April 8 - VDT "Double DVD Pack" review

I did it! I went into the store, saw the display, took some pictures, and bought the 2 Disc DVD! :)

At Albertsons I saw the big cardboard ship display with the DVDs and Sodas on it. Pretty cool.

At Albertsons

But they only had the single disc DVD and the Blu-ray combo pack. And I figured Fred Meyer would have the same stuff, since they were also mentioned in the news story.

So mom drove me over to Walmart. There they had Dawn Treader banners on their "new releases" stand by the check out. They were selling the single disc DVD, Blu-ray combo, plus the "Double DVD Pack" and "Single Blu-ray disc" versions... (which are, i think, exclusive at Walmart, Target and Best Buy.)

At Walmart

Since the 2 Disc DVD ("Double DVD Pack") was the one I had decided I was going to get, I bought it. I was thrilled to find out that inside of their bad cover/sideways/"Perfect Easter Gift" box, was a regular single disc DVD with a pretty cover! YES! and... an "Explorer Pack" single disc case, which supposedly has all of the bonus features the Blu-ray has except for three featurettes. (Click on the second picture to see what I mean.) I don't think this is the case...

 

As soon as I could (after a dentist appointment and my sister's senior photoshoot) I popped the movie DVD into our DVD player. I LOVE THE MENU!! Very cool montage in a frame shaped like the Magician's map. On the main menu you can click: PLAY, SET UP, SCENES, or EXTRAS. I clicked on Extras. There you can watch the four Deleted Scenes or the Director/Producer commentary.

I watched the deleted scenes. The first (In Narnian clothes) I'm glad they cut, because I don't think it would have flowed or been in character for Lucy at all. The second (Eustace is Ill) and third (Mutiny) are both scenes mentioned in the book. The filmmakers didn't stray as far as you think from the story. I'm kind of sad these scenes were cut. The last (Doubt) was one I suspected would be on the deleted scene list after watching the movie a couple of times. Remember the scene right before they reach Ramandu's Island and Edmund and Caspian are in the cabin with the swords? In the movie there is only one line, and it seemed incomplete... I was right. The rest of it is the deleted scene "Doubt." It's basically a time for Edmund to be inspirational... Never give in to temptation, doubt, etc.

The "SET UP" and "SCENES" looked good. I didn't play the movie yet because I didn't have time. :(

The second disc "Explorer Pack" is definitely a fun present for an Easter basket. Do you get Easter baskets at your age? I didn't think so. I stopped at about age 11. That's the age this disc is marketed to. :/ On each Island there is a narrated explanation of the island. There are little explanations about certain Narnian characters, good and evil. And a very easy "seven swords" game that shows you a picture of the sea serpent if you lose and Aslan if you win. Nice... Oh! One new thing I did enjoy was "King Caspian's Guide to the Dawn Treader." Ben Barnes is narrating as Caspian, giving you a tour of the ship and telling how it was made in Narnia (with the help of the mice, dwarves, etc.) I also loved the animated short, which is dedicated to Pauline Baynes. It's not really animated, just some of Pauline Baynes' drawings being used to illustrate King Caspian's (Ben Barnes again) adventure from the time the Pevensies left him as King and then rejoined him in the sea. (Think the Dawn Treader credits.) That was very entertaining. Especially the joust between Caspian on Destrier and Shasta on Bree..... :p ) Anyway, moving on! The only really official stuff on the disc is the Theatrical Trailer, the four Fox Movie Channel Videos which you can download for free on itunes and a short Behind the Scenes promotional featurette called "The Epic Continues." which I have seen online somewhere also. Not much new. Or maybe it's just not new to me since I work for a Narnia site, and I hear about these videos when they appear online. The best video is the "Making of a Scene" Fox video. AWESOME. I want more of that for all of the movie!!

In short, this bonus disc IS NOT your average "Here's how we made the movie! We had lots of fun and we learned a lot! Here's special featurettes of us backstage! Oh and don't forget the outtakes and cast commentary!" I saw none of that. It had NO long Behind the Scenes video, NO cast commentary (we knew about that), and NO outtakes!

But the actual movie DVD disc is VERY cool. And I can't give an opinion on the Blu-ray combo edition, because I don't have a Blu-ray player. Here's Griffle's analysis on NW. All I can say is it looks really beautiful! (All of the fold-out pictures and all!) The Blu-ray does have more good Behind-the-Scenes stuff... like a VFX reel and a "Battle on the Sea" featurette. Oh, and I heard once that there was supposed to be a "Seasick Gag Reel." Everyone thought that was the outtakes. I don't know. If they're on the DVD, they're hidden, and I haven't found them yet.

I'm hoping for a future "Special Edition" or "Collector's Edition" or "Extended Version," etc. that will have a lot more Behind the Scenes and stuff on it. This movie was awesome, and it deserves an awesome set of Bonus Features. I'm afraid most Narnia fans will be disappointed. Unless they buy the single disc DVD. That one is awesome! :)

Two more notes....

Please don't think I regret buying this. No! I couldn't rest until I had seen the display and bought one. It made the day special. Also, If I had bought the single disc DVD I would have "wondered til it drove me mad what would have happened if I had" bought the bonus disc also. I'm glad I got to see it, and I'm sure I'll enjoy watching those Fox featurettes next year, when I've forgotten what they are about. :p

Also, I'm not trying to dissuade you from buying the film!!! If you have already seen all of the Fox itunes featurettes I mentioned, and you don't care about seeing the Pauline Baynes short, then just buy the single disc DVD. Or you could buy the Blu-ray and let me borrow it to see the extra stuff I'm missing! :p Just kidding... The Blu-ray is probably the coolest though. It even comes with a Digital Copy!! If I want a Digital copy I have to buy it off of itunes for $15. Oh how I wish we had a Blu-ray player!!

Anyway... I hope you enjoyed my long review. :p

Further up and Further in!