BMG Music presents

Christina Aguilera: Genie Gets Her Wish (1999)

"It wasn't something I wanted, it was something that I needed to have happen, music is my life!"- Christina Aguilera

Stars: Christina Aguilera
Other Stars: Nick Aragon, Jermaine Browne, George Mynett, Jorge Santos, and Robert Vinson (dancers)
Director: Clare Davies

MPAA Rating: Not RatedRun Time: 01h:14m:25s
Release Date: 2000-02-08
Genre: pop

Style Grade	Substance Grade	Image Transfer Grade	Audio Transfer Grade	Extras Grade
C+	A	C	B+	B-

 

DVD Review

This DVD is a look into the musical life of Christina Aguilera. Genie Gets Her Wish starts off with Christina getting ready for a concert in her hotel room, then she turns off the lights and it gets started.

The disc is broken up into sections. In the first sections, "It Feels so Good," they show Christina on and behind the stage as she gives a live performance of Come On Over.

The next section, "The Discovery," begins with a flash of pictures of Christina as a child and growing up. Christina talks of her childhood growing up in Pittsburgh. She tells how she got started off by performing at local events, mostly just to get her name out there. She auditioned for the Mickey Mouse Club (a Disney television show in which kids perform their skills and talents) at age nine, but wasn't contacted until she was twelve, because she had been too young to be on the show. This scene is my favorite because Christina talks of how dedicated she was even as a child. She was cast on to the Mickey Mouse Club along with Brittany Spears, and Justin Timberlake and JC from 'N Sync. Then they show the Mulan music video with Christina singing while walking around a Japanese garden. This was her first taste of the music business.

"So Emotional," another song of hers, shows how Christina lip synching this song in the music studio.

Singing an Edna James song, with just vocals and a piano at a party, is the beginning of the next scene, "At Last," named after the song. I enjoy when Christina is singing the song with just her voice and piano because it shows she can actually sing, not like some of those artist who cover up their bad voices with technology. Christina talks about how she is scared of the dark, and how she didn't know her name was number one on the charts until she came back from Japan.

Genie in a Bottle is the name of Christina's number on single, and the next section, too. Finally her hit song is played along with the music video. This music video shows Christina walking on beach singing to her boyfriend about how he has to treat her right, and has to give her something she wants.

"When You Put Your Hands On Me" is the section in which Christina and her dancers are practicing in a studio. Christina talks about how close of a bond she feels with her fans, and how she hates not signing autographs for every one of them. This was my least favorite part because it seems as if Christina is putting on a face for the camera. There is also a short scene of her appearance on the Tonight show.

I Turn To You is the song and the section that deals with how she depends on her mom and loves her because she is always there to help her. It shows several shots of the two together, as Christina sings the song.

"On the Road" is about how Christina is adjusting to being away from everyone she loves. It also shows the problems she and her crew faced being on the road, like missing the plane!

The greatest part about the next section, "What a Girl Wants," is when they show Christina in the studio recording I>"What a Girl Wants, while showing quick clips of them dancing in concerts and practices. "Genie in a Bottle" shows clips from live concerts in Asia of Christina performing Genie in a Bottle.

The last scene is a studio performance of Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.I like these three scenes most especially because it shows that you can not just become great at something overnight, you have to earn it with hard work first.

Rating for Style: C+
Rating for Substance: A

 

Image Transfer

	One
Aspect Ratio	1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratio	yes
Anamorphic	no

Image Transfer Review: (Editor's notes: This 4:3 non-anamorphic transfer is good, but has several instances of pluming and bleeding reds. There is a considerable amount of aliasing distortion as well. Will your googly-eyed sons or daughters care?)

Image Transfer Grade: C
 

Audio Transfer

	Language	Remote Access
DS 2.0	English	yes

Audio Transfer Review: (Editor's notes: This is pretty good DS2.0 mix. The dialogue is well-rendered and center-balanced. There is occasional surround activity during the music video portions, but not much. The front stage directionality is limited, of course, but better than I expected. Genie in the Bottle in particular has some nice separation between the fronts and the center speakers for the front and backup tracks. I was actually impressed by some portions of this mix.)

Audio Transfer Grade: B+ 

Disc Extras

Full Motion menu with music
Scene Access with 12 cues and remote access
Packaging: other
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: single

Extra Extras:

1. Two music videos: Genie in a Bottle and What a Girl Wants
2. Photo Gallery
3. DVD-ROM weblink to Christina Aguilera's web sites

Extras Review: The disc includes two music videos:Genie in a Bottle—This takes place on a dark beach, while Christina is trying to tell her boyfriend that if he wants to stay with her he's got to give her something she wants, she is playing hard to get. What a Girl Wants—This takes place in a room where all the guys seem to hang out, it has all different activities in it. A bunch of girls come in and dance, while Christina is singing on behalf of the all the girls in the room to the guys, thanks for giving us space. I personally think that this music video is better than Genie in a Bottle.

Christina's Photo Gallery includes seventeen photos of Christina slowly flashing across the screen as the Mulan song, Look at Me, which she sang, plays.

Christina on the Web—This a direct link to Christina Aguilera's web sites, if you have a DVD-ROM drive and the web.

Extras Grade: B-
 

Final Comments

This DVD is pretty cool if you are a fan—it has all the stuff a fan could want. If you're not, it might even make you a new fan of Christina Aguilera.

Alexandra Orozco 2000-05-14