Disney’s Cinderella is available to own on Blu Ray for the first time ever on Oct. 2nd, 2012. Courtesy of Disney Pictures
When Disney’s timeless tale Cinderella was released in 1950, the film had the financial future of Disney studios resting on its shoulders. As we all know, the movie was a smashing success and propelled Disney into the world of gargantuan movie mogul.
Disney’s telling of the humble, beautiful orphaned girl, shunned into slavery by her wicked stepmother and wretched step sisters has never been told better. What sends this fairy tale to the stratosphere of a true classic is the inclusion of a secondary set of animal characters and their complimentary storyline. The humour, suspense and grandeur of the entire production means this film will continue to entertain movie goers for generations to come.
With a complete digital restoration for its Blu Ray + DVD release, this classic looks and sounds as if it were recently animated. They’ve polished the fuzzy animation cells and scratchy soundtrack without adding anything that doesn’t belong. If only George Lucas thought this way.
If you’re a fan of special features, you’ve hit the jackpot! There is a plethora of goodies to dive into, even if the best ones are tucked into the recesses of the menu. You’ll find everything from behind the scenes making-of featurettes that take you into the conception of the film, casting, and musical inspiration. You’ll even hear from the people who animated the characters! There’s also a storyboarded alternate opening sequence, as well as animated shorts, and even a preview of Walt Disney World’s new addition to their theme park: Disney Princess Fantasyland.
Bottom Line: This incredibly remastered, bonus feature laden fairy tale is a must own on Blu Ray for kids and past kids alike.
Kodi Smit-McPhee stars as the “parNormanly” gifted in ParaNorman. Courtesy of Alliance Media
Like Cole from The Sixth Sense, Norman has the paranormal ability to speak to the deceased. Norman’s story differs as he tries to help the friendly ghosts break an ancient curse that threatens to destroy his town and its inhabitants.
ParaNorman pioneers new and innovative techniques in stop motion animation taking on massive sets and action packed sequences never seen before in this medium. It also tells a heart-felt story combining laughter, horror and poignant social commentary regarding the way people are treated when they don’t fit the “norm” (hard not to pun).
Chris Butler and Sam Fell successfully bring Butler’s massive dream to the screen. The movie powers forward with wonderful pace, only slowing down at stirring moments to deliver their impactful message.
The talented Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road, Let Me In) delivers a solid voice-over performance alongside his cast members. There are only a few moments when the dialogue suffered from feeling read and not acted.
Speaking of the visuals, you’re in for a real treat with easily one of the best stop-motion animation experiences you’ll ever have alongside Coraline. On top of that, you’ll definitely want to immerse yourself in the palpable 3D option that really helps draw you further into the already first-rate film.
Bottom Line: Without a doubt, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth from ParaNorman.
Courtney, Alvin, Mitch, Norman, and Neil in PARANORMAN, directed by Sam Fell and Chris Butler, the new stop-motion comedy thriller from LAIKA and Focus Features.
ParaNorman tells the story of a young man gifted (or cursed, depending on your point of view) with the ability to talk to ghosts. The movie strikes an excellent cord between, comedy and horror, while instilling a sense of heart and morality.
I’m very lucky to have sat down with one of the directors, Sam Fell (The Tale of Despereaux, Flushed Away), to find out how this great story came to be.
Do you believe in the paranormal?
I believe there is more to us than flesh and bone. There’s obviously something in our consciousness that’s beyond what we see. I haven’t seen a ghost, but I’m happy to just know that there’s more. I’ll come back and haunt you to let you know that they do exist.
How would you react to having Norman’s ability to see and speak to ghosts?
I think it would be cool to see those ghosts that he sees because they’re friendly ghosts. I’d probably go look a few people up. I never got to meet one of my grandfathers, so I’d like to talk to him.
Can you briefly describe what differentiates the way you shot ParaNorman versus other stop-motion animated movies?
At its heart, it’s the same process. Build a miniature world, light it, build miniature puppets out of clay, and then it’s one frame at a time. You start in frame one and days or weeks later you’re finished that shot. One of our shots was about 1000 frames long and that took about ten weeks to shoot!
That’s insane!
Tell me about it! It’s a living performance, captured very slowly. What made our process different is we used a 3D colour printer to create thousands of faces to switch for each frame. Amazingly innovative stuff!
I’ll let the pros show you how they did it:
Is this the future of animation?
I think there are multiple futures for animating a film. I’ll never forget that moment when I saw Toy Story on the big screen for the first time, when CG animation was new, exciting and novel. It blew me away! I don’t get that feeling very much anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I really like a lot of animated films. It just feels like the genre has been dormant for a long time. It wasn’t until Coraline where we got to see this tactile world in stereoscopic 3D for the first time that I got a similar sensation again. Felt uncanny. I actually hope hand-drawn animation makes a comeback.
Me too!
So far in your career, you’ve only directed animated films. Do you have any interest in taking on some living actors?
I would consider it. Actually, before this movie came along, I had been dabbling in writing and had some live action stuff in development. So I’ve touched on that world. In many ways, shooting ParaNorman has been sort of a live action film on a smaller scale. I think you should want to tell a story more than just entering a medium for the sake of it.
Are you very selective when it comes to the projects you take on?
I’m as selective as I can be, you know. It’s tricky, because on one side it’s a business and I’m a working director who wants to work. I want to make films. So I hold off as long as I can and read a ton of scripts. I actually develop my own work too. But somewhere along that road, you’re just itching to make another film and you grab the best one you’ve been presented with and you go with it. Directors aren’t built to sit around, you see.
For the voice work, did you do the traditional method of every actor doing solo recordings or did you manage to get them together to record?
We were lucky to get some of them together, actually. We got Leslie Mann and Jeff Garlin, the Babcock parents together. They were great at ad libbing. We also got Casey Affleck and Anna Kendrick together, which was great since neither had done animation before, so they got to find their way together. And we got Kodi Smit-McPhee (Norman) and Tucker Albrizzi (Neil) together. They were so good together, that we didn’t even edit out their mistakes. It just made it more beautiful.
Were there any whacky mishaps that happened during production?
It’s weird, but there weren’t any big mishaps that happened on this movie. The only difficult aspect of this movie was the ambition of it. Crazy ambition! In the first year when we were planning and storyboarding it, we got carried away. We were so excited about doing car chases with multiple cameras and the big storm in the sky to connect to the zombies. On top of that, we wanted a mob! Halfway through, it all started to hit us just how much we wanted to push everything. That was the only moment when we gulped at the vastness and scale of the project.
Did the final product deviate from the original script in anyway?
No, actually. We just turned a great script into a great movie.
That you did, Sam! Check out ParaNorman in 3D in theatres everywhere on August 17, 2012.
Here’s another look at how they brought this movie to life:
Ted (MACFARLANE) and John (WAHLBERG) in TED. Courtesy of Universal Pictures
If my toys came to life when I was a child, I would never have left my bedroom. This is the premise of Ted, a movie where the impossible becomes possible because of a childhood wish for a teddy bear to come to life.
Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane has conjured a fairy tale no child should ever watch, but every adult can indulge in. Alongside two of his fellow Family Guy writers, the script delivers mountains of hilarious one-liners, 80’s references and gags, while adding a touch of heart to keep the mayhem from getting out of control. In his live-action directorial debut, MacFarlane looked like a veteran and the box office numbers will prove it.
Mark Wahlberg, Seth MacFarlane and Mila Kunis balance the constant, memorable humor and demanding emotional moments effectively. Mila Kunis in particular delivers some of her best work trying to reconcile the fact that she is in a relationship with a man who will not grow up.
Seth MacFarlane’s voice-over and motion capture of the adorably dirty Ted is simply, perfect. The CGI of the Snuggle look-a-like convinces you that you’re watching a living stuffed animal doing the most outlandish things imaginable.
This movie will keep you laughing well after the credits roll and you’ll want to own it when it hits shelves at your local store.
Bottom Line: Get ready to laugh… and then laugh some more.
The complete first season of Babar is now available on DVD. Courtesy of eOne Entertainment
The stories we read as children can play an important role in shaping the individuals we grow up to be. In 1931, Jean de Brunhoff published the first of many children’s books about a lovable elephant named Babar. Eight decades later, the beloved series which debuted in 1989, is ready to own and enjoy on DVD.
Babar tells the tale of a young elephant who witnesses the murder of his mother by a hunter and ventures off into the world of humans gaining knowledge of our civilization in the process. He eventually returns to his community of elephants and because of his new-found knowledge is declared king. We experience Babar’s miraculous life when he recollects his past to his children as lessons for them to use in their varying problematic situations.
Unlike many children’s shows of today which force feed our youth overtly obvious, ethical life lessons, watching Babar brings you back to a time when the method of moral teaching subtly shaped the minds of young toddlers into upstanding human beings.
The first DVD release, BABAR – The Complete First Season, includes the first 13 episodes in their entirety on two discs. The age of the original animation cells have left the show looking fairly aged, but this does not hinder the enjoyment of this truly inspiring classic program.
There are no special features included in the release, but hopefully there will be a few extras included in the second season.
Bottom Line: Babar’s timeless tales will have a joyous effect on your little ones and quite possibly you as well.
Runtime: 302 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Languages: English and French
Studio Ghibli’s latest film released in North America. Courtesy of Disney Pictures
Japanese anime is a love or hate genre, and without a doubt, the trend continues with this movie.
Based on Mary Norton’s well-loved novel The Borrowers, this film tells the story of a tiny adventurous girl (Arrietty) living in the walls of a house with her parents. Everything changes for the tiny family when a young boy moves in and discovers them.
Bridgit Mendler captured the adventurous spirit and energy of Arrietty’s character beautifully in her voiceover. Regrettably, that’s where the praise ends for the voice acting, which was some of the worst I have ever come across. More often than not, the actors drained the life from the otherwise beautiful scenes.
It is difficult to place the blame on the poor dialogue – Was it the English translation or the original Japanese script? Maybe someone who has watched both versions can chime in, but most of the dialogue in this release seemed fit for a low-budget after school special.
For fans of the movie, Disney’s Blu Ray + DVD combo features a stunning video and audio presentation of the film. The colour palette is beautiful and both the English and original Japanese DTS MA tracks are of the highest qualities.
Unfortunately, the special features do not match the above mentioned standards. The additional features include the entire Original Japanese Storyboards, “Arrietty’s Song” Cécile Corbel Music Video, Original Japanese Trailers & TV Spots, “Summertime” Bridgit Mendler Music Video, and The Making of “Summertime”. Other than the storyboards (which become boring after a few minutes), these features feel lame and tacked on for the sack of including something. Nothing in the feature set gives any insight into the making of this movie. Shame on Disney and Studio Ghibli.
Bottom Line: If you’re a fan of the film, you’ll be able to enjoy the feature in the comfort of your home in high quality. However, there is nothing else to enjoy beyond that.
The Z warriors take on Cell in DBZ Kai - Part 7. Courtesy of Entertainment One
Back in 1986, a Japanese anime called Dragon Ball was created becoming a massive hit. Three years later, the creators continued the story with Dragon Ball Z, becoming one of the most successful anime television series around the world. The entire series is based on Akira Toriyama’s manga (comic), but was lengthened drastically for commercial purposes. Luckily, the entire Dragon Ball Z series has been re-edited and trimmed down to a slim 100 episodes from its chunky 291 episode original run in the form of Dragon Ball Z Kai.
Dragon Ball tells the story of Goku, a kind-hearted, supremely strong humanoid alien who risks his life to save the earth and the people he loves. There are many other aspects to the story, but we’re going to focus on the latest home release, Dragon Ball Z Kai Part Seven.
For DBZ Kai, every frame was put through a remastering process to clean them from scratches and aged wear. This has given the show a more authentic look than previous home releases.
The voices have been redubbed with some of the original English cast as well as a lot of new members. It is a bit strange to hear the voices we’ve grown to love change, but overall it doesn’t hurt the show. The distraction is only temporary.
The most important thing about this series is the removal of filler episodes. Dragon Ball Z was notoriously known for dragging events out with pointless story lines and prolonged events. This re-edit has made the show very tight and far more engaging.
Bottom Line: Pick up part seven and enjoy the Z warriors taking on Cell, without the unnecessary filler.
Release Date: March 20, 2012
Total Runtime: Approx. 275 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Dazzling animation from Studio Ghibli. Screen capture courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures
Japanese anime is either a love or hate genre, and without a doubt, the trend continues with this movie.
Based on Mary Norton’s well-loved novel The Borrowers, this film tells the story of a tiny adventurous girl (Arrietty) living in the walls of a house with her parents. Everything changes for the tiny family when a young boy moves in and discovers them.
From an animation stand point, this is top notch work from the renowned Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away, Princess Monoke). The scenery and environments are stunningly crafted, with rich detail in every area of the screen.
Bridgit Mendler captured the adventurous spirit and energy of Arrietty’s character beautifully in her voiceover. Regrettably, that’s where the praise ends for the voice acting, which was some of the worst I have ever come across. More often than not, the actors drained the life from most scenes.
It is difficult to place the blame on the poor dialogue – Was it the English translation or the original Japanese script? Maybe someone who has watched both versions can chime in, but most of the dialogue in this release seemed fit for a low-budget after school special.
I find it hard to imagine individuals passed the pre-school age would find the tortoise-esque pace of this film entertaining. So far, it seems there is very little in the way of quality children’s films available this year. Let’s hope Spring breathes life into the entertainment for the little ones.
Bottom Line: Pop in a classic Disney or anime film and save your movie money for something more satisfying.
What sends this fairy tale to the stratosphere of a true classic is the inclusion of a secondary set of animal characters and their complimentary storyline. The humour, suspense and grandeur of the entire production means this film will continue to entertain movie goers for generations to come.
With a complete digital restoration for its Blu Ray + DVD release, this classic looks and sounds as if it were recently animated. They’ve polished the fuzzy animation cells and scratchy soundtrack without adding anything that doesn’t belong. If only George Lucas thought this way.
If you’re a fan of special features, you’ve hit the jackpot! There is a plethora of goodies to dive into, even if the best ones are tucked into the recesses of the menu. You’ll find everything from behind the scenes making-of featurettes that take you into the conception of the film, casting, and musical inspiration. You’ll even hear from the people who animated the characters! There’s also a storyboarded alternate opening sequence, as well as animated shorts, and even a preview of Walt Disney World’s new addition to their theme park: Disney Princess Fantasyland. 
Bottom Line: This incredibly remastered, bonus feature laden fairy tale is a must own on Blu Ray for kids and past kids alike. 
