Year: 1994
Running Time: 81 Minutes
Rated: G
SRP: $ 39.99
Studio(s): Disney / Pixar Studios
Release Date: March 23, 2010
Film/Feature: A+
It’s hard to imagine that its first feature film, Toy Story has just been released in high definition this past March. For many people, Pixar’s films inspired many to go out and buy a DVD player or soon after a DVD Player was accepted as a gift, a Pixar film brought home was a common ritual, soon to follow. And now the same thing could be said about blu-ray since Pixar films easily show a night and day comparison, ensuring that jump to high definition is well worth it. But Toy Story isn’t all about cutting technology in animation, there’s a great story about a young boy named Andy and the toys he loves to play with, or make that, loved to play with. If the toys could speak, what would they say? What would they think about? What would they fear most?
Toy Story believes that toys fear being forgotten. It sounds logical when you think about it. Every birthday and holiday when children are given a newly wrapped box, their old toys shake in fear that what’s inside is a toy so cool that all of their insecurities come out. Andy and his baby sister have a Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), a Slinky Dog (Jim Varney), Bo Peep (Annie Potts), a Tyrannosaurus Rex (Wallace Shawn), Hamm the Piggy Bank (John Ratzenberger), and an army of Little Green Men (R. Lee Ermey) amongst dozens of other toys stuck in a chest. Word has it that the family they belong to is moving, so like any concerned toy, they are worried about being left behind. But before they can worry about that, Andy’s favorite toy is was Woody (Tom Hanks) but for his birthday this year, he opens up the hottest toy amongst boys, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen). Buzz is so new that he doesn’t realize that he’s a toy. Nothing more and nothing less. While the rest of Andy’s toys are enamored by him, Woody is unimpressed and does not hid his jealousy well. While Andy is stuck on going to “Infinity and Beyond” Woody does whatever he can to stay in the picture, even if it means compromising his good name among the rest of the toys. Woody’s plans begin to backfire on him while Buzz comes to grips that he’s nothing more than a pre-programmed toy with gimmicky bells and whistles.
The two of them get separated from the rest of the pack and eventually they find themselves trapped by the neighbor’s kid, Sid, who does has very destructive tendencies. This is what I love about Pixar, they have this great hook of a main story and then bring in this interesting character study. Sid reminds you of all of those kids who would do awful things to pets, pull the wings off of insects and do unspoken things to his toys. Buzz and Woody have to escape his grips before they’re blown to smithereens and at the same time get to the moving truck before Andy, his family, and the rest of their toy friends are gone forever.
What Toy Story accomplished with their first film and established from that point on is create adventures; ones that opened the mind of creativity and amazement in the inner child in us all. These qualities that often escape most films, regardless of who they’re aimed at. There’s nothing forced or contrived, this is just unfiltered fun. But Toy Story understood that it’s the details that count, the concepts that have to easily communicable, and the story needs to be flawless and that sums up what Toy Story and ultimately Pixar have since become.
Video:A+
What would the jump to blu-ray be, if there wasn’t a leap in picture quality and boy is there ever one here. Toy Story comes equipped with a 1080p AVC-encoded transfer in 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Two things jump out on this blu-ray, first the color looks ravishing. Blistering hues will scream off of your LCD screen or plasma television. I could list off a grocery list of scenes that looks better than the standard definition transfer but I’ll save time by saying that it all looks better. The other thing I want to note is the details in the texture. Plastic looks like shiny plastic, metal looks like metal (Slinky Dog), and fabric is well, you get the picture. Denim (on Woody), shine (on Buzz), lace (on Bo Peep); all look as if they existed in real life instead of being fabricated on a computer. I know there are some skeptics out there who think that the Toy Story DVDs are not chopped liver, but I’m sorry, but those of you who adore this film, need to see it in high definition because in this case, the DVD is a severely inferior product.
Audio: A+
Just because you can blow the roof off your building with an amazing audio mix, doesn’t mean you have to. Toy story picks its spots to show off its 5.1 English DTS-HD master audio track. When the film opens with all of the toys scrambling to organize a townhall meeting, there’s lots of surround sound chaos. Sound just whizzes by your head, and closing your eyes you can imagine what scene is happening where. And then Toy Story just lulls you with dialogue while the story sets in with front-heavy activity, until Buzz and Woody end up outside the house. The last half hour of the story plays out superbly in 5.1. Dialogue and Randy Newman’s score are also expertly mixed so as not to drown out or overpower any other sound or audio. Other audio selections include: French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital EX tracks, English DTS-HD 2.0, English DVS 2.0 and subtitles are available in English SDH, French, and Spanish.
Extras: A+
When the 10th Anniversary DVD came out a few years back, it was chock full of extras, and the fine folks at Pixar packaged that and much more exclusive stuff for the blu-ray to make it worth buying again.
BLU RAY EXTRAS
Audio Commentary by Director John Lasseter, Co-Writer Andrew Stanton, Supervising Animator Pete Doctor, Art Director Ralph Eggleston, Supervising Technical Director Bill Reeves, and producers Ralph Guggenheim and Bonnie Arnold. A brand new commentary track by many of the main cogs of the Pixar machine. Even though the room is jammed with speakers, Pixar commentary tracks are always informative, light in tone and full of insight into the animating and storytelling processes.
Toy Story 3 Sneak Peek HD (2:02) A little of the story is leaked out about what the third installment is about.
Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs: Blast Off HD (3:27) A look into Buzz’s latest adventure into NASA’s space station up in orbit.
Path to Pixar – Artists HD (4:49) a few introductions of some of the cool people who work at Pixar and what they do now and when the started their careers at the famed animation studio.
Studio Stories: John’s Car HD (1:27) a story about John Lasseter’s humble beginnings and his method of transportation.
Studio Stories: Baby AJ HD (1:38) another story from the animators about a Halloween costume contest at Pixar.
Studio Stories: Scooter Races HD (2:16) one last story from the old Pixar studio vault.
Buzz takes Manhattan HD (2:13) Buzz Lightyear finally gets to fly, in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Black Friday: The Toy Story You Never Saw HD (7:34) Lasseter tells the story about the first reel shown to the Disney execs who wanted Toy Story to have a hard edge to it and why it didn’t work. In fact it nearly ended the film.
CLASSIC DVD EXTRAS
For those who never got the 10th Anniversary DVDs, those extras have been ported over in their entirety. They are in standard definition, with may of them in 4:3 full frame and 1.85:1 widescreen.
Filmmakers Reflect (16:56) The four main heads of Pixar (Joe Ranft, John Lasseter, gather around and reflect back over the past ten years and Toy Story and creating an environment to create fun films that everyone would enjoy. They paint a picture of what it was like making Toy Story and beginning what would be the studio that couldn’t do wrong.
Making Toy Story (20:17) Is a step-by-step telling how Toy Story came together from concept to finished film and using the computer as a tool along with the creative human process in making a great story.
The Legacy of Toy Story (11:41) is a series of interview clips from animators, actors, filmmakers, and those associated with films discussing the impact of Toy Story on the film and animation industries.
Designing Toy Story (6:12) detailing the textured world of Toy Story.
Deleted Scenes (18:50) Nine deleted scenes
Design are 11 Galleries of the different set designs (14:03), seven galleries on 3-D Visualizations (5:41), three galleries on the storytelling device of Color (7:54).
Story (13:56) Pixar’s unique and organic storyboarding and script review process is shown in three different scenes and has since been followed in each of the studio’s subsequent films.
Production (13:41) explains the animation process from the storyboards, layouts, animation, to the finished product. And as a bonus is a short reel of Toy Story in the various languages it was translated.
Music and Sound: Randy Newman Demos (17:30) is a collection of songs Newman created for the film. They can be heard one-by-one, or altogether. They are as follows: Plastic Spaceman 1 (3:18) and 2 (3:16), Strange Things (2:58), The Fool (2:09), I Will Go Sailing No More (3:32), You’ve Got a Friend in Me (2:17).
Publicity SD (10:14) a series of promotional Trailers, TV Spots, Posters, and much more.
Sneak Peeks for Disney Movie Rewards, Toy Story 1 and 2, The Princess and the Frog, James and the Giant Peach Special Edition, and Beauty and the Beast.
Toy Story 3 Coupon included is a $8.50 off a single admission ticket for Toy Story 3 which adds a little incentive for anyone who thinks they’ve bought this film enough. Gotta make sure to use it, though!
Overall Shock Value: A+
Chances are you already have the DVD of Toy Story, but as it was an early reference title for DVD technology, it has the same value for Blu-Ray. Looking even better in high definition, Toy Story is a justifiable double dip worth every single penny and you can give your old DVD to someone who doesn’t already have it and won’t make the leap to high def anytime soon. While it is already beginning to look outdated as far as computer-animated films is concerned, Toy Story holds up extremely well because of how good the story still is and there’s plenty of new bonus features and incentives to Buy It again!
Year: 2009
Running Time: 87 Minutes
Rated: PG
SRP: $ 39.99
Studio(s): 20th Century Fox
Release Date: March 23, 2010
Film/Feature: A –
If there a were ever an animated film that would be best seen with a glass of beer, Fantastic Mr. Fox would be it. Anthropomorphic animals are always fun, as long as it’s not live action, and especially if they are set in a world created by Wes Anderson (Royal Tennenbaums) and Noah Baumbach (Squid and the Whale). Actually, the story stems from a story by the late Roald Dahl, who authored James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But both Anderson and Baumbach are like two peas in pods, who love making films soaked in dry wit and memorable chatter, odd character idiosyncrasies and set designs as memorable as a timeless photograph. They took Dahl’s short story and put their fallen-aristocrat spin on it.
Year: 2009
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Rated: R
SRP: $ 39.95
Studio(s): Magnolia Pictures / Magnet
Release Date: February 2, 2010
Film/Feature: A-
I don’t know if I’m ready to believe that Tony Jaa is the “baddest mofo” martial arts actor on the planet but in his age bracket, he doesn’t have many peers. After breaking onto the scene with Ong Bak, he starred in Tom-Yum-Goong (AKA The Protector), a cookie-cutter chop-saki films that instead felt like a continuation of Ong Bak, switching out Buddha statues for pet elephants as the driving motivation. I love watching Muay Thai or “Elephant Boxing” as much as the next guy, but I feared Jaa would be a one-trick pony. So when Tony Jaa decided to go back to the Ong Bak franchise to do two sequels, I didn’t know what to expect, but it wasn’t this.
Year: 2003
Running Time: 105 Minutes
Rated: R
SRP: $24.99
Studio(s): Magnolia Pictures
Release Date: February 2, 2010
Film/Feature: A–
When Ong Bak opens, around two dozen villagers run up a gigantic tree, maybe three or four stories high. All of them caked with mud, shirtless or wearing very thin clothing. It’s a race to the top where the fastest up the tree to retrieve a flag and down is crowned the village prideful champion warrior. Using martial arts and acrobatics, each man tries his best to leaping limbs, fending off other aggressors, and kicking and clawing their way to the top. Most didn’t make it falling anywhere from 10-20 feet to the ground, clipping a giant branch on the way down. No safety nets, no padded clothes, and no wires. These poor bastards experienced real pain. Stuntmen can’t act that good. From the opening scene, I knew this was going to be a film I’d talk about for years.
Year: 2009
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Rated: G
SRP: $44.95
Studio(s): Disney Studios
Release Date: March 16, 2010
Film/Feature: A–
You’re never too old to enjoy a Disney film, and if you find yourself at that place, then you may have lost your ability to have fun. Luckily for Disney animation, they haven’t lost their touch in making family films to lose yourself for an hour or two and let your inner-kid enjoy itself. In a brave move, Disney went against the grain and made a new hand-drawn animated feature going back to its roots to put their spin on another fairy tale. This time it was the Brothers Grimm tale of The Princess and the Frog.
Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) is a young and independent woman raised by a hard-working parents (Oprah Winfrey and Terrence Howard) and is saving up to open her own restaurant. She has been childhood friends with Charlotte, who was raised in a well-to-do aristocrat family and has taken the “wishing upon a star” literally. Tiana on the other hand, thinks good will only come to those who work for it.
Fifteen minutes in, and you might look at the cover of the box and wonder if you bought the right film. Disney’s twist of the Princess and the Frog fairy tale finally takes form when Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos) and his servant, Lawrence arrive to look for a rich suitor because they are broke. Charlotte’s father gets wind that a prince is in town and gets whatever his little girl wants and throws a big ball for his daughter to meet the prince. However, New Orleans is a town of opportunists like Dr. Facilier (Keith David), a voodoo magician who promises to fulfill their wishes before showing up to the ball. But the servant has taken the form of Prince Naveen, and Naveen has been turned into a frog. Naveen is able to convince Tiana that he is a prince, and all she needs to do is give him a kiss and he’ll revert back to his human form.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work out that smoothly and Tiana is instead turned into a frog and the leap into the swamps and bayou with the help of Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley), a trumpet-tooting alligator and Ray (Jim Cummings), a romantic ragin’ Cajun lightning bug to find Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis), a good witch who they hope to have some answers for them. If they remain in frog form too long, they could stay that way forever. The story is light road tale of perseverance, but has enough plot elements that keep pulling along your interest throughout.
It’s impossible to avoid the attempt Disney is making to fill a lacking hole in their library of films that would appease the African-American audiences. Tiana becomes the first African-American princess that Disney has ever revolved a story around and they did it successfully with a talented cast headed by Anika Noni Rose whose strong voice and cheerful spirit fit her character’s design of a strong-minded and head strong woman. Keith David plays Dr. Facilier, a conniving conjurer, and toned-down version of the popular folklore occult Shadow Man. His voice has prominence, a chilling ring, and David’s singing chops aren’t bad either.
There’s still a gap in how much this story can touch you as opposed to what comes out of Disney Pixar Studios but that’s the difference in working off a fairy tale and doing something completely original. The Princess and the Frog’s message of ‘not just wishing and a star and waiting, but also doing something about it’ is clear enough to not feel like it’s a one-note story, and so is its other lesson of ‘not working so much you forget to have fun.’ There are themes of class, work ethic, small business, and much more. Fun characters and music by Randy Newman solidify this release as a must-see for young, old, girls and boys; and there should not be any questions one whether or not everyone will enjoy this.
Video: A+
Disney’s triumphant return to drawn animation is supported by this terrific high definition 1080p AVC-encoded transfer in 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Backgrounds have layers of painted detail, characters have loads of vibrant hues and color that are as visually stunning as some of the very best Disney films. Nice touches like opaque reflections in water, the amber glow of an oil lamp and smoke from a shotgun have no banding or signs of artificial enhancement. I want to call to attention three chapters which make for good visual tests of this blu-ray (as well as audio). Chapter 4 is Tiara’s first big musical number and the animation goes from the “Disney” style to 1940′s deco art full of bright oranges and yellows only seen on gerber daisies. Chapter 5 is Dr. Facilier’s introduction and his lair is full of the occult and voodoo magic. Rich purple hues and psychedelic imagery that are reminiscent of a Victor Moscoso painting. Every scene has something much deeper to look at and other good stuff like deep blacks and smooth gradient color will impress. And shadow delineation, accentuated by the shadow monsters have clear definition.
Audio: A+
Accompanying the strong visuals is the equally impressive 5.1 English DTS-HD master audio track. The music reflects each of the delicious flavors of the southern creole cooking pots. From the dixie jazz, to the gospel chorals, and the rhythm and blues will have you snapping your fingers, clapping your hands and shaking your thang down Bourbon Street. Your ear will be able to place where the instruments were from the drums to the sharp brass section. Dialogue is flawless as distinct accents don’t make the words any less difficult to hear but instead make them that much more memorable. Mama Odie and Louis for example, have subtle but very different accents that help distinguish not only who they are, but what region of New Orleans they’d be from. The shadow monsters have an eerie and haunting sound that swirls all around. Ray’s buzzing moves around the room as he moves on the screen and every musical performance is over-the-top with highly active sound movement, native surround effects heard in the swamps and a well-balanced mix of it all. Again, pay attention to Chapters 4, 5, and 11 offer up some of the very best this blu-ray has to offer. Other audio selections include: French, Spanish, Portuguese 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks and a English 2.0 DVS track; subtitles are available in English SDH, French, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Extras: B
I’ve got to knock Disney a few on their extras department which left lots to desire. First of all what’s on the disc is very short. We’re talking about a family film which should have a wealth of material, that will not only consume time, but shed a lot of light on the film. For being one of the first hand-drawn films in a long time, most of the featurettes could have been grouped together for one sitting or allow the option of playing them individually instead of forcing to view it in two-to-five minute segments. Another thing I have to take down on is for a Disney musical film, where are the Sing-a-long extras? A big-big-big misstep there. When I compare these to say, a Disney Pixar film and the hours of material there, I wonder why so little was given to The Princess and the Frog.
Disc One
Audio Commentary by Co-Directors John Musker and Ron Clements and Producer Peter Del Vecho is a scene-specific, on point track that covers a variety of subjects from Randy Newman’s musical contribution, the setting of New Orleans, and creating a brand new story, with new characters with the Disney twist of a classic fairy tale. All three men contribute equally, do not talk over each other and give a fine diversion for budding animators or Disney loyalists.
Work in Progress Track HD Here’s a neat blu-ray exclusive track which allows you to view the film alongside in-progress storyboards, pencil layouts, and rough animations as a Picture-in-Picture feature. I think what would have made this even better though would have been the ability to view this during the commentary. In fact, they should have fused the two tracks as a CineExplore commentary, often seen on other family films.
Deleted Scenes HD (11:43) There are five deleted / alternate scenes in storyboard form with different voices that were cut before animation and voices were recorded. The reasons they didn’t make the cut were mainly due to time constraints.
Music and More HD (4:04) Here’s where I really took issue with the extras. In this section there is only one option, so I’m not sure where the “and More” comes into play, but this is just the music video for “Never Knew I Needed” by Ne-Yo, which is only used on the closing credits. Where are the extras on the songs, the musical elements of the film? This is where a sing-a-long extra needed to be placed, a usual staple of classic Disney releases.
Bringing Life to Animation HD (8:08) Two scenes, “Dig a Little Deeper” and “The Proposal” are broken down with live action sequences used as visual references for the animators, a technique that was used throughout the golden age of Disney. They show different angles and choreography, along with commentary by Musker and Clements.
Magic in the Bayou: The Making of a Princess HD (22:11) John Lasster joins the production party to discuss the creative energy behind The Princess and the Frog and the universal buzz among the cast and crew that a new hand-drawn animated feature was pumping through the veins of the Disney offices, as well as the all of the major themes and elements of the film.
The Return to Hand Drawn Animation HD (2:43) The excitement of the return to a 2D film lit a fire under the animators because it’s what brought so many people to work at Disney in the first place. The animators of the film talk about wanting to continue the art of Disney filmmaking.
The Disney Legacy HD (2:31) A look at the great animators of Disney and their impact on the current animators who were able to work with people who worked alongside Walt Disney.
Disney’s Newest Princess HD (2:51) The attention swings to actress Anika Noni Rose and the 1920′s inspired character, who is a strong and independent woman who little girls can aspire to.
The Princess and the Animator HD (2:26) The supervising animator for Princess Tiana, Mark Henn talks about creating another strong princess character for Disney having worked on Ariel, Belle, Mulan and Jasmine.
Conjuring the Villain HD (1:50) Animators and Keith David talk about the story’s villain, Dr. Facilier.
A Return to the Animated Musical HD (3:13) a short featurette about the musical score for The Princess and the Frog involving Randy Newman’s composition of jazz, gospel and the blues.
Art Galleries Peruse a number of the developmental, conceptual, and design art for the film including Character Design, Visual Development, Layouts and Backgrounds and Storyboards.
What do you See: Princess Portraits is a guessing game where images are created by fireflies and you have to guess which Disney princess it is. Hosted by Mama Odie, after ten tries
Disc Two: DVD
The DVD includes the full film, deleted scenes, audio commentary, the Princess Portraits game, and the music video by Ne-Yo. If you have a family and you have outfitted your fan or travel packs with the ability to watch DVDs on the go, you will love this added option. However, to those thinking that the DVD version will suffice, the digital sound and vision of the blu-ray is unmatched.
Disc Three: Digital Copy Disc
Take The Princess and the Frog with you on the go to watch it on your laptop, desktop computer, or portable media player.
Overall Shock Value: A–
As a fan of all types of animation, Disney’s hit it our of the park with another musical twist on a classic fairy tale and presenting an enjoyable film that should connect with plenty of families on family night. There some real delightful performances especially by Keith David and Anika Noni Rose both in their acting and singing. The visuals are splendidly classic but also has that jolt of high definition pop. The Princess and the Frog offers a diverse option for families who want to expand from the classic Disney canon with a great message and a infectious blend of music ranging from jazz, gospel and blues. A definite Buy it! especially with every format imaginable is available in one package.
Year: 2009
Running Time: 89 Minutes
Rated: PG-13
SRP: $ 39.95
Studio(s): Disney Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Release Date: January 25, 2009
Film/Feature: C
If you haven’t had enough science fiction films about human-like cyborgs, then you may room for Surrogates, a Jonathan Mostow-directed film that’s based on the 2005 Top Shelf comic by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele. In a not-too-distant future, humans have the ability to live life through a surrogate robot/cyborg model of themselves. The surrogates are idealized versions of humans, and by living life through a remote control life-sized action figure there is less crime, no racism, and life is seemingly lived better. That is until the story begins and FBI Agent Tom Greer (Bruce Willis) arrive on the scene of a murder scene. A surrogate turns up terminated and when it’s found out that it is a college boy named Jerod Canter was in control they discover his human body was terminated simultaneously. Canter is the son of Dr. Lionel Canter (James Cromwell), the man who originally created surrogate technology.
The investigation turns to Greer and his partner Jennifer Peters (Radha Mitchell) who follow a lead to the Prophet (Ving Rhames) leading a cult known as the Dreads, who choose to live a surrogate-free lifestyle and clue them in on a weapon that was used to carry out the murders. When Greer gets too close to the truth, he is nearly zapped by the weapon. He is temporarily discharged by his superiors and to take some time off and spends the rest of the film up out of his surrogate chair to reconnect with his wife, Maggie (Rosamund Pike), who is all too comfortable in her virtual world to go back to what she had with Tom. When it seems like he’s lost her to her virtual life, he pursues his investigation and discovers a plot to rid the world of all surrogates but also those humans connected to them.
Year: 2009
Running Time: 90 Minutes
Rated: PG
SRP: $ 39.95
Studio(s): Sony Pictures
Release Date: January 5, 2010
Film/Feature: A-
Even though a lot of emphasis has been put on Pixar’s Up, one of this past year’s most memorable animated features was Sony’s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Kids, parents and those on Weight Watchers have their dreams realized when Flint Lockwood (Bill Hader) invents a contraption that is designed to save the town of Swallow Falls, a city where it’s ’round the clock, nonstop sardines. The machine is called the FLDSMDFR (an acronym too long to list out) that turns water into food and sends it into the sky where it can rain down whatever the starving desires, bringing new life and public interest to Sallow Falls. Flint gains newfound fame and credit for making life worth living in Swallow Falls. Flint was picked on as a kid for his scientific breakthroughs but for the first time, something he created brought happiness to the world.
If not for the sudden scientific and culinary phenomena, barely anyone would know about this fishing town located under the “A” in Atlantic Ocean on the world map. A weather girl named Sam Sparks (Anna Faris) catches the bizarre and delectable events on camera and the Mayor Shelbourne (Bruce Campbell) thinks he can exploit this in a facelift of the town and drive world tourism to his front door. Greed and gluttony wreak havoc on the city as the FLDSMDFR is put under a great deal of stress and misuse and it’s up to Flint to save the day, and repair his estranged relationship with his father (James Caan). Enlisting the help of Sam and her Guatemalan cameraman Manny (Benjamin Bratt), Flint and his pet monkey Steve (Neil Patrick Harris) who can talk through a Flint-modified Speak and Spell, this motley crew tries to fix the unstable FLDSMDFR, which threatens to destroy and bury the world in tons of food.
Year: 2009
Running Time: 112 Minutes
Rated: R
SRP: $39.95
Studio(s): Sony Pictures
Release Date: December 22, 2009
Film/Feature: B +
This past summer, science fiction movie fans got introduced to one of the more interesting characters that have come in a long time. Wikus Van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley) works for Multinational United AKA MNU, a large corporation who tries to come up with a way to move a race of aliens from a shanty are of Johannesburg, South Africa to a secluded camp where they can be closer monitored and be kept away from the human race. Wikus plays the villain, the victim, and then the hero of District 9, a film that uses a gritty sci-fi environment to remind us of the history and xenophobia of South Africa.
It looks like creators/executive producers Seth Green and Matthew Senreich and the folks behind Robot Chicken will get to play with action figures for at least two more seasons. They struck a new extension deal with Cartoon Network for a two-season, 40-episode pick-up for Seasons Five and Six. Robot Chicken is the highest-rated original series for fans of the late hours of the Cartoon Network, AKA Adult Swim and is the one show I regularly set on my DVR to hunt down every episode. I don’t care if it’s new episodes or repeats, I can’t get enough of it and am thrilled to see it get its TV life extended. Robot Chicken is shown in 15 minute blocks but in reality it’s just over 10 minutes an episode, but I’m sure it took 1000 times as long just to put one episode together.
“We’re very excited,” says Green, “we never expected to do a second season, let alone a fifth and sixth, so we are thrilled by the audience response and how the show continues to grow internationally.” Senreich says, “We love Adult Swim. It’s really that simple. From the get-go, we’ve always said that Robot Chicken was a show where we play with friends and we look forward to doing that for years to come!”
Robot Chicken, the highest-rated original series on Adult Swim, has aired since February 2005 and remains the top-rated original on the network. The series has been Emmy-nominated as Outstanding Animated Program for the last two years; Green was nominated for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance and the series has won multiple Emmys in Animation. Robot Chicken produced two hit Robot Chicken: Star Wars specials, and Robot Chicken DVDs consistently rank among the industry’s top TV on DVD releases during the week they are released. In addition, Robot Chicken has won four Annie Awards, including Best Animated Television Production, Best Writing and Best Director for Green.
“Puckaahhh!”
Year: 2009
Running Time: 54 Minutes
Rated: Not Rated
SRP: $ 29.99
Studio(s): 20th Century Fox
Release Date: January 5, 2009
Film/Feature: B+
After Family Guy’s successful spoof of Star Wars: A New Hope called Blue Harvest (2007), a follow up poking fun at Empire Strikes Back was as much a sure thing as a sunny day in California. In Family Guy Something Something Something Dark Side, we get to see Stewie as the venomous little Darth Vader again and see Peter Griffin as Han Solo, Lois as Leia, Cleveland as R2D2, Chris as Luke Skywalker, and Quagmire as C3PO, Brian as Chewie, and Meg… well, she has a minor role. And Mort, well Mort has an incredibly funny role that I won’t spoil.
In fact, I will try not to spoil any of SSSDS, because it is best seen with as little knowledge as possible. Just brush up on your familiarity with Empire Strikes Back, and the usual barrage of 80′s and 90′s pop culture references which drive the comedy of Family Guy. As someone who also enjoys Seth Green’s Robot Chicken Star Wars spoofs because they are little stories that fit perfectly in the told story, I was pleased to see Family Guy do something different by doing a direct parody of the Original Trilogy. It’s a boon for anyone who enjoys that inappropriate (but hilariously funny), crass edgy material that Family Guy dips into and wants to see this beloved animated family in the classic Star Wars parts. I couldn’t stop laughing and in an hour’s time, you can relive all that’s great about Empire Strikes Back. It’s true that this watches like three straight episodes of Family Guy, but it is uncensored, it is in glorious high definition, and the animation is so good that some scenes look almost identical to scenes in the live-action movie.
I know Star Wars parodies can be found as common as a penny lying on the street, but Something Something Something Dark Side hits all the right notes and stays within its own little universe thankfully Far Far Away. When the inevitable follow-up We Got A Bad Feeling About This comes out, I’ll be the first one in line to complete the Griffin remix of Star Wars.
Video: A-
This is the first time Family Guy has been seen in high definition and SSSDS gets a1080p AVC-encoded transfer in its original full frame 1.33:1 aspect ratio.If there’s any doubt at how good an animated series can look, then just compare this blu-ray with one of the early season DVDs. The separation of animated objects is crystal clear, black outlines are stable and straight. With the scenes set on the planet Hoth in the winter landscapes, there’s a thin sheer veil of white snow mist throughout and just adds enough to the image to make for an impressive image. Colors are quite brilliant especially in the infamous light saber fight with the grated floor and fiery lights below. The swampy and muddy Dagobah scenes with Yoda show a lot of intricate work as well–not to mention the handful of live action scenes that are inserted (that will not be spoiled here) look incredibly crisp. And since many of the scenes are done in outer space, the blacks are Vader-dark and are lovely in this transfer. In all of its seasons and specials, Family Guy has never looked so good.
Audio: A-
Done equally well is the audio mix for SSSDS. It has a surprisingly active 5.1 English DTS-HD Master Audio track, that has plenty of bells and whistles you’d normally expect out of a Star Wars film. Action sequences like the At-At battle the front and rear channels come alive with lots of activity. Especially when there are ships that zoom by in Cloud City or whenever the Millennium Falcon takes flight all of the classic Star Wars sound effects can be heard in HD-audio glory. John Williams majestic score also gets its spotlight on center stage as this is the first time it’s being heard on blu-ray and for those waiting for Lucas’ Original SW Trilogy, this will help the agonizing wait for its eventual arrival. There are no other audio selections and subtitles are available in English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Suomi, Dannish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish.
Extras: B
For an episode that runs just shy of an hour, there’s a good amount of extras to dig into. All of the extras are in high definition, AVC-encoded and are in 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo.
Audio Commentary by Executive Producers Seth MacFarlane, Mark Hentemann, David A. Goodman, Writer Kirker Butler, Director Dominic Polcino and Actor Seth GreenThere is also subtitles available for the commentary which helps distinguish who among the six guys is talking because outside of Green and MacFarlane it’s difficult to know who’s who. The commentary is full of extra laughs and uncensored hilarities that are at times screen specific but full of side conversations and Hollywood stories. And there might be the slight influence of Patron. It’s also revealed in the commentary that a Clue spoof is in the works and will probably see the light of day later in 2010.
Family Guy Fact-Ups is a trivia track done in VH1 Pop-up that’s full of outrageous and hilarious minutiae about Family Guy and Star Wars.
The Dark Side of Poster Art HD (9:18) is a brief featurette about how Joe Vaux painted the blu-ray/DVD covers as a beautiful homage to Roger Kastel’s original iconic posters. Character designer Mick Cassidy also joins in on the discussion and eventually beers are drunk and shirts are being taken off. I will say that there is enough chest hair in this extra to last a lifetime.
Animatic Scene-to-Scene with Commentary by Director Dominic Polcino HD(6:36) Polcino compares side-by-side animated penciled storyboards before color is put in to the finished product.
Family Guy-Something Something Something Dark Side Table Read Act 1 and 2 HD (49:27) In a conference room, are at least 50 people packed with cast and crew in practice run of the script. I love animation table reads, because you can partially see the actors really get into character; you can see how well the script is based on the genuine laughter in the room and to actually see all of the interactions of the actors. Many times actors record their parts separately so this is a great prelude to what the finished product will sound like. There are also plenty of scenes and lines that got cut out too, some of which were very funny, so make sure you check all these out too.
Sneak Peek of Family Guy Episode VI: We Have a Bad Feeling About This Table Read HD (2:26) is a very short taste of what’s to come in the eventual third installment of Family Guy Star Wars specials. The camera is tight into Seth MacFarlane so you can really see him play Peter Griffin as Han Solo who is being defrosted from his carbonite tomb.
Disc Two is a Digital Movie Disc that makes portability easy. Normally on the sheet that holds the confirmation code also lists the expiration date and there was not one listed, but if these Digital Movie Discs are your thing, make sure to see when that is (it may show on the download).
Overall Shock Value: A-
While it’s hard to justify a separate purchase for a Family Guy movie, (especially when it will eventually be packaged together with the other Star Wars spoofs once they’re all completed, or in a complete series set), but this is a lovely first foray into high definition for Family Guy and if you’re a fan of the show AND a fan of Star Wars, then I don’t see how you can pass this up. If you’re a casual fan, then perhaps you give it at least a rental; but for my money, I’m going to recommend the curious to Buy It.
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