Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection Blu-ray: Review By SpaceCowboy
4 grand adventures, 1 smashing collection!
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OVERALL4.5SUPERB
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Feature
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Picture
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Sound
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Extras
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Replay Value
THE GOOD
Contains all four short films and every webisode of "Cracking Contraptions." Worthy of the Complete Collection title.
Quality is very immersive.
Selecting items on the menu is fast without lagging.
Optional English subtitles.
After a few short minutes, if nothing is selected on the main menu, all four shorts will play automatically (or this could be a bad thing. It's debatable).
Quality is very immersive.
Selecting items on the menu is fast without lagging.
Optional English subtitles.
After a few short minutes, if nothing is selected on the main menu, all four shorts will play automatically (or this could be a bad thing. It's debatable).
THE BAD
Sold in an eco-case.
No featurette exclusively for "A Grand Day Out"
In "A Grand Day Out" the backdrop for the moon is unbelievably grainy as is much of the short film. Not a major defect as this was the first Wallace & Gromit short and a very rough start for Nick Park in stop-motion animation. Also on the moon are a few frames where the lens glare spasms. I'm not quite sure is this was always part of the short or if the Blu-ray transfer brought this out.
Selecting items on the menu is a little buggy, however. Making a round trip from the far right item to the far left item or vice versa is impossible. The sound of a door creaking will alarm and disable the action going back to the previous selectable menu. That door creak and a snapping click are repetitive and irritating sounds that are the soundtracks for selecting items.
No featurette exclusively for "A Grand Day Out"
In "A Grand Day Out" the backdrop for the moon is unbelievably grainy as is much of the short film. Not a major defect as this was the first Wallace & Gromit short and a very rough start for Nick Park in stop-motion animation. Also on the moon are a few frames where the lens glare spasms. I'm not quite sure is this was always part of the short or if the Blu-ray transfer brought this out.
Selecting items on the menu is a little buggy, however. Making a round trip from the far right item to the far left item or vice versa is impossible. The sound of a door creaking will alarm and disable the action going back to the previous selectable menu. That door creak and a snapping click are repetitive and irritating sounds that are the soundtracks for selecting items.
THE FEATURE
A GRAND DAY OUT (23:58) - Wallace & Gromit make their grand debut in an adventure that's out of this world. Wallace and his dog companion Gromit fly to the moon to get some cheese.
THE WRONG TROUSERS (30:20) - My personal my favorite of the collection. Our two heroes battle whits with a susp*cious penguin guest and a pair of Techno-Trousers that have gone bad.
A CLOSE SHAVE (31:26) - Wallace and Gromit entrepreneur themselves as window washers, getting into a hairy situation with a very peculiar friend. Shaun the sheep makes his first appearance.
A MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH (30:13) - Wallace and Gromit are back and baking up enough doughy goodies to please a fat woman. Wallace and Gromit get love stricken while bakers are getting knocked off one by one.
THE WRONG TROUSERS (30:20) - My personal my favorite of the collection. Our two heroes battle whits with a susp*cious penguin guest and a pair of Techno-Trousers that have gone bad.
A CLOSE SHAVE (31:26) - Wallace and Gromit entrepreneur themselves as window washers, getting into a hairy situation with a very peculiar friend. Shaun the sheep makes his first appearance.
A MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH (30:13) - Wallace and Gromit are back and baking up enough doughy goodies to please a fat woman. Wallace and Gromit get love stricken while bakers are getting knocked off one by one.
THE EXTRAS
COMMENTARY (4 shorts; 1:55:56 total) - Nick Park, accompanied by various colleagues, talk over the start of Wallace and Gromit and all the techniques and influences that brought these these beloved animated icons to life. Can only be selected from "Setup."
FEATURETTES (4 featurettes; 1:00:06) - How they Donut: The Making of "A Matter of Loaf or Death" (20:20), "A Close Shave" How It Was Done (5:04), Inside the Wrong Trousers (24:19), and The Amazing Adventures of Wallace & Gromit (15:23). The first three featurettes each have to do with a specific short film and how they were made. The Amazing Adventures deals with everything that is Wallace & Gromit. From the earliest test screenings to the award-winning fame.
SCRAP BOOK (2 galleries; 23 photos total) - Choose between viewing six "Invention Blueprints" or 17 on-the-set photos and production stills. The obnoxious door creak soundbite aids every new photo that's turned to.
CRACKING CONTRAPTIONS (10 webisodes, 25:21 total) - Join Wallace and Gromit as they test out ten exciting and strange inventions that are sure to cause a mess of trouble. Sadly, just two of these webisodes were assisted by Nick Park; "Showmantron" and "Shopper 13." It's easy to notice how different the others are from the usual Wallace & Gromit style. The humor is laid on a little more thick, less dry, and many of the sound effects are more cartoonish and used excessively for every which prompt.
SHAUN THE SHEEP (7:05) - This is the pilot for the 7-minute episode series "Shaun the Sheep" titled "Off the Baa!" The show's plot is similar to that of Toy Story, Barnyard, or even Chicken Run. When the farmer isn't looking the sheep lower their guard and partake in silly games and nonsense. In the pilot, Shaun plays soccer with the heard using a head of cabbage that the neighboring pigs want to eat.
GAME DEMO - Sorry, folks. This game can only be played on a computer with a Blu-ray disc-drive. I can't even tell you the premise of the game or what engine it runs on. But let's get real. Who would even want to play it?
TRAILERS (3 trailers; 1:58 total) - Three DVD previews of HiT Entertainment releases. Two of which are presented before the Blu-ray's main menu first comes up. "Shaun the Sheep: Off the Baa!" (8-episode collection), "Thomas & Friends: The Great Discovery - The Movie", and yet another Thomas the Tank Engine movie "Hero of the Rails."
FEATURETTES (4 featurettes; 1:00:06) - How they Donut: The Making of "A Matter of Loaf or Death" (20:20), "A Close Shave" How It Was Done (5:04), Inside the Wrong Trousers (24:19), and The Amazing Adventures of Wallace & Gromit (15:23). The first three featurettes each have to do with a specific short film and how they were made. The Amazing Adventures deals with everything that is Wallace & Gromit. From the earliest test screenings to the award-winning fame.
SCRAP BOOK (2 galleries; 23 photos total) - Choose between viewing six "Invention Blueprints" or 17 on-the-set photos and production stills. The obnoxious door creak soundbite aids every new photo that's turned to.
CRACKING CONTRAPTIONS (10 webisodes, 25:21 total) - Join Wallace and Gromit as they test out ten exciting and strange inventions that are sure to cause a mess of trouble. Sadly, just two of these webisodes were assisted by Nick Park; "Showmantron" and "Shopper 13." It's easy to notice how different the others are from the usual Wallace & Gromit style. The humor is laid on a little more thick, less dry, and many of the sound effects are more cartoonish and used excessively for every which prompt.
SHAUN THE SHEEP (7:05) - This is the pilot for the 7-minute episode series "Shaun the Sheep" titled "Off the Baa!" The show's plot is similar to that of Toy Story, Barnyard, or even Chicken Run. When the farmer isn't looking the sheep lower their guard and partake in silly games and nonsense. In the pilot, Shaun plays soccer with the heard using a head of cabbage that the neighboring pigs want to eat.
GAME DEMO - Sorry, folks. This game can only be played on a computer with a Blu-ray disc-drive. I can't even tell you the premise of the game or what engine it runs on. But let's get real. Who would even want to play it?
TRAILERS (3 trailers; 1:58 total) - Three DVD previews of HiT Entertainment releases. Two of which are presented before the Blu-ray's main menu first comes up. "Shaun the Sheep: Off the Baa!" (8-episode collection), "Thomas & Friends: The Great Discovery - The Movie", and yet another Thomas the Tank Engine movie "Hero of the Rails."
THE VIDEO
Just from the opening HiT logo animation you can see how brilliant the picture quality is. All four shorts and all ten webisodes are presented in the highest quality with the greatest of care and handy work crafted into the restoration just as the creators of Wallace & Gromit have put into their animation.
Apart from a slight grain problem with "A Grand Day Out", all the shorts and webisodes are bright as day and cleaned-up to the point where you can see every ridged edge and fingerprint on each clay model.
"A Grand Day Out" and "The Wrong Trousers" are in there respective 1.33:1 full frame ratio, "A Close Shave" at 1.66:1 widescreen, and "A Matter of Loaf and Death" and "Cracking Contraptions" in a 1.78:1 widescreen presentation.
Apart from a slight grain problem with "A Grand Day Out", all the shorts and webisodes are bright as day and cleaned-up to the point where you can see every ridged edge and fingerprint on each clay model.
"A Grand Day Out" and "The Wrong Trousers" are in there respective 1.33:1 full frame ratio, "A Close Shave" at 1.66:1 widescreen, and "A Matter of Loaf and Death" and "Cracking Contraptions" in a 1.78:1 widescreen presentation.
THE AUDIO
Same as the picture quality, the sound is breathtaking. The music just on the main menu made it feel like an entire orchestra was playing in my living room.
English - 5.1 Dolby Digital / 5.1 PCM / 2.0 Stereo
English - 5.1 Dolby Digital / 5.1 PCM / 2.0 Stereo
THE PACKAGE
Eco-case; very basic packaging. Front is mostly blue with the two title stars and a film listing below. Back as well as the spine have different shades of orange with a background of lightly colored gears. Poster art for each film is present along with a brief description about the collection and a list of bonus features.
THE FINAL WORD
I approve of this set 100%. Everything a fan would want and more is included. Sure, there's a few shortcomings, but what Blu-ray or DVD doesn't have them? Can't wait for "World of Invention" to make its way out during this first quarter of 2012. Now if only "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" would get an Blu-ray release.
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Corey W.
Great review man!
1 year agoby @coreyFlag