Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Created from a scan of the original 1937 negative and given a digital restoration, the image of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on Blu-ray Disc is stunning. It juxtaposes intensely bright, vibrant colors, such as those of the wicked Queen's outfits, with the more muted (though equally rich), autumnal tones of the dwarfs' clothes and their surroundings. All the incredible detail in both the foreground and back is visible. A still pool is astonishingly realistic. And with the depth of the animation's drawings revealed, it seems like Snow White is moving through the middle of a three-dimensional world.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 sound is excellent. It completely surrounds you in music and song, with clear separation among the 8 channels, while delivering great bass. Hear, for example, the overwhelmingly powerful score that accompanies Snow White as she flees through the forest. Extras are spread across all three discs in this Diamond Edition. One of the discs is a DVD, which - besides holding a standard-def version of the movie, whose picture and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound are more than fine themselves - offers a commentary (led by film historian John Canemaker) that incorporates a montage of interviews with Walt Disney and his collaborators, covering everything from the technical to the psychological. Back on the two Blu-ray Discs, one feature allows you to interactively wander into each department of Walt's studio, where you'll gradually find 3 hours' worth of short documentaries that include classic cartoons - with everything in high-def. Clicking on framed pictures to get galleries and audio interviews may seem like a throwback to the days of DVD-ROM, but the rewards are rich.

There are more featurettes (one on Disney's storyboarding of a possible Snow White sequel), and you also get two roughly animated deleted scenes, some "Heigh-Ho" karaoke, four games, and a hip-hop video in which you can put your face on a dwarf. Buy It Here