Atomic Kitten - Be With Us - A Year With Atomic Kitten DVD (1 Disc) (UK)

How many bands can, & will, put together a 100 minute documentary about a year in their career? Not many, but if they could do it the same way the Kittens does we would have this type of releases all over the place.

The 3 girls claims its been a very special year, that can be a bit hard to actually see if you compare with the previous documentaries released by the band . Its basically about touring the world, doing small & large gigs, loads of interviews & promoting their music & various products. This is not really different from what weve seen before, the majority of the great achievements by the Kittens during the last year revolves around chart positions, entering new countries & making huge sales, those things are very hard to show in a documentary.

What is new though is the fact that the Kittens are now the most sponsored band in Europe, if not the world. A quite huge part of the feature is dedicated to show how the girls were involved in creating their own clothing range & their involvement with the MG/Rover car brand; it must feel good to have a car model named after you, the Atomix. Some of these parts seem to be longer than needed, probably to give the sponsors something for their bucks, but theres also some good fun for the careful observer. Its quite funny to watch a quick set of interviews regarding the launch of the MG deal & notice how Jenny keeps saying exactly the same line in every single one.

No, just like the other Kitten documentaries, this one really shines when we go backstage & at more private moments. Its well known that Liz is scared of planes so a helicopter ride proves a real challenge for her, Liz also shows us part of her home, looks like a cool place to chill out. Jenny also shows us some of her home & introduces us to her laid-back cat & a very small dog. Tash talks about how it is to be a mom & about missing her son when shes on the road, there are also some very beautiful sequences of her with the baby.

One well known thing from the earlier releases is how the girls love to fool around whenever the chance presents itself; it doesnt matter if its at a pool, in a lift, at a market in Bangkok or in a radio studio, theres always going to be trouble lurking for everyone in the area.

The production of this documentary is a lot more professional than what weve seen earlier, most of the recordings are made by a dedicated camera person & only a few by the girls themselves. The visual side is generally much more advanced, there are lots of effects & cuts, fortunately its impossible to hide the fun & charm of these girls, but I think the feature could have been just as good without the visual enhancements.

The DVD is equipped with French, Spanish, German & Italian subtitles . Included is also a photo gallery, videos for Ladies Night, If You Come To Me, Be With You, The Last Goodbye & The Tide Is High.

This is a must-have for any kitten fan, I gave it 5 starts, but I think 4 ½ would have been better; some parts are a bit too polished for my liking, & the interviews with Carl & Martin OShea are too short. There are also a few short scenes that are repeated several times. But all of that are just minor complaints, its fun, crazy & honest, well its just 100% Kitten. Or as they say in a interview in Thailand:

Tash: Sometimes were really funny, & sometimes just stupid. Jen: And sometimes we really think we are funny, & nobody else does.