I just finished watching Horton Hears a Who on DVD. This was the second time I've seen this movie. While it probably isn't my favorite animated film of all time, it was very enjoyable.
A few things stood out. First off, the lighting and textures are absolutely beautiful. Blue Sky really outdid themselves. I honestly think that some of the shots are better lit in this movie than any other CG film I've seen. Very dimensional. The furry soft textures covering everything also gave me a warm fuzzy feeling.
The next important point to make is that the animation is excellent. I felt that Blue Sky's other films are pretty well animated, but Horton is far and away better in this department. Those rigs must of been a blast to play with. They seem to be capable of most anything. Speaking of technical behind the scenes goodness...
The special features for this DVD just plain sucked. Were there any? I certainly didn't see any. What happened to the good old fashioned bonus features? Both Kung Fu Panda and Wall-E sucked in this department too. Has everyone given up? I did notice the Ice Age short, which was terrible btw, but beyond that. Nothing. (Please note that I got this movie from Netflix, perhaps there is a second disc I am unaware of).
If you ignore my criticism of the lack of extra features. This is a good film. Not a great film. But a solid good film. The ending was a little silly for me (especially with the singing), however, the great animation and great lighting/texturing more than made up for it.
A few things stood out. First off, the lighting and textures are absolutely beautiful. Blue Sky really outdid themselves. I honestly think that some of the shots are better lit in this movie than any other CG film I've seen. Very dimensional. The furry soft textures covering everything also gave me a warm fuzzy feeling.
The next important point to make is that the animation is excellent. I felt that Blue Sky's other films are pretty well animated, but Horton is far and away better in this department. Those rigs must of been a blast to play with. They seem to be capable of most anything. Speaking of technical behind the scenes goodness...
The special features for this DVD just plain sucked. Were there any? I certainly didn't see any. What happened to the good old fashioned bonus features? Both Kung Fu Panda and Wall-E sucked in this department too. Has everyone given up? I did notice the Ice Age short, which was terrible btw, but beyond that. Nothing. (Please note that I got this movie from Netflix, perhaps there is a second disc I am unaware of).
If you ignore my criticism of the lack of extra features. This is a good film. Not a great film. But a solid good film. The ending was a little silly for me (especially with the singing), however, the great animation and great lighting/texturing more than made up for it.
3 comments:
There's a 2-Disc version of Horton that has all the special features you missed. Tons of animator interviews and behind the scenes looks at how the movie was made. Also, thankfully, they don't overdo it with the voice actor segments. There's a couple in there, but its not the centerpiece of the extras DVD.
Thank you for your "Horton" article today. I decided to go to the screening of the movie this weekend in lots of snow. :) As you wrote, it worth watching and actually was enjoyable.
Wish you happy holidays!
Good to see a couple of decent kiddie films like Horton and Kung Fu Panda on dvd around to keep the little tykes busy over the busy holiday. They're good for nap time.
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