3D Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Looking to gain the title of "World's Greatest Villain," Gru (voiced by Steve Carell) adopts three orphans in order to steal a shrinking machine from his nemesis, Vector (Jason Segel). What he didn't count on was the three girls changing his outlook on the world and he'll stop at nothing to protect them.

The marketing campaign for this film stunk and I had no desire to see it in the theaters (and neither did my kids) but was willing to give it a try on Blu-ray. Surprisingly there's a touching story behind the fantastic animation as the villain becomes the hero and discovers he does have a heart buried beneath his evil exterior.

Video Highlights

• MVC/1080p encode on a BD-50 disc
• Extremely bright and colorful presentation
• Outstanding attention to detail
• Inky blacks
• Excellent depth in 3D effects, especially in the roller coaster scene
• Occasional ghosting

Audio Highlights

• DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack
• Reference-level frequency response and dynamics
• Enveloping surround track
• Intelligible dialog
• Plethora of discrete effects

Other than some occasional ghosting, I found the 3D presentation to be quite good. New kid on the animation block Illumination Entertainment delivers a mind-blowing first impression. Their attention to detail is apparent from the first scene with vivid textures and rich colors and the audio track is every bit as impressive with a plethora of discrete effects.

Bonus Materials

• Commentary with the directors and the Minions
• 7 Behind-the-Scenes featurettes
• Gru-Control Interactive feature
• 3 Mini-movies (very funny)
• BD-Live streamed trailers
• pocket BLU enabled
• Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, and Digital Copy

I rank this as the third best animated film I've seen this year behind Toy Story 3 and How to Train Your Dragon, which is pretty select company. The voice talent does a stupendous job, especially Carell, and the Blu-ray 3D presentation is thrilling. Recommended for families.

Release Date: December 14, 2010
Studio: Universal

Movie: 8/10
Picture: 9/10
Sound: 10/10

Review System

Movie: 9/10
3D Picture: 10/10
Sound: 10/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS40 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Integra DTC-80.2 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PVA-PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics