7 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Three teenagers must help a Yeti return to his family while avoiding a wealthy man and a zoologist who want him for their own needs.
Starring: Chloe Bennet, Albert Tsai, Tenzing Norgay Trainor, Joseph Izzo (I), Sarah PaulsonFamily | 100% |
Animation | 86% |
Adventure | 61% |
Fantasy | 54% |
Comedy | 50% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 MVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
Blu-ray 3D
Region free
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Exotic Eastern locations and a lovable yeti character are not quite enough to propel Abominable into the digitally animated stratosphere. The film enters a crowded marketplace and does its best to capture Pixar magic, looking to balance expansive narrative scope and intimate character heart, but Directors Jill Culton and Todd Wilderman can't quite reach those lofty heights. The picture aspires to inspire and does so to a degree, but basic genre rhythms and crudely familiar adventuring, albeit through impressively realized real-world locations, hold the movie back just enough to settle it on that second tier behind the greats.
Abominable has earned a rare Blu-ray 3-D release, and those fans still clamoring for more content on the fading format should be relatively pleased with Universal's efforts here. The presentation offers fine screen stretch and depth. Locations are impressively open and realistic, notably the dense city locales including cozy apartment interiors and many enticingly spacious urban expanses, whether down on street level or on the rooftop where Yi meets Everest, both offering plenty of nooks and crannies and protruding odds and ends to take full advantage of 3-D's dimensional capabilities. As the adventure begins and the characters traverse through China's sprawling open country, the 3-D visuals only continue to dazzle for their ability to open the frame and draw the viewer into the gorgeous expanses and vistas. Though there are not a multitude of screen popping extension effects, there are a few interesting one-off details scattered throughout. Look at some dirt flying off of Yi in slow-motion in the six minute mark when she walks by a few of her peers, including Jin. The small debris particles appear to float in real space and in a couple of instances out beyond the screen's front limits. Lens flares at the 41:50 mark also seem to appear beyond the screen's front boundaries. Just as critical, the image suffers from no obvious examples of crosstalk of "ghosting" effects. The picture is steady and attractive and as it maintains the same essential color rendition as the 2-D Blu-ray, not to mention the superb clarity and textural accuracy, there's little reason not to choose the 3-D version, save for the cost-prohibitive nature of the release; at time of writing it's pushing double the asking price of the 2-D Blu-ray.
Abominable's Dolby Atmos soundtrack serves the material well, but imperfectly. The track doesn't produce the sort of low end thunder one
might expect, at least generally, but the track doesn't otherwise seem particularly wanting in terms of volume or larger extension and expansion. A
stampede scene in chapter 14 and some of the more intense effects to follow effort to engage the low end with authority, but at reference volume, and
even raised a few decibels, there's a distinct lack of pronouncement that several of the effects demand. Music is fluid and nicely detailed, with a wide
front end berth and enough surround and overhead support integration to create a rich, enveloping sound field for both light score and more intense
musical beats. Indeed, action scenes are appropriately chaotic, with balanced and nuanced sound dispersal through the stage, playing in larger
harmony to pull the listening audience into the mayhem. Quieter moments offer well versed atmospherics through the film's various Chinese locales,
allowing dialogue to present with firm front-center placement, natural clarity, and commanding prioritization.
Note that while the 3-D dic includes the Dolby Atmos soundtrack, it does not include the additional French and Spanish language or subtitle options
available on both the Blu-ray and the UHD releases of the film.
Abominable' 3-D disc contains no extras, but the bundled Blu-ray disc, which is identical to that released widely, contains a myriad of extras,
including short films, deleted scenes, fluffy featurettes, and an audio commentary. A
Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release does not ship with a slipcover.
Abominable is cheerful and charming, competent and connectable, but its inability to rise higher renders it somewhat flat in the aggregate. The material is a good fit for the digitally animated realm, and the adventures on the other side of the world are sure to engage viewers young and old alike with something a bit different from the usual settings. The picture is strongly animated, unflappably voiced, and assembled with care. Yet this Yeti film rings just a little hollow on the inside. Universal's Blu-ray 3-D release delivers very good video, solid audio, and plenty of extras on the 2-D disc. Recommended.
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