Blu-ray Review: “Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure”

It may have taken Disney more than 50 years to give Peter Pan’s spunky sidekick her own feature, but now that they’ve kicked off the Tinker Bell film franchise, they’re through fooling around: Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure arrives only a year after 2008′s Tinker Bell, and comes complete with the kind of top-shelf voice cast (including a cameo from Anjelica Huston) and big-budget extras (including a score performed by an 82-piece symphony) that used to be synonymous with Disney. Direct-to-video animated films get a bum rap, and that’s due in large part to the crap that Disney released in the ’90s; between Tinker Bell and its sequel, however, the studio seems to be making a real effort to turn all that around.

The official synopsis of the film is as follows: The tale of Disney’s favorite fairy, Tinker Bell, continues in an all-new magical adventure beyond Pixie Hollow! Discover how the Pixies make their magic dust! Let your imagination soar as Autumn comes to Pixie Hollow. Take off in a hot air balloon with Tinker Bell and her new friend Blaze, a lightning bug who lights her way, on an enchanting secret journey to find a new moonstone, the source of the Pixies mystical dust. But hold on tight! There’ll be amazing encounters, some close calls, and a daring rescue by her old friend Terence! In her biggest adventure yet, Tinker Bell not only learns a lesson in responsibility, she discovers the true meaning of friendship. From the creators of Tinker Bell, ‘Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure’ is a captivating journey of self-discovery everyone will want to take. Read the rest of this entry

DVD Review: “Sonny with a Chance: Sonny’s Big Break”

Sonny with a Chance: Sonny’s Big Break (2009, Disney)
purchase from Amazon: DVD

Disney’s Sonny with a Chance is cut from the same cloth as the mouse house’s other tween sitcoms: bright, pretty young ingénue thrown into a crazy situation and surrounded by an ensemble of wacky supporting characters. In this case, the female star is Demi Lovato; the budding young music star that also has appeared in the Disney hit films, Rock Camp and Princess Protection Program. Lovato plays Sonny; she’s a Midwestern teenager brought to Los Angeles to become the newest star on “So Random,” a sketch show that resembles the old Nickelodeon series, All That. With her wide-eyed optimism and Midwestern gosh oh golly, Mickey and Judy “let’s put on a show” enthusiasm, Sonny is a fish out of water and immediately at odds with “So Random’s” other so L.A. starlet, Tawni (Tiffany Thornton). Tawni is a bratty teen whose ice cool heart is eventually melted by Sonny and they soon become fast friends.

The remainder of the “So Random” cast includes the Mutt & Jeff duo, Nico (Brandon Mychal Smith) and Grady (Doug Brochu). Smith and Brochu are great with the one liners and willing to make fools of themselves. They’re my favorite characters. There is also the standard “bratty little sister” character, this time in the form of Zora (Allisyn Ashley Arm), the youngest cast member. While “So Random” is very popular, it competes for an audience with “Mackenzie Falls,” a sort of Gossip Girl soap opera staring a group of prima donnas. Their leader is Chad Dylan Cooper (a funny Sterling Knight), who is so full of himself, he can’t pass a mirror without looking. Chad loves getting the better of the “So Random” gang, but has a hard time breaking Sonny’s spirit. This confuses him and strangely, makes him drawn to the girl. Read the rest of this entry

DVD Review: “Princess Protection Program”

Princess Protection Program (2009, Disney)
purchase from Amazon: DVD

When the DVD for Disney’s latest, Princess Protection Program arrived at the house, my daughter could hardly contain herself. The constant ads on the Disney Channel and the casting of TV stars Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place) and Demi Lovato (Sonny with a Chance) made it seem like this film was going to be a tweenage masterpiece, or at least something fun. On a Sunday morning while her mom and brother slept in, my daughter and I snuggled up on the couch and watched Princess Protection Program.

In the film, Lovato is a Princess Rosalinda, next in line to the throne of Costa Luna. When her country is overthrown by an evil dictator, she is put into the Princess Protection Program, a secret organization funded by royal families to protect their daughters. She is saved by Joe Mason (Tom Verica) an agent for the PPP, who takes her into hiding in his own home. His home is in rural Louisiana where he’s raising his teenage daughter, Carter (Gomez) on his own. That’s right, the Masons come from a long line of Disney families without a mother figure. Read the rest of this entry