I spent last night with my lovely wife, and we watched WALL-E on DVD.  I had seen WALL-E before, but watching it on my computer screen, was a whole new, wonderful experience.  The DVD has some cool extras, but I did not have the 3 disc set to watch (we had borrowed a friend’s regular version).  The regular DVD features BURN-E, an additional short featuring some back story about the AXIOM, the feature, “Presto” that was played in the theatrical release, and a feature on the sound creation for the movie.  This feature was great for me (I’m a geek) because WALL-E utilized the talents of Sound Design Legend, Ben Burtt.   Burtt worked on a little movie called Star Wars.

If you haven’t watched WALL-E, shame on you!  But seriously, it’s a brilliant amalgam of Disney and Pixar.  They brought in the best and the brightest on board to tell the story of WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter-Earth Class) as he finds love and travels the galaxy.  Along the way we meet EVE (Extra-terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) and whole crew of other robots and humans.

The fascinating this about WALL-E, is that a majority of the story is told with minimal naration or dialog.  It’s a love story and adventure, it’s science fiction on a Disney scale.  I cannot recommend it enough.  If you have some extra time, and want to explore the world of WALL-E, visit his home page HERE.

Starring: John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Sussie Essman, and Mark Walton

Directed by Byron Howard and Chris Williams

Bolt is a very predictable “boy girl and his her dog”/travel story, but it’s a throwback for Disney Studios.  It’s the story of Bolt (Travolta) who belongs to Penny (Cyrus) and they are stars of one of TVs most popular spy shows.  Each week they thwart the plans of the ‘green-eyed man” and his sinister henchmen.  Unfortunately, Bolt does KNOW he’s in a TV show.  It’s reminiscent of Jim Carry’s Truman Show, but it’s a much better story than you’d think.  It seems that Disney is getting back to it’s roots of fun, moral stories.  Thank you, John Lasseter and Pixar.

Through a series of events, Bolt finds himself on the other side of the country and begins a cross-country journey to “rescue” Penny.  Bolt is joined by Mittens the cat (Essman) and Rhino (Walton), an over excitable hamster, and Bolts biggest fan.  Of course, Mittens is the “brains” of the operation and teaches Bolt to be a regular dog.  Watching Bolt learn to beg for food is possibly the cutest 3-5 minutes of the movie.  However, it’s Rhino that provides the funniest, most memorable moments.  There is a moment when Rhino’s blind faith in Bolt proves to be the lynch pin that provides the moral of the entire story, “you never let your friends go it alone.”

I was very fortunate to be able to watch Bolt in 3-D, the movie lended itself to 3-D enhancement, and it was a lot of fun…but then again, I’m a geek.  Sid and I loved watching Mittens teach Bolt how to be a dog, in fact, with our new beagle, Harley, we see a lot of Bolt-ish mannerisms.  Bolt is everything that is great about dogs and you don’t ever have to pooper scoop.

I would whole-heartedly recommend seeing Bolt and taking the family.  There is no language or even questionable dialog.  It’s a great Disney adventure that teaches a lesson about friends and relationships.  It’s fun and enjoyable and worth your time.

And I guarantee that after you watch Bolt, you’ll hug your dog, cat, or even your hamster.

Being a “VIDEO GUY,” I love when creative people take something great and make it even cooler. This is just one example of coolness that I just loved.  It brings 2 things I really love:  Pixar & James Bond.  So please enjoy, The Incredible Quantum of Solace.