'Avatar' Still Soars High On Small Screen With DVD, Blu-ray Release

 The highest-grossing movie of all time has found its way onto home format in a matter befitting the big bucks 3-D fantasy from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Not only can viewers relive the adventures of the alien world of Pandora again and again, but director James Cameron and company have ensured that the movie’s DVD release will allow people around the world to further connect with each other, adding to the already interactive nature of the film.

Taking a cue from the indigenous people of Pandora, the Na’vi, “Avatar” creators have plugged lovers of the movie into a network that allows for constant linking with the world, although filling in for the Pandoran environment itself is Earth’s stopgap solution: the Internet. The online initiative “The Avatar Program” permits users to interface with fellow lovers and get a steady stream of new content from 20th Century Fox that opens up the world of Pandora. Available on the site avatarmovie.com are a wide variety of “Avatar”-related materials, including the authoritative, all-encompassing tome “Pandorapedia: The Official Field Guide”; an option to morph personal photos into Na’vi; the interactive “Pandorama” and “Immersive Video” features; and the “Interactive Desktop,” giving users a nonstop link to the movie’s news.

But the movie doesn’t stop at being blue, with a rebate offer for a Panasonic Blu-ray player included within — It takes the extra step to go green.

The film’s Earth Day release is no accident, with buyers getting an exclusive opportunity to better the environment through “The Home Tree Initiative,” a project aiming to plant 1 million trees worldwide through the participation of the movie’s fans. In its first day alone, the site has seen more than 17,000 trees claimed with many more to come.

However, the movie still isn’t stopping. Besides the forthcoming sequel which will further explore Pandora, executives are planning a deluxe DVD of the movie in November and have re-released its Imax 3-D version for a limited theatrical run.

“Avatar” retails on single-disc DVD for $29.98 and $39.99 for the 2-disc DVD/Blu-ray combo pack.