The Blu-ray Blog » CGI

[VIDEO] Finding Nemo Blu-ray Trailer

Brenden — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:27:52 +0000

At long last, it looks like Finding Nemo is on it’s way to Blu-ray. It’s about time too, as it’s the last Pixar film to be released on the format. No release date or details yet but the trailer embedded above has made its way onto the internets, promising we’ll see some Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich fishies in HD sooner rather than later. The best guess, at the moment, is that the disc will hit around the time of the films big-screen 3D release, next September. Okay, I guess that’s kind of later than I’d like. But, you know, at least we’re not talking about 2013 here!

LEGO Star Wars: The Padawan Menace animated special comes to Blu-ray

Brenden — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:42:06 +0000

Okay, I had no idea that LEGO was making TV specials now. This is kind of cool. My nephew plays the crap out of all of those LEGO video games on his XBOX 360. I’ve played a few myself and I’ve got to tell you, they’re way fun. Really well put together with a great sense of humour. From the look of the trailer above, the LEGO Star Wars special, The Padawan Menace, shows all the signs of capturing the kid-friendly mayhem of the games. Apparently, the show premiered on The Cartoon Network last week and has now been announced for release on Blu-ray this coming September 16th, the same day its big brothers, the actual real Star Wars films arrive on Blu. For the time being, though, the LEGO disc is a Walmart exclusive. We’ll see how long that lasts…

LEGO STAR WARS: THE PADAWAN MENACE
(September 16, 2011 – MSRP $19.99 )
Video: 1080p
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1

Special Features:

Hunt for R2-D2
Bombad Bounty
Star Wars in Two Minutes (Part 1)
Star Wars in Two Minutes (Part 2)
Star Wars Clone Wars In Cinema
Exclusive Young Han Solo LEGO minifigure

Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Complete Season Three Blu-ray announced and detailed

Brenden — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 02:26:02 +0000

It was almost exactly a month ago that Amazon.ca leaked the package art and release date for The Clone Wars: The Complete Season Three Blu-ray set. Well, they got the art right but the date was actually a week off. Warner has officially announced the set for an October 18th release, with a collection of special features that mimic earlier sets. Expect further details in the near future, like the announcement of digibook packaging (I’m going to be pissed if they skimp out on the book this time!) and the non-revelation that the episodes are only encoded in compressed audio.

STAR WARS THE CLONE WARS: THE COMPLETE SEASON THREE
(October 18, 2011 – MSRP $59.99)
Video: 2.39:1 1080p
Audio: TBA

Special Features:

22 Action-Packed Episodes Featuring New Characters in Thrilling, New Adventures
Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes with Director and Artist Commentary on Each Disc
Exclusive to Blu-ray for a limited time! – The Jedi Temple Archives: Extensive Database of Early Test Animation, Concept Art and 3-D Turnaround

Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Complete Season Three Blu-ray set in October

Brenden — Fri, 20 May 2011 18:02:46 +0000

Wow! This news is unexpectedly early. Amazon.ca (a source of tons of early Blu-ray info this week!) has posted their pre-order page for the upcoming Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Complete Season Three Blu-ray boxed set. The release date is listed as October 25th, which matches up to the time frame of previous Clone Wars boxed set street dates. Canadian retail price is $74.98, which is identical to the MSRP of Season 2 and translates to US $59.98 (Yeah, we really get hosed up here, north of the 49th parallel, don’t we?) Don’t be surprised if special features mimic previous sets exactly, with behind-the-scenes featurettes, Jedi Temple Archives and included hardcover book packaging. We’ll know more when the multi-disc Blu-ray set is officially announced.

Megamind Blu-ray Disc Review

Brenden — Sun, 13 Mar 2011 22:00:20 +0000

MEGAMIND (2010, Blu-ray released February 25, 2011 – MSRP $49.99)

MOVIE:	★★★★☆
VIDEO:	★★★☆☆
AUDIO:	★★★★☆
EXTRAS:	★★★★☆
BLU-RAY:	★★★★☆

Dreamworks‘ latest animated adventure Megamind follows faithfully in the successful footsteps of it’s progenitor, Shrek. It’s a fun, often funny superhero romp that has somehow suffered an unfortunate transfer onto Blu-ray.

““Super villain Megamind’s (Will Ferrell) dreams have come true when he conquers the city’s protector Metro Man (Brad Pitt) gaining control of Metro City. But when a new villain (Jonah Hill) is created and chaos runs rampant, the world’s biggest “mind” and his comic sidekick Minion (David Cross) might actually save the day. ”

I almost hate to say it but Megamind might be Ferrell’s best film in years. The gags don’t fly as fast and furious as one might hope but his delivery is right on point and, coupled with the comedy tour-de-force that is the film’s cast (which also includes comedy greats Tina Fey and Ben Stiller), even the most tepid jokes are made giggle-worthy. The story follows the bullet points of familiar efforts from the studio (read: Shrek) as the lovable villain finds love and through it, discovers a new path for his life. But Megamind doesn’t rest on its laurels, satisified with merely rehashing narrative elements, as it discovers a few clever twists in the story that keep it feeling fresh enough to stand on its own two feet.

The Blu-ray edition of Megamind, however, finds itself on shaky ground. It presents an overall quite pleasant, vivid image but is riddled with flaws that don’t often turn up in these digital-to-digital animated film transfers. There’s a disturbing amount of shimmering, aliasing and colour banding throughout the film that doesn’t require a keen eye to spot. That said, colours are fantastic and detail is out of this world. The Dolby True HD 7.1 audio track, on the other hand, is just about damn-near perfect. This is an incredibly robust and dynamic sounding disc, with clean, clear dialogue up the middle, a well rounded, rich musical presentation and all-around accurate-sounding soundstage.

Megamind comes to Blu-ray boasting a villainous horde of special features that includes the frantic, fun Megamind: The Button of Doom short film. The 15-minute quasi-sequel will most certainly prove to be the highlight of the supplements for the younger set. We adult fans of the film will no doubt find the “Animators Corner” picture-in-picture track to be the best thing going, running the length of the films and using elements of the commentary track (which can be played on its own as well) inter-cut with behind the scenes footage, interviews and more! Kids may also enjoy the “Comic Creator” feature which allows them to select images from the film and pair them with dialogue in word balloons and sound effects to create comic strips that can be saved and played back later for their pals. The Mega Double Pack Blu-ray edition is packaged with a DVD of the film that carries over a handful of the bonus features.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Filmmakers’ commentary
Megamind: The Button of Doom
The Animators’ Corner (BD-exclusive)
Trivia Track (BD-exclusive)
Comic Creator (BD-exclusive)
Behind the Mind (BD-exclusive)
Meet the Cast of Megamind
Deleted scene
Inside Megamind’s Lair
AnimatorMan
You Can Draw Megamind
Mega Rap
The Reign of Megamind—Video Comic Book
Spot the Difference
Previews
World of DreamWorks Animation

[See post to watch Flash video]

Win a copy of Megamind on Blu-ray

Brenden — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 18:14:39 +0000

[See post to watch Flash video]

UPDATE: “THE CLUMSY CRUSADER” (Diane Quintal) is the winner of the ‘MEGAMIND’ Blu-ray! Congratulations!

The Megamind Blu-ray arrives in stores tomorrow but you’ve got the chance to win one today! Here’s how to enter:

Step 1: ‘LIKE’ The Blu-ray Blog on Facebook

Step 2: ‘COMMENT’ on the Megamind contest post and let us know what superhero name you’d give yourself if you had special powers. The most creative/entertaining answer will win a copy of Megamind on Blu-ray disc. Note: One entry per person/Facebook account.

Contest is open to all residents of Canada and the U.S.A. and ends 11:59 p.m. PT on February 24th, 2011. The winner will be announced on Facebook and via The Blu-ray Blog Twitter account and will be contacted directly via Facebook message with further details.

““A smart, funny and original treat,” Michael O’Sullivan, The Washington Post, Megamind puts a whole new hilarious twist on the superhero movie. Packed with high-flying action and non-stop laughs, the smash hit starring Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, David Cross and Tina Fey will debut in DreamWorks Animation’s Blu-ray + DVD Combo Pack which includes the all-new comedy-adventure MEGAMIND: THE BUTTON OF DOOM, plus hours of bonus features and exclusive interactive Blu-ray features including picture-in-picture storyboards, behind the scenes footage, interviews, music videos, the lost scene, a comic book creator, an insider tour of Megamind’s Lair, interactive games, and so much more. ”

Special features include:

Filmmakers’ commentary
Megamind: The Button of Doom
The Animators’ Corner (BD-exclusive)
Trivia Track (BD-exclusive)
Comic Creator (BD-exclusive)
Behind the Mind (BD-exclusive)
Meet the Cast of Megamind
Deleted scene
Inside Megamind’s Lair
AnimatorMan
You Can Draw Megamind
Mega Rap
The Reign of Megamind—Video Comic Book
Spot the Difference
Previews
World of DreamWorks Animation

Blu-ray Holiday Gift Guide 2010: Animation on Blu

Brenden — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 03:01:42 +0000

All right, time is running out to get these Blu-ray gift guide recommendations posted so let’s get back to it! I’ll keep the commentary to a minimum here, in order to hasten the process.

Next up: Classics on Blu-ray

MORE GIFT IDEAS:

* GIFT & BOXED SETS
* TV ON BLU
* CLASSICS
* THE BEST OF THE YEAR

Animation just doesn’t get any better than the work of Hayao Miyazaki. His latest film, Ponyo is also his first on Blu-ray. This is not only a perfect gift for kids and animation fans but also for film fans of all ages.

Highest possible recommendation!!

READ MORE: Ponyo Blu-ray Disc Review

AMAZON: $21.99

I reviewed the Fantastic Mr. Fox Blu-ray way back in March and, let me tell you, I’m still surprised at how much I enjoyed it! I’m a fan of Wes Anderson but didn’t think I’d care for this stop-motion animation take on the classic Roald Dahl tale. What a pleasant surprise! It’s a great film with a stellar presentation on Blu-ray disc.

AMAZON: $17.49

Neon Genesis Evangelion on Blu-ray. It’s been the fever dream of every anime fanboy with a big HD screen. And FUNimation delivered this past March with the first installment of the re-imagining/re-animated edition of the famed series, Evangelion: 1.11 You Are Not Alone, looking and sounding like a million bucks on Blu. This is a must-have disc for all anime and giant-robot fans.

Highly recommended!!

AMAZON: $16.49

I’m still hoping to get my hands on a copy of The Secret of Kells Blu-ray disc (hint hint!) but understand that it’s stellar in just about every possible way. The film itself is one of the best animated films to be released in years and worth your every attention. If the Blu-ray lives up to its reputation of having a killer transfer and great audio, this one could end up with a special place on my Blu-ray “shelf-of-honour“.

AMAZON: $18.49

Disney is really killing it with the Blu-ray releases of their classic catalogue titles. And Beauty and the Beast is one of the most significant, as it truly ushered in the modern renaissance of the studio’s 2D animated offerings. The film looks unbelievably great on Blu-ray and features tons of amazing special features. Again, another pick that’ll please animation AND film fans alike.

AMAZON: $19.49

I’m really steamed that I missed out How to Train Your Dragon. By all accounts, this is one of the best animated films to come out in the past number of years and the finest work of Dreamworks animations studios since the original Shrek. I just might have to grab a copy of the Blu-ray disc for my niece and nephew for Christmas, just so that I can finally get to see it myself!

AMAZON: $18.99

Warner Home Video and DC Comics continued their onslaught of animated superhero adaptations throughout the year, releasing four new Blu-ray discs in 2010, culminating with the DC Showcase collection of exceptional short films this past month. My favourite disc of the lot (though I enjoyed them all) is the Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths disc, which features a fun dimension-hopping story, great character designs and a slate of decent special features. But they’re all highly recommended for fans of the comics.

AMAZON: $18.99, $20.99, $10.99, $9.99

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs doesn’t look like a whole hell of a lot but it’s one of my girlfriend’s favourite films of the entire year (and I thought it was pretty all right too!) Released way back of the beginning of January the title is now available in a Blu-ray 3D edition as well as the standard, old Blu-ray combo pack.

AMAZON: $14.99

As I said before, Disney is on a roll with its Blu-ray releases of catalogue animation titles. Fantasia and its sister film, Fantasia 2000 both look and sound stellar in high-def. It’s unfortunate that most of the old DVD special features have been relegated to an online BD-Live archive, providing the sole option of streaming the content to your screen, as opposed to putting it on a local disc. Don’t let this single shortcoming keep you from adding this exceptional presentation of a classic film to your collection. Recommended!

AMAZON: $27.99

FUNimation has been releasing some great anime series on Blu-ray this year. Not all of them were created in HD, so the studio has been tirelessly improving their up-conversion process (taking the standard definition material and turning it into HD goodness!) to provide the best looking presentation possible. And you know, they’re doing a bang up job. The titles above are among my favourite released this year, with Eden of the East being one of the best looking, best written, most compelling animated series I’ve seen in an age. It especially comes highly recommended!

AMAZON: $37.99, $19.99, $69.98, $19.99

I’m not a big fan of the Family Guy but I kinda get how their Star Wars spoof episodes are so popular. Anyway, all three shows will be available for the first time in this brand new Blu-ray boxed set on December 21st.

AMAZON: $27.99

Far from Disney’s absolute best animated film but a decent return to form as the studio’s first hand-drawn effort in years, The Princess and the Frog is a great choice for any young girl who loves a musical rags-to-princess story.

AMAZON: $28.99

And while we’re on the subject of Disney and the films that little girl’s might like, it’s hard to beat the revisionist (it’s hard to believe this is the same character from J.M. Barrie‘s Peter Pan!) direct-to-video Tinkerbell series. These things have been consistently entertaining and this years’ entry, The Great Fairy Rescue is no exception.

AMAZON: $18.49

ANIMATION ALSO AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY
Clicking an image will take you to Amazon.com where you can learn more about and purchase the Blu-ray disc:

MORE GIFT IDEAS:

* GIFT & BOXED SETS
* TV ON BLU
* CLASSICS
* THE BEST OF THE YEAR

Star Wars The Clone Wars: The Complete Season Two Blu-ray Disc Review

Brenden — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:20:32 +0000

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS THE COMPLETE SEASON TWO (2009-2010, Blu-ray released October 26, 2010 – MSRP $59.99)

EPISODES:	★★★½☆
VIDEO:	★★★★☆
AUDIO:	★★★☆☆
EXTRAS:	★★★☆☆
BLU-RAY:	★★★½☆

The Star Wars animated series, The Clone Wars makes me hate myself a little bit. My head tells me over and over again that Emperor Lucas‘ prequel films were all kinds of garbage and that these cartoons only frolic in his poisoned playground. Well, that playground must be filled with crack-rocks or something because I continue to be addicted to this show!

Is it just me, or did the Clone Wars get even better in Season Two? Sure, there aren’t as many kick-ass lightsaber battles this time around but it’s a small gripe to make about a series that now seems to have hit its stride. As director Dave Filoni guides his animated baby ever closer to creative and temporal parity with the live-action Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, new and more lethal villains are introduced, the plot thickens, tensions increase and Anakin embraces his dickishness. That’s right, the future Darth Vader is clearly closer to embracing the Dark side in Season Two, taking lives in cold blood while appearing to mature into a steady mentor to his Padawan learner, Ashoka. This is pretty great stuff – super-fun for a Saturday morning and necessary viewing for any Star Wars fan.

Star Wars The Clone Wars: The Complete Season Two is “most impressive” on Blu-ray but pales in comparison to the nearly rock-solid image of the Season One Blu-ray set. Fans who watched the episodes as they aired on television will be blown away by the image on the discs – highly detailed and in their correct, much wider aspect ratios. But videophiles might be disappointed by the occasional appearance of colour banding and artifacting/macro-blocking. As is par for the course with Warner Blu-ray discs featuring TV content, the audio is only available in a compressed Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track. It’s a nice one but can’t compete with what could, no doubt have been delivered via an uncompressed, lossless track.

Extras on the disc set are, once again, very informative and entertaining but, sadly, fewer than on the Season One set. Gone, this time around, are the longer “Director’s Cut Episodes” and episode specific featurettes. The short docs present amount to over an hour of behind the scenes footage, art and interviews. Thankfully, the excellent Blu-ray exclusive “Jedi Temple Archives” have returned, featuring over two hours worth of deleted and extended scenes, designs, art and animation. Also back for Season Two is the wonderful packaging of the 3-disc set which includes a 68-Page Production Journal, this time around slotted into an attached sleeve instead of bound into the hardcover digibook.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Complete Season Two Blu-ray set officially announced

Brenden — Thu, 27 May 2010 18:24:55 +0000

Despite my general dislike for the Star Wars prequels, I really enjoyed the Clone Wars: The Complete Season One Blu-ray set. And now, less than a year later we’ve got all the details for the follow up – the Complete Season Two on Blu-ray. Now, if you look closely, you’ll notice that the specs state that the discs will have lossless audio but don’t hold your breath for that dream to come true. The first set was announced to have similar specs but shipped with a lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital track instead. We’ll know for sure when the October 26th release date rolls around…

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS THE COMPLETE SEASON TWO
(October 26, 2010 – MSRP $59.99)
Video: 1.78:1 1080p
Audio: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio

Special Features:

Behind-The-Scenes Featurettes on each disc
- Attack of the Zillo Beast
- Magic of the Holocron
- Return to Geonosis
- Creating Mandalore
64-page production journal that includes early sketches, artist notes and concept art from Season Two of Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Blu-ray Exclusive — The Jedi Temple Archives
- An extensive database exploring special effects footage, early concept art, 3-D character and object turnarounds and early animation. The Archives is a rare look at the assets in various stages of creation for The Clone Wars, with a wealth of surprises and never-before seen moments sprinkled throughout

Via: Star Wars.com

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Blu-ray Disc Review

Brenden — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:42:35 +0000

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS (2009, Blu-ray released January 5, 2010 – MSRP $39.95)

I took one look at the lack-luster design work of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and wrote it off as uninspired pablum. Boy, was I wrong! This is one of the most genuinely entertaining animated films of 2009! And my niece and nephew are here in another video review to tell you all about it!

Yes, it’s another kids review with Max and Olivia. They’re starting to become old pros at this now. Expect to see them hosting a cable show in the next year with a plan to branch out to national syndication in the near future. Sheesh. Who knew you could have so much going for you before the age of 10?

Ha! Funny kids. They absolutely loved it. But so did my sister. And my girlfriend. And I thought it was pretty all-right as well, you know. What it lacks in inspired design sense and nuanced animation (read Ren and Stimpy creator John K‘s brilliant technical analysis of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs here) it makes up for in wit and charm. It’s smart and funny in all the right places.

And the Blu-ray is no slouch either! As I’m sure you can imagine in a direct digital transfer, this thing is pitch perfect in damn near every way. Bright, vivid colours, incredibly deep blacks and every bit and byte of computer animated detail represented in gorgeous 1080p. Beautiful! The DTS-MA 5.1 is also a stunner, being one of the more well rounded and immersive tracks I’ve heard so far this year. I would even go so far as to say it’s exciting!

The supplemental features on the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Blu-ray are a blend of extras for the kids and for adults. Kids will enjoy the ‘Flint’s Food Fight‘ BD-Java game and the Interactive “Splat” Feature that allows them to launch digital food at the screen while the movie plays. Adults will appreciate the entertaining commentary track with Bill Hader (the voice of lead character Flint) and co-directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and the behind-the-scenes featurettes, “A Recipe for Success: The Making of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” and “Key Ingredients: The Voices of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs“. The set is rounded out by a music video (with a “making of” featurette), extended scenes, early development scenes and 9-minutes of Progression Reels with introductions by visual FX supervisor Rob Bredow. There are also DVD and Digital Copies of the film included.

The Blu-ray Blog » CGI

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