Blu-ray Movie Reviews

After the daring rescue of a spider, a young boy named James gains possession of some magic crocodile tongues. When James spills them in the garden, out sprouts an enormous peach! Climbing inside, he meets an astonishing cast of characters and embarks on a magical odyssey full of thrills and adventure.

The talent that brought the popular A Nightmare Before Christmas reteamed later to bring another fairy tale to life with James and the Giant Peach. Henry Selick did a masterful job with the imagery of this film and although the stop animation looks a bit dated compared to his latest masterpiece, Coraline, this is still a solid family adventure full of great characters and settings.

Disney delivers a good Blu-ray presentation but I can’t help but think that some may be disappointed with the video transfer. Both The Corpse Bride and Coraline are showcase transfers with breathtaking depth and dimension. This film on the other hand looks rather flat through most of the film with its dark settings and mix of stop motion and traditional special effects. Darker scenes also look a bit gritty and colors take on a rather garish tinge. Brighter sequences look quite good though with improved depth and definition. The DTS-HD Master Audio mix is quite good though with ample surround activity and plenty of ambiance. The dubbing is solid and never calls attention to itself and dynamic range is actually quite good.

Disney delivers a two-disc set for this release that includes a standard DVD edition of the film. You also get some interactive games, trailers, a look at the production and a music video.

Now that Selick has joined the ranks at Pixar I’m excited to see what he has in store for us next. This is a wonderful family tale that is a welcome addition to the Blu-ray library. Highly recommended.