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Walt Disney Home Video presents

Disney Princess Party: Volume Two (2005)

MPAA Rating: Not Rated for nothing objectionable
Run Time: 01h:42m:00s
Release Date: 2005-02-15
Genre: family

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

 

DVD Review

Disney Home Video has always been the leader in family DVD entertainment. Whether it be the exceptional DVD treatment they have given to their classic animated films like Beauty & the Beast and The Lion King, or the surprisingly good discs for their direct-to-video sequels to these and others of their classic franchises. Even while these fine releases have been gracing DVD shelves, Disney DVD has always found time to also release fun, interactive discs for kids who want something more than just Disney movies. Disney Princess Party: Volume Two is one of these releases, and is the perfect mix of animated shorts and fun games that will keep kids busy for hours.

The disc is broken down into three sections: Stories & Music, Games & Activities, and Party Planner. You also have the option to Play All, which goes in order through everything in the Stories & Music and Games & Activities section.

Stories & Music begins with Sandswitch, which is an episode of the Aladdin animated TV series. This tells the story of Sadira, an evil woman who casts a spell on everyone that makes them think that she is Aladdin's fiancée instead of Jasmine. Fortunately, the spell doesn't work on animals, so it's up to Iago, Abu, and Rajah to break the spell.

Fifi's Folly is from the DVD Beauty & the Beast: Belle's Magical World, and this story revolves around Lumiere forgetting that it's the fifth anniversary of his initial date with Fifi the feather duster. When Fifi sees Belle helping Lumiere prepare for the big event, she gets the wrong idea about Belle's feelings towards her love.

Where Dreams Begin is a music video featuring a montage of princess footage from numerous Disney classics. This fast-paced pop tune is sure to have young girls playing this segment over and over again. The Princess Virtual Environment is rather brief and just takes you on a ride through the clouds, with more princess footage from classic Disney movies to watch along the way.

While the video segments are sure to please this DVD's target audience, they'll want this disc mostly for the Games & Activities section, which will also prove most beneficial to parents who can plan "Princess Parties" using this nice digital tool. Each game is very fun for the girls, and a brief description of them is listed below:

Pocahontas' Drawing Game: Teams take turns guessing what Pocahontas is drawing on the screen.Ariel’s Treasure Game: This group activity has players pass a gift to different members of the party. This multi-layered gift is unwrapped, layer-by-layer, until the last layer is revealed.Mulan’s Fortune Teller: Players have their fortune told to them by Mushu through the interactive use of the DVD player's remote control.Make Your Own Fortune Teller: This tells you how to make the fortune-telling device used in the previous game.Belle's Mixed-Up Stories: Belle reads a story and stops when it doesn't make sense. Players help Belle fix the story be selecting what comes next.The Perfect Prince Game: Players must help reunite a princess with their perfect prince by asking the princes questions to determine their identity.Princess Pajama Jam: This dance-along activity has kids try and follow along with the dancing that is occurring on the screen.

In order to make one of these "Princess Parties" work, parents would be wise to consult the Party Planner section, which not only provides detailed instructions for each of the games on this disc, but also provides a series of tips for how to plan one of these get-togethers.

Rating for Style: A
Rating for Substance: A

 

Image Transfer

 One
Aspect Ratio1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratioyes
Anamorphicno


Image Transfer Review: Given that each of the video segments comes from a different time and source material, the overall quality varies considerably. The video for the Beauty & the Beast segment, called Fifi's Folly, is quite good, with bright colors throughout. However, the look of Sandswitch from the Aladdin series is awful, with overly dark images and a ton of grain. The video in the Games & Activities section does look very good though, but mostly because it’s newer footage.

Image Transfer Grade: C+
 

Audio Transfer

 LanguageRemote Access
Dolby Digital
5.1
English, Frenchyes


Audio Transfer Review: The Dolby Digital 5.1 mixes are a nice surprise, especially given the various ages of some of these programs. However, not many of the segments take advantage of 5.1's capabilities. The one that really does, Fifi's Folly, spreads the sound to all of the speakers during most of the program. The lively dance numbers get an added boost from some truly bombastic effects and an enveloping sound field. A bit of aggressive bass pops up from time to time too, making this a real audio treat. The sound for the other programs on this disc are still 5.1 mixes, but most of the audio comes from the front speakers and sound effects, music, etc. is never really given the room to breathe that it is during Fifi's Folly.

Audio Transfer Grade: B- 

Disc Extras

Full Motion menu with music
Subtitles/Captions in English with remote access
7 Other Trailer(s) featuring Pooh’s Heffalump Movie, JoJo’s Circus, Disney Princess, Mulan II, Bear in the Big Blue House, Disney Learning Adventures, Growing Up With Winnie the Pooh
Weblink/DVD-ROM Material
Packaging: Keep Case
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extras Review: Since the bulk of Disney Princess Party: Volume Two consists of what would be considered "Extra Features" on any other disc, the only thing to mention here are Sneak Peeks for other Disney DVD releases.

Extras Grade: C
 

Final Comments

Disney has come to the forefront of DVD entertainment yet again with Disney Princess Party Volume Two. Young girls who are sick of tired, old slumber parties will be soon convincing their parents to get this disc and help them plan their very own "Princess Party."

Chuck Aliaga 2005-02-16