Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws Blu-ray

Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws

 (2009)

Family



The buddies are off on a jolly new adventure when Puppy Paws, pup of the legendary Santa Paws, and his friends travel to the North Pole to save Christmas from disaster!

For more details about Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws on Blu-ray, see the Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws Blu-ray Review

Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws Blu-ray, Video Quality

 


While Santa Buddies' direct-to-video aesthetics and low budget roots undermine most of what Disney's 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer is able to accomplish, the Blu-ray edition nevertheless offers a solid high definition presentation. Not only is its Tinseltown palette brimming with bold colors and dazzling sparks of light, primaries pop, skintones are warm and natural, and contrast is strong. Detail is relatively impressive as well, besting its DVD counterpart with improved clarity and crisper textures. The film's steady stream of cartoonish special effects still look positively outdated -- a two-dimensional ice cave and a fleet of soft-furred reindeer (among other elements) echo the low-rent CG of the '90s -- but shouldn't be used as a measure of the technical transfer's proficiency. However, artifacting and banding sometimes interfere with the proceedings, black levels fail to bottom out on occasion, and edge enhancement, though judiciously applied, rears its ringing head in a handful of shots. Even so, the image is quite clean and should satisfy anyone armed with appropriate expectations. No one, young or old, will confuse the quality of Santa Buddies' presentation with that of a Hollywood blockbuster, but wide-eyed kids and brave adults alike won't find much to complain about.

Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 


The same can be said of Disney's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track. Able-bodied, steady, and stable, the studio's lossless efforts are only hindered by Santa Buddies' limited soundfield and predictable design. Voices remain crystal clear throughout -- no surprise there considering the majority of conversations consist of a dog staring at another dog -- and clattering cookie sheets and toppling packages are well-prioritized. And while the LFE channel and rear speakers aren't tasked with any heavy lifting, they do manage to inject enough weight and presence into the mix to help it outclass other direct-to-video family tracks. The only downside? Sleigh rides, cracking ice caps, malfunctioning North Pole assembly lines, and other dynamic elements are few and far between. Likewise, directional effects are reserved for action-oriented scenes, ambience is subdued (at least when the cameras leave Santa's workshop), and acoustics, beyond those featured in more obvious locales like caverns and kennel wards, are uninvolving. Regardless, Santa Buddies isn't Star Trek or G.I. Joe, nor does it try to be. Its lossless track, though nothing to ask the Big Man for this Christmas, is decidedly decent and worthy of some measured praise.

Santa Buddies: The Legend of Santa Paws Blu-ray, News and Updates

• Today on Blu-ray - November 24th - November 24, 2009


• $10 Off Santa Buddies Blu-ray with Coupon - November 20, 2009


• Santa Buddies Gets Detailed - June 29, 2009


• Disney Reveals Shopaholic, Waterboy, and More Buddies - April 13, 2009

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