Abominable
4K
(Universal 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/Art
Of Racing In The Rain
(Fox Blu-ray)/Bernie
The Dolphin 2
(Lionsgate DVD/all 2019)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B/B+/C+ Sound: B+/B/C+
Extras: B-/A/C- Main Programs: B-/B+/C-
We
start wrapping up the year with these child/family titles...
Jill
Culton's Abominable
4K
(2019) is actually one of the better CGI releases of the year, not
loaded upfront with a bunch of bad comedy cliches and recycled jokes
from other CGI releases (et al), but a sometimes familiar but also
sometimes charming tale of a young violinist named Yi (voiced by
Chloe Bennett) one day (after working some odd jobs) discovers
something hiding on her private space on the roof of where she lives:
an abominable snow man... or teen yeti. We see in the beginning that
it is on the run from a high tech prison where it has been captured
for reasons that do not look good.
Naming
him 'Everest' and joined by two good friends, they go on a journey
out of town to get him back home, but it turns out he was captured
because he has special abilities and the one thing that brings him
immediately together with Yi is her playing of classical music
masterworks. Can they save him?
So
this is well done enough, child-friendly and very well rounded,
running a fine 97 minutes and issued under the DreamWorks name via
the Pearl Studios. That is a company we should keep an eye out for
because they are more serious about what they are releasing than
their competition. This did well, if not record-breaking, but
deserves a much larger audience than it found and I hope it becomes a
surprise home video hit. Whether we'll see any sequel or not (it is
not really set up for one, which in itself is nice for a change), it
stands nicely on its own and all involved can be proud of what they
accomplished here. Not bad at all!
Extras
include Digital Code, while
(per the press release) both disc versions add plenty to enjoy
including (the 4K version has all extras in 4K!!!) DREAMWORKS SHORT -
MAROONED
- Marooned, tells the story of a cantankerous and selfish robot named
C-0R13. Stranded on an abandoned lunar outpost, C-0R13 longs to
return to Earth. With a partially built ship and his last power
source, this determined robot will stop at nothing to achieve his
goal.
DELETED
SCENES with Intros by Writer/Director Jill Culton and Co-Director
Todd Wilderman
Play
All
Spa
Day
Villains
at the Map
Magic
Montage
Yak
Attack
MAKING
A MYTH (MOVIE) - In this entertaining 'making of' we learn from the
filmmakers and stars how they brought the heartfelt and whimsical
story of Abominable
to life - from the use of magic, music and humor, to the themes of
family and nature.
ANIMATING
ABOMINABLE - From production design to storyboarding and animating,
the creative team behind Abominable
will take us through the design and animation of the film.
MEET
THE CAST - This fun featurette introduces the audience to the cast
of Abominable
and the characters they play. Learn first-hand from the actors what
their personal inspiration was for the role and how they went about
performing the voicework.
COURAGE
TO DREAM - This featurette explores the character Yi, the strong,
independent and untraditional female lead at the center of
Abominable.
Actor Chloe Bennet and the filmmakers discuss what makes Yi special
and why she is the ultimate role model for young girls and boys
today!
AN
ABOMINABLE TOUR WITH CHLOE BENNET - Like her father before her, Yi
dreams of traveling across China to see the many beautiful, natural
and culturally significant locations featured in Abominable.
Chloe Bennet, the voice of Yi, will take viewers on their own
magical journey.
EVEREST'S
TALK BOX - Shooting on the DreamWorks Animation campus, we bring in
some real kids to meet the man behind the voice of Everest, Joe
Izzo, and the audio team from Abominable to learn about all
the cool tech that went into Everest's voice.
COOKING
WITH NAI NAI - Can Tsai Chin, the voice of Nai Nai, learn to make
Nai Nai's famous pork buns in real life? Let's find out!
HOW
TO ABOMINABLE - Bring Everest, Yi and Nai Nai to life in your home
with this How-to-Draw with a difference. Not only will we show you
how to recreate your favorite characters from Abominable,
but also how to magically bring them to life through a homemade
Chinese style lantern!
YOU
CAN SPEAK YETI-ESE - Inspired by foreign language courses, viewers
can learn how to speak Yeti-ese with these easy teaching guides
hosted by Chloe Bennet.
NAI
NAI SAYS - Narrated by Nai Nai, Yi's wise grandma gives us life
lessons on how to be a strong, independent, modern woman.
and
FEATURE COMMENTARY - Writer/Director Jill Culton, Co-Director Todd
Wilderman, Producer Suzanne Buirgy, Producer Peilin Chou, Production
Designer Max Boas, Visual Effects Supervisor Mark Edwards, and Head
of Character Animation John Hill
Simon
Curtis' The
Art Of Racing In The Rain
(2019) is
the story of dog named Enzo. Enzo was adopted by Denny Swift a
professional race car driver. He loved his life, the race and
dreamed of becoming a man one day. As the years and life came by
they are joined by his wife Eve and later his daughter Zoe.
Everything was perfect until tragedy strikes, Eve gets cancer and
then his daughter gets taken away from them. As Enzo looks back over
his and his family's life and tell his story and what he learned in
this life.
A
story of a (narrating) dog and how he loved his life and those those
whom he called family. Through his eyes Enzo tells the story of how
he met Denny, Eve and Zoe and how their life is like a race, it is
about the journey and how they handle the unexpected things in life
(and not about winning or losing). Like love and rain, they can
change the conditions on the road of life but a true driver learns
how to use the road and makes their own destiny. Denny struggles to
follow his dreams after facing the challenge of the death of his wife
and then the custody battle for his daughter when her grandparents
threaten to take her away.
This
was the age old story of man's best friend. Voiced by Kevin Costner,
it tells the heart warming tale of a dog and his master. Throughout
the entire movie the character 'Enzo' the dog narrates and reflects
and compares his life like a race and what he would say if he could
talk. Extras include featurettes Journey
to Screen, Directing the Art, Enzo Cam, Behind the Wheeler, The Dog
Stays in the Picture, Enzo's First Ride,
Commentary and trailers.
Last
and least is Kirk Harris' Bernie
The Dolphin 2
(2019, don't remember the first release, if there was one) with Lola
Allen and Lagan Alley as young teens who love the title animal and
are glad he is back (from being gone, apparently) but the enemy 0of
all of them (a bored-looking Kevin Sorbo) is back to torment them
(and us apparently) in this very dull, formulaic, flay dud that even
Patrick Muldoon (Starship
Troopers)
cannot save. To say this is for fans only is stretching it, but here
it is and unless you REALLY want to see it for some reason, skip it.
It
actually had a Behind The Scenes featurette and you also get a
trailer gallery.
Now
for playback quality. The
2160p HEVC/H.265, 1.85 X 1 HDR (10+; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra
High Definition image on Abominable is easily the best playback
performer here, with a nice, solid look and very consistent, even
rich and wide-ranging color throughout. You also get a few demo
moments, though the 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image on
the regular Blu-ray also included is not bad. However, it just does
not flow as well visually as the 4K version.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Racing
is also very good and has few flaws, though nothing is very
spectacular about its run-on look, you get no serious flaws.
That
leaves the anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image on Bernie
with some soft shots, but holding up a bit better than expected for
the format.
The
Dolby Atmos 11.1 (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 for older systems) on both
versions of Abominable
is easily the sonic winner here with some creative sound and sound
editing, plus dialogue and music is well recorded throughout.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 7.1 lossless mix on Rain
is as reliable as its image, but again, nothing too impressive or
spectacular about competent, corporate product. The voice over work
sometimes just does not ring true.
The
lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 on Bernie
rings less true overall in acting performance and how dialogue is
delivered, so don't expect much here sonically either.
-
Nicholas Sheffo and Ricky Chiang (Art)
