Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Widescreen Edition)
TheChamber of Secretsextras are a vast improvement from the firstHarry PotterDVD in both substance and navigation. There are no tricks to uncovering all the materials, which include 19 extended or deleted scenes (none of which is a whopper). J.K. Rowling participates in a short interview along with screenwriter Steve Kloves. Other interviews are the standard fare, but highly edited; nearly all the extras focus on kids' interests and attention spans. There are a few areas of Harry's world one can navigate through, with Diagon Alley the highlight. A few simple games are fun, highlighted by the creepy Forbidden Forest game and a reappearance of those scary spiders. Games similar to those on the initial DVD can be found in the vast DVD-ROM section, although the touted navigation by voice commands wears thin fast. The disc feels like a trip to an amusement park more than an examination of the film--just what the kids probably want.--Doug Thomas