Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Whether it's an ogre trying to regain what is rightfully his or a group of displaced zoo animals finding their way back home, audiences of all ages love to root for the underdog. Anyone who has ever struggled against the odds empathizes with the heroes in these entertaining and morally resonant tales. So how about a panda who dreams of becoming a kung fu master? That's right, a plump, drowsy, huggable black-and-white bear who has one, and only one, aspiration in life - to become an expert in a martial art that relies on agility, mental prowess and lightning-fast reflexes. It's a formidable, some would say foolhardy, quest. But isn't that what heroism is all about.

Dreamworks has been really hit or miss with me. Unlike their chief competitor Pixar, Dreamworks animation seems to launch star films that are animated. Each film is centered on a celebrity and feels like the majority of their other work. Whether it is Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld or Mike Meyers, the films resonate with their lead actor. Pixar seems to take the opposite approach and produces great stories that aren’t tied to the talent involved and don’t require the big names to draw a crowd. Not that there is anything wrong with Dreamworks’ approach, it just doesn’t always hit the mark for me. When I saw that they were launching a Jack Black project, I was skeptical. He rarely does much for me and the idea of a Kung-fu film about a Panda seemed an unlikely ticket for me. Thankfully this one delivered in spades. Not only was it one of the best stories I think Dreamworks has delivered, it also showcases some of their best animation to date. The character work is outstanding and the level of detail delivered in the animation is jaw dropping. This ended up being one of my favorites this summer and surprisingly resonated with me better than Pixar’s Wall-E.

The Blu-ray presentation is one of the best I’ve seen from the format and by far the best looking animation I’ve seen to date from Dreamworks. The sense of depth and dimension is staggering. Fine object detail is impeccable and the three-dimensionality of the characters is nearly without equal. I loved the strong contrast levels and great color palette displayed near the temple and the opening dream sequence is a great piece of demo material for retro animation. Honestly, I don’t think you’ll find anything that looks better than this out there.

Like the video presentation, this is a phenomenal presentation on the soundtrack side. The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix is incredibly engaging with ample use of the entire soundstage and deep, deep bass response. There are some pretty extreme infrasonics in this mix and the sound design does a tremendous job with the action sequences and subtle environmental cues. The voicework is outstanding and the balance of the elements is perfect.

Extras are really geared toward the film’s themes and should be a hit with the younger viewers. You get interviews with the film’s creators and a look at the storyboard process plus there are some interactive features like learning your own fighting style, learning how to draw the characters and more. This title is also BD-Live enabled and includes a trivia track, trailers, a music video and a fun food feature. Dreamworks has also included a video jukebox that delivers some music clips from their animated catalog. This gives you a chance to see some of their unreleased animated features in HD. Hopefully we’ll start seeing some of these films being released in the near future. I for one am holding my breath for Wallace and Gromit!

This is without a doubt my favorite film from Dreamworks so far and one of the best Blu-ray presentations I’ve seen to date. The audio and video are pure reference material and will serve as demo material in my theater for quite some time to come. A must own Blu-ray!!