Atomic Kitten - Be With Us - A Year With Atomic Kitten [DVD] [2004]

The 3 girls claims it's 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 (The "So Far So Good" and the one on the live release). It's basically about touring the world, doing small and large gigs, loads of interviews and promoting their music and various products. This is not really different from what we've seen before, the majority of the great achievements by the Kittens during the last year revolves around chart positions, entering new countries and 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 and 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 there's also some good fun for the careful observer. It's quite funny to watch a quick set of interviews regarding the launch of the MG deal and 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 and at more private moments. It's 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 and introduces us to her laid-back cat and a very small dog. Tash talks about how it is to be a mom and about missing her son when she's 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 doesn't matter if it's at a pool, in a lift, at a market in Bangkok or in a radio studio, there's always going to be trouble lurking for everyone in the area.

The production of this documentary is a lot more professional than what we've seen earlier, most of the recordings are made by a dedicated camera person and only a few by the girls themselves. The visual side is generally much more advanced, there are lots of effects and cuts, fortunately it's impossible to hide the fun and 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 and Italian subtitles (but no English ones, strange). Included is also a photo gallery, videos for "Ladies Night", "If You Come To Me", "Be With You", "The Last Goodbye" and "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, and the interviews with Carl (tour manager) and Martin O'Shea are too short. There are also a few short scenes that are repeated several times. But all of that are just minor complaints, it's fun, crazy and honest, well it's just 100% Kitten. Or as they say in a interview in Thailand:

Tash: "Sometimes we're really funny, and sometimes just stupid."
Jen: "And sometimes we really think we are funny, and nobody else does."

The 3 girls claims it’s 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 (The “So Far So Good” and the one on the live release). It’s basically about touring the world, doing small and large gigs, loads of interviews and promoting their music and various products. This is not really different from what we’ve seen before, the majority of the great achievements by the Kittens during the last year revolves around chart positions, entering new countries and 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 and 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 there’s also some good fun for the careful observer. It’s quite funny to watch a quick set of interviews regarding the launch of the MG deal and 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 and at more private moments. It’s 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 and introduces us to her laid-back cat and a very small dog. Tash talks about how it is to be a mom and about missing her son when she’s 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 doesn’t matter if it’s at a pool, in a lift, at a market in Bangkok or in a radio studio, there’s always going to be trouble lurking for everyone in the area.

The production of this documentary is a lot more professional than what we’ve seen earlier, most of the recordings are made by a dedicated camera person and only a few by the girls themselves. The visual side is generally much more advanced, there are lots of effects and cuts, fortunately it’s impossible to hide the fun and 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 and Italian subtitles (but no English ones, strange). Included is also a photo gallery, videos for “Ladies Night”, “If You Come To Me”, “Be With You”, “The Last Goodbye” and “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, and the interviews with Carl (tour manager) and Martin O’Shea are too short. There are also a few short scenes that are repeated several times. But all of that are just minor complaints, it’s fun, crazy and honest, well it’s just 100% Kitten.