Blu-ray Movie Reviews

A chic Chihuahua named Chloe (voiced by Drew Barrymore) is lost south of the border by her careless dog-sitter (Piper Perabo), and she must find her own way back to her 90210 standard of living. Working her way north with the help of her newfound German shepherd friend, Delgado (Andy Garcia), she learns to become more self-sufficient and to embrace her "tiny but mighty" Chihuahua heritage.

Sitting down to watch this, I didn't expect much, but low expectations delivered superior results. Sure, the story is simplistic and shows signs of a trimming-down to deliver a 90-minute runtime, but it's meant for kids and there's enough humor for the adults to keep it entertaining. George Lopez provides the voice of Papi, Chloe's ardent admirer, and has some of the funniest lines in the film.

The AVC encode delivers an inspiring picture with bright colors, rock-solid black levels, and brilliant contrast. As expected from a day-and-date release, the print is flawless and resolution is razor-sharp in both the close-ups and long shots. Colors are a bit oversaturated, especially green and red, but the kids didn't seem to mind one bit.

The uncompressed PCM 5.1 soundtrack is quite active for a kid's movie, with ample discrete effects throughout the soundfield, especially barking dogs in the surround speakers. The front soundstage utilizes copious panning effects, and dialog is clear and intelligible—an important plus in the dialog-heavy track.

The abundant HD bonus features include a funny animated short called "Legend of the Chihuahua," bloopers, deleted scenes, and an audio commentary with director Raja Gosnell. Supplements exclusive to the Blu-ray release include a look at the voices behind the dogs, a funny piece on the dogs from the film, and additional deleted scenes, plus access to Disney's BD-Live website.

Unlike the recently reviewed Space Buddies, Beverly Hills Chihuahua offers more than cute dogs that talk—it actually has a coherent and entertaining story. The video is top-notch, and there are enough laughs for the whole family to enjoy.

Release Date: March 3, 2009
Studio: Walt Disney Studios

Movie: 6/10
Picture: 9/10
Sound: 7/10

Review System

Source
Panasonic DMP-BD55

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 Amplifier
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics