Hi everybody. This is part 2 of my Coraline DVD review. Click here for part 1 of the Coraline DVD review. I finally got my act together to get this review worked out. It meant running a strange errand for a relative of mine in Japan to secure some extra technology, but what can I say? It needed to be done. That Russian mind-control bat espionage team will recover once they get a new mad scientist in, and it’s not really my fault. They attacked me first. As a result, however, I still haven’t had the time to enjoy all of the advanced features on the Blu-Ray Coraline DVD. Luckily I was able to check out the things that I actually cared about:
- The deleted scenes!
- How does Coraline look in 3D at home?
The Deleted Scenes from Coraline
One of my favorite things about DVDs is that they include deleted scenes. I actually like more deleted scenes than less, so I was a little disappointed with the deleted scenes on the Coraline DVD. There aren’t a whole lot of them. Also, with most of them, you can see why they didn’t make the cut. There is one of them, though, that is really amazing and beautiful, and must have been really painful for them to cut. It’s a bunch of mice that are flat and have been animated to weave around like they’re ribbons. Mice figure heavily into the the plot of Coraline, so it’s obvious why they made a scene like it.
The Coraline DVD 3D Experience
There has been a lot of controversy about the 3D on the Coraline DVDs ever since it was announced that they used an anaglyphic process. One news site even went so far as to declare “CORALINE DVD Will Offer Crappy 3D Experience”. Ever since I read that I’ve wanted to test it for myself. Today I watched several different parts of the movie in two different display formats, and I think using the word “Crappy” is just plain wrong. When the 3D version of Coraline starts, a little window comes up to tell you that you should give your eyes five minutes to adjust. Then the beginning credits begin, and before you know it everything has turned 3D. My friend agreed that the quality was better than we expected. (Don’t look so shocked. I have friends.) Here are some photos. Keep in mind that this is my camera operating under the worst possible conditions. One was shot from an LCD TV in the dark and the other shot from a screen with the image projected from an LCD projector.
As you can see here, there are kind of three separate images superimposed to make the complete image when viewed through the glasses that come with the Coraline DVDs. One image each for the purple and green, and then a third for the colors and shading. Some colors show up really well in the 3D. For example, everyone is flesh colored and that works great. Also Mr. Bobinsky is blue. Red and yellow also show well. It appears like anything white, green, or purple is going to have issues. Things that should be green or purple end up being gray or blue. Things that are white kind of shimmer between purple and green. Once you’ve watched the movie long enough, though, you don’t really notice it. We watched the Blu-Ray version on a 100 inch screen using an ancient home theater projector, in the dark. To be honest, I would expect the quality to be horrific on a small conventional TV in a lit room. However, I would expect the quality to be nice on an LCD HDTV as well.
For us, the Coraline DVD worked well enough in 3D that I think people will probably opt to watch it in 3D at home. It’s kind of fun!
THREE!!!
I don’t have much more to say about the movie. I just wanted to throw this picture in to show how Coraline’s Other Mother says the word three: With STYLE and VERVE. That is what I am talking about. By the way, did mention that the picture quality on the Blu-Ray DVDs is awesome? It is.
Finally, the winners for the Coraline Lenticular Cup giveaway have been chosen. Congratulations to Karen and Angela.
That’s it for tonight. I’m going to spend some time on other things. There are still a couple of days left on my Coraline NECA figurine giveaway, so sign up if you haven’t yet. Don’t forget to check out Coraline Central on Dark in the Dark.
Coraline on Amazon
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