to animals lands her a job hosting an animal talk show with famous heiress Tiffany Monaco (Tegan Moss)! But just as Lucky starts falling in love with a pedigreed pooch, Maya falls out of love with Tiffany’s bird-brained ideas about how to help animals. And just when Maya thinks she’ll be trapped in Tinseltown forever and never become a vet, Lucky, his new girlfriend and a whole herd of their animal friends spring, trot, fly and slither into action to save the day!
Starring: Kyla Pratt, Tegan Moss, Brandon Jay McLaren, Jason Bryden, Judge ReinholdFamily | 100% |
Comedy | 64% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin (Simplified), Mandarin (Traditional), Thai
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
This dog is not just going to roll over and take it lying down.
Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts isn't the greatest movie ever made. Sorry to burst
anyone's bubble. What it is though is perfectly acceptable for what it is and what it sets out to do,
which is to entertain a younger audience with tales of talking pets and the human girl that can
communicate with them. The film follows the standard formula for a movie like this one, featuring
a plot that has the hero jump to conclusions before fully thinking the decision out and learning from
her mistake by the end of the film, with plenty of innocent humor along the way. To the adult eye,
and maybe even some of the more advanced members of its target audience, Dr. Dolittle:
Million Dollar Mutts can become quite tedious and borderline insulting, but there is an
underlying sweetness to its simplicity and the way the film takes modern culture and melds it into a
good life lesson, no matter how "duh" the lesson may seem to most anyone that sits down to
watch it. If nothing else, the young ones will enjoy the talking dogs, cats, pigs, rabbits, horses, and
other assorted creatures that populate Million Dollar Mutts' easily-digestible 87 minute
runtime.
Don't talk, just feed!
Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts struts onto Blu-ray with a 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer. Shot in HD video, this one takes on the look of a good high definition broadcast presentation rather than the crisp, film-like imagery that accompanies the best of Blu-ray. The transfer consistently delivers soft imagery in both the foreground and the background, dull colors, and average amounts of detail and depth. Although there are plenty of colors throughout the film -- particularly reds, pinks, and blues -- none seem to dominate the frame and they certainly never appear all that vivid. There is virtually no "pop" to the image and it generally takes on a flat, pedestrian appearance. Fine details generally don't impress; close-up shots adequately reproduce the foreground images, but background material -- for example trees and other foliage -- look clumpy, messy, and undefined. Flesh tones look a bit rosy, and blacks neither impress nor disappoint. Because Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts was shot on video, there is no grain inherent to the image, and practically no noise throughout, this transfer delivering a smooth and clean appearance. All in all, this is an acceptable transfer of a low-budget, direct-to-Blu-ray film.
Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts barks onto Blu-ray with a DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. In this completely front-heavy audio presentation, music impresses the most, with a crisp enough delivery of pop, rap, and instrumental music as it plays through the front speakers, some of which features a decent bass accompaniment. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, there's not much going on outside of dialogue and music. A few scattered sound effects, for instance the rumbling of Tiffany's car's engine, plays subtly in the background but no one sound effect ever really makes for an ear-catching listen. A bustling office creates a minor atmosphere in the front but never manages to place the listener in its midst. Only a few minor, barely noticeable effects flow from the otherwise silent rear channels. All things considered, though, this one is good enough, with adequate dialogue reproduction solidifying the experience.
Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts yaps up a miniscule amount of fluffy bonus features. Tiffany's Tricked Out Cell Phone (480p, 4:35) allows viewers to watch a few "camera phone" videos that take viewers behind-the-scenes of the film, looking at pet costumes, human costumes, and a few storyboard-to-final-film comparisons. No Business Like Show Business (480p, 7:56) features a glimpse into the massive amounts of work that go into making a film, particularly one that involves animal actors and the special effects behind making it appear that they can talk. Finally, Star Tours: Dolittle Style (480p, 5:08) takes viewers on brief tours of several sets seen in the film. Disc two of this set offers a DVD of the film that contains the same special features as found on the Blu-ray disc.
It's never fun to point out the flaws in a movie like Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts. These sorts of films are meant for an audience that either won't care or won't understand the problems inherent to the picture, and for those viewers, it's a perfectly fine experience. Populated by plenty of cute animals; a cast that won't walk away with any Oscars but have a good bit of fun with the material; and a decent life lesson on the importance of discipline and not cutting corners, even if it is presented rather absurdly; Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts should satisfy young viewers and, hopefully, get its message across. 20th Century Fox's Blu-ray release, much like the film, won't impress Blu-ray fans expecting high quality, but the disc is certainly not a technical disaster. Sporting a passable but not at all exciting 1080p image, a front-heavy but adequately clear lossless soundtrack, and a few take 'em or leave 'em extras, Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts should make for a good rental on family movie night. Besides, any movie with a character named "Paul Furhooven" is at least worth checking out.
(Still not reliable for this title)
DVD Packaging
2012
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1966
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20th Anniversary Edition
1997
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