Bolt Blu-ray

Bolt Blu-ray

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Video Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video resolution: 1080p Aspect ratio: 1.78:1 Audio English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (less) Subtitles English SDH, Spanish English SDH, Spanish (less) Discs 50GB Blu-ray Disc Three-disc set (3 BDs)

Price List price: $39.99  Amazon: $27.99 (Save 30%) Third party: $15.49 (Save 61%) Usually ships in 24 hours Blu-ray rating Users 4.5 Reviewer 4.0 Overall 4.4 Based on 29 user ratings Playback Region A (B, C untested)

Bolt

Before I even laid eyes on Bolt's phenomenal 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer, I already had a sense of everything I would probably end up writing about it. After all, Disney's nothing if not consistent when it comes to the visual quality and clarity of their animated Blu-ray releases. So it was that from the moment the ever-classy Walt Disney Animation Studios logo faded away to reveal an inviting pet-shop window, the hair on my arms and neck stood up. What followed was an onslaught of perfection that held my attention far more intently than the movie itself -- colors oozed off the screen, black levels were as dark and deep as any I've seen, and contrast was absolutely flawless from beginning to end. More impressive was the exquisite fine detail crammed into every single frame. Ignore the realistic haze the film's lighting produces at times and concentrate on the individual strands of hair on each animal's back, the tightly stitched fabric of Penny's wardrobe, and the pause-it-and-stare nicks and cracks in the cityscape's brickwork. Better still, take note of the film's painterly skies and swirling brush-stroked trees, each gradient rendered with subtle care and evocative precision.

Once you've settled down and rubbed your eyes, try searching for instances of artifacting, digital noise, edge enhancement, banding, or any other technical or post-production nonsense that could possibly spoil the proceedings. Give up? That's because the high definition image is so impeccably clean that I didn't have a single negative gripe scribbled in my superlative-ridden notes. Make no mistake, dear readers, Bolt delivers one of the finest animated transfers... strike that... finest transfers I've ever had the privilege to review. I don't know what sinister magic the folks in Disney's Blu-ray division are wielding, but I hope they continue to produce masterful presentations of this caliber for years to come.

Bolt Blu-ray, Audio Quality

How does one make a direct comparison between a subversive, blood-soaked comicbook adaptation like Wanted and a warm-n-fuzzy family flick like Bolt? By focusing on the astonishing lossless audio tracks that grace both their Blu-ray releases, of course. Don't misunderstand: I expected Bolt to sound good, but I didn't expect my son to cover his ears, my cat to flee the room, and my wife to make her way downstairs to see what all the commotion was about.

From its opening volley of action to the raging fires of its harrowing climax, Disney's DTS-HD 6.1 Master Audio track (labeled as a 5.1 mix on the back cover and in the main menu for whatever reason) is the kind of sonic experience that will blow you away. Its LFE resonance and power is rivaled only by other top-tier mixes on the market -- explosions will rattle your windows, crashing helicopters will overwhelm you, and rumbling trains will appeal to your discerning sensibilities. Likewise, the rear speakers are aggressively engaged as the track creates an intensely satisfying and wholly immersive soundfield, all while bolstering each interior's already-convincing acoustic properties. Swerving traffic will naturally shoot across your home theater, the soft rustling of trees will envelope you from every direction, and, once again, you'll find it's quite difficult to complain about any of it. To top it all off, dialogue is crisp and refined, balanced nicely across the front speakers, and perfectly prioritized in the soundscape.

But wait... there's more! Directionality is spot on, the track's dynamic range packs heavy punches, and channel pans are smooth enough to trick the most hardened listener into spinning around to avoid whatever debris is raining down around them. I don't mean to exaggerate or fill my paragraphs with too much glowing praise (glancing at my notes, I realize they're more akin to a stalker's hand-scribbled love letter than a typical Blu-ray Disc review), but I simply can't get over the exceptional craftsmanship of Bolt's original sound design and resultant DTS-HD MA mix. I just wish I could mark both its video transfer and audio track even higher. Kudos Disney on yet another jaw-dropping, ear-shattering AV presentation.

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