After reading the books, I was excited to discover that an animated version of the book existed, and lobbied hard to get my buddies to rent it when we were having a movie night.  And after we all sat back and viewed the movie, we looked at each other with the same expression on our faces: “What in heck was that?”

So the question is, after 28 years of watching various forms of animation, have I gained a new appreciation for Ralph Bakshi’s labor of love?  Does being on Blu-ray make the movie any better?

Film

Thinking back on all the animation I’ve watched over the years, I have difficulty recalling any animated movie that is quite as intrinsically ugly as this one.  Being on Blu-ray actually exacerbates this problem.  Washed out and stylistic backgrounds, inking issues, and the horridly ugly rotoscoping (using live actors as the basis for animation) makes this a visually unappealing movie.

Moreso, I could also criticize the color palette used, the lack of quality control of the animation, the bad 1970’s era sound effects, and the poor visualization of the scenes and characters.  In glorious 1080p, all of these flaws are held up for the viewer to see, and they become so distracting that they affect one’s ability to watch and enjoy the movie.

What is most egregiously lost in this film is the beauty and emotiveness of Tolkien’s writing in the Lord of the Rings.  An attentive reader can feel tranquility, compassion, happiness, apprehension, awe, and fear through Tolkien’s beautiful narrative.  This emotional resonance is mysteriously absent from the movie; it feels rushed, grim, and unhappy.  Worst of all, this film takes characters that we love (or hate), and makes us feel apathy for them.  Then, in culmination of this, it only tells the first half of the Lord of the Rings story – this move was not successful enough for the studio to green light the second half.

Being upfront, I am not a huge fan of Ralph Bakshi’s work.  Although I do have a age-based fondness for his somewhat psychedelic Spider-Man TV series, I thought Fritz the Cat was exploitive rather than groundbreaking.

Mr. Bakshi stated that he was a fan of the books, motivating his desire to make this film.  However, there had to be some sort of external pressure (budget?  Release date?) that resulted in this movie being as poor as it was.

For someone who loves the books, this film is a bitter disappointment.  For one who has never read the books, the film is incomprehensible.

Video

This is, bar none, the worst looking Blu-ray I have seen to date.  Unfortunately, I believe this is not due to the transfer and encoding – it is mainly due to the poor quality of the masters.  Considering the limited appeal of this release, it is difficult to imagine a circumstance under which  Warner Brothers would put resources into a full restoration of this film.  And they didn’t disappoint, with the film looking like it came straight out of a 1970’s film canister.

As mentioned in the “Film” section, there are quality control issues with inking throughout the movie, there is noise and dust speckles in almost every dark area, animations lack a certain grace, and the backgrounds are washed of life and color.  Worst of all, the rotoscoping that looked horrible on VHS looks even more horrible in Blu-ray.

It has been suggested that the rotoscoping was done to save money, as it was a quicker and easier process than drawing frames from scratch.  To me, rotoscoping looks like someone solarized a real person, and inserted their image into the film; something that looks absolutely horrid, and out of sync with the rest of the movie around it.

Audio

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio presentation of this movie was actually quite good considering the age of the material.  As can be expected, the dynamic range was very limited, missing that sharp clear top end and firm rolling bottom end.  A lot of the sounds happen in the midrange section of the audio spectrum, and a lot of them happen in the front speakers.

Generally not a bad presentation.  Although the voice acting is rather tepid, it goes well with the poor quality 70’s era sound effects.  Generally, I’m not quite sure how any Hobbit wearing the ring could stealthily disappear with a giant flash of light and a magic sound straight out of Hanna-Barbera’s Shazzan.

Special Features

Not much here for special features – just a half-hour SD documentary about Ralph Bakshi’s career, his impact on Hollywood, and his making of Lord of the Rings.  Generally this is an okay piece, but nothing special.  Even though my review copy also came with a Digital Copy, I’m not sure (considering the movie) that it adds much value.

Final Thoughts

Sometimes different films we view impact us differently depending on where we are in our lives.  Moves that I found funny as a teen I now find juvenile.  As a parent, teen movies give me the shudders, as I wouldn’t want my kids engaging in the behaviours I see on screen.  And movies that I didn’t appreciate as a younger person can often resonate with me now in a way they couldn’t when I was young.

Unfortunately, some movies that disappointed me when I was younger continue to disappoint me when I am older.  Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings is one of these.  Summed up in one sentence, this film is an ugly, gloomy, emotionally flat disservice to one of the best fantasy stories ever written.  Even a $0.99 7-day rental might be a bit overpriced for this film.

So it was with this “lowered” set of expectations that I viewed Ponyo.   

Film

Although Hayao Miyazaki first came to prominence in North America after Spirited Away won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2002, he had been making wonderful family movies for almost two decades.  Some of his most cherished movies are My Neighbor Totoro, Castle in the Sky, and Kiki’s Delivery Service.  For the more mature audiences, there was also the superb anime Princess Mononoke.  Regardless, Miyazaki movies are constant favourites with the official children of this writer, and the writer himself.

The plot of Ponyo is fairly straightforward – it is an adaptation of the Hans Christian Anderson tale of The Little Mermaid.  However, there is zero (and I mean zero) resemblance between this movie and Walt Disney’s The Little Mermaid. 

Ponyo is a five-ish year old girl, and the love between her and her human “prince” (just a regular 5-year old boy, Sosuke) is the pure and clear love of childhood.  When she’s not a girl, she is a fish, or something in between a fish and girl.

Her desire to be with Sosuke (and to eat ham) is very problematic however.  Her being out of the ocean has caused an imbalance in nature, something that greatly concerns her father, Fujimoto (well voiced by Liam Neeson).  Fujimoto also has other plans, including bringing back prehistoric fish, and wiping humans off the face of the Earth due to the damage they have caused to the ocean.

Ponyo’s escape from her father, her use of her magic, and her desire to turn human causes all sorts of catastrophe, including flooding and pulling the moon too close to the Earth.  This puts Sosuke, his Mother (Lisa, wryly voiced by Tina Fey), and residents of a retirement home into danger.  However, Ponyo’s mother (who only happens to be a sea goddess) has a solution that will solve all these issues, but only at great risk to Ponyo herself.

Two elements that are always prominent in a Miyazaki movie are the quality of the animation, and the imagination that goes into the composition of each scene.  In Ponyo, these elements were again at the fore, though in a different way than what I’ve seen in past movies.

In past Miyazaki movies, the backgrounds have always looked like a painting, with the attention to detail and brushstrokes necessary to make it so.  However, the backgrounds in Ponyo were more varied, with some reminding me of pastels on textured paper – almost impressionistic.  Based on the lightness and rich color palette of the move, these were appropriate, and still visibly demonstrated the master’s attention to detail.

The imagination of the characters and the ocean scenes was nothing short of stunning.  During Ponyo’s escape, the ocean boils with life, with waves being composed of fish that form and crash with every swell.  And on top of these waves runs the smiling little girl, Ponyo.  This is absolutely joyous to watch.  Even things as simple as the path Lisa uses to drive to work are fully imagined, as are the eerily familiar ladies she cares for at her retirement home.

In his adaptation of an old tale, Miyazaki has made something old new again, and has done so through the beauty and imagination of the artists at Studio Ghibli.  How good can a movie be?  Let’s just say that after watching the movie, one immediately wants to watch it again to see what they may have missed.  And yet again, Miyazaki has delivered an intelligent, whimsical, and touching movie that parents and children can enjoy together.

Video

This disk is now my reference for hand drawn animation.  Its color is rich and pops out of the clean lines of the drawings, yet avoids any tendency to be over-saturated.  At no point were any jaggies, pixilation, artifacting, or noise to be seen.  The transfer can be described in one word – perfect. 

Color transitions smoothly from frame to frame, with no hints of any shading or coloring diffculties.  All animations are smooth, and flow beautifully with no jump, skip, or jiggle.  Basic colors such as blue, green and red are used generously, giving everything a lush vibrancy. 

Each and every scene is like looking at a painting, and the high quality of Blu-ray truly allows this to shine through.  Simply put, this is one of the best presentations I have ever seen on Blu-ray, as all 1080 lines are full of the beautiful artistry of Studio Ghibli.

Audio

When watching Ponyo, I was so enveloped in the movie that I did not notice where the sound is coming from, nor was I distracted by any one sound.  Faithful reader, this means that the mix is just about perfect.

Dynamic levels were excellent, speech was clear and intelligible (even considering the large variety of voices on the soundtrack), and the surround channels were used judiciously.  When necessary, the subwoofer rumbled with the necessary ambient sounds, but at no point was anything over loud or discordant.  When creating the DTS-MA audio dub for the English release of this movie, Disney took an obvious amount of care in its design.

A special “attaboy” also goes to Disney for their ability to sync the English words with the mouth movements of characters originally animated to speak Japanese.  Out of curiosity, I watched the first thirty minutes of the movie in Japanese with English subtitles, and was impressed how well the words were translated for the English dub.  To do this at the level it was done was impressive.

The voice cast assembled was also stellar.  In addition to Fey and Neeson, Noah Cyrus and Frankie Jonas (yes, there’s another one) are great as Ponyo and Sosuke.  Lily Tomlin, Cloris Leachman, and Betty White provide appropriate comedy relief as seniors in the retirement home where Lisa works.  Even smaller characters receive the star treatment, with the ever-lovely Cate Blanchett providing the voice for Ponyo’s Mom, and Matt Damon providing the voice for Sosuke’s father.  Each actor is mixed appropriately, and each brings a quality performance to the movie.

Special Features

There is no such thing as a perfect disk, and the special features here were good.  However, some navigation and other issues keep these from being a great set.

Firstly, the features are all in HD, something that already makes these a step above features found on many other disks. 

Some of the features are a little lightweight, like “Meet Ponyo”, the “Ghibli Worlds Preview”, and the ever-present Disney sneak peeks.  Oddly enough, I had to watch the Toy Story 3 trailer four or five times as I was blown away by how good this movie will look.  For fans of animation, there is also an option to watch the movie with its original storyboards (PIP) – an excellent viewing for those who love the creative process that goes into animation. 

Most of the meat in the features was contained in two submenus, these being “The World of Ghibli – Behind the Studio” and “The World of Ghibli – Enter the Lands”.  The “Behind the Studio” menu has a nice set of quality “behind the scenes” featurettes, including the strangely entertaining Japanese trailers.  Plus, one featurette highlights the excellent score, a well-deserved featurette considering how well this movie was scored.  Please note that even though these features are good, they’re all rather short.

However, the “Enter the Lands” menu is very poor.  Only some of the Ghibli movies are clickable, and with no instructions, its navigation can quickly become frustrating (“Why can’t I click on Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away!  Why!  Arghhh!”).  Even though this is really a limited interaction area, it could have been used in a much more judicious and logical way to introduce newcomers to Studio Ghibli’s excellent catalog.   

Final Thoughts

Do you like animation?  Go buy this.  Do you have children between the ages of 3 and 40?  Go buy this.  Do you get disappointed with your expensive TV, stereo, and Blu-ray player because disks you’ve bought don’t really give you an improvement over DVD?  Go buy this.

I don’t really know what else I can say. Ponyo is a charming, whimsical and touching movie that would appeal to viewers of any age.  It has a flawless audio and video presentation; it is a work of art contained on a Blu-ray.

And while at the store buying this, I’d also recommend picking up DVDs of Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and My Neighbor Totoro.  After viewing Ponyo, it is almost inevitable that you will be returning to buy these too. 

Film 

It does not occur all that often that a sequel improves on the original. Most seem to be take the money and run affairs. Fortunately, Toy Story 2 is one of the exceptions to that rule and is a better film, both in terms of story line and in terms of technical prowess, than the original. I am sure that most if not all of you are familiar with the film, so I will be brief here.

Toy Story 2 opens at an undetermined period of time after the first film ends. Andy is still a young boy but appears maybe to be a year or two older. He is on his way to Cowboy camp with Woody when he tears Woody’s right arm at the shoulder while playing with him and leaves him at home, on the shelf. This throws Woody into a funk which he only comes out of when he tries to rescue another toy from the families’ yard sale. While he is able to rescue the toy, Squeeker, he falls off the family’s dog, and is picked up by a young girl who asks her mother to buy him. It is at this point that Woody is discovered by an older man who is obviously a toy collector, who sees Woody for what he is, a prized antique from the 1950′s and quickly tries to purchase him. When his efforts are rebuffed, he resorts to stealing him.

The rest of the toys observe all of this and they quickly discover the thief to be Al from Al’s Toy Barn they see advertised on TV. They develop a plan to rescue Woody and Buzz, Mr., Potato Head, Ham, Rex and the Slinky Dog set out to rescue Woody. In the meantime, Al takes Woody home where he is reunited with the rest of the characters from his 1950′s TV show, Jessie, Stinky Pete and Bullseye.

In a very touching scene set to the wonderful song When Somebody Loved Me by penned Randy Newman and sung by Sarah McLachllin, Woody learns of Jessie’s sorrowful past as a toy and decides that, rather than try to escape, he will accompany the group to a toy museum in Japan. It is at this moment that the gang comes to rescue Woody. Woody, valuing his longstanding friendships, invites Jessie, Bullseye and Stinky Pete to join them. However, Stinky Pete has other ideas and interferes and the gang must travel to the Tri-County Airport to rescue Woody, Jessie and Bullseye, from the flight to Japan.

Toy Story 2 expounds on the themes that were first put forward in Toy Story and adds some very interesting characters as well. The story, while a continuation of the first, provides us a further glimpse into each of the characters, fleshing them out a bit more, if you will. It is hard to improve on seeming perfection but that is just what Pixar did with Toy Story 2. In short, Toy Story 2 is another must own.

Video 

As good as the video was on Toy Story, the video on Toy Story 2 may even be better. Both offer incredible picture quality. Both share the same bright and bold color palette, deep and inky blacks, exceptional and stunning clarity and detail, having an image that has exceptional clarity and depth and three dimensionality. One can clearly see how the characters are laid over the backgrounds on both releases.

While the Pixar animators left the main toy characters alone, one can clearly see how they have advanced the ball forward in terms of their animation skills. This is seen in the more lifelike human characters of Andy, his Mom and Al as well as well as their improved use of light, especially their rendition of sunlight. There are some amazing visuals here with incredible levels of detail. The tile floors in Al’s Toy Barn look very real. The level of detail on the opening sequence of Buzz entering Zurg’s lair are amazing, especially the scene where the ground opens up. Each grain of soil and pebbles are rendered so well that you feel that you can count each and every one.

Blacks are also sensational, with the screen turning a deep and totally inky shade of black during Woody’s dream sequence early in the film. It was though my set had been turned off the blacks are so deep during this sequence. If you want to see what your screen’s black level capability is, this is the scene to test it out. In short, the picture quality on Toy Story 2 is reference in every way imaginable and was a real thrill to experience on Blu-ray. As was the case with Toy Story, it is truly like seeing the film again for the first time. Amazing stuff.

Audio 

While I had two small issues with the audio on the Toy Story release, I have none at all with Toy Story 2, which is reference is all respects. The issue of some excessive brightness to the sound is totally gone in this release. The sound design here is amazing and totally immersive, with an aggressive use of the surrounds and fantastic dynamics. There are really several demo sequences in this film. One of my favorites is the scene where the gang is crossing the street to get to Al’s Toy Barn under a set of road cones. Naturally, they cause a near calamity with cars and a tractor trailer trying to swerve out of the way. Listen in particular as the tractor trailer fish tales completely around the room.

Another is the sequence at the end where Woody and Jessie are exiting the plane via the well well. The sense of a jet taking off and landing right over your head is almost palpable. One can almost feel the wind rushing over your head. The other issue I had with the original was the fidelity of the music which is exceptional on this release. When Somebody Loves you sounds sweet and intimate with the final big band sendoff of “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” featuring vocals by the late Robert Goulet almost jumping out of the speakers. Nit pick as I might, the audio on this release is darn near perfect in all respects, as is the video.

Special Features 

The extras on this release mirror those on Toy Story in a away. As was the case with Toy Story, the release of Toy Story 2 is a combo pack, with disc one containing the film in HD and the extras and disc 2 a DVD and digital copy of the film. As was the case with the first film, all of the extras that were featured on the original DVD release of the film are included here along with several new extras.

Included is a look at some of the new characters featured in the upcoming Toy Story 3 as well as a director’s commentary. The Buzz Lightyear Mission log featured in the extras on Toy Story is continued here, with a further look at Buzz in space on the International Space Station. The Path to Pixar: Technical Artists interviews are repeated here but with new personnel.

Also included are three new Studio Stories presented consisting of some anecdotal animated shorts about life at Pixar, including the “Toy Story 2 Sleep Deprivation Labs”, which gives the viewer a peek into the time pressure that went in to making the film, “Pinocchio”, showing an impromptu competition where Pixar animators threw toys into their soft ceiling and “The Movie Vanishes” which details how a technical glitch erased the film from the main Pixar computer and how the film was saved only due the fact that one of the animators had a copy of the film on her computer at home as she was caring for her infant child.

We also get a brief featurette entitled “Oixar’s Zoetrope” which provides a look at the creation of the live-action zoetrope that Pixar created the capture the principles of animation in a live sculpture. The final feature is a tribute the late Pixar animator Joe Ranft and is entitled “Celebrating our Friend Joe Ranft”. All of the new extras with the exception of the Joe Ranft tribute are presented in HD.

Final Thoughts 

As was the case with Toy Story, the addition of Toy Story 2 to one’s film collection on Blu-ray is a no-brainer. It is a wonderful film that features reference audio and video presentations. Toy Story 2 is yet another must buy from the folks at Pixar.

Film 

What more can you really say about Toy Story? I am sure that you are all well aware of the film which introduced us to characters such as Woody and Buss Lightyear and added the phrase, “To Infinity and Beyond” into the American Lexicon. Toy Story is the film that really started Pixar’s string of incredibly successfully full length animated films and ushered in the amazing potential of computer animated films to the big screen. Toy Story looked incredible in 1995 and the folks at Pixar seem to raise the bar as far as what is possible with computer animation with each successive release. The sky, it seems, is truly limitless, at least insofar as computer animation is concerned.

In Toy Story, we are introduced to Andy’s toys, which come to life in the absence of the presence of humans. Woody is Andy’s favorites and rules the roost, until the introduction of Buzz Lightyear as a gift at Andy’s birthday party. When Buzz is introduced to the gang, Woody is a bit jealous. Woody knocks Buzz out of Andy’s window and the rest of the toys turn on Woody. Both Buzz and Woody come into the possession of Andy’s demented neighbor Sid, a particularly vicious child, and Woody and Buzz set out to rescue each other and bring both of them back to Andy’s room before he and his family move to a new house across town. In doing so, they both come to learn the value of friendship.

Toy Story features the voices of Tom Hanks as Woody and Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear. Toy Story was an instant classic upon its release and remains so today 15 years after its initial release. It is truly a film for all ages and is very highly recommended and for me, another must buy.

Video 

I must have seen Toy Story on DVD a hundred times. However, seeing the film on Blu-ray was like seeing the film for the first time, the improvement in picture quality was that substantial. The folks at Disney/Pixar have really pulled out all the stops on this release which looks phenomenal. Given the impressive video quality on the prior Pixar releases, I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Toy Story features a bright and bold color palette and just about every color you can imagine. Blacks are as inky as they come and the level of detail is simply off the charts. The level of detail in the texture of each character is amazing. Just take a look at the wood grain on the floors, the nicks on the doors and door jams, the texture of the paint on the doors and woodwork, where the texture of the paint bristles is clearly visible. The sheen on the various toys is amazing as well and in particular, the bright white glaze on Little Boo Peep.

The overall clarity of the image on this release is sensational, with an amazing sense of depth and three dimensionality that is very, very impressive. Given that the images were created without film, there is no film grain present. What you are left with is a picture of exceptional clarity, depth and detail. Hopefully, Toy Story 2 will be just as sensational.

Audio 

The improvement in the DTS HD Master Audio track on this release over the lossy track on the DVD release is just as impressive as the improvement in the video. I have never heard Toy Story sound this good before. Not even close. This is a very immersive sound design with an aggressive use of the surrounds during the entire film. In addition to the overall sense of immersion, the overall dynamics of the sound design are excellent as well, with deep and tight bass. The sound design places you right in the middle of the action, with balls bouncing around you and rockets blasting off to cars speeding across the room and over your head.

The dialogue track is well recorded and front and center in the mix. If I had to quibble with one aspect of the sound, it is that it does get a tad on the bright side at real high volume. However, at more normal listening levels, this brightness is not as noticeable. In addition to the overall brightness, I was a bit disappointed with the fidelity of the music, which lacked the smoothness and transparency of prior Pixar releases and on the spectacular new release of The Princess and the Frog. Other than these two rather minor quibbles, this is a great sounding release and is one that should thrill fans of the film.

Special Features 

Not surprisingly, the Blu-ray release of Toy Story comes loaded with extras. I was provided with a copy of the combo pack which included a DVD copy of the film as well as a digital copy. Disc one is the Blu-ray copy of the film which includes the extras. All of the extras that were included with the prior DVD release of the film are presented here as well in standard definition. However, there were several new extras prepared for this release, all of which are presented in HD.

These new extras include a sneak peek at the upcoming Toy Story 3 due for theatrical release in June as well as Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs Episode One in which Buzz Lightyear reports back on his trip to the International Space Station via the Space Shuttle. Yes, a Buzz Lightyear toy did make its way the the Space Station. Also included is a featurette “Paths to Pixar” Artists” which features interviews with several of the Pixar animators, where they discuss their career paths, offering advice to aspiring filmmakers and animators.

We also get several animated shorts about life at Pixar, including John’s Car where the old beat up jalopy that John Lassiter once owned and drove to work every day is discussed. It was so bad that Steve Jobs bought him a black Volvo after the success of Toy Story. Another of the shorts is “Baby AJ” where one of the animators discusses how he dressed up like the oversized baby from the short Tin Toy to win the prize at a Pixar Halloween party as well as “Scooter Races” which describes the scooter races which were a regular occurrence at Pixar’s old locale.

Also included is the featurette “Buzz Takes Manhattan” which documents Buzz’ first appearance as a balloon at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, with John Lassiter holding one of the many tether wires during the parade. BY far, the most interesting of the the extras is “Black Friday: The Toy Story You Never Saw” in which John Lassiter and others discuss how bad the first rough cut of the film was and how it was nixed by Disney. A short clip of the film, which featured an totally unlikable Woody is included. After the rough cut was nixed by Disney, the folks at Pixar went back to the drawing board for 2 weeks, making the film they wanted to make without studio interference. The rest, as they say, is history.

Final Thoughts 

If you are a fan of Toy Story, you owe it to yourself to check it out again on Blu-ray. It is like seeing the film again for the first time. Very highly recommended and a must own for sure.

Film 

The Princess and the Frog takes us to New Orleans and follows a young woman named Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose), the first Disney African-American princess,as she tries to fulfill her late father’s dream of opening a restaurant in New Orleans. However, she is kissed by a frog prince and is turned into a frog. Both escape into the bayou and have to navigate the perils of the Bayou so that they can return to New Orleans, defeat the evil voodoo man who turned them both into frogs in the first place and become human again.

The film is funny, witty and poignant and features plenty of magic and magical figures, incredible looking animation and a wonderful musical score by Randy Newman that is for me, one of the highlights of the film. It is really hard to image Disney returning to the world of hand drawn animated features with a better film that The Princess and the Frog.

Video 

The video quality on The Blu-ray release of The Princess and the Frog is magnificent. The images on screen are simply beautiful, with a warmth that CGI has yet to match. This film features a warm, bright and bold color palette featuring just about every color one can imagine. The colors are well saturated and sumptuous. Black levels are deep and inky and superb as well. Detail and clarity are excellent, creating a wonderful sense of depth, creating the very realistic sense of space between the characters and the backgrounds, almost looking 3D. I really can’t praise the videos on this release enough, it is that good.

Audio 

The video, as good as it is, is matched by the quality of the audio presentation, resulting in the rare double 5 stars rating. The sound here is fantastic any way you cut it, from the rich and smooth sound to the immersive use of the surrounds and the incredible dynamics and rock solid bass. The audio on this release has it all. Transparency, depth and imaging are all phenomenal. The dialogue track is also beautifully recorded and well placed front and center in the mix. However, as good as the overall audio quality is here, my favorite aspect of the sound is the music which features stunning fidelity and is amongst the best sounding musical score that I have yet to experience in the home. The folks at Disney have hit a home run, no a grand slam, with the audio as well as the video quality on this release.

Special Features 

It is really hard to imagine a more generous slate of extras than what are featured on the combo release of The Princess and the Frog. Disc 1 features the Blu-ray version of the film and extras. Disc 2 is a DVD version of the film and disc 3, a digital copy, compatible with all portable media devises. The set is also BD-Live enabled, allowing you access to even more on line content. The extras are all presented in HD and look almost as good as the feature. It is clear that great care went into preparing the extra package, both in terms of content and presentation.

The extras are comprised of several featurettes, with the main one being a making of featurette “Magic In The Bayou: The Making of a Princess” in which co-writers and directors John Musker ad Ron Clements take you behind the scenes of the creation of the film. “The Return to Hand Drawn Animation” explains how the film was made and why the studio decided to return to the hand drawn animation arena.

The other featurettes include “The Disney Legacy”, “Disney’s Newest Princess”, “The Princess and the Animator”, “Conjuring the Villain”, “A Return to the Animated Musical”, and “Bringing Life to Animation”. These featurettes go into more detail about particular aspects of the film than what are included on the longer more encompassing main featurette.

The extras also include a series of deleted scenes with an introduction by John Musker and Ron Clements and art galleries, featuring a collection of the storyboards used to construct the film. Also included is a audio commentary by John Musker, Ron Clements and producer Peter Del Vecho and a “Never Knew I Needed” music video by Ne-Yo.

The final extra is a “What Do You See” Princess Portraits” featuring a quiz of all Disney Princesses and portraits of each of those princesses. There is a ton of material to go through here which should keep fans of the film and Disney animation busy for hours

Final Thoughts 

The folks at Disney have really hit one out of the park with the Blu-ray release of The Princess and the Frog, a great film featuring reference audio and video presentations. What more could you ask for? Highly recommended.

Series 

It’s hard to call “The Clone Wars” a series, mostly due to the fact that the story arcs don’t last more than a few episodes and it’s really a stab in the dark to tell when each storyline is taking place. Remember, I know as much about Star Wars as I do about quantum mechanics. However, even though these tangent storylines are short, they’re the perfect length to tell a quick story within the Star Wars universe without having to worry about infringing on canon set forth by the films.  Lucas knows how to please his fans in a way that is both exciting and completely null considering we know Anakin isn’t going to suddenly die in a storyline that takes place before the Darth Vader days… I may know a little about star wars.

When I started watching the first episode I was frightened when opposed to having your regular scrolling text like they do in the films, they decided to put in a narrator to recap the storyline. A bad thing? Not at all, time is tight on a 23 minute tv show… However when the voice of the narrator is that of a 50′s car salesman, perhaps your casting director should be fired. You get used to the voice over time though.

Throughout the different storylines we’re presented with a mixture of different elements. There’s great action scenes that contain amazing visual effects and very intense battles and then there’s these odd Saturday morning cartoon moments that really show you the seams of the production, this is a television show that needs to acceptable due to the fact it’s for kids. If you’re fearing that nothing tastes more bitter than a sugar-coated version of something you cherish like the Star Wars films, don’t worry. For the most part the droids are the main element that caters to younger audiences, from their silly dialogue to their slapstick antics… Did I laugh when a group of droids accidentally jumped to their death and the only droid who made the landing was subsequently hit by a train? Perhaps.

For the most part the series is a great watch mostly for the visuals, but the storyline isn’t as campy and cheesy as I feared. It’s definitely the perfect helping for a quick dose of some sci-fi adventure. The distribution of television series is probably my favorite aspect of being an avid movie watcher, because when you only have an hour to kill and can’t finish a full length feature, sometimes it’s nice to kick back and watch something short and sweet. Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season 1 is definitely short and sweet!

Video 

The Clone Wars comes at us in 1080p/VC-1 and surprisingly uses 2.35:1 aspect ratio for a television series. I was originally going to critique the animation at times throughout the series. I was going to say when you compare it to the amazingly fluid animation from other Lucas arts or ILM projects that the Clone Wars series seems a bit lesser in quality… but then I remembered THIS IS A WEEKLY TELEVISION SERIES! Considering they have to pump out 2 hours (roughly a Pixar movie’s length) worth of animation within a month is insane.

The animation is great, the backdrops are detailed and well designed, and the character models have this unique and almost anime look to them that really fits the style of series.

The graphics look phenomenal being projected onto a 100″ screen and I was blown away by the colors and lighting throughout. The details are crisp and clear and everything moves smoothly and fluidly. The visual effects look amazing as well, it seems Lucas Arts spends just as much detail on the compositing on the show as they do in their bigger projects.

This is definitely showroom quality!

Audio

I had high expectations, being a bit of an audiophile, and my expectations weren’t met. Considering this is a Lucas Arts project and it was mixed at Skywalker Ranch (one of the top audio studios in the world), it better have some amazing sound!

I immediately expected to see a THX codec used or at the very least DTS-HD, but instead we’re given a subpar Dolby digital 5.1 mix that wasn’t mixed incredibly well. Sounds bled into one another in the multi-layered scenes such as a battle sequence that involves dozens of audio tracks on top of each other.

That being said the film doesn’t have a bad mix, just not a great one. The dialogue comes through nicely, the score sounded great and everything can clearly be heard when a million things are happening at once, but when the complex mixing is pushed to the limits the codec shows its weakness.

Special Features

The Blu-ray offers only two special features, minus trailers. They’re labeled Jedi Temple Archive and the Enhanced Jedi Temple Archives Mode. Although that doesn’t seem like much, both are actually quite insightful and allow the fans to see every facet of the development of the show from early concept art to pre-vis 3D tests.

The enhanced version of the archives plays while you’re watching the series and when a nugget of info is available for the scene you’re watching you have the option to learn more. The regular archive is more of a mini behind-the-scenes documentary that you don’t need to watch in the middle of each episode.

Even though there’s truly only two special features, they provide for information, back-story and insight into the development and production of the series then I’ve seen on a lot of other Blu-ray’s that have a giant list or separate discs full of features.

The only thing that may have been missing was a commentary track.

Final Thoughts 

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Season 1 is definitely a well-made series on a technical level and although the show does have a lot of sugar-coated elements for kids, the action is intense and the storylines aren’t as 2 dimensional as they seem. With showroom quality video and great special features; newcomers, such as myself, are going to enjoy this release just as much as the fans. Even though I still have no idea how the Star Wars chronology goes, this series is a great watch!

Show 

I am sure that all of you are very familiar with The Simpsons TV show so my description here will be brief. The show is a parody of a typical working class American family consisting of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson, in your typical small town Springfield which could have easily been dubbed Anytown USA. The show parodies American culture, the media and society in general.

The fact that it has been on TV now for 21 years is amazing. The fact that it is still fresh and funny is even more amazing. Given some of the crazy things that happen in real life anymore, I guess the show can go on forever. I am sure that the news will continue to provide material and fodder for the writers of the show for a long, long time.

The complete 20th season contains a total of 21 half hour episodes. The 20th season of the show was the first to go HD but did so only near mid season. Accordingly, 9 of the episodes included here are in standard definition with the remaining 12 being in HD.

Disc one contains the following 9 episodes, all in SD: Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes, Lost Verizon, Double, Double, Boy in Trouble, Treehouse of Horror XIX, Dangerous Curves, Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words, Mypods and Broomsticks, The Burns and the Bees and Lisa the Drama Queen.

Disc 2 contains the following episodes, all in HD: Take My Life Please, How the Test Was Won, No Loan Again, Naturally, Gone Maggie Gone, In the Name of the Grandfather, Wedding for Disaster, Eeny Teeny Maya, Moe, The Good, the Sad and the Drugly, Father Knows Worst, Waverly Hills 9-0-2-1-D’oh, Four Great Women and a Manicure and Coming to Homerica.

The show features the usual voices of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer. If you are a fan of the show, this is a great collection as it features the same great writing that made the show a hit as well as the first episodes of the show in HD. Recommended.

Video  

The video quality here is a mixed bag, but only because the first 9 episodes of the series are presented here in 4×3 SD. Even though the SD material is upconverted, there is really little that could be done to make it look good. It looks just like you would expect SD to look, fuzzy, soft, noisy and unappealing, rating a 3 on the 5 star scale. However, the HD material looks great and so much better than the SD material that it is hard to believe it is the same show, the difference is that dramatic.

The HD material features bright bold colors, deep and stable blacks as well as exceptional clarity and depth. The HD video quality on this release even exceeds the quality of the Fox broadcasts. I averaged the 9 SD shows with the 12 HD shows and came out to an overall rating of 4, with the SD content rating a 3 and the HD content a solid 4.5. I have no doubt that fans of the show will be thrilled with the quality of the episodes presented in HD.

Audio 

Unlike the video side, the audio for all of the episodes is encoded using DTS HD Master Audio so that the audio quality does not vary at all between the SD and HD content. The audio design here is pretty good for a cartoon TV series. The sound design is not all that sophisticated and is mainly front heavy with some occasional and mostly subtle use of the surrounds. Do not expect an immersive sound field as you will be disappointed.

I will comment that the sound here is appreciably better than the rather tinny sound on the broadcast version of the show but still falls a good deal short of what one would expect for a film. My main complaint with the audio, other than the lack of immersion, is the overall fidelity of the audio which sounds a but bright for my tastes. If simply lacks the smoothness, fullness and openness of some of the better sounding Blu-ray discs I have heard to date and is better off not being experienced at reference sound levels. While not totally devoid of any meaningful dynamics, the dynamics also fall short of what you would expect with a motion picture release. However, for a cartoon series, the audio is more than acceptable.

Special Features 

To say that the extras on this release are threadbare would be a bit of an understatement. There is only one very brief extra contained in disc one, a 20th Anniversary Special Sneak Peek hosted by Morgan Spurlock that may clock in at a whole 2 minutes or so. That is it folks. At least it is in HD. Were it not, the extras would have to rate a zero. There is no digital copy provided and the release is not BD-Live enabled.

Final Thoughts 

The Simpsons – The Complete 20th Season is a great release for fans of the show and contains the first HD episodes of the show and the same clever writing that has made the show such a long running hit. Recommended.

Film

If you are looking for a tense spine tingling and gut wrenching action thriller, G-Force probably isn’t the film for you. However, if you are looking for a charming and funny film that has some great CGI effects and plenty of action, then by all means, give G Force a look. While it is primarily a film targeted at kids, there is more than enough stuff in the film to keep the attention of even the most cold-hearted adults. (The film features several scenes or snippets of scenes taken right out of some other popular action films. See how many you can spot!)

The plot of G-Force is fairly simple as is should be given that the idea for the film came from the then 5 year old son of CGI wizard Hoyt Yeatman. It seems that the FBI is funding a program to train animals to become special agents, equipping them with the latest spy gear and using their small bodies to infiltrate places that no human could possibly enter. The secret program was even able to create an interface that allows animals to speak with humans. However, one of the FBI directors is not impressed and he moves in to suspend the program. In an effort to stave off the elimination of the program, the head, without authorization, sends the team, consisting of three guinea pigs and a mole, to the home of the head of the world’s leading electronics manufacturer to gather intel on a suspected plan to supply computer chips for weapons systems to nefarious governments.

The plan backfires when they didn’t obtain the intel they sought (or so they thought) and the team is broken up when the lab is shut down by the FBI and the team scattered after landing in a pet store. However, a sinister plan was in the offering from a mysterious participant and the head of the world’s leading electronics manufacturer, just not the one they thought and the G Force team scrambles to reunite and save the day. The film features the voices of Nicholas Cage, Penelope Cruz, Sam Rockwell, Jon Favreau, Steve Buscemi and Tracy Morgan. All in all, this is a fun film although geared mostly for children. Recommended for families with children.

Video

Yes, I have given this video presentation the highest score we give on this site. Is it a reference title? No but lurks somewhere between a 4.5 and a 5. Since it is closer in my mind to a 5 than a 4.5, I have rounded the score off to a 5. This is an excellent looking transfer anyway you look at it. It features a nice natural color palette with richly saturated colors. Clarity, detail and shadow detail are all excellent. The picture has excellent depth and exquisite levels of detail, especially involving the hair on the guinea pigs. You can really just about count every hair on their bodies.

The CGI effects are fantastic, with the various animals integrated flawlessly into the live action sequences to the point that you can actually forget that you are watching CGI effects. They are that good. Jerry Bruckheimer’s crew have again raised the bar in terms of what is possible in terms of integrating live action and CGI sequences, although it appears that that bar will be raised even higher by James Cameron in the soon to be released Avatar. I was not able to detect any edge enhancement, digital noise reduction or video noise in the transfer. Facial detail and background details are all excellent. Simply put, this is a first rate transfer that will thrill fans of the film. Well done.

Audio

Overall, this is a fine audio encode. The overall fidelity is excellent, with a smooth and full bodied sound that is very easy on the ears at reference volume levels. Transparency and imaging are excellent although not quite up there with the very best. Bass response is excellent with deep and tight bass that was not boomy in any respect. Dynamics are very good as well, although again, not quite up there with the best of the best.

The same is true of the surrounds. While used fairly often and quite aggressively when they are, there were segments of the film where the surrounds almost appeared to be off with the resulting sound field rather front heavy. Fortunately, these sequences were few and far between and for the most part, the film’s sound design delivers a very immersive effect, although, again, not quite up there with the very best.

Special Features

While there are many extras included with this release that are presented in HD, most are quite short. A large segment of my score on the extras can be attributed to the fact that the release comes with a DVD copy of the film along with a digital copy. The DVD is great as it enables you to take the film with you for the kids to enjoy in the car or on trips. DVD copies are increasingly being included with Blu-ray releases by Disney as well as some other studios. This is a trend which I would like to see continue and expanded. Universal for one is even bringing back the combo disc they used with the late lamented HD DVD format with the single disc releases of the Bourne films in January. These discs have been renamed “Flipper discs”. Hopefully they will not be marred with the playback issues that plagued HD DVD combo discs and will be a success.

But I digress… The film comes equipped with Cine Explore which you can enable to run along with the film which takes you behind the making of the film while the film is running on screen. Frankly, I find this feature to be distracting, at least for my initial of a film. Also included is Blaster’s Boot Camp where you can train to become a member of G Force as well as G Force Mastermind where Hoyt Yeatman’s then 5 year old son is revealed to be the creator of the story line the film is based upon.

The extras also include a featurette “Bruckheimer Animated” which takes a brief look back at the use of CGI effects in Jerry Bruckheimer’s other films, such as The Rock, the Pirates of the Caribbean films and the two National Treasure films. Also included is the featurette ” Access Granted-Inside the Animation Lab” which does just that, take you behind the scenes during the animation process.

Also included are deleted scenes, a blooper reel and three music videos, “Jump” by Flo Rida featuring Nelly Furtado, “Ready to Rock” by Steve Rushton and ‘Go G Force”. Frankly, the extras are rather lackluster. Nothing really stands out as a must view. I would just enjoy the film and get to the extras whenever you have nothing better to do.

Final Thoughts

G-Force is a fun action film that the entire family can enjoy. It features an excellent video presentation and a very good audio encode that fans of the film will love. Recommended for families with children and as a rental for everyone else.

Film

The film opens as the fairies including Tinker Bell (Mae Whitman, Kristin Chenoweth, Raven-Symone, Angela Bartys and Lucy Liu) are bringing the season of autumn to the main land. But once every eight years a blue moon bestows itself upon Pixie Hollow which ultimately restores the pixie dust tree. But in order for this to happen a septer must be made, and Tinker Bell is chosen. The film then deals with her daunting task and her friend Terrance (Jesse McCarthey) who with good intentions tries too hard to be helpful. But when the worst happens the two must work together through hardship to get things done. I know the story sounds ridiculous, well it is, but that’s half the fun of it, and it will really get your children’s imaginations going.

I think it goes without saying that these movies are intended for a younger audience, but the little kid inside all of us might just find a little bit of warmth in this film. While not very often does a film reach outside of its target audience I will admit that Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue is bearable for parents and the child inside all of us. As a theatrical release I would not have been soon apt to recommend this movie, but as a straight to Blu ray release I can’t complain. There are some good laughs for young children, girls especially.

As always with movies like this one the sound track can be the deal breaker. While the songs can regrettably send us adults up the wall are clearly enjoyable for children and the odd one can even be catchy, I liked “If You Belive” by Lisa Kelly personally.

For those of you that saw the first film (I will admit I am one of them) you will definitely find some enjoyment out of this sequel as it sticks to its roots and other than the replacement of America Ferrera as Fawn you’ll get the same vibe. If you or your children have not yet seen the first film you can watch The Great Fairy Rescue without having seen the first as it is a standalone sequel and there is no real continuity.

Video

Presented in 1080p 1.78:1 aspect ratio and encoded in MPEG-4, Tinkerbell comes to Blu-ray with stunning results. I have not come across a Disney CGI movie on Blu-ray that hasn’t looked anything less than amazing and Tinkerbell is no different. Picture clarity and detail is simply amazing, with everything from wood splinters to leaf veins being clearly seen. As impressive as that was, color presentation is the transfers highlight. It is a real treat to see so many colors being presented with such clarity and vibrancy without seeing any banding or bleeding issues. If I had just one complaint it would be with the animation and not the transfer itself. Unlike recent Pixar titles I felt Tinkerbell lacked a bit in the quality of animation coming off a bit generic.

From beginning to end Tinkerbell dazzled me with its perfect looking transfer. Disney has provided something special that will please anyone who sees it.

Audio

Disney has equipped Tinkerbell with a 5.1 DTS and it does a great job presenting the given material. As expected this isn’t a movie that is going to test your surround sound system but the quality of the track itself is superb. Voice acting is top notch as each character does a good job portraying their given characters.

Despite the sometimes heavy dependence on the front channels the quality of the track never falters and will please all that hear it.

Special Features

We are given only a few special features and unfortunately none of them are all that exciting.

• Outtakes – Yes an animated titles with bloopers is always interesting. Unlike Pixar movies, these outtakes are not that funny for the older crowd, but should provide
• Magical Guide to Pixie Hollow – A rather dull look at Tinkerbell’s Pixie Hollow home.
• Pixie Hollow Comes to Disney World – A look at the Pixie Hollow attraction that is now at Disney World.
• Music Video – The Gift of a Friend Music Video performed by Demi Lovato.

Final Thoughts

While this wasn’t exactly the greatest movie I have seen, I can definitely spot the appeal for younger generations and even for us grownups. If you or your children are a fan of all things Disney, or even of Tinker Bell herself then I can recommend this film and its purchase on Blu ray as it definitely seems to have some re watch ability. However if you are just a casual Disney fan or enjoy their classic animated film’s (i.e. Peter Pan, The Beauty and the Beast, Snow White) you will find that films like this one hardly compare and you will be left disappointed. In conclusion, if you already own and enjoy the original CGI Tinker Bell film then this is a no brainier for you to get, but otherwise I would recommend a rental first as this surely won’t sit well with everyone not even the adolescent critics out there.

Film 

At just over an hour long,  Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (let’s just call it S/B:PE for short) gets to the point quickly without sacrificing a great deal of integrity in its introductory minutes.  The synopsis is simple.  Lex Luthor is elected President of the United States and encourages all superheroes to work for him…or else (this seems to bear an ironic parallel to Marvel’s Civil War storyline).  When Superman (played by the very established Tim Daly; Wings, The Sopranos) refuses to do the bidding of his arch nemesis, President Luthor puts a bounty on his head.  Enter the Caped Crusader/Dark Knight.  Batman, voiced by the unequivocal talents of Kevin Conroy (who supplied vocal life to Batman in the early 1990′s animated series), jumps in to help out the Man of Steel. 

It’s not too long after that every DC villain and their mother is out to claim the one-billion-dollar reward.  If you have never come across any of the DC villains before, this is one heck of an introduction to them.  Everybody from Killer Frost to Brimstone to Gorilla Grodd make an appearance and from here on out, the film is an absolute bash ‘em up event.  Superman finally whoops some uninterrupted consecutive be-hind.  What I mean by this is so often the most popular superhero, who only seems to have two weaknesses (kryptonite and magic), is always getting his tail kicked as half of society seems to have some chunk of the green-glowing rock.  Amazing.  I thought this stuff was rare.  Luckily, the mineral is not so plentiful in S/B:PE (minus the massive kryptonic meteor headed for earth) so Superman throws his fair share of beatings in this film.  Batman, meanwhile, is right along side his scarlet-caped friend taking his quota of bruises while delivering them just the same. 

Tim Daly does a fine job of portraying the most famous superhero around.  Kevin Conroy is just unmatched as Batman and choosing anyone else to play this role would have been a casting mistake of monumental proportions.  Lex Luthor is vindictively delivered by Clancy Brown (The Shawshank Redemption, Michael Clayton) as the movie’s number one baddie.  The story is basic and all in all, serves more as a big slugfest than anything.  You’re not going to find any in-depth plot development here so if that’s what you were looking for, you will be disappointed when you pop this disc in.  Sit back and enjoy this fist-trading, cheekbone-pummeling film for what it’s worth. 

Video 

Every time I review an animated film’s video quality on Blu-ray, I have the same things to say.  This time is no exception.  It’s perfect.  Never mind the VC-1 encode or 1.78:1 aspect ratio.  Neither are a deal-buster or sale pusher.  The colors are vibrant to the Nth degree and the combination of traditional ink and sketch animation along with the CGI comes across beautifully in S/B:PE‘s visual delivery.  Kudos to the Korean animation team of Lotto Animation as well as the film’s artists for a job well done.  As with any other animated film on Blu-ray, there is no grain whatsoever.  If you think you see any, believe me, it’s dust on your TV screen. 

Audio 

The characters getting drilled repeatedly by the steel-hard knuckles of Superman and the various villains is an ear-catching trait on this disc.  Combine that along with the other bodily harm effects that take place in this film and you’ve got yourself one lively pair of rear channels.  As always, dialogue is brought to us through the front speakers in ultra-clear fashion while the music provides for a surrounding experience from all ends.  While I give this category a perfect 5 out of 5, I must say the benchmark for surround sound on Blu-ray is still the Japanimation film, The Sky Crawlers.  I swear, if I could give that film 6 out of 5 for audio, I would.  Believe me, S/B:PE gets its audible point across, but with The Sky Crawlers, the film’s creators were able to utilize a range of effects that were specific to that story that absolutely shined in the end.      

Special Features 

DC and Warner Bros. have yet to deliver a Blu-ray film that is short-changed in quantity of content.  What they can’t seem to get right is the film quality of the extras.  Yes, the extras are substantial and informative but unappealing to the eyes as everything is in standard definition.  Why??  Would you put propellers on an F-15 Eagle?  Of course not!  You’re already placing the material on a Blu-ray disc, now just go the extra mile and put the extras on in High Definition! 

• A Test of Minds – Explore the dynamics of the evolving relationship between Superman and Batman, from past to present (19:01)
• Dinner with DCU and Special Guest Kevin Conroy – a unique restaurant-setting discussion involving Batman voice Kevin Conroy, Executive Producer Bruce Tim, Casting and Voice Director Andrea Romano, and Senior Vice President of Creative Affairs at DC Comics, Gregory Noveck.  The quartet discuss the early 1990′s Batman series along with Superman/Batman: Public Enemies and other DC Universe events (55:59).
• Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths – An early look at DC’s upcoming animated film (11:12).
• Blackest Night – Another behind the scenes extra where viewers get the basic run-down of the heart-pounding Blackest Night comic book series from DC (8:52).
• Wonder Woman: The Amazon Princess – This featurette is a preview of the animated film of the same name (10:26). 
• Batman Gotham Knight: An Anime Evolution – This featurette is a preview of the animated film and a brief look at its creation (10:09).
• From Graphic Novel to Original Animated Movie – Justice League: The New Frontier – A look at the evolution from pages to film (10:45).
• Green Lantern: First Flight – The Animated Movie Sneak Peak (10:12)
• Bruce Timm’s Top Picks – These include 4 episodes of Justice League Unlimited and two episodes of Superman: The Animated Series.  Each episode is around or just over twenty minutes in length.

Question Authority

Flashpoint

Panic in the Sky

Divided We Fall

The Demon Reborn

Knight Time

Final Thoughts 

So far, each of the three DC animated films I have seen are great, to-the-point, action films.  Superman/Batman: Public Enemies was fun, but Wonder Woman still ranks at the top for me because of its multiple aspects of humor, action and best origin explanation.  Still, I really wish the people at Warner Bros. working on these discs would put the blasted extras in High Def already.  Also, they seem to be rehashing a lot of these extras, such as the Blackest Night and Justice League New Frontier pieces.  It’s marketing, I get it.  In the end, these films are a quick watch and as a result, have a lot of replay value.  I can only wish that a Blackest Night animated film is on the horizon for 2010 from the unstoppable DC/WB pairing.