TanjBennett

I bought the DVD on a whim on sight - I've read a lot of Terry Pratchett and had never heard any of his stuff was made into a movie. I did not remember much about this one as a book. Well, the film was a delight. Susan is to die for, and Teatime is spellbinding. Indeed, that is the strength - there is some excellent acting, sympathetic to the book. The visuals are quite theatric - the special effects are not whiz bang, they feel more like part of the theater set - and the whole thing has a very human feel. The film is not quite like a book but it has charm and quirk and feels compatible with Pratchett. Overall I'm very glad I found this and enjoyed it. I wonder if they will do some more Pratchett? This proves that it transfers to screen.

Colors are vivid, picture is clear, the score is average stereo, and the dialog is mostly forward and clear - all as you would expect from a made for TV two part special mastered in HD.

Yes, it is a nice story. No, I can't say it was wonderfully inspiring. The introduction to Ed's past life was touching and a cut above. The rest was pretty average "let's tell kids an story with some adventure and a moral". Yep, a good script. Not one I have any desire to see a second time.

The quality of animation was fine, good artwork, Pixar very well done.

Except for the 3D. It came in and out of use. Sometimes it seemed to have been drawn in layers. When there was motion, things got blurry and horrible, even worse than regular cinema. Yes, points for not giving us vertigo like some 30 year old drive-in. But other than that, this was just light years behind Monsters vs. Aliens in technical quality. Watching Up after seeing MvA was a bit like watching old NTSC TV on an old tube after having seen HDTV on a modern flat-screen. What were you thinking, Disney? This is not the future of cinema. I have to knock a full 2 points off for the terrible misuse of technology. Folks, don't go away thinking this is all 3D can do.

Story, well a simple fun story. No deep attempt to moralize or philosophize, but enjoyable. Its a cartoon, OK? And the running time is not too long. Plenty of nice animation, good visual and dialog jokes. Might even be fun to watch a second time, though not if I have to pay for it.

What is outstanding is the IMAX 3D. Head and shoulders better than what Disney did for Up. The IMAX version has a fast frame rate and electronic glasses which shutter each eye in sync with the film. The content is also rendered totally in 3D. So, things never feel layered. Motion scenes - and there are lots of action scenes - are stable and clear, better than ordinary cinema (they really do need to stop showing films at just 24 frames per second). So the 3D is immersive. You can sense things in the far distance as well as quite close. This is definitely how 3D should be done, and I give a 1 point bonus on my rating simply because this is a showcase for 3D done right and both audience and other film makers should raise their sights on 3D to meet or beat this quality level. It is a milestone.

And a fun one.