Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

The Dragon Pearl Blu-ray Movie Review

The Kids Are All Bright

Reviewed by Michael Reuben June 25, 2013

The Dragon Pearl is a joint Chinese/Australian venture directed and co-written by Aussie filmmaker Mario Andreacchio, who has a solid track record with family fare. The film was a 2011 release in Australia and the Far East and is just now being issued here on home video by Ketchup Entertainment, which, in partnership with ARC, has identified a niche market for youth-oriented films from overseas, both animated and live action, that have failed to secure American distribution. The Dragon Pearl is a fine example of the portability of such works, because, despite the exotic settings, it relies on story elements with universal appeal (at least to anyone brought up on the movies).

Andreacchio and his co-writers may have set their story at an archaeological dig site in China and utilized figures from Chinese mythology, but their plot, which involves two kids visiting their parents for the summer, draws on tropes that blockbuster audiences from around the world will recognize: a chosen one (Star Wars ), the disconnect of divorce (E.T.), artifacts filled with riddles and booby traps (Indiana Jones ), and a transcendent but benevolent power that ultimately saves the day (see the previous three). The Dragon Pearl wraps these comfortingly familiar features with just enough novelty to keep them entertaining. The presence of Jurassic Park's Sam Neill adds a familiar face for Westerners, and Chinese film star Jordan Chan, in an uncharacteristically comic role as a flute-playing monk with hidden talents, will divert young and old with his physical grace (he trained as a dancer).

A prologue recites the history of a Chinese emperor who called upon a dragon to assist him in a battle against invading clans. The dragon lent the emperor its pearl, the source of its power, which allowed the emperor to prevail, but the pearl was lost in the battle. The emperor died of a broken heart. Like many historical accounts, this one turns out to have several unwritten chapters.

In the present, Chris Chase (Neill) is an archaeologist working on a Chinese site with a fellow Australian, Philip Dukas (Robert Mammone), under the leadership of Dr. Li (Wang Ji). They have unearthed a critical artifact in the form of an ancient scroll contained in an elaborate box, the purpose of which they have been unable to decipher. Late one night, two thieves—identified in the credits solely as "Henchman 1" (Chen Bao Yuan) and "Henchman 2" (Wang Junkang)— break into Chase's quarters to steal the box, but Chase fights them off, with Philip's help. Chase's wrist is injured in the process, and the cast on his arm becomes the setup for a running joke that actually pays off at the film's end.

The next morning, Chase's son, Josh (Louis Corbett), and Dr. Li's daughter, Ling (Li Lin Jin), arrive at the airport to spend the summer with their respective parents, but Dr. Li has to pick up both kids, because Chase is still making out police reports on the assault and attempted burglary. Josh is less than thrilled to be met by a strange Chinese woman instead of his dad, whom he hasn't seen for a long time. He's already resentful that his parents are getting divorced.

Initially suspicious of each other, Ling and Josh are thrown together in an adventure when Ling's attention is captured by mysterious flute music that no one else can hear. Its source is an odd fellow named Wu Dong (Chan), who appears at the dig site protesting the archaeologists' excavation, then runs off. He leaves behind a flute that Ling assumes to be the source of the music, and she chases after him to return it. Josh follows along a narrow path up a vertiginous ascent to a temple where Wu Dong appears to be the caretaker. He is grateful to recover the flute, then shocked when Ling explains that she heard the tune. According to Wu Dong, the instrument's music is supposed to be inaudible to all, even him, except for . . . oh my goodness, it's the Chosen One! (If you are waiting for an explanation of Ling's family lineage, you will be disappointed.)

Josh and Ling have to work through many puzzles (at which Josh is particularly good; his constant companion is a super-duper Rubik's Cube) and discover a few historical secrets, but they eventually meet the dragon whose pearl was lost and learn that Ling's destiny is to restore the pearl to its rightful owner. In the process, they get to experience dragon flight, have their accounts disbelieved by their concerned parents (who start talking about doctors and CAT scans), and cross paths with Henchman 1 and Henchman 2, who haven't given up their efforts to secure whatever it was they (and their boss) were looking for.

Andreacchio has a good sense of pacing, and he understand how to create just enough of a sense of danger for the kids without pushing it so far that the film strays out of PG territory. The effects work may strike western eyes as artificial, but one must adjust to the conceptual model of a Chinese dragon as opposed to a creature like Smaug (in The Hobbit) or Draco (in Dragonheart). A photorealistic depiction of a Chinese dragon might deprive it of its essential mythic qualities. The film's effects team opted for something ethereal and, in its final manifestation, sparkling. This is a dragon not to fear but to celebrate.

The Dragon Pearl Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Dragon Pearl was shot by award-winning Australian DP Geoffrey Simpson (Shine) with the Red system. The image on Ketchup Entertainment's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray was presumably sourced from digital files, and it shows all the usual benefits of digital capture and post-production: a clean, detailed, noiseless image, with superior blacks and colors that have been fine-tuned to the requirements of each setting. Just look at the fine detail and color delineations on Josh Chase's advanced Rubik's Cube for an example of the image's quality, or study the fine lines on the ancient scroll from the box that everyone is so eager to interpret. With no real extras and a single language track, the 98-minute film compresses without artifacts onto a BD-25 at a healthy bitrate of 25.97 Mbps.

The Dragon Pearl Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

While not as aggressively active as an action film, The Dragon Pearl sports a modestly impressive lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 track that rises to the film's biggest set pieces, such as the dragon's major appearances and an elaborately choreographed fight scene involving the two Henchmen. Dynamic range is wide, and bass extension is deep and well-used (dragons hit low notes when they "speak"). The dialogue is always clear, unless you happen to have trouble with any of the accents (Australian and Chinese), in which case there are subtitles. (Some of the spoken Chinese is translated by non-defeatable subtitles, and some of it isn't meant to be understood.) The serviceable fantasy/action score is by Frank Strangio, who has written for numerous children's projects, including a season of one of Disney's Power Rangers TV shows. The score receives a considerable boost from the involvement of the Sh Drummers, who are seen playing during the closing credits and whose stirring beats are admirably conveyed by the Blu-ray's soundtrack.

The Dragon Pearl Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The disc's only extra is the film's trailer (1080p; 1.78:1; 2:22). At startup, the disc plays trailers (in 1080p) for Space Warriors, Delhi Safari and Return to Nim's Island, which can be skipped with the chapter forward button and are not otherwise available once the disc loads.

The Dragon Pearl Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Like many of the family titles being offered through ARC and its affiliated companies, The Dragon Pearl is currently offered only as a Wal- Mart exclusive, but it is scheduled for general release later this year. In the meantime, both new and used copies are already appearing on Amazon through third-party sellers. Whether one looks for it now or waits for wider availability, the title is well worth considering. Major Hollywood studios no longer make these kinds of films, or, if they do, they spend too much money, overdo the effects and cast the wrong actors in a vain attempt to guarantee their investment. The makers of Dragon Pearl have learned how to make decent popcorn fare for youngsters at a reasonable cost. Recommended.