Blacks are right on the money and the image servers up a healthy dose shadow detail. Digital compression artifacts do not affect the image in any perceivable way. The Dolby Digital 5.1 channel soundtrack has a simple, but pleasant mix. Since this is the story of a boy and his dog in small town America during W.W.II, there is very little call for extensive sound effects. The soundstage has a very open, spacious quality that makes subtle use of the discrete channels to create a very natural sonic environment.
Dialogue is very clean and very accurately reproduced.
There is very little call for the bass channel, but the track does have a rich, full range sound. William Ross melodic musical score is nicely integrated into the mix, utilizing all of the discrete channels. A Dolby Digital 5.1 channel French soundtrack is also encoded onto the DVD, as are English and French subtitles. The interactive menus feature a bit of music, but are otherwise basic in their implementation. Through the menus, one has access to the standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a few supplements.