Bug's Life (SE)

Released by:

Buena Vista Home Video

Features:

1998; 95 Min; Rated G; Dolby Digital: 5.1 English; Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35) and Reformatted Full Frame.

Extras:

Disc 1: Audio Commentary by Director John Lasseter, Co-Writer/Director Andrew Stanton and Film Editor Lee Unkrich; Isolated Score (Stereo); Isolated Sound Effects Track (5.1).

Disc 2: Extensive Supplemental Materials Including: Introductions and Explanations by the Filmmakers; Original Story Treatment and Pitch Boards; "Fleabie" Early Presentation Reel; Production Progression Demonstration (Multi-Angle) and much more.

Review:

When Disney announced this Special Edition of Bug's Life, many people howled about the $49.99 price tag. Actually, let me rephrase that. All of the newbies to home theater griped about it. Most of the experienced home theater consumers, those that have owned LD, were annoyed, but had an idea of what was coming.

Many of us home theater "veterans" had seen, or purchased many of the great SE's that Disney was famous for. Outside of Lady and the Tramp, if one paid $50 or more for a Disney title, you received a minimum of 25 to 30 minutes of behind the scenes material. (I'll give Disney a reprieve on Aladdin since it was released before Disney ramped up their SE wing).

To be honest, the only companies that rivaled Disney on laser when it came to the collector's editions were Criterion, Pioneer, Universal, MGM and Fox. Hmm, now that I think about it, everyone knew how to make SE's except for Warner. It seems a little ironic since WB has led the pack with special editions on DVD. Then again, most of the studios are selective on which titles they give the SE treatment. Most of their product actually deserves a SE, save a few out of New Line, (Detroit Rock City anyone?) which were done just to boost sales. Warner's philosophy is usually, we'll do a SE if it will help the sales. It the movie sucked, see Wild Wild West, we don't have a choice, otherwise it won't sell.

Damnit, I 'm digressing again...

Anyhow, when it comes to the story of Bug's Life, we all know the plot. The grasshoppers, led by Hopper (Kevin Spacey) terrorize the ant colony every year for their annual stockpile of food. Flik (David Foley) is an imaginative ant, that continually screws up using his well intentioned inventions. He is sent out to find some "tough bugs," that will help the colony fight the oppressive grasshoppers and save the day. Everyone knows what a great family film this is, what is so awesome about this new DVD is that it rivals, if not surpasses, Disney and Pixar's previous reference laser disc SE of Toy Story.

This new disc is presented in anamorphic widescreen to appease the grumbler out there. It is definitely the new reference disc in the industry, for a 16X9 television. As is typical, there are minor down conversion artifacts for 95% of the viewing community, but since this is computer generated, it's one of the better down converted editions. The audio is the great mix that was present on the original edition of course.

Like Toy Story, and every other reference laser disc SE from Disney, the first disc contains the obligatory audio commentary from the films creators: John Lassiter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich. The commentary is quite informative, but not quite as funny as say Disney's Hunchback Of Notre Dame, where the directors were, how should I put it? Mugging for the mike? The biggest wise crack on this Bug's Life disc is saved for last, which puts the twisted nature of the film industry into perspective.

The major bonus included on this disc, over Toy Story, is the inclusion of and isolated score and an isolated sound effects track. While the score is recorded in two channel stereo, the effects track is left in it's 5.1 mix. Now while isolated score of effects tracks aren't new to Disney LD's, they have been absent since the advent of Dolby Digital. Due the space constraints of the format, the digital track are automatically used for PCM Stereo. While the first analog track is used for the DD, while the remaining track had normally been used for a commentary... or in the case of the Pocahontas CLV edition, Spanish (eh?).

Now personally, the extra effects track or score aren't a big deal to me, but since they were there, I played with them. A score's a score, no big deal, I can go buy the CD, but the effects track was interesting to say the least. Now I have always appreciated the intricacies of a good sound mix. I know a ton of effort goes into their design, but to hear one without the score and dialogue mixed into it is fascinating. One  never realizes how many subtle effects are mixed into the 5.1 soundtrack. While I only play with the first fifteen minutes, or so, just to hear the ants pick their food for a few moments, with the rustling of the leaves, the wind whispering and the like was pretty awesome.

The second disc goes into the production of the film, and video release in depth. You get everything, minus the traditional multi-language reel, from every previous Disney SE. The pitch meeting, the storyboards, the advertising materials etc. The best part of this disc is the proper use of the multi-angle feature. The whole flea circus is presented in the production progression demonstration. You can either watch each development section individually or switch to the other stages by using the multi-angle button of your remote. This is what I want multi-angle used for, screw watching a film from different angles, this should be reserved for production material. That's where the original material comes from anyhow. There a reason the final product looks the way it does.

Another bonus is the widescreen vs re-composed comparison. Guess what, there still is pan and scanning involved in the re-composed edition. While it's not as extreme with normal scope films, it's still a form of pan and scan. The feature on the re-formatting was very informative, but if it wasn't for the isolated sound effects track, I would have never watch any part of this version. It will be interesting how they will handle Toy Story 2.

I can't say enough about this tremendous collector's edition. For all the flack that Disney get about their pricing, when they continue to put out more product like this, a la Tarzan, Armageddon and the like, they'll easily get my money. It is a bonus when they tell us up front about these things, but if necessary, I have plenty of friends to dump my old movie-only editions on. I can't wait for Toy Story 2 and Tarzan...

BTW, if you're new to DVD, and don't understand what the fuss is about for this edition, go back to VHS!

Pixar continues to be one of Disney's strongest arm for animation and storytelling, this film earns a  9 out of 10.

This is the perfect SE disc, Disney has raised the bar for SE presentations and earns a perfect 10.

Reference System A

Dan Linzmeier, FIT Productions
Fitprod@aol.com
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