6.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
From Aardman Animations, beloved British inventor Wallace and his loyal friend Gromit return to the television screen in Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention six-part series. The six-part BBC1 TV series features Wallace introducing viewers to a number of amazing, real-world contraptions.
Starring: Peter SallisAnimation | 100% |
Comedy | 72% |
Documentary | 13% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080i
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
What happens in 1/24th of a second? Most of us never need to even consider something as arcane as that question,
but it is integral to the science—yes, science—of stop motion animation. From pioneers like Willis O”Brien and Ray
Harryhausen to modern day exponents like Nick Park and Henry Selick, fluid motion needs to be broken down to its
component parts and then converted into the medium of film, where 24 frames per second has long been the magical
formula filmmakers have utilized to fool the human eye that its seeing “moving pictures”. Henry Selick’s stop motion
Coraline was filmed here in my hometown of Portland, and the film’s line producer is the stepfather of my
youngest son’s best friend, so we got an up close and personal look at the incredible time and effort it takes to craft
even the simplest sequence of a film cobbled together from minute changes in position. Think of it this way: if you
need 24 frames per second, and a typical film runs at least 90 minutes, that means you require at a minimum 129,600
individual “snapshots” that together will blend together to form fluid motion.
Wallace and Gromit are two of the best known examples of stop motion animation, but their science-themed BBC
television series Wallace and Gromit’s World of Invention doesn’t explore this particular facet of science—at
least so far (the series’ first season was comprised of only six episodes and no second season has yet been
announced). Instead Wallace, himself an inveterate inventor, acts as host for a number of interesting and oddball little
snippets that look into a variety of scientific facts and gizmos. The Wallace and Gromit sequences of each episode act
as introduction and then interstitials, while the bulk of each episode is more documentary oriented, completely live
action and factual, though often with a sort of wry (not Wallace's rye toast) twist.
Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. Source material is highly variable here, as the series uses stock and archival footage quite ubiquitously throughout each episode. A lot of the non-contemporary footage was obviously sourced from 16mm (and in a couple of cases what actually looks like 8mm), and so it's to be expected clarity is greatly reduced and grain is greatly increased. The Wallace and Gromit sections look suitably sharp, though they aren't quite as crisp as some of the Park theatrical outings. Contemporary documentary and interview segments actually fare best for the most part here, with excellent clarity and sharpness and appealing fine detail. Color is accurate and well saturated throughout these elements.
Though Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention is granted a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround mix, there's really not that much opportunity for the soundtrack to show off. This is almost uniformly a narrated piece, with occasional interview segments, neither of which offer much chance for mind blowing surround activity. The Wallace and Gromit sequences do in fact have some fun discrete channelization effects (listen for Kevin the elephant's trumpeting through the left channel in the first episode for a great example). Fidelity is just fine throughout the series, but dynamic range is somewhat constrained, as might be expected in a documentary focused series like this.
Your World of Invention Shorts (HD; 38:02) is a fun set of six do it yourself construction experiments that tie in to
various sequences of the main series. Hosted by Ricky Martin (no, not that one), these are fun but sometimes
ridiculously complex construction exercises that will probably be a bit too difficult for younger adolescents (at least not
without some copious parental help). But many of these are cool little devices and they all seem to work—at least they do
here. The six segments are:
Atmosphere Railway
Wind-Powered Sprinkler
Fin Ray Grabber
Air Rocket
Spy Camera
Upside-Down-O-Scope
Martin's accent can be a bit hard to decipher at times, but there are optional subtitles available.
Wallace and Gromit are as lovable as ever in Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention, but for those expecting a nonstop Wallace and Gromit fest in this series there's bound to be some disappointment. The Wallace and Gromit segments are unfailingly sweet and often quite funny, but the bulk of this series is really the little features on various contraptions, inventors and other scientifically themed information. Most of these sequences are odd, to say the least, which makes them perfect companions for the equally odd Wallace, but a surprising amount of fascinating information is also imparted throughout the series' six episodes. This is a fun and engaging series that should appeal equally to kids and adults, and if some of the subjects looked at here are, well, niche items, that's part of the allure. Recommended.
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