6.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
June, an optimistic, imaginative girl, discovers an incredible amusement park called Wonderland hidden in the woods. The park is full of fantastical rides and talking, funny animals - only the park is in disarray. June soon discovers the park came from her imagination and she's the only one who can fix it, so she bands together with the animals to save this magical place and bring back the wonder in Wonderland.
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Jennifer Garner, Jeffrey Tambor, Kenan Thompson, Ken JeongFamily | 100% |
Animation | 82% |
Comedy | 70% |
Fantasy | 34% |
Adventure | 28% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Wonder Park never seemed destined for greatness. While the film isn't devoid of purpose or heart, it never gels or feels genuine. More, the film will likely be remembered more for filmmaker misconduct more so than missed opportunities. The film is essentially delivered without a director credit; Dylan Brown, a former Pixar employee, was tabbed to helm the movie but was dismissed late in development due to allegations of workplace harassment. The studio cited "inappropriate and unwanted behavior" as the reason for his dismissal. But the story doesn't end there. Amongst the impressive list of voice casting was to be Jeffrey Tambor, who was pegged to portray one of the film's primary animal characters, Boomer. He, too, was let go for allegations of inappropriate conduct months prior to Brown's dismissal (Tambor had previously left Amazon's Transparent after similar allegations arose). The end picture is a passable, but hardly praiseworthy, effort that explores one little girl's imagination that becomes an important part of an internalized coping mechanism when she learns her mother is gravely ill.
Despite the name, the multitude of colorful animals, and the promise of amusement park wonders, this is not a particularly robust movie from a visual perspective. It's a bit dull in places, a little dark, a touch flat, not visually uninteresting per se but not exactly the most robust, glitzy, or shiny animated movie ever made. Paramount's 1080p Blu-ray presents the material well enough offering stable details and dependable colors within the movie's visual spectrum. Colorful fireworks in chapter seven are a highlight, and dots of color around the decrepit Wonderland stand out, while the more cheerful tones prior to June's mother's illness and June's departure for math camp are the most impressive and bright hues on offer, revealing character eyes, various toys, and natural greenery with enough visual splendor to satisfy. Texturally, the movie is fairly strong, revealing animal fur and human hair with crisp, individualized definition. Around the run-down version of the park, viewers will appreciate the complexity of overgrown grasses and some of the rusty and worn details on rides and other attractions. The image struggles with minor bouts of aliasing and shimmering but never to a seriously distracting level. Light noise is visible in spots as well but banding and macroblocking are absent.
Wonder Park features a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 lossless soundtrack. The track offers an appropriately diverse, if only occasionally robust, collection of sounds, particularly during the action scenes where a number of zooms and zips stretch through, across, and around the stage, whether an early film scene when June blasts through her own neighborhood creation of Wonderland or later during the climax when a variety of sound elements converge during the chaotic sequence. Music enjoys quality front side stretch and good general clarity. The low end kicks in on occasion, delivering the first real explosion of bass in chapter seven, and surrounds carry some impressive reverb in chapter eight. Dialogue delivery is clear and well prioritized, maintaining a firm front-center position. Much like the video, there's nothing that stands out here, but the essential qualities carry the film nicely enough.
Wonder Park contains a handful of kid-centric featurettes, a sing-along, and a deleted scene. DVD and digital copies of the film are included
with
purchase. This release
ships with a
non-embossed slipcover.
Wonder Park is not a wondrous film. It toys along the edges with a few emotional tugs grounded in a good idea and builds it story as a coping mechanism for a girl in fear of losing her mother, but the main draw is not much of a draw at all. It's stale and populated with uninteresting, generic characters. Paramount's Blu-ray is of good quality, delivering adequate 1080p video and 7.1 lossless audio. Supplements are limited to a handful of featurettes, a sing-along, and a deleted scene. Worth a rental.
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