General Evans Above Archive for Mar 12, 2013

Disney releases Mulan, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Brother Bear on Blu-ray

Mar 12, 2013 – permalink

I knew I was in for some Disney overload when I picked up the mail and received review copies of three new Blu-ray releases from the Mouse House: Mulan & Mulan II, The Hunchback of Notre Dame & The Hunchback of Notre Dame II and Brother Bear & Brother Bear 2. All three series, have the same evolution, the first is a cinematic release, while the sequel is one of Disney’s direct-to-video follow-ups. Traditionally that means the budget (and therefore the artwork) is a little less glorious in the sequels. Let’s recap the plots for you…

In 1998’s Mulan, a Chinese maiden secretly takes the place of her father when the Emperor calls for more soldiers. Disguised as a man, Mulan ends up becoming one of China’s greatest heroes. The film features the voice talents of Ming Na-Wen, BD Wong, and Eddie Murphy and the singing talents of Donny Osmond and Lea Solonga.

2005’s Mulan II, our heroine is engaged to Li Shang, but the couple must escort three princesses to Chang’an before they can marry. Their mission is put into jeopardy by Mushu, who doesn’t want to lose his job, and Mulan herself contradicts the Emperor’s orders.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame, released in 1996, tells the story of Quasimodo, the deformed bell-ringer of Notre Dame who must defy the minister of justice to help a dancing gypsy girl. The film features the voice talents of Tom Hulce, Demi Moore, Jason Alexander, Tony Jay, and Kevin Kline. The film’s 2002 sequel luckily saw most of the stellar voice talent return as well as the addition of Jennifer Love Hewitt. Quasimodo finds himself falling for the assistant of an evil circus magician, who forces his assistant to help him steal the famous cathedral bell.

2003’s Brother Bear tells the story of Kenai (Joaquin Phoenix), an Inuit boy who is turned into a bear by the Spirits when he needlessly kills one of the animals. A young bear cub, Koda (Jeremy Suarez), helps the Kenai learn the error of his ways by seeing life through the eyes of his victims. The film’s direct-to-video sequel, Brother Bear 2, was released in 2006 and had Patrick Dempsey taking over from Joaquin. In this story, Kenai must help an Inuit woman he shared a bond with when he was a young man. Will he keep his word and possibly abandon his Brother Bear?

Okay, now on to the discs. The Mulan 3-Disc Special Edition contains both movies on one Blu-ray and two DVDs. The Blu-ray versions of both films are in 1080p. Mulan has a 1.66:1 aspect ratio and Mulan II has a 1.78:1 ratio. While Mulan has rich, colouring that evokes a watercolour painting, its follow-up is less, say, artistic looking then its predecessor. That’s not not say Mulan II is not a faithful Blu-ray transfer, but rather a good transfer of a film with a lower budget and production values than its theatrically-released sibling. On the audio side, we get English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtracks as well as French, Spanish and Portuguese Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Again, there’s better use of the surround tracks in the theatrically-released original than in the sequel. In terms of extras, we get the usual assortment of behind the scenes looks, deleted scenes, commentaries and music videos.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame is not your typical Disney fare, with its death and darkness and all. Some consider it a great example of Disney’s traditional animation. The same cannot be said for its sequel, which, like Mulan II, doesn’t have the artistic merit or production values of its predecessor. Hunchback I has a 1.78:1 aspect ratio, while the sequel’s ratio is 1.66:1. The colours are warmer and richer in Hunchback I, while II is definitely more cartoony in appearance. Both Blu-ray transfers do have some banding and artifacts in their pictures, though its more excusable in the first one as the artwork is still worth it.

On the audio side, we get English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtracks as well as French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, and Russian and Portuguese Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks. Once again the theatrically-released first chapter makes good use of surround sound and low-frequency effects, while the direct-to-video sequel’s production values don’t really make as good a use of all the channels.

As far as extras go, they’re not too exciting, with Jason Alexander giving us a look behind the scenes and commentary and sneak peeks for other Disney properties.

The first Brother Bear movie has an interesting aspect ratio change, moving from a boxy 1.85:1 to a widescreen 2.35:1 ratio as the lead turns into a bear. Brother Bear 2 has a 1.78:1 ratio throughout. Again, richer colours and details in the first film and less detail and artistry in the sequel.

On the audio side, we get English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks as well as French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks. Again — are we sensing a theme yet? — the soundtrack on the first flick makes better use of the surround than the sequel.

The extras for this release include the usual suspects like deleted scenes and “making of” pieces as well as audio commentary by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas of SCTV fame.

To sum it up: while Mulan, Big Brother, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame are not the greatest of Disney’s traditional animation films, they’re still quite splendid to look at, especially The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The two II’s and a 2? Abominations. The worst, cheap-looking, low production value direct-to-video Saturday morning cartoons. Take a look at the opening sequence of The Hunchback and then follow it up with its sequel. It’s no contest. When John Lasseter became chief creative officer of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios after Disney’s Pixar purchase in 2006, he shut down the production of the cheaply made direct-to-video sequels which he thought was hurting Disney’s reputation and people’s opinion of drawn animation. To put the production values in focus, while a film like The Hunchback of Notre Dame might cost in the $70-100 million range, the direct-to-video sequels were quickly pushed out at a cost ranging from about $3.5 million to the low teens.

So, while you might want these collections for the first instalments, save yourself some time and skip the sequels.