Princess Protection Program (DVD)

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Unlike many Disney Channel shows, there's not a lot of smack-talking kids, but I have to say that for a guy who makes his living as an agent, Dad/Mason is pretty clueless when it comes to figuring out what's going on with his daughter and her friends. But he's not as dumb as most Disney dads, and that's something parents will appreciate. The over-the-top character is General Kane (Johnny Ray), who's got a little of the "Snow White" queen in him and would have had fun with a longer mustache to twirl.

"Princess Protection Program" is helped by the rich-girl/poor-girl, princess/tomboy teach-each-other formula, but location Puerto Rican filming is also a plus. I can't imagine that this Disney movie is going to be a mega-hit the way "High School Musical" or "Camp Rock" was, but it's going to have a solid debut on the 26th and probably sell a bunch of DVDs. It's a cute family film that's rated TV-G, and there aren't enough of those these days. And since it is a family film, I'm going to share the family rating with you: My Disney princess gave it an 8 out of 10, my son gave it a 7 out of 10, and my wife and I gave it a 6 out of 10 (which we still consider to be bottom-line okay entertainment).

Video:
Even with its TV offerings Disney has decent production values, and "Princess Protection Program" is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen, enhanced for 16x9 television sets. Colors are bright and fully saturated, and even the bright reds don't bleed the way they often do.

Audio:
The audio is a Dolby Digital 5.1 in English, French, or Spanish, and though the soundtrack is nothing special (effects speakers, for example, only get limited use during action scenes), there's no distortion and there's a nice balance between the dialogue and other audio enhancements. Subtitles are in French and Spanish.

Extras:
"Royal & Loyal BFFs" features Gomez and Lovato talking about their real-life friendship, and girls will warm to it. My son, of course, left the room. He wasn't about to come back to watch "A Royal Reality," either, in which "a real-life princess shares the realities about gowns, castles, and her royal responsibilities." But this is a feature that could have been better. The featured princess is India Oxenberg (whose mother, Princess Catherine Oxenberg, you might remember as Amanda from the old "Dynasty" TV series!). The problem is that we're never properly introduced to Princess India. How exactly is she a princess, and what specifically does being a princess mean? All we get, really, are generalities about princess responsibilities. But what country does she have an affiliation with, we'd even like to know. Well, here's where it gets complicated. Disney doesn't tell you, but Catherine's maternal grandmother was the sister of Princess Marina, who married Queen Elizabeth II's uncle and also is cousin to the Queen's husband, Prince Phillip. Got that? So Princess Catherine is in line for the British throne, though there are a ton of people ahead of her. But as Princess India talks, we come to understand that she's a princess by relation to Greek and Russian royalty as well. Anyway, this is a fluff piece that could have been more substantial had Disney trusted the intelligence of their little audience instead of just wanting to reinforce "princess values."

The only other bonus feature is a music video with Gomez and Lovato singing "One and the Same."

Bottom Line:
"Princess Protection Plan" is another fairly solid Disney family movie, sweet enough for Disney princesses and funny enough for the boys in the family. It won't be a megahit, but it will entertain your family on movie night.

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