Camp Rock may not have the energy or originality of High School Musical but it feels like a more authentic film in many ways.
Is it great comedy? Nope. Great drama? Nope. Great musical? Well, though there are some upbeat songs like "We Rock," "Start the Party," and "Hasta La Vista," I´d have to say that the music is pretty typical of films like this. But "Camp Rock" is an enjoyable light musical-drama that doesn´t try to be anything more. And you know what? That´s refreshing.
Video:
Given the swing to widescreen, it´s a little surprising that Disney went with 1.33:1 on the DVD. That´s one reason to go with Blu-ray on this title if you´re so inclined--though frankly there are times when I wondered whether it was filmed in 1.33:1 and stretched for the Blu-ray version, because some of the people look a little lithe at times. But as with the recent "Hannah Montana" concert in Blu-ray, it´s a distinct upgrade visually over the DVD. When you see the "Camp Rock" title card superimposed on the opening scene, you realize how much sharper, crisper, and color-true the 1080p version is. Without that frame of reference, you´d swear that the transfer was a little "soft," because in general there´s an atmospheric haziness that makes those bright colors fight to be seen. Still, there´s none of the edge blurring or deep-red "noise" that we saw in the DVD, and the best feature of the Blu-ray is that the skin tones are truer than the orange-tan folks we saw in the DVD.
Audio:
I have to say, though, that the uncompressed sound isn´t as impressive as I had hoped. On Blu-ray, the 5.1 PCM track (48kHz/24-bit) feels a little weighted toward the center speaker, with the rear speakers not as involved as they might have been. If you turn the volume up it´s robust enough, but Disney has been going a little light on the bass lately, and this release is no exception. Purists might want to make an adjustment. Then again, since the primary audience for "Camp Rock" is ´tweens and I don´t know too many ´tween audiophiles, it´ll probably be just fine for them.
Extras:
There´s actually a nice bundle of extras that will appeal to kids in the target age group. "How to Be a Rock Star" is divided into chapters or aspects that remind you of "How to be a Princess" in some of the other Disney releases. It´s a morals-based series of testimonies and opinions from the stars, with a little reality thrown in for good measure. The biggest surprise is that at 28 minutes it´s the longest feature. After that, it´s the law of diminishing returns. "Jonas Brothers: Real-life Rock Stars" is an engaging 16-minute bunch of clips strung together that make you realize how grounded these guys are. They´re a likable trio with good parenting and a good sense of who they are. You´ll hear the story of how the band formed, how much each practiced to get up to speed before they could start their band (five hours per day!) and how grueling the touring can be (10 cities in three days).
In "Introducing Demi Lovato" we get just roughly seven minutes of similar bio, with not nearly the interesting anecdotes. Then comes "Camp Memories," a slideshow, really, of behind-the-scenes photos set to two songs, all of which run just under six minutes. Then there´s "Hasta La Vista: From Rehearsal to Final Jam," an under five-minute segment that zeroes in on Francis and Fegan and their one big number. "Too Cool" does the same with the bonfire song, an under four-minute feature that oddly enough has more interesting tidbits than some of the longer ones--like the audience cutaway reaction shots were filmed first, or the bonfire was lit with propane, or all the parents sat in the audience during the filming. The latter especially makes you realize how involved the parents of these kids have to be.
Rounding out the bonus features are two music videos for "Start the Party" and "We Rock," a sing-along option for watching the movie, and "Camp Rock Karaoke," which allows you to choose which of the songs you want to sing: "Who Will I Be?," "This is Me," "What it Takes," "Start the Party," "Too Cool," and "Gotta Find You."
Bottom Line:
"Camp Rock" may not have the energy or originality of "High School Musical," but it feels like a more authentic film in many ways because it isn´t so over-the-top and the numbers aren´t Broadway-contrived. They musical routines are more organic, the humor is more subtle, and the cast is just as personable. Lovato does a good job, but non-actor Joe Jonas is perhaps the biggest surprise. Except for one scene where he looked a tad stiff, he showed that he can act just as well as these Disney actors can sing. And his brothers do a darned good job handling the comic relief.
Video:
Given the swing to widescreen, it´s a little surprising that Disney went with 1.33:1 on the DVD. That´s one reason to go with Blu-ray on this title if you´re so inclined--though frankly there are times when I wondered whether it was filmed in 1.33:1 and stretched for the Blu-ray version, because some of the people look a little lithe at times. But as with the recent "Hannah Montana" concert in Blu-ray, it´s a distinct upgrade visually over the DVD. When you see the "Camp Rock" title card superimposed on the opening scene, you realize how much sharper, crisper, and color-true the 1080p version is. Without that frame of reference, you´d swear that the transfer was a little "soft," because in general there´s an atmospheric haziness that makes those bright colors fight to be seen. Still, there´s none of the edge blurring or deep-red "noise" that we saw in the DVD, and the best feature of the Blu-ray is that the skin tones are truer than the orange-tan folks we saw in the DVD.
Audio:
I have to say, though, that the uncompressed sound isn´t as impressive as I had hoped. On Blu-ray, the 5.1 PCM track (48kHz/24-bit) feels a little weighted toward the center speaker, with the rear speakers not as involved as they might have been. If you turn the volume up it´s robust enough, but Disney has been going a little light on the bass lately, and this release is no exception. Purists might want to make an adjustment. Then again, since the primary audience for "Camp Rock" is ´tweens and I don´t know too many ´tween audiophiles, it´ll probably be just fine for them.
Extras:
There´s actually a nice bundle of extras that will appeal to kids in the target age group. "How to Be a Rock Star" is divided into chapters or aspects that remind you of "How to be a Princess" in some of the other Disney releases. It´s a morals-based series of testimonies and opinions from the stars, with a little reality thrown in for good measure. The biggest surprise is that at 28 minutes it´s the longest feature. After that, it´s the law of diminishing returns. "Jonas Brothers: Real-life Rock Stars" is an engaging 16-minute bunch of clips strung together that make you realize how grounded these guys are. They´re a likable trio with good parenting and a good sense of who they are. You´ll hear the story of how the band formed, how much each practiced to get up to speed before they could start their band (five hours per day!) and how grueling the touring can be (10 cities in three days).
In "Introducing Demi Lovato" we get just roughly seven minutes of similar bio, with not nearly the interesting anecdotes. Then comes "Camp Memories," a slideshow, really, of behind-the-scenes photos set to two songs, all of which run just under six minutes. Then there´s "Hasta La Vista: From Rehearsal to Final Jam," an under five-minute segment that zeroes in on Francis and Fegan and their one big number. "Too Cool" does the same with the bonfire song, an under four-minute feature that oddly enough has more interesting tidbits than some of the longer ones--like the audience cutaway reaction shots were filmed first, or the bonfire was lit with propane, or all the parents sat in the audience during the filming. The latter especially makes you realize how involved the parents of these kids have to be.
Rounding out the bonus features are two music videos for "Start the Party" and "We Rock," a sing-along option for watching the movie, and "Camp Rock Karaoke," which allows you to choose which of the songs you want to sing: "Who Will I Be?," "This is Me," "What it Takes," "Start the Party," "Too Cool," and "Gotta Find You."
Bottom Line:
"Camp Rock" may not have the energy or originality of "High School Musical," but it feels like a more authentic film in many ways because it isn´t so over-the-top and the numbers aren´t Broadway-contrived. They musical routines are more organic, the humor is more subtle, and the cast is just as personable. Lovato does a good job, but non-actor Joe Jonas is perhaps the biggest surprise. Except for one scene where he looked a tad stiff, he showed that he can act just as well as these Disney actors can sing. And his brothers do a darned good job handling the comic relief.
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[release]24234[/release]