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The Parent Trap(1998)
Disney
1.85:1(Non-Anamorphic)/Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0
Also:French 2.0
128 Minutes
Rated:PG
Region:1
Dual Layer:Yes
Subtitles:English
Reviewed on a Panasonic A110

The Film:
Disney remake of the 1961 classic about twins switching places. Halley Mills played the role in the original and to be honest, I was not expecting much from this remake, but I was pleasantly suprised. Lindsay Lohan, in her acting debut, is perfectly natural and wonderful. This is the debut of an excellent child actor, and this was certainly a tough role, playing one American girl and one British one. The illusion of "both" girls on the screen at the same time is very, very well done.

The girls meet each other at Summer Camp, and although they intially hate each other, they find that they have more than just their looks in common and gradually, the two become friends and also realize that they've got the exact same parents, only they're now split. The plan: the girls teach each other to be the other one, and go to visit the parent they've never seen.

The rest of the film involves the two girls figuring out how to get their parents back together. Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson are extremely likable in the roles and the film also includes a very nice supporting cast, especially Lisa Ann Walter in an excellent performance. Locations in California and London are magnificent and if the film wasn't expensive, it sure looks quite costly.

Again, it's Lohan in the title roles that makes the film work. She's so wonderfully energetic in the role that I found her performance excellent and overall, I was suprised by just how much I enjoyed this film.

THE DVD:
IMAGE: Consistently beautiful 1.85:1 transfer spread across a dual layer disc. Images are consistently clear and always razor sharp. Colors are constantly vibrant; the blues, the greens, the reds; all look incredibly pleasing on this disc. Color saturation is wonderful throughout and images have perfect contrast as well. The only area where I saw some problems was that there was the occasional instance of shimmering("aliasing") during a few scenes but it never reached the point where I found myself distracted from the movie. Depth-of-field is also quite pleasing. Overall another excellent transfer from Disney.

AUDIO: It's not an especially enveloping soundtrack that'll get your sound setup jumping, but it definitely has some very strong positives. The bright pop songs that are heard throughout in the Alan Silvestri score sound absolutely, positively full and wonderfully clear, filling the room will great tunes. The dialogue mix is excellent; dialogue is clear and easily heard.

EXTRAS: Just the trailer.

MENUS: Very dull and basic menus that remind me of Disney's first releases.

Overall: If you've enjoyed the movie, this is certainly a nice presentation by Disney. If you enjoyed it quite a bit, you may want to consider a purchase. If you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend a rental. I certainly found the film very enjoyable and quite a bit of fun.

GRADES:
The Film:B+
Audio Quality:B+
Video Quality:A-
Menus:D-
Extras:D-
Overall:B+