Delhi Safari Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Delhi Safari Blu-ray Movie Review

♫ The Animals, The Animals, Let's Talk Treaties with the Animals ♪♪

Reviewed by Michael Reuben April 19, 2013

Delhi Safari appears to have been conceived as a multilingual film from the beginning. Work proceeded simultaneously on the Hindi version released in its native India in October 2012 and on the English international version that played everywhere else, including a limited U.S. theatrical run in December 2012. The Hindi version featured familiar Bollywood stars, while the English voice cast included names that would be widely known from their work in popular syndicated American TV. But one element of the film required no translation: Delhi Safari is the first Indian animated film to be made in stereoscopic 3D.

It's odd, then, that ARC Entertainment has elected to limit this 3D showcase to a 2D Blu-ray for the U.S. market. It's not as if ARC is technically incapable of mastering 3D material, as shown by their recent release of Nitro Circus: The Movie. Some clue to their thinking may lie in the fact that Delhi Safari has been offered, at least initially, as a Wal-Mart exclusive, as has been the case with several of ARC's animated releases. Market research may have led ARC to conclude that the extra cost of producing a 3D disc can't be justified for shoppers less focused on pricey cutting edge technology than on picking up a cute movie with talking animals to distract the kids.

And that may have been a miscalculation, because the very elements that distinguish Delhi Safari from the pack are those that are most likely to be lost on children. The film's music is rooted in Bollywood, in the same way that Disney's animated films are now firmly planted in Broadway, thanks to Howard Ashman, Alan Mencken and Elton John. Since the film itself is set in India and involves, as the title suggests, an expedition to the country's capital city, the use of a national musical tradition gives the story an integrity that is lacking in other features that blend an indigenous folk tale with a lyrical mode of expression imported from abroad (e.g., Jock the Hero Dog, which combined a classic South African story with songs penned by rocker Bryan Adams). Will the American toddler warm to Bollywood rhythms performed by leopards, bears, monkeys, bats and birds? Your guess is as good as mine.

The young hero of the story is Yuvi, a leopard cub brought to vocal life by prolific voice artist Tara Strong. The film opens with Yuvi roughhousing with his father, the regal adult leopard Sultan (Cary Elwes) despite the disapproval of his mother, Begum (Vanessa Williams). But Yuvi's world is shattered when their peaceful jungle is invaded by a horde of cranes and bulldozers making way for a housing development. They're drawn to look like predators, with huge, menacing arms and frightful expressions.

As the animals gather that evening to commiserate, a tough-talking monkey named Bajrangi (Carlos Alazraqui) counsels war and brags about all the damage he would do to the humans, if only he had the chance. As part of his shtick, Bajrangi asks whether anyone in the crowd speaks "human", expecting no answer, and is startled when a pigeon (Christopher Lloyd) volunteers that he knows of an animal who does. This turns out to be Alex the Parrot (Tom Kenny, the voice of Spongebob Squarepants), who is owned by a film director with a casting couch (JB Blanc).

With the enthusiasm of youth, Yuvi proposes that a delegation of animals travel to Delhi (though he has no idea where that actually is) and ask the humans to stop the construction. After liberating—or, depending on your point of view, kidnapping—Alex from his owner, a group sets off to the capitol with Alex in tow. The group includes Yuvi; his mother, Begum; a genial bear named Bagg (Brad Garrett); and the monkey Bajrangi, who can hardly say no, given his boasts of bravery, but immediately begins scheming to eliminate Alex so that, without any way to speak to humans, they'll have to turn back.

Most of Delhi Safari is consumed by the eventful road trip required for the pack to reach the city. Their adventures include a freight train ride; an encounter with a cheerful flock of flamingos led by an old-time show business couple (Jane Lynch and Jason Alexander); a near-fatal run-in with a pack of wild hyenas (Dave Wittenberg, Lex Lang, Fred Tatasciore and Jason Alexander, doing double duty); and an accidental brush with a hive of bees with military training (Cary Elwes, also doing double duty, voices their commander). In the end, this motley crew manages to arrive in the city, where the sight of assorted jungle animals triggers panic and threats of violence until Alex the Parrot steps forward and astonishes everyone by delivering an address to the assembled TV cameras. (But first he sings a song to get their attention, prompting one member of the crowd to remark: "That parrot has been watching too much Bollywood!")

From that point forward, the story plays out in fantasyland, but if one has already gone so far as to accept talking animals living by the social norms of humans, what's the harm? If nothing else, Delhi Safari provides a pleasant civics lesson on the virtues of peacefully petitioning government for redress of grievances. In real life, it's not so easy to stop a housing development, and maybe not always the best idea, but the process is worth learning.

Delhi Safari Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The image on ARC Entertainment's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray of Delhi Safari is consistent with that of most contemporary digital animation, which is to say that it's clean, sharp and colorful (though nothing like the rainbow hues of The Reef 2: High Tide). Although detail of the individual creatures themselves is quite good, the backgrounds of individual frames are less packed with minutia than is typically found in the best contemporary animation. Video noise and compression artifacts were not an issue, and the only visual distortion to report was occasional light banding, usually in dark solid areas.

Delhi Safari Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 track gets a workout in several big scenes, including the "assault" by hordes of marauding bulldozers and steam shovels near the beginning and the massive traffic tie-up caused by our heroes when they arrive in Delhi. Still, the most important function of the track is reproducing the performance of the musical numbers written by Bollywood composing trio Shankar Ehsaan Loy, with original lyrics by Sameer.

The style has been sufficiently popularized that it shouldn't be too much of a shock to Western ears, but these songs clearly don't spring from a Broadway tradition. Indeed, the first number, "To Forgive . . . To Forget", in which Yuvi's leopard parents make up after an argument, assisted by the entire animal population of the jungle, is a classic Bollywood production routine that is intended to establish the film's musical idiom, and it does so effectively. The lossless audio track reproduces the performances of both the lead cast and the chorus with finesse and presence and makes the threat of the jungle's impending destruction all the more affecting when the machinery arrives.

Later songs are more tailored to specific plot points, but the Bollywood sound remains. The title song, "Delhi Safari", is an extended argument between Alex the Parrot and all the other animals, who are attempting to persuade him that their journey is worth undertaking. "A Mighty Forest There Is Not" is sung by a helpful bat (Brian George) who gives directions en route and takes the opportunity to comment on all the natural wonders that used to exist along the way before human activity removed them. And "All Day Party, Dance" is how the flamingo troupe welcomes the travelers. An unidentified song in Hindi plays over the closing credits, as each of the main characters dances in and out of frame and takes a final bow. (The sequence was obviously designed with 3D in mind.) All of the songs have been carefully mixed into the film's soundtrack so that the English lyrics are as easy to understand as the dialogue. Even more than in the Broadway tradition, the lyrics are essential to the story.

Delhi Safari Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The disc's only supplement is the film's theatrical trailer (1080p; 2.37:1; 2:11). At startup, the disc plays trailers (in 1080p) for Thor: Legend of the Magical Hammer, The Reef 2: High Tide, Jock the Hero Dog, Animals United and My Lucky Elephant. These can be skipped with the chapter forward button and are not otherwise available once the disc loads.

Delhi Safari Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

ARC's Blu-ray presentation of Delhi Safari is fine as far as it goes, but it's unfortunate that India's first feature animation in stereoscopic 3D has not been presented in the form in which it was meant to be seen. As far as the film itself is concerned, it's a harmless diversion that was successful in its native land and should keep children here entertained.

Children won't care, but one of the most interesting aspects of Delhi Safari is its prominent listing of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) as a "special partner", which is not something one would be likely to see on a film produced in the U.S., where the organization hasn't enjoyed an especially favorable reputation. It is noteworthy, and probably an appropriate subject for serious study, to encounter such a pro-animal and anti-development childen's fable issuing from one of the world's fastest-growing economies. You have to admire the integrity of the approach in making the enemy a housing development instead of an industrial park, because at least the question is being squarely raised. When Alex the Parrot proposes that we "share the planet", he really and truly means it. Recommended.