Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Nim Rusoe lives on a deserted island with her scientist father Jack and her best friends: Selkie, a sea lion; Fred, a bearded dragon lizard; and Galileo, a plucky pelican. But when Jack goes missing at sea and the island is "invaded," Nim reaches out via e-mail to the adventurous author of her favorite books, and together, each discovers what it takes to truly become the hero of your own life story.

Good family films are always a rare breed and most resort to pretty cheesy humor that works well for the kids but has the adults rolling their eyes. This one is a rare mix of adventure and family bonds that will entertain both parents and kids alike though it does have its moments of camp. Overall though the story is a good one and the performances make for a fun hour and a half.

The HD presentation is what I would expect from a brand new release and features strong detail and outstanding color rendition. Hues are extremely vibrant and saturation borders on excess. This makes for a lot of eye candy and the transfer is more than up to it. Depth of image is strong throughout and the sense of dimension is wonderful at times. Fine object detail is consistently good but some of the visual effects show their budget limitations. Fox has delivered a strong video transfer with this one though.

The DTS-HD Master Audio mix is a fun one and shows some pretty good range for a family film. While extension may not be as deep as you would expect from a big budget action film, some of the more intense sequences have some entertaining range that will give the subs some work. The surround soundstage does a great job on the island and really helps convey the sense of space and environment. Dialogue always sounds very natural both in timbre and balance.

Extras are geared to the family themes and include quite a few features on the animals and themes of production for the film. There is even a Bonus View mode with perspectives from the film’s cast and crew. For the kids there are three different interactive games and a great little trivia track with facts and fun. For the film collectors there are two feature commentaries and a small collection of deleted scenes.

I really didn’t know what to expect going in on this one but we both left entertained. The cast does a great job with the story and the production values are pretty high. The A/V presentation continues Fox’s great day-and-date quality making this one an easy recommendation for family night.