Where it seemed almost as if there was a period where some made ofr Disney Channel movies feel off the face of the earth for an extended period of time, Disney has really gotten back on their game and ensured that there will not be a similar collective loss of memory. While the quality of some of the Disney releases does vary, having ease of access to these films years after the fact ensures that individuals that grew up with the film will be able to show their children and grandchildren, whenever they may age into the shows.
“Hatching Pete†deals with a number of school aged-teens attempting to determine exactly whom is the individual underneath the school’s mascot, a plush chicken, while Dadnapped uses the acting work of Haley Joel Osment’s little sister, Emily, to try to figure out where eir father, well-known author Neal, is at. Melissa (Emily) eventually finds out that eir dad has been taken by a legion of rapid fan, and vows to get eir father back in one piece. Each of the films makes use of Disney channel stars, whether it be Mitchel Musso (Hannah Montana) in Hatching Pete or David Henrie (Wizards of Waverly Place) in Dadnapped.
Despite the fact that there are two full length movies present on this DVD, there are bits and pieces of additional material that will further speak to the care that Disney gave to the creation of this release. This means that is an exhaustive featurette about the mascot costume and what exactly entails performing in it, while Dadnapped contains a secondary ending that will be exclusive to this DVD. Furthermore, an on-disc graphic novel – “Tripp Zoome: Off The Rails†further provides context for the release. Hopefully Disney continues to release films in this manner; it provides a great value and ensures that no other Disney films are lost to the vortex of time.
Rating: 7.8/10
Hatching Pete / Dadnapped (DVD) / 2009 Disney / 173 Minutes / http://www.disneychanneldvd.com