Staff Review - The Grinch:The Collectors Edition (dts)

[Watcher]

COLUMBIA TRISTAR HOME ENTERTAINMENT

THE GRINCH:The Collectors Edition (dts)

Release Date: OUT NOW!.
COLUMBIA TRISTAR
Rating: PG

SPECIAL FEATURES AND SPECS …..

Original Widescreen presentation

4 behind-the -scenes featurettes on bringing the film to life with
visual effects, makeup and set design.

Never-before-seen deleted scenes and outtakes

Spotlight on location

'Wholiday Recipes

'Where are you Christmas?' music video performed by Faith Hill

'Max's Playhouse' - Includes read-a-long, sing-along and more

DVD-ROM features

THE GRINCH game trailer

Theatrical Trailer

Production Notes

Cast & Filmmakers notes

English language in Dolby Digital 5.1, English dts5.1.

Languages: Hungarian Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles: English/Greek/Hindi/Hebrew/Turkish/Danish/Swedish/Finnish/Norwegian/
Arabic/Dutch/Czech/Bulgarian/Hungarian/Polish/Icelandic

Aspect: 1.85:1 widescreen 16:9 enhanced.

Dual layer/ Single sided

Running Time: Approx 105 Mins.

Cast…
Jim Carrey(GRINCH), Taylor Momsen(Cindy Lou Who), Jeffrey Tambor(The Mayor)
Christine Baranski(Martha May Whovier), Bill Irwin(Lou Lou Who)
Molly Shannon(Betty Lou Who) and Narrated by Anthony Hopkins.


From the back cover….
"An Instant Classic."
-Jay Carr, The Boston Globe

The classic celebration of the spirit of the holidays comes home.
Acclaimed director Ron Howard, his longtime partner and producer Brian Grazer. plus Jim Carrey (as the Grinch) bring Dr Seuss' beloved tale to life in this adventure "that can make your heart grow three sizes - if your not laughing too hard!" (Steve Murray, Atlanta Journal-constitution).

With dazzling scenery and special effects, narration by Anthony Hopkins and Jim Carrey's own rendition of "You're a Mean One, Mr Grinch," this gift from the heart is a "holiday package the kids will embrace and parents will adore" (Phillip Wuntch, Dallas Morning News).

Audio/Visual….
THE GRINCH has two audio tracks. Dolby Digital 5.1 & dts 5.1
I chose to watch the entire feature in dts and then later spend a bit of time comparing it to the DD 5.1 option.
The DD 5.1 option is an excellent choice if you can't use the dts one and provides a very pleasant audio experience.
The dts option is the clear winner here if you are able to use this option.
All aspects of the audio track are pretty spot on with plenty of background noises to provide atmosphere as well as good use of speaker interaction with the front sound stage..
Speech, music and effects all come over very clearly and concise.

The Grinch has an aspect of 1.85:1 widescreen and is 16:9 enhanced.
I'd describe the video transfer of this movie as beautiful. There aren't any complaints here.
Colours are bright, clean and bold with reds, greens and white being stand out colours in this movie.
There will be no trouble getting the younger kids attention with all the bright colours and movement of them in this movie (not hard with a big green Grinch running around). Sets look fantastic with the clever use of various colour and lighting techniques.
The picture is very sharp and clear with very minimal grain, marks or blemishes.



Extra features…..

Spotlight on Location -
This 7.17 minute featurette covers casting of the main characters, creation of Whoville, Makeup,
Set design, costume design, computer graphics and more.
Most of these subjects are covered in more depth throughout the other special features but this segment gives the viewer a quick outline of the amount of time and effort that went into creating this movie.

Deleted scenes -
The 6 deleted scenes appear as one segment of 9.27 minutes. These deleted scenes cannot be selected individually but you can skip through them using your next chapter button.

Outtakes -
This is a 3.17-minute Gag Reel. It features missed lines,
Prop failures, minor accidents, Jim Carrey moments and more.

Who School -
In this segment which runs for just under 6 minutes
Stunt Coordinator Charles Croughwell, Producer Todd Hallowell, Ron Howard, Molly Shannon(Betty lou Who) and Bill Irwin (Lou Lou Who) talk about their Experiences at Who School. Who School was set up to help develop the Who characters.
How they walk, how they act, how they are in general.
The segment also talks about how Cirque de solell performers were used as extras in most of the scenes as they had the performance background and the ability to perform
the many stunts/tricks needed to become a Who.

Makeup Application and Design -
This extra feature which runs for just under 7 minutes has Special Makeup Effects designer Rick Baker, Director Ron Howard and Producer Brian Grazer talking about the makeup design and
Development for the GRINCH and the Whos.
Rick Baker, Makeup Artist Kazuhiro Tsuji and Jim Carrey also talk about the time consuming application of the makeup and more.

Seussian Set Decoration -
In this 5.16 minute segment Production Designer Michael Corenblith, Director Ron Howard, Set Director Meredith Boswell and Property Master Emily Ferry talk about the building and developing of the Whoville set.
Including the architecture of the buildings and the internal designs of the houses.
They talk about their task of trying to stick as close as possible to the Dr Seuss book while developing Whoville from a line drawing on a page to a 3D city.
Audrey Geisel (Dr Seuss's wife) also makes an appearance at the end of this segment.
This was a fantastic section that gives the viewer a look into the work that went into developing the awesome sets seen throughout this movie.

Visual Effects -
This is a 10.51 minute look into the Visual effects
of the movie. Visual Effects Supervisor Kevin Mack presents this segment and throughout he discusses such things as the creation of the opening sequence with the snowflake,
the creation of the Whoville set, and the use of computer graphics throughout the film.

Theatrical Trailer -
This trailer which runs for just over a minute is presented in widescreen with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio.

Wholiday Recipes -
3 recipes for holiday snacks.
Includes ingredients and instructions for each. The recipes are:
Martha Whovier's Designer Onion Wreaths
Cool Mt. Crumpit York Peppermint Pattie Brownies
Cindy Lou Who's Favourite Whobilicious HERSHEY'S Peanut Blossoms.

By the Numbers -
This is a single page of printed material which shows the number of various items used during filming including ornaments,
outfits, sound stages, props and more.

Production Notes -
This section which is a series of 24 screen shots as backgrounds with text details of the production. The production notes cover how the movie came about, the casting, the set design and much more.

Cast & Filmmakers -
Provides a biography and film credits for the main characters and filmmakers of the movie including Jim Carrey, Ron Howard and Anthony Hopkins.

DVD-ROM materials -
Includes interactive games, screen savers, wallpapers and additional information about the movie.

GRINCH Game Trailer -
1.11 minute trailer for the Grinch computer game.

Faith Hill "Where Are You Christmas?" Music Video -
Full screen, DD 2.0, 4:41 mins and includes clips from movie.

Max's Playhouse -
This is a kids section which includes games, rhymes, sing-a-long songs and a read-a long story. There is also a cool section that teaches the kids how to use the remote to navigate the games. Very cool section full of great fun for the kids.

Overall…..
The Grinch is a clever adaption of the classic Dr Seuss Christmas story "How The Grinch Stole Christmas". The story revolves around a young girl's quest to find the meaning of Christmas, which includes trying to bridge the gap between the people of "Whoville" and "The Grinch" who exiled himself from them many years before. Unfortunately, things don't go as planned and The Grinch takes his revenge by trying to ruin Christmas for everyone.
Love him or hate him, you cannot deny that Jim Carrey was meant for this role and nobody could come close to the fantastic performance that he gives. Carrey really does stand out in this movie and totally steals the show.
The DVD edition of The Grinch looks and sounds fantastic and is loaded with extra features that will keep both the young and old entertained for a good while longer.
I can't imagine kids losing interest in this movie (just ask my 2 year old daughter) and I'd recommend a purchase rather than rental when it comes to this DVD.
The Grinch is very entertaining for people of all ages and is easily worth every cent.

VIDEO QUALITY	9/10
AUDIO QUALITY	9/10
EXTRAS	8/10
THE MOVIE	9/10
OVERALL	9/10