Blu-ray: THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (2009)

Read my original THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG review.

As they did with their other recent animated release PONYO, Disney understands that animation is the cornerstone of their company and gives due respect to its release on Blu-ray. Disney Feature Animation's return to hand-drawn animation is an explosion of color in 1080p. From the dark night scenes in the bayou to the brightly colored Mardi Gras scenes, the painterly frames don't loose any of their luster. I didn't even see color banding in the deep reds. The presentation makes one very aware that there is real artwork dancing across the screen. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio matches the picture quality. Randy Newman's music presentation is amazing, coming across the full range of speakers. The full soundscape is this way. The swamps come alive in the room with insects and creatures. Sounds whirl around the speakers from front to back, especially in scenes when voodoo magic comes alive. The rich picture and sound makes for an immersive home viewing experience.

For fans of the film, the presentation is supplemented wonderfully by the special features. Directors/co-writers John Musker and Ron Clements, and producer Peter Del Vecho participate in a nice audio commentary, giving behind-the-scenes details about the film's development, as well as capturing the collaborative nature of animation by pointing out individual contributions of the artists that worked on the film. The disc also offers a Picture-in-Picture track where the film plays with a combination of pencil tests, storyboards, key animations and temp animation.

The "Magic in the Bayou" feaurette is a nice 22-minute look at the making of the film. The mini-doc delves into the development of the characters and the history of the film's development. When Pixar and Disney joined forces, two separate FROG PRINCE tales were brought together to make this version pitched by Musker and Clements.

The disc also features unfinished deleted scenes. Some include scratch dialogue and others the final actors. There is a dressing-making scene between Tiana and her mom, an alternative introduction to Louis, a scene where Prince Naveen challenges Tiana to stop and smell the roses for once, and a scene where Naveen confides in Ray about his feelings for Tiana.

There is a collection of shorter topic-centered featurettes on the disc that were previously released online before the film was released. They include: "Bringing Life to Animation," which shows how live-action reference footage is used; "The Return to Hand Drawn Animation;" "The Disney Legacy;" "A Return to the Animated Musical;" "Disney's Newest Princess;" "The Princess and the Animator," which shows how Tiana was designed and animated; and "Conjuring the Villain."

Closing out the disc are a Ne-Yo music video for "Never Knew I Needed," extensive art gallery, and "What Do You See: Princess Portraits," an interactive game where fireflies make out the faces of princesses for players to guess who is who.

One of the ten best films of 2009 turns into one of the best Blu-ray releases of 2010.