Animation

Site status update

I’ve just finished converting all the reviews in the Cartoons section over to the site’s version 9 layout. That means that, barring the DVD Image Comparisons, everything is complete. I’ve decided to save these for last, mainly because they’re going to take longer than most pages to go through and re-tool manually, but also because I intend to try to improve their layout a bit, so they’ll probably end up taking even longer than they normally would.

Corpse Bride - Warner finally hits a home run

My review copy of the recently released HD DVD of Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride arrived today. You can read my overall opinions of it in the post I made when I rented the standard definition DVD back in February, and they haven’t changed all that much (although I did find myself appreciating the art direction slightly more this time round), but of all the various blockbuster releases that I was offered by DVD Times, it struck me as being one of the more interesting.

Anyway, I’ve been a little critical of Warner’s HD DVDs in the past. Million Dollar Baby and Constantine were both edge enhanced and slightly noise reduced, while Charlie and the Chocolate Factory looked noticeably diffuse (a flaw also affecting the HD broadcast master) and suffered from a few instances of compression artefacts, so I was a little apprehensive about Corpse Bride. Luckily, the results are considerably better than I was expecting - indeed, this is one of the best HD DVDs I’ve seen so far, beaten only by the majestic Serenity and the flawless Unleashed in terms of visual pizzazz. Edge enhancement is non-existent, contrast is spot-on, colours (in the saturated “Land of the Dead” sequences) are a joy to behold. This is so close to being a perfect transfer, and is marred only by a few mild instances of digital banding in the colours in the background. I feel slightly bad about knocking a mark off the score for these minor problems, but, with my high definition reviews, I want a 10/10-rated transfer to really mean absolute perfection.

Oh yeah, and I pre-ordered the HD DVD of Wolf Creek from DVD Pacific. It’s due out on December 5th.

The Fox and the Hound: 25th Anniversary Edition

The 25th Anniversary Edition of The Fox and the Hound is comfortably the worst release Disney have put out in a long time, with the state of the film itself and the paltry extras suggesting that more thought was put into designing the packaging than the contents of the disc itself. As such, I can think of no reason for anyone to purchase this sorry excuse for a special edition - you’d be just as well waiting for it to show up on TV again, as it generally does every Christmas or Easter.

I’ve reviewed Disney’s recent 25th Anniversary Edition release of The Fox and the Hound, an often ignored 1981 offering from the studio based on the book by Daniel P. Mannix. How does this new release match up against its disappointing predecessors?

Delivery deluge

Today has been quite a day for deliveries, with the HD DVD releases of The Machinist and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the latter a review copy) and the DVD of the 25th Anniversary edition of The Fox and the Hound (again, for review) all arriving.

I’m going to discuss The Machinist first because it’s definitely the most noteworthy of the three arrivals. It constitutes several first for me: my first non-US HD DVD (it’s Japanese), my first HD DVD from a distributor other than one of the major Hollywood studios (it’s a Toshiba release), and my first HD DVD using MPEG4/AVC/H.264 as its compression format rather than VC1.

I was a little wary regarding this release given the mixed reports that have come through so far regarding Toshiba’s Japanese releases, all of which have used MPEG4 rather than VC1. Essentially, MPEG4 has been characterised as an inferior format, and I was expecting to be a bit let down by The Machinist. I needn’t have worried: it looks excellent, and in places is up there with Serenity in terms of detail. For the most part, the image is razor-sharp, and the grain, too, looks excellent. The Machinist is stylistically a very harsh film, with heavily desaturated colours and very pronounced contrasts. All of this is maintained with aplomb on the HD DVD.

Unfortunately, it is slightly marred by a few instances of unsightly edge enhancement. I should point out, however, that this was actually present when I saw the film at the cinema. It was the first time I’d ever seen edge enhancement on a projected film print, and it’s indicative of the move towards using digital intermediates as opposed to conventional chemical colour timing in a laboratory. The fact that the entire film is stored on a computer gives technicians free reign to monkey with the image until their hearts content, and it does seem that they have gone way overboard with the artificial sharpening in some shots here. These are exactly the same shots that were affected when I saw it at the cinema, so it is the filmmakers themselves who deserve the blame for this rather than Toshiba.

The film comes with English and Japanese Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1 audio tracks and Japanese subtitles, which can be disabled either on the fly using the remote control function or via the menu. A handful of extras are included - a documentary, deleted scenes, two trailers and some filmographies. For these, the subtitles unfortunately can’t be disabled. Oh yeah, and, oddly enough, this HD DVD comes in a standard amaray case, which is most annoying given that it’s a completely different size from the rest of my collection:

Meanwhile, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is, comparatively speaking, a disappointment. I’m not exactly sold on the film itself (I think Johnny Depp’s interpretation of Willy Wonka is cringe-worthily awful, the musical numbers are atrocious, and the subplot involving Christopher Lee as Wonka’s father one of the worst additions I’ve ever seen in a book-to-film adaptation), and the HD DVD’s transfer is a real let-down. Reviewers and laymen alike have been raving over it - “Best HD DVD yet!” “10/10!” and so on. Unfortunately, this is actually the worst-looking HD DVD I’ve seen so far. Like the other two Warner releases I’ve seen so far, it’s slightly edge enhanced, but, unlike Million Dollar Baby and Constantine, it’s also quite soft. Some of this is intentional - as with The Machinist, it was digitally colour timed, and Tim Burton, it would seem, took the opportunity to add a further touch of artificiality to the movie by cranking up the automated spot remover beyond what most people would consider a reasonable level. A lot of the time, the actors’ faces, even in close-up, look like those of porcelain dolls, and in some scenes, such as the early flashback to when Grandpa Joe worked at the factory, they look waxy and smeared.

These are not, however, the fault of the HD DVD. What is, however, is the overall diffuse look of the film. Throughout, it looks ill-defined and almost outright blurry, but for one occasion: the first Oompa-Loompa musical number after Augustus Gloop has been sucked into the pipes of the chocolate river. Suddenly, the softening disappears and, for a few brief moments, it becomes a 10/10 transfer. The grain that was sorely missing comes back, the individual blades of grass stop being merely a swathe of poorly-defined green, and it all seems much more three-dimensional. It doesn’t last, though, and, almost as soon as the song has finished, it goes back to its murky, diffuse look, which remains for the rest of the film.

Also problematic is the encoding. This is the first time that I’ve seen noticeable compression problems on an HD DVD, but they are here for all to see. I don’t have the specific time code references to hand (I’ll make sure to note these down when I come to do my official DVD Times review), but on at least three occasions, parts of the screen disintegrate into mushy macroblocks. One occasion involves swirling melted chocolate, while the other takes place in the midst of a series of explosions as Charlie, Wonka and Grandpa Joe right the Great Glass Elevator. These can’t have been easy scenes to compress, but this is the first time I’ve seen an HD DVD encode slip up so badly, and I genuinely hope it’s not the start of a trend. Although, given the rave reviews the transfer has been getting, even from so-called experts, I have my fears.

Finally, The Fox and the Hound, and it’s the least impressive of today’s deliveries by far. Actually, it’s a downright disgrace. Despite being promoted and packaged as some sort of 25th anniversary special edition, Disney have done a really crummy job with it. In terms of extras, there seems to be nothing here that wasn’t already present in the underwhelming line-up for the previously-released UK version of the film - we’re talking a rudimentary behind-the-scenes featurette, a couple of bonus shorts, a sing-along and a narrated “storybook”.

Of course, what really counts is the audio-visual presentation, and I’m sorry to report that it’s a complete disaster. First, the original mono mix of the film is nowhere to be seen. In its place is a Dolby Digital 5.1 remix, which sounds weak and clumsy, and very clearly wrong. Worse still is the transfer, which is nothing more than a recycle of the pan and scan LaserDisc master used for the previous DVD. That Disney would put out something so shoddy in this day and age is an absolute joke, and I am very strongly recommending that anyone thinking about picking up a copy of this seriously reconsider before plonking down a wad of cash for this lazy botch-job. This is 0/10 for video, 0/10 for audio - who are they trying to kid?

Update, October 17, 2006 03:55 PM: Regular Disney DVD reviewer Dave Boulet, whose comments about The Little Mermaid’s transfer were right on the money, has given The Fox and the Hound’s DVD an absolute savaging at DVD File - and, for once, I actually find myself nodding my head in agreement as I read a review.

Mickey Mouse in shameful sex orgy

Source: Daily Mail (Ban this sick filth!!!!11~)

As if Disney didn’t have enough to contend with thanks to Christian nutters campaigning against them in America due to their belief that the word “sex” appeared on-screen in The Lion King, Disney has yet another sex scandal to add to its roster. This one, however, is not the invention of crazy religious people with over-active imaginations but a real incident. At the Disneyland Paris resort, a bunch of performers dressed as Disney characters got together for some simulated sex. Unfortunately for Disney, someone with a camcorder video’d the shocking incident and uploaded it to YouTube, which, until it was removed, permitted audiences around the world to see Minnie Mouse being roughly buggered by Goofy.

According to Yahoo! News, “appropriate action” was taken against the miscreants, although the fact that the events apparently took place in a backstage dressing room makes me wonder what the fuss is all about. Surely what goes on behind closed doors isn’t really any of the public’s concern? If I were them, I’d be spending more time working out how someone armed with a camera managed to get into a staff-only area.

Spread the hate

What is it about Disney and reviews that brings the slavering fanboys out of the woodwork? First I was attacked by “Jens” for my less than favourable review of the direct to video nightmare Mulan II, and again for a throwaway comment in my review of Bambi pertaining to the preview for its own shoddy-looking cheapquel. Now it’s happening again, this time because I’ve had the audacity to suggest that the transfer for the new Platinum Edition of The Little Mermaid is not as good as it could have been.

According to the poster by the name of “Dingbats”,

If you want to see reasoned comments from people who actually care about this movie you ought to go to www.ultimatedisney.com and ignore this biased reviewer who clearly hasn’t got a clue what he is talking about, and seems only able to make sounds from his rectum.

Well, it’s good to know that my reviews are so appreciated. You know, when it comes to video-related matters, if people could just say “Well, I don’t see the problems you’re referring to,” it wouldn’t be half as bad, but the fact that some people actually feel the need to tell me I’m wrong and don’t know what I’m talking about really irks me. Do they think my eyesight is defective and adding artefacts that aren’t actually there? No, many of them are just too blindly loyal to Disney to believe that the studio could possibly be in the wrong. What’s even more annoying is the assertion that, because I criticised the transfer, I don’t “care about this movie”. If anything, the opposite is true: I’m voicing my concerns precisely because I think the film deserves better. Read the whole review, moron.

Luckily, people in the know like Home Theater Forum reviewer David Boulet and film restoration expert Robert A. Harris concur with my opinions, which is not particularly surprising to me, but is certainly nice, as it means I’m not the lone voice of dissent. By all means go and read the Ultimate Disney review if you want a sycophantic love letter to Disney written by someone who praised the likes of the grubby, non-anamorphic The Black Cauldron and Hercules releases. But, without getting too full of myself, I like to think that I’m offering a somewhat more objective service.

Films I want on HD DVD

Just for laughs, I thought I’d compile a list of movies that I’d dearly love to see released on HD DVD, either because the current standard definition release is particularly poor, or because the film is particularly visually stunning and could especially benefit from the increased resolution, or just because I love the film in question. I’ve also listed the relative probability of each title seeing the light of day on my high definition format of choice.

• Amelie. Owned by Miramax (Disney) in the US. Disney are currently committed to Blu-ray, although they have shown no open hostility to HD DVD, and indeed executives have been quoted as saying that they expect to eventually release titles for both formats. In the UK, the rights are owned by Momentum, a division of Studio Canal, who have committed to HD DVD in Europe. Likely.
• American Beauty. Owned by DreamWorks, whose titles will from now on be distributed by Paramount, who support both HD DVD and Blu-ray. Likely.
• American Psycho. Owned by Lions Gate, who so far have released titles for Blu-ray. This particular title was announced for an October 17th release, but was recently delayed until “early 2007”, apparently because Lions Gate are switching to VC1 as their codec of choice. Nothing has been publicly announced yet, but it is generally acknowledged that Lions Gate are preparing to go dual-format, so are likely to support HD DVD before the end of 2006, and intend to release all their Blu-ray titles on HD DVD as well. In the UK, the film is owned by Entertainment In Video, who, judging by the pre-orders at Play.com, intend to support both formats. Possibility.
• An American Werewolf in London. Owned by Universal, who are HD DVD exclusive. It has been announced as an HD DVD/SD DVD combo, with a street date of November 28th 2006. Definite.
• The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. Owned by Blue Underground, who have yet to announce any HD plans, but, like most independent labels, are likely to go with HD DVD due to the lower cost and lack of monopolisation by Sony. Possibility.
• The Birds. Owned by Universal, who are HD DVD exclusive. Likely.
• Blade. Owned by New Line, who intend to release for both HD DVD and Blu-ray starting in early 2007. Likely.
• A Bug’s Life. Owned by Disney, who are currently committed to Blu-ray, although they have shown no open hostility to HD DVD, and indeed executives have been quoted as saying that they expect to eventually release titles for both formats. Possibility.
• A Clockwork Orange. Owned by Warner, who release for both formats. This title is one that Warner have confirmed that they intend to release, but no date has been given yet. Definite.
• Crash (Cronenberg). Owned by New Line, who intend to release for both HD DVD and Blu-ray starting in early 2007. Likely.
• Deep Red. Owned by Anchor Bay, who have yet to announce any HD plans, but, like most independent labels, are likely to go with HD DVD due to the lower cost and lack of monopolisation by Sony. Possibility.
• The Descent. Owned by Lions Gate, who so far have released titles for Blu-ray. Nothing has been publicly announced yet, but it is generally acknowledged that Lions Gate are preparing to go dual-format, so are likely to support HD DVD before the end of 2006, and intend to release all their Blu-ray titles on HD DVD as well. In the UK, the film is owned by Pathé, who have committed to HD DVD in Europe. Likely.
• Dial M for Murder. Owned by Warner, who release for both formats. Likely.
• Don’t Look Now. Owned by Paramount, who support both HD DVD and Blu-ray. In the UK, the title is owned by Studio Canal, who have committed to HD DVD. Likely.
• Eyes Wide Shut. Owned by Warner, who release for both formats. This title is one that Warner have confirmed that they intend to release, but no date has been given yet. Definite.
• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Already available from HD DVD from Universal, and constitutes a massive improvement on the SD releases from both Universal and Criterion. Available now.
• Finding Nemo. Owned by Disney, who are currently committed to Blu-ray, although they have shown no open hostility to HD DVD, and indeed executives have been quoted as saying that they expect to eventually release titles for both formats. Possibility.
• Frenzy. Owned by Universal, who are HD DVD exclusive. Likely.
• Gangs of New York. Owned by Miramax (Disney) in the US. Disney are currently committed to Blu-ray, although they have shown no open hostility to HD DVD, and indeed executives have been quoted as saying that they expect to eventually release titles for both formats. In the UK, the rights are owned by Entertainment In Video, who have sided with Blu-ray and are releasing it in November. Possibility.
• Hannibal. A co-production by MGM and Universal. MGM owns the rights in the US, while Universal owns them in Europe. Fox, who are currently a Blu-ray exclusive studio and unlikely to budge until Blu-ray crashes and burns, now own MGM’s catalogue, so the title is unlikely to see a US release in the near future. In the UK, however, it is a distinct possibility. Likely.
• Home Alone. Owned by the HD DVD-phobic Fox, who are currently a Blu-ray exclusive studio and unlikely to budge until Blu-ray crashes and burns. Unlikely.
• The Incredibles. Owned by Disney, who are currently committed to Blu-ray, although they have shown no open hostility to HD DVD, and indeed executives have been quoted as saying that they expect to eventually release titles for both formats. Possibility.
• The Indiana Jones Trilogy. Distributed by Paramount, who support both HD DVD and Blu-ray. However, given that the rights are held by the Fox-friendly LucasFilm, who took forever to release them in standard definition, it seems unlikely that they will be released soon. Unlikely.
• Inferno. Owned by Anchor Bay, who have yet to announce any HD plans, but, like most independent labels, are likely to go with HD DVD due to the lower cost and lack of monopolisation by Sony. Possibility.
• The Iron Giant. Owned by Warner, who release for both formats. Likely.
• Kill Bill. The rights to the original theatrical versions of Volumes 1 and 2 are owned by Miramax (Disney). Disney are currently committed to Blu-ray, although they have shown no open hostility to HD DVD, and indeed executives have been quoted as saying that they expect to eventually release titles for both formats. The rights to the uncut, single-film “The Whole Bloody Affair” version, however, are owned by The Weinstein Company, who are committed to both formats. Likely.
• Kingdom of Heaven. Owned by the HD DVD-phobic Fox, who are currently a Blu-ray exclusive studio and unlikely to budge until Blu-ray crashes and burns. This director’s cut is currently announced for release on Blu-ray on November 14th 2006. Unlikely.
• Lady and the Tramp. Owned by Disney, who are currently committed to Blu-ray, although they have shown no open hostility to HD DVD, and indeed executives have been quoted as saying that they expect to eventually release titles for both formats. Possibility.
• The Last of the Mohicans. Owned by the HD DVD-phobic Fox, who are currently a Blu-ray exclusive studio and unlikely to budge until Blu-ray crashes and burns. Unlikely.
• Lilo & Stitch. Owned by Disney, who are currently committed to Blu-ray, although they have shown no open hostility to HD DVD, and indeed executives have been quoted as saying that they expect to eventually release titles for both formats. Possibility.
• A Lizard in a Woman’s Skin Owned by Media Blasters, who have yet to announce any HD plans, and, given their general lack of regard for quality, are unlikely to do so for some time. Unlikely.
• Lost in Translation. Owned by Universal in the US, who are HD DVD exclusive. In the UK, the rights are owned by Momentum, a division of Studio Canal, who have committed to HD DVD in Europe. Likely.
• Léon. Owned by Columbia Tristar (Sony) in most territories, so you can rule that one out. However, the rights in Germany are owned by Kinowelt, who have yet to make any announcements either way, while the Japanese rights are owned by Paramount, who support both HD DVD and Blu-ray. Possibility.
• May. Owned by Lions Gate, who so far have released titles for Blu-ray. Nothing has been publicly announced yet, but it is generally acknowledged that Lions Gate are preparing to go dual-format, so are likely to support HD DVD before the end of 2006, and intend to release all their Blu-ray titles on HD DVD as well. Possibility.
• Monsters, Inc. Owned by Disney, who are currently committed to Blu-ray, although they have shown no open hostility to HD DVD, and indeed executives have been quoted as saying that they expect to eventually release titles for both formats. Possibility.
• Moulin Rouge! Owned by the HD DVD-phobic Fox, who are currently a Blu-ray exclusive studio and unlikely to budge until Blu-ray crashes and burns. Unlikely.
• Mulholland Dr. Owned by Universal in the US, who are HD DVD exclusive. Un Europe, the rights are owned by Studio Canal, who have confirmed that they will be releasing it in early 2007. Definite.
• Naked Lunch. The rights are split across various companies in different territories. Criterion, who struck a deal with distributor 20th Century Fox, currently releases on DVD in the US, but it is not clear whether this deal would cover high definition distribution as well, and in any event they have made it clear that they intend to sit the format war out. In the UK, the rights are owned by Optimum, a division of Studio Canal, who have committed to HD DVD in Europe. Likely.
• The Nightmare Before Christmas. Owned by Touchstone (Disney), who are currently committed to Blu-ray, although they have shown no open hostility to HD DVD, and indeed executives have been quoted as saying that they expect to eventually release titles for both formats. Possibility.
• North by Northwest. Owned by Warner, who release for both formats. This title is one that Warner have confirmed that they intend to release, but no date has been given yet. Definite.
• The Omen. Owned by the HD DVD-phobic Fox, who are currently a Blu-ray exclusive studio and unlikely to budge until Blu-ray crashes and burns. Unlikely.
• Opera. Owned by Anchor Bay, who have yet to announce any HD plans, but, like most independent labels, are likely to go with HD DVD due to the lower cost and lack of monopolisation by Sony. Possibility.
• Panic Room. Owned by Columbia Tristar (Sony), so you can rule that one out. No chance.
• Phenomena. Owned by Anchor Bay, who have yet to announce any HD plans, but, like most independent labels, are likely to go with HD DVD due to the lower cost and lack of monopolisation by Sony. Possibility.
• Pinocchio. Owned by Disney, who are currently committed to Blu-ray, although they have shown no open hostility to HD DVD, and indeed executives have been quoted as saying that they expect to eventually release titles for both formats. Possibility.
• Rear Window. Owned by Universal, who are HD DVD exclusive. Likely.
• Rosemary’s Baby. Owned by Paramount, who support both HD DVD and Blu-ray. In the UK, the title is owned by Studio Canal, who have committed to HD DVD. Likely.
• Se7en. Owned by New Line, who intend to release for both HD DVD and Blu-ray starting in early 2007. Likely.
• Sex and Lucía. Owned by Palm Pictures in the US and Tartan in the UK, neither of whom have announced their intentions regarding the HD formats. Unlikely.
• The Silence of the Lambs. Owned by Fox, who inherited MGM’s catalogue, and are currently a Blu-ray exclusive studio and unlikely to budge until Blu-ray crashes and burns, so the title is unlikely to see a US release in the near future. Unlikely.
• Sin City. Owned by Dimension (Disney), who are currently committed to Blu-ray, although they have shown no open hostility to HD DVD, and indeed executives have been quoted as saying that they expect to eventually release titles for both formats. Possibility.
• The Stendhal Syndrome. The US rights are a bit of a wasteland. Troma officially holds them, but the master they own is nothing more than a standards converted VHS dupe. In Europe, the rights are split across various companies, none of whom have yet announced any HD plans. Unlikely.
• The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. Owned by Paramount, who support both HD DVD and Blu-ray. This title is one that Paramount have confirmed that they intend to release, but no date has been given yet. Definite.
• Suspiria. Owned by Anchor Bay, who have yet to announce any HD plans, but, like most independent labels, are likely to go with HD DVD due to the lower cost and lack of monopolisation by Sony. I suspect that, if Anchor Bay do jump aboard the HD DVD train, this will be one of the first titles they announce. Possibility.
• Swimming Pool. Owned by Universal in the US, who are HD DVD exclusive. In France, the film is owned by Pathé, who have committed to HD DVD in Europe. Likely.
• Tenebre. Owned by Anchor Bay, who have yet to announce any HD plans, but, like most independent labels, are likely to go with HD DVD due to the lower cost and lack of monopolisation by Sony. Possibility.
• The Three Colours Trilogy. Owned by Miramax (Disney) in the US. Disney are currently committed to Blu-ray, although they have shown no open hostility to HD DVD, and indeed executives have been quoted as saying that they expect to eventually release titles for both formats. In the UK, the rights are owned by Artificial Eye, who have yet to announce their HD intentions. Possibility.
• Toy Story. Owned by Disney, who are currently committed to Blu-ray, although they have shown no open hostility to HD DVD, and indeed executives have been quoted as saying that they expect to eventually release titles for both formats. Possibility.
• Toy Story 2. Owned by Disney, who are currently committed to Blu-ray, although they have shown no open hostility to HD DVD, and indeed executives have been quoted as saying that they expect to eventually release titles for both formats. Possibility.
• V for Vendetta. Owned by Warner, who release for both formats. It has been announced with a street date of October 31st 2006.Definite.
• What Have You Done to Solange? Owned by Media Blasters, who have yet to announce any HD plans, and, given their general lack of regard for quality, are unlikely to do so for some time. Unlikely.
• Where Eagles Dare. Owned by Warner, who release for both formats. Likely.
• Wolf Creek. Owned by The Weinstein Company, who are committed to both formats. This title is one that The Weinstein Company have confirmed that they intend to release, but no date has been given yet. Definite.

When you break it all down, it actually looks like a pretty impressive list.

Update, October 6, 2006 01:52 PM: It turns out that Optimum has been acquired by the HD DVD-friendly Studio Canal, making the release of Naked Lunch a possibility.

Update, October 6, 2006 05:08 PM: Entertainment In Video are not supporting HD DVD after all, so Gangs of New York has been demoted from “almost definite” to “possibility”.

Update, October 19, 2006 02:06 PM: V for Vendetta has been confirmed with a release date of October 31st 2006.

DVDs I bought or received in the month of September

• Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace: The Complete Series (R2 UK, SD DVD)
• Land of the Dead: Unrated Director’s Cut (R0 USA, HD DVD/SD DVD combo)
• The Little Mermaid: Platinum Edition (R1 USA, SD DVD)
• The Omen (remake) (R2 UK, SD DVD)
• Red Dragon (R0 USA, HD DVD)

Pretty lean pickings all around this month. Luckily, things should heat up in the run-up to Christmas as the studios committed to HD DVD start to crank out the big guns.

The Little Mermaid: Platinum Edition

As one of Disney’s most beloved animated features ever, fans of all ages are sure to be queuing up to pick up this 2-disc edition of The Little Mermaid before it is placed back in the notorious Disney Vault. Still, while the extras are plentiful and largely informative, the transfer is a real disappointment and one that betrays a lack of understanding or regard for the medium of film-sourced, hand-drawn animation. The sad thing is that, for the foreseeable future, these flaws are likely to be here to stay, so holding out for a later release (e.g. a high definition version) is unlikely to improve matters substantially. One thing’s for sure: Disney should definitely never again commission Technicolor to undertake a restoration of one of their films.

One of Disney’s most popular animated classics has finally been given a re-release on DVD, getting the deluxe 2-disc Platinum Edition treatment. I’ve reviewed the R1 US release of The Little Mermaid, due out on October 3rd, which unfortunately features a decidedly substandard restoration.

Close But No Cigar

Listen up, all you crazy people who think Shrek and Family Guy are the height of sophistication! Here’s proof that you don’t require a billion dollars to create good cartoony fun - you just need actual talent.

John Kricfalusi, creator of The Ren & Stimpy Show (the show to which just about every modern cartoon owes its existence), has recently been working on a couple of freelance projects. One is an animated introduction to the upcoming film Tenacious D in “The Pick of Destiny”, while the other is a music video for the new Weird Al Yankovic song, Close But No Cigar. John K posted about the completed video recently in his blog, along with a brief clip, and the full-length piece has appeared on YouTube. The music isn’t really my thing, but watch it now and marvel at the fluid, expressive, and most importantly well-drawn animation. This thing was made on a micro-budget, and in Macromedia Flash of all things. Normally the bane of any animator’s existence, with its generic rotating shapes and “tweening”, John K was the first person to truly harness the format’s potential back in the 1990s when he created the world’s first web cartoons, and now he seems to have done it again, cranking out near feature-quality animation using a format that its creators originally thought could be used for nothing except annoying ad banners.

The animation, by the way, was done by a Canadian firm called Copernicus Studios. They are also doing the animation for the Tenacious D piece.

The Little Mermaid: Technicolor Digital curls out another one

This morning I received a copy of Disney’s upcoming 2-disc Platinum Edition of The Little Mermaid (R1 USA), courtesy of DVD Pacific. Unfortunately, it’s not good news. Yes, the extras are numerous; yes, Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s songs sound punchy; no, there’s no crappy inserted “all-new animation”… but the transfer leaves a lot to be desired.

Disney have always had a rather spotty history with their Platinum Editions, especially those for films not shot in the digital realm. Previously, their “restorations” were handled by Lowry Digital Images, the same company responsible for ruining the Indiana Jones and Star Wars trilogies with their overly aggressive digital noise reduction techniques. I first became aware of their destructive influence with Bambi, whose transfer was so horribly mangled that parts of the image that had been subjected to “clean-up” literally warped and swam around before my very eyes, while incompetently handled DVNR eroded the pencil lines of the original animation in much the same manner as the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2 cartoons that we were all getting so worked up about last summer.

With Cinderella and Lady and the Tramp, Lowry continued their campaign of mass destruction, this time seeming to get the line mangling under control, but filtering and noise reducing the images so much that any hint of film grain was completely eradicated.

With The Little Mermaid, however, Disney have sunk to a new low. The restoration this time was carried out not by Lowry but by Technicolor Digital Services, who have subjected the film to a series of harmful and inconsistently applied algorithms. Heavy temporal noise reduction is visible on a number of occasions, causing the pencil outlines of the animation to ghost and leave trails, giving a look much like that of an LCD screen with a very low response time. On other occasions, the lines become eroded in the same manner as Bambi and the Looney Tunes cartoons. Perhaps most distracting, though, is that the level grain and detail erosion varies on a shot by shot basis. Some shots look fine, showing a reasonable level of grain and detail, but others will suddenly look oily and smudged, especially shots with a lot of pale hues (presumably because they would be more likely to be affected by grain).

The end result is very disappointing, and it’s clear that these so-called restoration “experts” should be kept away from films such as these, because they obviously have no understanding of how to deal with animation. These transfers are certainly watchable, but are far from pleasant, and in my opinion constitute artistic vandalism, given that these are likely to serve as the masters for several subsequent generations of releases of these highly-regarded films.

It’s also worth mentioning that this transfer is cropped. Compared with the 1.66:1 transfer of the Limited Issue release from 2000, sourced from a LaserDisc master, this 1.78:1 transfer is missing information at both the top and bottom of the frame. Obviously, the film would have been intended to be exhibited in a variety of ratios from 1.66:1 to 1.85:1, depending on the specific dimensions of the cinema screen on which it was being projected, but the use of 1.66:1 transfers for just about every other Disney film from The Rescuers onwards suggests, to me, that those responsible prefer to have the full image visible for their DVD releases. Either way, cropping or not, this is a disappointing transfer, especially given the film’s historical value.

Family Fucking Guy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8dIQyj9sXw

It seems that a recent episode of Family Guy (a butt-ugly, badly-written, unfunny rip-off of The Simpsons) somehow made it to air with the word “fuck” in it, clear as day. As you may or may not know, such naughty words are expressly verboten on American network television, with hefty fines for any network that fails to conform to the rules. Someone at Fox is going to have their head on the chopping block for this!

eBay extravaganza

It’s time for yet another eBay pimping spree, and this is the biggest sale I’ve ever done. Everything must go! So bid, bid, bid, and give me money!

http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ25QQsassZlyrisQ5f1

Major HD DVD announcements from Warner

Source: High-Def Digest

One of the biggest criticisms levelled against both high definition formats has been the relative lack of “triple-A” movies. This is not in itself particularly surprising, as the studios, always keen to make a buck, have initially been releasing less successful titles in the hope that, given the dearth of available films, AV junkies will buy titles they otherwise wouldn’t consider simply because there isn’t anything else on offer. The run-up to Christmas was always going to be the point at which the studios really kicked into gear, and it seems that Warner, who have been unusually sluggish when announcing new releases (often very close to the release date), have finally decided to kick things up a notch with the following releases on October 10th:

- Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971 version)
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005 version)
- Corpse Bride
- Batman Begins
- The Polar Express

These titles will be encoded in VC1 at 1080p, with 640 Kbps Dolby Digital-Plus audio. The extras will be the same as those of the standard definition DVD releases, apart from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Batman Begins, which, in addition to the standard definition extras, will both gain an “In-Movie Experience” interactive feature.

Warner also announced two Blu-ray releases for the same date - Syriana and 16 Blocks, both of which are already available on HD DVD. They too will be using the VC1 format, unlike Sony, who continue to insist on using the outdated and bloated MPEG2. This should mean that image quality will be identical to the HD DVD versions (unless they need to be re-encoded in order to fit on the lower capacity Blu-ray discs), although the higher price tag of $34.99 (versus $28.99 for the HD DVD releases) means that, once again, there is nothing appealing about the Blu-ray versions.