5.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
The Buddies are off on an all new adventure, and this time their journey takes them all the way to the ruins of ancient Egypt where, with the help of some new friends, including Digger the Archeologist dog, Cammy, a baby camel, and a mischievous monkey named Babi, they’ll explore mysterious tombs, dodge treacherous booby traps, and race against a devious cat in search of the greatest treasure known to animalkind, the lost collar of Cleocatra.
Starring: Tucker Albrizzi, Adam Alexi-Malle, Tim Conway, Mason Cook, Skyler GisondoFamily | 100% |
Comedy | 54% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Another adventure, another round of G-rated talking-animal hijinks, another direct-to-video franchise pup sure to please the kiddies and leave parents desperately concocting an excuse as to why they need to step out of the room for ninety minutes. Yes, it's another Buddies movie, now with more uncomfortably mediocre CG and vague cultural stereotyping! (For added flavor maybe? I'm not sure.) With the Buddies having already invaded a haunted mansion, gone sled-dogging in Alaska, brought a band of illegal breeders to justice in wine country, walked on the moon, and trekked to the North Pole to help Santa Paws save Christmas, where else was there to go? The Middle East, of course, for an archaeological romp that steals a cursed page from The Revenge of Kitty Galore tome. And the end result is exactly what you'd expect: a fairly harmless but ultimately irritating time-sink sure to stunt young children's cinematic palates but leave them laughing, grinning and asking for more.
Treasure Buddies, like all of the Buddies Blu-ray releases before it, features a serviceable but sanitized 1080p/AVC-encoded video transfer that performs its duty to the letter. While a high-gloss digital video sheen presides over the presentation, the results strike me as technically sound. Colors are warm and vivid (albeit a bit sterile, as expected), primaries are playful, skintones are nicely saturated, and black levels are imperfect but more than adequate. Contrast and clarity are crisp and consistent as well, with plenty of decently resolved fine details and clean, reasonably refined edges to go around. The film's CG is jarring and ungainly, sure, but by no fault of the encode itself. Artifacting, banding and aliasing are kept to a minimum, and the minor oddities that do amble on screen seem to trace back to the source (specifically, to the visual effects work). Treasure Buddies' high definition presentation isn't going to wow anyone, impressionable young videophiles included, but it gets the job done.
Disney's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track doesn't earn a pass, though, despite the fact that it's presumably a fair representation of the movie's sound design. Dialogue is crammed into the center channel and given little room to roam (save those instances that voices bounce around an enclosed chamber when the Buddies take their adventure underground). Competent prioritization prevents any lines, barks or yips from being buried in the soundscape, but Egypt -- even green-screened Egypt -- has never sounded this flat and uninvolving. While the rear speakers deliver ample activity, it's strictly of the artificial variety. Directional effects are contrived and ineffective, pans are stocky, and the soundfield isn't convincing in the least (although it does get slightly better when the Buddies begin exploring Cleocatra's tomb, at which point things become a touch more immersive). LFE output is merely passable too, with rare moments of puppy power overshadowed by a distinct disinterest in properly supporting anything but the most obvious low-end elements. Brahm Wenger's score is left to its own devices too, dragged to the forefront when the Buddies are on the run and then sent packing the moment they have something to say. It all amounts to a rather one-dimensional experience that does little to enhance the adventure.
Two extras. A Cribs parody, "DIGS: B-Dawg Edition" (HD, 5 minutes), and a "Roam" music video (HD, 3 minutes), featuring Caroline Sunshine, Kenton Duty, Adam Irigoyen and Davis Cleveland. No more, no less.
To those of you who wish someone else would review the Buddies releases and give them more of a fair shake, I can only tell you I'm probably being kinder than most of my colleagues would. I'm not opposed to a good talking-animal flick, even a direct to video one, but I grow more and more irritated with the candy-coated children's drivel being tossed onto store shelves. There's a decent film in Treasure Buddies, I'll admit. It just dies a horrible, agonizing death long before the annoying pups reach Cleocatra's tomb. Some serious franchise retooling is in order. Otherwise, the poor old dog just needs put down. On the Blu-ray front, things aren't much better. While the movie's high definition video presentation is solid, its DTS-HD Master Audio track fizzles and its supplemental package is an 8-minute waste of time. Kids may enjoy the movie for what it is -- harmless entertainment -- but parents should know better. Introduce your children to more meaningful family films and throw this direct-to-video bone to the dogs.
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