Who would have thought that a Lego animated film would be so cool? This CGI animated feature film, Lego’s first venture into a mainstream feature-length movie, is great for all ages; it contains an interesting story line, good characters, and amazing animation. If you have not been privy to the past stories of Bionicle, you should really jump in and explore Mask Of Light…
”Discover the latest chapter in this legendary story in an all-new CGI animated movie. It’s nonstop action as Jaller and his bes… friend Takua set off on their journey to find the 7th Toa, a mysterious guardian who will help protect their island home. With the guidance of the Mask of Light and the united strengths of the other six Toa, the brave companions must overcome the powerful Makuta and his menacing Rahkshi. They must prevail or the island of Mata Nui will be doomed to an eternity of darkness!” – Disney
Audio
This disc comes complete with DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio tracks… both of which are very good. The surround activity fills the soundstage nicely with precise left-right / front-back sound movement. The base is deep and powerful, and the dialog is well focused. I give a small edge to the DTS track which sounds a little more sonically full and detailed.
Video
As can be expected with a CGI animated feature, this disc looks great. The colors are vivid and the darks are deep. The 1.78:1anamorphic widescreen transfer is free from any defect (dust/debris/scratches)… creating a wonderful viewing experience. The only tiny flaw that I noticed is occasional edge enhancements that are not overly noticeable, and definitely not distracting.
Special Features
This disc has a nice supply of supplementary features…
- Audio Commentary: This track, featuring the voices and thoughts of Director’s David Molina and Terry Shakespeare, is quite good. This track is more for the adults then the kids watching this disc… since it focuses on not only the story, but also the making-of the film. You should give this track a listen.
- Making-Of Bionicle: This is an uninspired featurette that really does not touch much upon the making-of the film or DVD. Rather, you get a mish-mash of Bionicle clips, interviews, and a terrible narrative track. This featurette mainly talks about how the toys inspired the film.
- Mata-Nui Explorer: This semi-interactive map explains the villages of Mata Nui and the Toa’s who guard them.
- Wall of History: This pup-up text commentary teaches who the Bionicle characters are as they appear in the film. This text-track will help those who are not familiar with the story identify with the characters.
- Sneak Peek: Executive Produce Bob Thompson shares a few secrets about what to expect from the Bionicle sequel.
- Cutting Room Floor: A number of deleted scenes are included with optional director’s commentary. These scenes, as is always the case with cut scenes, are quite useless; but are still worth a watch.
- Lastly, this disc contains Storyboard-to-Film Comparisons, a Translation Chart of symbols described in the commentary, and a number of trailers.
Final Thoughts
This disc should really be checked out. The audio and video are very good, and the extras are quite good as well. It does not matter if you are young or old, you will still enjoy this film and DVD.
Special Features List
- Behind the scenes featurette
- “Mata Nui Explorer” insight on the characters
- Deleted scenes
- Audio Commentary
- “Wall of History” enhanced viewing mode
- Storyboard-to-film comparision
- Trailers and a sneak peek at the next storyline
Screenshots
