Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is a young Viking who marches to the beat of his own drum and is an embarrassment to his father (Gerard Butler). One night while the village is under attack from a swarm of dragons, the young boy shoots down a deadly Night Fury with one of his inventions and discovers it lying in the jungle the next day. Wanting to make his father proud he brandishes his knife and moves in for the kill, but there's something about this dragon that changes his mind and this decision will not only change his life, but those of his people.

DreamWorks animation is best known for Shrek and its numerous sequels but after spending an evening with Dragon, the studio has another hit franchise to exploit. The story is very heartwarming about an underdog misfit who finds his way in the world by developing a most unusual friendship.

Video Highlights

• AVC/1080p encode on a BD-50 disc
• Outstanding color saturation
• Phenomenal depth
• Inky blacks
• Excellent detail and texture

Audio Highlights

• Enveloping Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack
• Crisp dynamics
• Solid bass
• Intelligible dialog
• Active sound design

The video encode is fantastic with near three-dimensional depth, lifelike textures, and a cornucopia of color. The audio is nearly is as good and features impressive bass and an engaging surround mix.

Bonus Materials

• Legend of the Bonekeeper Dragon short film (HD)
• Four featurettes about the cast, technical details, the story, and the artwork
• Three deleted scenes
• Interactive quiz
• Interactive game
• Commentary with the directors/co-writers and the producer
• Bonusview trivia track
• DreamWorks animation video jukebox
• BD-Live enabled with 52-minute behind-the-scenes featurette
• DVD version of the film

It's rare that a non-Pixar animated title impresses me, but this certainly is the exception to the rule. Hiccup is a character the entire family can root for and his new friend is adorable. Throw in a perfect video encode and near reference-quality audio and it's well worth adding to your collection. Highly recommended.

Release Date: October 15, 2010
Studio: DreamWorks/Paramount

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

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Panamax M5400PM 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