The Good
A very well done animated movie that shows size is unimportant when you believe in yourself.
The Bad
Occasionally, parts of this movie seemed thrown together for sentimental purposes.
This new Disney offering seemed to soar into theaters and then soar out without making any real impression on the box office or anyone else for that matter. This cute tale of Valiant his buddies who go on fun filled adventures, is nothing if not a heartwarming exercise in teamwork and not being held back by your size or surroundings. The fact that this movie is also dealing with animals probably accounts for it’s ability to mimic human behavior, while at the same time commenting on the bird form.
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While we have seen this tale a thousand times before, Ewan McGregor, Ricky Gervais, Tim Curry and the rest of the cast really infuse these animated characters with distinctive voices and qualities. Perhaps the theatergoing marketplace was too crowded, but thankfully DVD will give audiences a chance to discover what a fine film Valiant really is.
Features
Bloopers and Training Challenge Game
Okay, not to be a purist or anything but other than technical mistakes that happen while creating the scenes, these are the only real Bloopers one can get while working within this medium. These are fun to watch and they will surely make kids laugh, but they really aren’t bloopers in the practical use of the term. The Training Challenge Game is multilevel experience in which you use your remote to guide the birds through different challenges. As you go from one level to the next, the challenge of each game increases exponentially. Fun stuff, not really for hardcore gamers but that’s probably not who it’s intended for.
Video
Widescreen - 1.85:1 - Enhanced for 16x9 Televisions. The look of this movie is really extraordinary. All the birds look so detailed and fully formed. I was also quite impressed with how the backgrounds looked. So much of this film looks incredibly real, even though the look of the birds has been heightened to create the 3-D effect. Also, the way they use colors to individually define each bird, goes a long way toward making this film look like something we have never seen on screen before.
Audio
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. French and Spanish Language Tracks. The soundtrack is fairly standard for an animated movie. This was really the only thing that didn’t stand out, but perhaps after watching so many animated movies with soundtracks that add so much to each film, maybe I have set the bar too high in terms of what has to impress me? It isn’t that the sound on Valiant is bad, I just didn’t notice anything about it that particularly grabbed me.
Package
The front cover features all the characters from the film with our main one using his feathers to give us the “peace” sign. If you take one glance at the picture (after having seen the film), you will easily see how each rendering displayed really captures that particular character’s personality. I especially love the mice in the background. There are just two shots from the movie on the back, as well as a description of the film, a “Movies, Magic & More”/Technical specs section and a cast list. The design on this box is colorful and unique and should certainly capture the eyes of parents and children alike.
Final Word
Thank goodness they have grabbed Rik Mayall for this movie! Who can forget the character of Rik that he played in The Young Ones? This man is so talented, so bitingly funny that he reminds me of a British Larry David. As I mentioned above, the whole cast is really good, but I was just very happy to hear Rik’s voice and see that he is still working in some capacity. Also, there is just something intrinsically special about animating birds. Their almost ballet-like movements lend themselves perfectly to the art of animation.
Valiant is a time worn tale told well! Good work Disney!
