Bedtime Stories

Bedtime Stories is a comic fable starring Adam Sandler as Skeeter Bronson, a handyman at the hotel his father used to own. Skeeter spends his days changing light bulbs and competing with the hotel's smarmy manager (Pearce) for the attention of the new owner's beautiful, hard-partying daughter, Violet (Palmer). When his sister Wendy (Cox) asks Skeeter to babysit her kids for a week while she's out of town, Skeeter entertains his niece and nephew with elaborate, original bedtime stories that transport them to exotic locales, including ancient Greece, the Wild West, and outer space. In the stories, Skeeter is always cast as the hero. When he tries to help his family by telling one outlandish tale after another, it's the kids' unexpected contributions that turn all of their lives upside down. Magically, the nighttime fantasies become Skeeter's daytime realities, leading him on a real-life adventure in search of his own happy ending. (Gary Reber)

Special features on Disc One include Until Gravity Do Us Part, a behind-the-scenes look at the film's special effects (HD 05:00); It's Bugsy, a close-up look at the big-eyed guinea pig (HD 03:42); To All The Little People (HD 05:24); outtakes (HD 06:48); 12 deleted scenes (HD 10:25); up-front previews; D-BOX® Motion Code; and BD-Live. Disc Two is the DVD edition, and Disc Three contains a digital copy of the film.

The 2.35:1 1080p AVC picture is really colorful, yet exhibits a very natural quality. Colors are nicely saturated with rich, vibrant hues. Contrast is excellent, with deep, solid blacks. Shadow delineation also is terrific. Resolution is good and can reveal fine facial features and textures in close-up shots, but can also look slightly soft. The imagery is very dimensional and heightens the vibrant color scheme. There is a lot of visual diversity with the injection of the fantasy scenes, which enhances the visual vibrancy. The last fantasy story sequence is wonderfully visual and colorful. Overall, this is an eye-popping and bright picture that is sure to please. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is conventionally produced, with dialogue that lacks spatial integration and sounds far forward and detached from the scenes. At times intelligibility is wanting in the childrens' voices. The production and ADR dialogue sound is overproduced. The music is nicely recorded and is presented wide and deep in the soundstage. The fantasy scenes empower the soundfield with an aggressive, holosonic® envelopment. The music aggressively wraps into the surrounds. The SPL, during these sequences, can be intense and the .1 LFE extended to below 25 Hz. Sound effects are generally well executed and directionalized. While the dialogue is damaged and disconnected with the scenes, the rest of the soundtrack is nicely produced. (Gary Reber)