Blu-ray Review: WALLACE & GROMIT'S WORLD OF INVENTION Is Wacky and Informative
Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention has arrived on Blu-ray and DVD from Lionsgate. I am ashamed to admit that this Blu-ray is one of the first times I've had an extensive interaction with Nick Park's amazing claymation. I grew up watching the Christmas specials featuring claymation, but this animated adventure is worlds beyond. The six-part TV series from Aardman Animation follows beloved British inventor Wallace and his loyal friend Gromit and is the first new piece of animation since the Oscar nominated short film, A Matter of Loaf & Death.
I have always loved the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC, and love learning about inventions. This series is perfect for me, because there are some crazy projects in this series. I can not think of better hosts than Wallace & Gromit. The six episodes are comprised of, "Nature Knows Best", "Reach for the Sky", "Home Sweet Home", "Come to Your Senses", "Better Safe Than Sorry" and "From A to Z". Each episode is only 30 minutes long and mixes live-action and claymation. The inventions are really insane, which is cool. My favorite has to be the homemade jet-pack and the invisibility cloak. Other inventions include an insect-powered clock, bumblebee bomb detection, a miniature submarine, among others.
The claymation is superb, It amazed me how much time and skill went into crafting this film. World of Invention looks and sounds fantastic on Blu-ray. The disc has sweet 1080p digital transfer and a 5.1 master audio. The animated portion has a much better look and sound than the live-action footage, but that is to be expected with some of the low-quality video of the inventions.
The disc includes some decent bonus features. There are six clips under the title of "Your World of Invention", which are 38 minutes long. The clips give audiences the chance to get in on the action and create their very own invention. Audiences can see how a "Wind-Powered Sprinkler", "Air Rocket", "Spy Camera" and "Upside-Down-O-Scope" are made. I have always loved gadgets and especially spy gadgets, so I loved seeing the spy cam made. Unfortunately the disc does not have any behind-the-scenes video, but the bonus features above make up for it.
World of Invention is a perfect purchase for fans of the quirky characters, as well as newbies like me. I can not praise the animation enough. Audiences of all ages will enjoy the mix of wacky and information. I recommend picking the Blu-ray version up today!
