What can I say? I love 3D! From the moment I began watching 3D content in my home I quickly discovered that I needed more content. I suspect that those of you just purchasing your first 3D hardware will acquire the same ferocious appetite. That's why I became the HTF 3D ADDICT. I personally love images that pop off the screen and come inches away from your face without becoming overly gimmicky. However, I certainly appreciate the nature documentaries that offer beautiful depth and separation. These are not necessarily reviews of the film themselves. I am not going to concentrate on story or supplements -- you can find the 2D reviews elsewhere on this forum. My job is to let you know exactly what kind of 3D experience to expect from the titles that are being released. As I will be receiving a handful of new product from the studios expect to see more title coverage.
Cats & Dogs
The Revenge of Kitty Galore 3D
Studio: Warner Bros.
Product Release: November 16, 2010
Ratio: 1.85:1
Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1; French Dolby Digital 5.1
Running Time: 82 Minutes
Rating: PG
ON A SCALE 0-5
Overall 3D Presentation Rating: 4
3D Separation: 4
3D In Yo' Face Factor: 1
This is not typically my kind of fare. As an adult,
I normally wouldn't opt to sit through a film about
talking animals speaking to each other through the
magic of CGI. That being said, as someone who
went into this blindly without having any prior
knowledge of the previous Cats & Dog films, I have
to admit that I had a few chuckles here and there
while being mildly entertained (but don't tell that
to the guys I work with).
Cats & Dogs The Revenge of Kitty Galore is a
light-hearted spoof of James Bond and buddy
cop films. In this sequel the two opposing sides
come together to rid the world of Kitty Galore
(voiced by Bette Midler) who is hell bent on
dominating the world with a doomsday weapon.
The film itself seems to be made of the kind
of stuff perfect for family viewing. Nothing keeps
kids glued to the screen than talking animals.
Most of the jokes are very juvenile -- I mean who
doesn't love humor about butt-sniffing. At the
same time adults will appreciate the many jokes
and film references that will completely sail over
the kid's heads such as the nods to James Bond
and even Hannibal Lector.
Cats & Dogs The Revenge of Kitty Galore is one
of those titles that was upconverted from 2D to
3D. This means that it wasn't originally lensed
for the format and generally won't look as polished
as those that films that are. In general, I think
that the 3D image looks pretty darn good here.
Shot in the city of San Francisco there are some
stunning 3D location shots of the city and Alcatraz.
Everything looks a lot like paper cut-outs with
characters being distinctly separated from the
background. Really loved the sequence at Meows
hideout where there were rows of cats situated on
pedestals of varying height that gave a really neat
illusion of depth.
Unfortunately ghosting manages to rear its ugly
head though far less here than in The Polar Express.
Look at the huge satellite dish at the opening of the
film or the credits in the James Bond-like title
sequence to see double-imaging. The effects scenes
are most susceptible to ghosting (such as a jet pack
chase sequence) while the live action footage remains
razor sharp.
One image oddity involves an entire scene involving
hip cats strung out on catnip inside a house. The entire
scene is slightly blurred which comes across as odd.
Perhaps because the film was upconverted to 3D there
aren't any "In Yo' Face" moments. It's a shame because
there's a lot of cool things that fly into the screen that you
would hope would come at you now and then, but instead
it just hits that 4th wall. Once in a while a dog's nose
protrudes outwards but for a kid's film you would hope
for more -- and so would the kids.
Audio is just fine and dandy here. Very robust DTS-HD
which is mostly front heavy with the usual amount of
effect noise in the rears.
There is an included Looney Tunes Roadrunner cartoon,
Coyote Falls, presented in 3D. It's rather short at 2m40s,
but enjoyable. It's kind of neat to see a Roadrunner cartoon
in 3D but outside of the expected image separation there aren't
any WOW moments to be had here -- just a few chuckles.
The Blu-ray arrives packaged with a standard and Digital Copy
DVD. All of it is packaged in a beautiful lenticular slipcase.
CONCLUSION
Anyone who is considering Cats & Dogs The Revenge of
Kitty Galore are doing so for their kids. So, I have to
kind of look at this film through their eyes.
Kids will love the film. The 3D? I think they will
appreciate the added depth, but there isn't anything of
WOW value here such as things popping off the screen.
For adults, you may be bothered by the occasional
ghosting and scenes that are oddly blurred.
It's recent crops of films like these that tell me either
the format isn't perfected yet or the studio(s) aren't
putting enough quality control into making certain that
they look perfect.
Equipment
LG 60PX950 THX Certified 3D display
LG BX580 3D Blu-ray Player
Denon 3808CI Receiver
Atlantic Technology H-PAS AT-1 fronts, 4400 center; 4200 rear speakers
SV Sound Subwoofer
