Alvin, Simon, and Theodore are back in director Tim Hill's computer-animation/live-action hybrid following the further adventures of the world's most adorable singing trio. Songwriter Dave Seville (Jason Lee) has been struggling to gain recognition in the music industry for some time, and despite the fact that his former college roommate (David Cross) is now a high-profile powerbroker at Jett Records, Dave still can't manage to get a break. Things soon start to look up, however, when Dave discovers three singing chipmunks hiding out in the branches of a Christmas tree in Jett Records' world headquarters. Realizing that these woodland crooners cold prove to be his ticket to the big time, Dave does his best to transform Alvin (Justin Long), Simon (Matthew Gray Gubler), and Theodore (Jesse McCartney) into the next great pop sensation. As adorable and talented as they may be, though, these bouncy little critters aren't quite domesticated just yet; they still have a wild streak in them a mile wide, and it isn't long before Dave's life, home, and career are in utter chaos. But staying mad at such lovable little creatures is next to impossible, no matter what kind of mischief they might get into.

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.

Disney DVD gives their sprawling swashbuckler a feature-packed release that is sure to give both your DVD player and PC a workout. Presented in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio, the film transfer is nothing short of perfection. While some may doubt the ability of such a large-scale film to transfer suitably to television, the sharp image and beautiful colors do so with ease and grace. From the creepy moonlit scenes to the sparkling treasure cave, the colors are bright, vivid, and spectacular. With sound options that include THX-optimized DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, Disney DVD has offered viewers a vivid soundscape that perfectly compliments the visual presentation. The DTS soundtrack, in particular, will have viewers ducking under their coffee tables to avoid cannon fire. It seems only once or twice a year that a DVD comes along that truly redefines what can be accomplished on the format, and this is no doubt one of those discs. This release of Pirates of the Caribbean is virtually overflowing with great extra features, and viewers may need a free weekend just to navigate their way through its wealth of materials. Starting off with three separate commentary tracks, viewers will likely want to start with director Gore Verbinski and star Johnny Depp's amusing and informative recollection of the film's production. Though it may not be the most technical commentary, the two play well off of one another, and the result in an interesting and informative track. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer provides a bit more detailed take on the production, and stars Keira Knightley and Jack Davenport check in with what is definitely the most amusing commentary track. It's obvious that the two stars are comfortable with each other, and hearing them joke around as they recall the exhausting shoot is a blast. Writers Ted Elliot, Terry Rossio, Stuart Beattie, and Jay Wolpert's commentary provides notable insight on how the screenplay changed from draft to draft (and script to screen), though one gets the impression that they're stepping on each other's toes a bit to get a word in, and the result is a bit crowded. "An Epic at Sea: The Making of Pirates of the Caribbean" checks in at about 40 minutes and covers everything from location scouting to the spectacular Disneyland premiere of the film. "Fly on the Set" takes a look at both the director in action and how the filmmakers managed their many cinematic feats and sleights of hand. If one wishes to explore the life of actual pirates they need look no further than the "Below Deck" feature, which actually takes viewers aboard a pirate ship to explore the true-life tales of history's most notorious seafaring scallywags. From Blackbeard to Sir Francis Drake to women pirates and Chinese pirates, this informative feature utilizes interviews with maritime historian David Cordingly and film clips and is one of the most fascinating and insightful features on the disc. The accompanying feature, "A Prisoner's Last Tale," also speaks with Cordingly to provide detailed insight on the day-to-day life of a pirate. "Diary of a Pirate" consists of a "Producer's Photo Diary" (which is also narrated by Bruckheimer), a video journal by star Lee Arenberg and a detailed study of the brig Lady Washington (which served as The Interceptor in the film). Deleted scenes mostly offer a more intimate look at the characters, and a blooper reel collects some of the most amusing on-camera flubs. After viewers take a detailed look at one of the film's most entertainingly frightful scenes in "Moonlight Serenade," an image gallery offers production sketches, storyboards, and production and publicity photos. The vintage promotional short "Pirates in the Park" takes them on a nostalgic ride through the actual Disneyland attraction. If viewers aren't entirely exhausted by this point, the DVD-ROM features are sure to do them in. From an effects studio to a virtual reality viewer and storyboard viewer, these intense interactive features will truly put your home PC to the test (the DVD-ROM features will not work on Macintosh computers). From the serious film student to the curious youngster, this release has something for everyone. A must-have for DVD fanatics and fans of the film alike.

This impressive collection of The Sopranosfeatures several compelling supplements that provide tremendous insight into the show's creation. The highlight is a lengthy interview with creator David Chase by Peter Bogdanovich that runs for nearly 80 minutes. The acclaimed writer is extremely open to discussing his creative process, and this adds to the enjoyment of this series. Both of them return for a feature-length commentary over the first episode "The Sopranos." This track repeats some of the information from the interview, but it also specifically relates to the visual tone of the episode. This four-disc set also contains the "previously on" and preview sections for each episode, which allows the viewer to experience the show in the same vein as on television. There's also two brief HBO featurettes, an extensive cast section, and web links. The Sopranos falls short of a top-notch visual transfer due to its television origins. However, the anamorphic widescreen transfers represent a significant improvement over the grainy original format. The 5.1-channel Dolby audio transfer presents the eclectic music with power and clarity, but once again it falls short of premier status. Overall, however, the visual and audio presentations are impressive and succeed fully, especially considering the source material.