Kenny Ortega directs Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker in the supernatural comedy Hocus Pocus, which arrives on DVD with a widescreen transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1. There are no supplemental materials of any consequence, making this a pedestrian release from Disney/Buena Vista that will appeal primarily to Midler enthusiasts.

If you were one of the many who were confused when you sat down to watch Ang Lee's adaptation of The Hulk, stand in line -- still, there's no doubt that the 2-disc Special Edition DVD will be an instant best-seller considering the high profile of the character and the amount of extras on this disc. Visually, the 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen picture is a joy to behold (a full-screen version is also available), brilliantly displaying the giant behemoth's green skin tones and the equally as rich color palette from cinematographer Frederick Elmes, while audio specs include three different 5.1 tracks for English, French, and Spanish languages. Audio commentary is supplied from director Lee, though don't expect him to lay out any of the meanings he inherently added into the film (no "jellyfish" explanations, sorry). Still, he's not at all boring to listen to, nor does he come off as anything but humble and very well natured. Also on disc one is the special feature "Hulk Cam," an optional behind-the-scenes branching technique with which you can delve further into a scene by pressing enter on your remote control when a special radiation graphic pops up on your screen. Another neat little extra awaits you with the "Superhero Revealed: Anatomy of the Hulk" interactive feature with which you can learn Film Facts and ILM Facts by selecting different sections of a rotating computer model of the character. Unfortunately, the idea is a little better than the navigability of its execution, but it still might be a fun way for kids to understand the inner-workings of the visual effects process. The Deleted Scenes section isn't quite all it's cracked up to be, with some scenes focusing more on the scientific aspects of the story line, while others offer a bit more of a glimpse into the young Bruce Banner character (plus one more tidbit of a scene with Lou Ferrigno, which is always good). Rounding out the DVD are, sadly, some shameful extras -- with commercials for a Chase Universal Credit Card and a Sunny Delight juice drink there for you to skip over. Also available is a quite lengthy Cast and Filmmakers section, which covers all the principal lead actors, along with various producers and writers who took a crack at adapting the green-skinned monster. Disc two is where the real bonus stuff starts to heat up, starting with the Hulkification section -- a genius idea for which they let four comic book artists from around the world adapt the same scene straight from the movie. While it's a novel idea, and the differences in each artist's vision are extraordinary, the way that the camera swoops around the panels is utterly annoying and more than a little disorienting -- chalk this feature up as a nice idea ruined by a hyper-kinetic features designer. Next up is the "Evolution of the Hulk," similar to many of the comic book origin documentaries on the few other recent Marvel film DVDs. With interviews from the great Stan Lee and covers from the long history of the character, it's a nice introduction to the Hulk for anyone not familiar with the backstory and a simple joy, if simply to just hear Stan "The Man" talk. An interesting feature for anyone who's seen the film will obviously be "The Incredible Ang Lee" featurette, which focuses on the director on-set and then in the motion capture suit where his movements were tracked and eventually synched in the computer to produce the Hulk's final dramatic performance that the audience sees on the screen (bet you didn't know that!). Also on the disc is a featurette completely on the Dog Fight scene, where production is tracked from the first moments when the director pitched his quite large idea to ILM to the various ways they were able to simulate a dog's real movements, along with the hurdles that the effects crew needed to jump when two CG characters had to fight in the same frame (as you'll see, it was quite hard to do). Probably the most interesting extra on the disc comes with the unique "Style of Editing Hulk," where editor Tim Squyres takes you through the truly innovative approach he and Ang Lee went for with the look of the film. Rounding out the disc is a blanket "Making of the Hulk" feature, along with a DVD-ROM section, with which you can play an entire level of the {*Hulk} game. All in all, a fine representation for a troubled adaptation -- still, with a true reverence for the history of the character, as seen in the animated menus, you can't say they didn't try.