Blu-ray Review: Beverly Hills Chihuahua
By Samantha Clark -- Video Business, 3/2/2009
DISNEY
Street: March 3
Prebook: now
> Dogs make filmmaking look like child’s play in this fun romp.
Disney continues its effort to get families to adopt Blu-ray with the release of Beverly Hills Chihuahua. The comedy looks sharp in high-definition, and the dogs’ barks come clear through the speakers. But crisp picture and sound won’t be the first thing fans of this movie look for in the release. To add to the fun, Disney has given this Blu-ray version exclusive extras, including two fun featurettes: “Pet Pals: The Voices Behind the Dogs,” with Drew Barrymore saying if she were a dog, she would probably be something with spots, and “Hitting the Bark: On Set With the Dogs of Beverly Hills Chihuahua.” Dog fans will love the last one, with plenty of behind-the-scenes footage of the movie’s stars, especially Angel, the adorable dog who played 95% of the parts of lead character Chloe. Blu-ray also has more deleted scenes than the standard DVD version as well as BD Live.
Shelf Talk: The young fans of this movie won’t recognize the benefit of crystal clear audio and video, so Disney was wise to put exclusives on the high-def version. Dogs do well on video—Disney’s Air Bud franchise just spawned another DVD premiere—and with $94.5 million at the box office, this Chihuahua shouldn’t have any problem finding a home.
Family, color, PG (mild thematic elements), 91 min., BD $34.99, reviewed on a PlayStation 3 with 118-inch Carada screen, Sony VW60 projector and HDMI connection
Extras: featurettes, animated short, bloopers, deleted scenes, commentary, BD Live
Director: Raja Gosnell
First Run: W, Oct. 2008, $94.5 mil.
