4.8 | / 10 |
Users | 3.2 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.2 |
Three NASA chimps are sent to a galaxy far, far away. Two have 'The Right Stuff,' and the other, a good natured goofball, has 'The Wrong Stuff.' They find themselves on a strange, uncharted planet, where they embark on a fantastical journey to save its inhabitants from a tyrannical leader.
Starring: Andy Samberg, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Patrick Warburton, Kristin ChenowethFamily | 100% |
Animation | 85% |
Comedy | 74% |
Adventure | 63% |
Sci-Fi | 10% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Technically there is no such thing as nerds in the simian world.
Films like Space Chimps require reviewers to walk a tightrope when it comes to just how
much criticism will be leveled on a movie with the solitary goal of entertaining the youngest of
movie audiences. It's easy to pick apart a film like this one, but does such harsh criticism really
do any good? The bottom line is that many young viewers will at least like this movie;
many will find copies of the film under trees and stuffed in stockings this year with no concern
that the film offers little in the way of significance either in film or animation history. Space
Chimps offers young audiences a fun ride with likable characters traveling to distant worlds,
with, of course, a heavy dose of zany comedy thrown into most every scene. This movie was
made to bring a smile to bright young faces and to fill theaters and living rooms across the
country and around the world with laughter, not to earn the high praise of film critics. As
Space Chimps plays on that new high definition display on Christmas afternoon, or on a
lazy Saturday as several neighborhood kids lay sprawled out in front of the television, the fruit of
the film's labor will be clearly evident. In that regard, and despite any shortcomings more
discerning viewers may find with the material, Space Chimps is a success.
See no cliche. Hear no cliche. Speak no cliche.
Space Chimps swings onto Blu-ray with a fine looking 2.35:1-framed, 1080p transfer. Colors are fabulous, rich and bold, the all-digital transfer never failing to render each one with precision. The digital artists did a great job of making the movie look nice and detailed without becoming too overdone or busy. There is a simplicity to the animation when compared to the complexities of something like the richly detailed and lifelike realism of WALL●E, particularly those early scenes on Earth. Still, Space Chimps looks pleasing enough; its bright, easy-on-the-eyes animation will satisfy younger audiences. The characters are nicely detailed, too. Wrinkles and creases in space suits and the colors and gizmos that make up the control panel in the shuttle's cockpit also look very good. The blu-ray reveals all the fine details as the image is sharp and crisp and features a rather nice feeling of depth. If there are any drawbacks, one may note a few cases of banding, and a bit of the image sometimes looks hazy. Nevertheless, the transfer is very impressive, another in the ever-growing list of great looking animated titles on Blu-ray.
Space Chimps blasts onto Blu-ray with a surprisingly robust DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. This soundtrack features a fantastic sense of spacing and depth; an announcer at a circus introduces Ham at the beginning of the movie, and his voice reverberates throughout the rear channels, as does ambient crowd noise and the film's pleasing, exciting music. The soundtrack is incredibly active and virtually every scene features a loud, discernible rear channel presence. Bass is also ridiculously powerful at times, many scenes rumbling and rattling the furniture, though others seems slightly more reserved than one may expect. A scene in chapter five featuring the chimps training to withstand 10 G's features a swirling, bass-heavy sound that travels around the room in a loop, a completely immersive experience that's a blast to listen to. The shuttle launch in chapter seven also features a fantastic amount of bass. Dialogue reproduction is never a problem throughout the film. Space Chimps offers yet another fantastic DTS-HD MA lossless experience.
Space Chimps lands on Blu-ray with only a handful of extra materials. Fox Movie Channel Presents Casting Session (480p, 8:55) features cast and crew discussing the plot of the movie and the voice work behind the characters, discussing the strengths each actor brought to the characters. Five TV spots are next, all presented in a windowboxed 480p image -- Adventure (0:16), Countdown (0:32), Meet (0:31), Right Stuff (0:30), and Spacier (0:31). Trivia Blast is a pop-up trivia track that allows viewers to delve deeper into the film, discovering information from five categories -- Monkey Business, Spaced Out, Chimp it Real Good, Who's on Board, and Ground Control. Also included is a still gallery. Concluding this all-too-brief supplemental section are trailers for Nim's Island, Meet Dave, and Elephant Tales.
Its characters aren't all that deep, its story line isn't all that polished, and the film isn't all that memorable, but Space Chimps succeeds as a simple entertainment, an animated adventure that features plenty of laughs, a series of funny and likable characters, and certainly no lack of singing and dancing chimps amidst a watchable animated Sci-Fi Adventure film. If nothing else, Space Chimps has its heart in the right place, the film seemingly setting out to do little more than entertain the young ones in a completely non-offensive, lighthearted manner that might even hold the interest of a few accompanying adults that have come along for the ride. 20th Century Fox's Blu-ray presentation of Space Chimps should at least provide owners with a sense of pride as the film plays back with fabulous picture and sound qualities. Unfortunately, the disc lacks much in the way of supplemental materials, particularly more kid-centric extras. Still, Space Chimps will make a nice stocking stuffer for young Blu-ray fans, or at least a family-safe rental for movie night.
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