Kung Fu Panda (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review - Page 3

[quote=FilmMixer;15040243]
Agreed. And, perhaps that is right, and as it should be (demand and expense). As most people that have BD (let alone HD or SD) do not have a 7.1 setup.


Perhaps "very little sonic difference" is the operational phrase. If you mean to state that there is no additional sound emanating from an -es or -ex track...fine. But then my lying ears are fooling me in Gladiator (and dozens of other well mastered -es or -ex films) that just WOW the heck out of me in certain scenes. I must say, there is not only an appreciable difference, but a substantial difference, when the horses start behind you in Gladiator (as they should ), then meet you, and then pass you as in a properly set up 7.1 system and with a well mastered -es or -ex audio track. It adds a whole new dimension to the theater experince. And isn't that what we're all doing here?

Whilst I agree that the -es/-ex market has become a niche, that is not to say there is not an appreciable difference (unless one's rear aural hemisphere is defunct). That is akin to stating that "very little sonic difference" between stereo and sacd...and on the surface, you may be correct. Until one forays into the rather complex world of aural hemispheres...and our unique listening preferences. I for one would appreciate more quality -es and -ex offerings (as well as sacd offerings). But I have digressed enough.

From the pure standpoint of wow factor, I was more mesmerized by Sleeping Beauty. I hit the pause button a little more often on that one!

Does that mean I wouldn't score KFP as high? Not really.

I bought this on DVD (instead of blu-ray), thinking that blu-ray would limit my son to watching this in the theater room (instead of his playroom, the car or the family room). I only have a blu-ray player in the theater room.

After seeing it on DVD and reading this review, I might have to buy the blu-ray version as well.

I thought the 5.1 track sounded great on DVD --- can't wait to hear it in dolby true hd.

I never implied there isn't audio in the rear channels... I think you misunderstood my comments, maybe.

The sound doesn't need to be discretely encoded with 7.1 for a sound to eminate behind you ... if you put a sound in both the LR and RR in mono, if played back thorugh a 7.1 matrix decoder, the sound will still come from behind you (the CS channel) and move up the wall.... you don't need discrete center surround tracks to do that if the tracks are prepared properly.

You don't need 4 discrete surround channels to achieve the effect or spatial movement...

I mixed the only film to ever have an overhead surround channel (even created a new format for it "Dolby Sonic Whole Overhead Surround")... I've had a bit of experience with surround tech... in addition to the overhead channel, we also had a full LS CS RS surround presentation using a matrixed surround payload. In home theater you are dealing with 4 channels on the same plane, and it is a much different animal than doing a Lt Rt extraction into L C R S (which causes steering issues due to the phase manipulation you have to do to get the S channel encoded into two...)

I stand by my statement that there is no appreciable difference in delivering the tracks discretely over matrix decoding them... if you can explain to me a situation where having 4 discrete rear channels will sound "appriciably" different than a decoded Lt/Rt surround pair, please let me know... I've yet to hear one.

I am watching the movie and all I can say is wow...what a nice transfer. Very impresive video and audio... The bass is fantastic...this is what high definition is all about...

Amazing reference material. Ralph, IMO, is spot on. When the credits were rolling, I was left grinning ear to ear. Amazing refernce sound...a must buy and should be on the top of lfe's list.

Am I the only one that thought Wall E was boring and the story line was missing something? Why does that movie get such good reviews? This movie IMO was far and above a better movie. I must be the only one .

FKP is great. But the story seems a little superficial and its mostly bright colors(literally and figuratively).

The story of WALL-E has so much more depth to it. And the storytelling part of it is without a doubt better than what the Dreamworks team offers. Not to mention the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous.

The best thing about WALL-E is that it encourages the audience to actually "think". Something most films don't do today.

BTW - If Dreamworks does make a sequel to Kung Fu Panda they better have a damn strong script. It's their best film so far and I don't want another Madagascar 2 or worse...a Shrek 3.

I thought Wall-E somewhat dull. THe idea of the fat / wasteful people seemed to lack imagination.

Watched Kung Fu last night.

Agree on the PQ (100)

The Audio .. While certainly reference, I noticed the audio somewhat lacking a bit in the first 1/2 of the film but comes on big and strong in the latter 1/2. But overall excellent!! Nice review, Ralph.

Wow...what a disc. I bought it (I can get away with purchasing animated titles as I claim they're for our daughter) after reading this wonderful review and was truly stunned by every aspect of it. Our jaws barely had time to reset after watching "Tinkerbell" before they dropped again for this.

I watched Shrek 3 a week before watching this one....Shrek 3 disappointed me....This one entertained me and like everyone else has already said it features fabulous image quality and excellent sound quality especially when the bass kicks in during the second half of the film....I didn't realise Dustin Hoffman did the voice of one of the main characters until i watched one of the extra's...He did a great job with his character.

Everyone seems to like Pixar movies except me....I much prefer Dreamworks animated titles and even Fox CGI animation with their Ice Age movies entertain me more than Pixar and the only Pixar film i really can say i enjoyed was A Bugs Life....Toy Story and it's sequel being just average for me...As in one watch and i don't wanna own it or see it ever again but with Kung Fu Panda i will watch again and enjoy.

The review is spot on although i'd give 99% because i don't think anything is ever perfect and something has to come along which will raise the bar for CGI animations but overall a very good review and i'm fussy and sometimes critizise reviews but praise where it is due and Ralph got it spot on this time.

No, you're not alone. As I posted before, this was the first time I've been disappointed by a Pixar movie. I thought Wall-E was somewhat un-interesting and slow, and even my niece and nephew who are about 9 and 10 years old thought it was trying too hard to be cutesy...and they were the audience all those (overdone) robot cutesy faces were geared towards.

Kung Fu Panda had a broader appeal, IMO. Plenty of action and humor for adults and children. While both movies made about the same domestically (Wall-E = $223M and KFP = $215M), there's a reason Kung Fu Panda made a lot more at the foreign box office (Wall-E = $262M, KFP = $416M).

Sure, Wall-E hasn't been released in Japan yet, but it sure isn't going to make $150M there. And while box office isn't always the best measure of quality, as we all know, I think those of us who thought Kung Fu Panda was better than Wall-E certainly aren't alone.

I didn't see KFP in theatres but decided to pick it up because of this review and my sons friends who said it was so good.

I got the BD yesterday (after searching since Sunday for it), and my 7 year old son, and 2 year old daughter and I watched the first half hour of it before bed time.

I was blown away. This is reference quality stuff. The story was great but the picture quality was amazing. I couldn't believe how good it all looked--especially the opening dream sequence. Can't wait to finish it, but it likely won't be tonight--Earl, the Office, 30 Rock night tonight.

I watch a lot of animation. Always loved cartoons and having kids lets me spend time with them, be in my theatre, and watch lots of 'toons. Three things I like very much. I saw previews for Panda on various discs and wanted to see it. I wasn't in much of a hurry to get it, but when I saw the 100 rating I ran out to Wally-world that night. Picked it up for $2 more than SD DVD! Now that's more like it! The whole family enjoyed it.

Wow, 100?! From one of the hardest graders I have ever seen, this movie must blow other out of the water. It looks like I'll be picking this one up with Wall-E!

I actually did not care for this film when I saw it in the theaters. The story is very formulaic, and the plot is strictly by the numbers.

But this disk is really amazing, and I actually enjoyed the film quite when watching it this time around.

If disks like this keep getting produced, people will hopefully begin to see what benefit these disks have over regular DVD.

FYI, I found this movie on Blu-Ray on sale at W****rt for $18. I look forward to comparing the video with my 1080UB to what I consider my other reference Blu-Rays, Cars and Ratatouille.

Dan

I agree that the video and audio is "reference" quality.

I had not read any reviews before watching KF last weekend. I rented it as I do most of my DVD's. I believe this is one that will be on my list to own!

A few months ago I upgraded one of my Blue Ray players connection path for True HD. Up until this movie, I have rarely been blown away by any real difference in the definition of the sound. Immediately, I was knocked off my seat when I heard this movie. After watching the entire movie, I put it into another player with Fiber optic connection and used the DD 5.1 in the receiver. Oh yeah! sounds average!
So here's the deal, many of these so called True HD blue ray movies don't seem to have much difference but this one doesn't fit that mold. Maybe it was the qualtity and quality of the subsonics on all channels but I know this, If you didn't hear a difference, maybe you need to examine your system.
Also, with all the discussion about this BD movie, I guess I was not hearing things afterall.

PQ was also nice but I would expect that from an animation. BTW- I'm not especially fond of animations either.

IMHO:

Ralph, I think you have this one nailed.

I bought this one partly because of the review. The picture quality is truly exquisite. definitely reference quality. The only thing I have that is comparable so far To me this disc does represent what HD should mean as far as optimal picture quality. It had a real depth to it.

As far as audio quality, definitely very good, but I don't have a great audio system so i can't make a judgement there.

The SD version of this movie looks sick on my Sammy 5084 thru the PS3, so I cant wait to see what its like on BD

I was not sure where else to "properly" put this question but it pertains to this movie in Blu Ray. I have a calibrated set, LN-T4053 Sammy that is great. I have always wondered however why animated films never looked the way I want a cartoon/animation to look with vivid colors, contrast etc.

Today I watched this movie in Blu Ray and it was impressive to say the least using my calibrate movie setting on a ps3. Out of curiousty I changed my tv setting to Dynamic just for kicks and I have to say, that with at least animations/cartoons in my opinion, the picture goes from awesome to to mind blowing. I tested this with Cars as well and again noticed how much better they looked with this setting.

Perhaps I have this vision as to how animated movies are to look but in my opinion and moving forward, I will continue to use Dynamic on just these types of movies. It was a surreal experience. I have never used that setting for over a year as it is terrible for movies and as everyone knows is just usually there to sell TV's in a showroom.

Does anyone else agree that this flick or others just look fantastic using Dynamic or even Standard when compared to your normal calibrated set?

Again was not sure where to post this as it is kind of calibration related but also pertaining to this movies quality. If this is in the wrong spot, could a mod please move to a more proper thread?

Thanks guys...

That is a great question, as I have wondered the same thing after watching KFP and also Ratatouille. I have never used the dynamic setting on my sammy 5084 because, quite honestly, I am scared to do so since everything ive read on here says never. I wonder though, does the would the dynamic setting be ok to use if the contrast and brightness were adjusted properly?

[quote=johndn;15047368]
Six-track as been virtually unchanged since the days of Todd-AO the only difference today is SDDS8 and that isn’t even used on wide scale like some might think.

5.1 is backward to 4:2:4 Dolby stereo or for those who only have stereo, then stereo is the norm in my opinion, mono is more or less phased out, you won’t see a mono TV in shop today, unless its second-hand store.

I haven’t played Gladiator in while “Leicester square, Gladiator”! LOL

Fonejacker - Odeon Leicester Square
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=lMw2Sil-lH8

The centre back surround will be constantly active the same as Dolby stereo all channels remain active! Discrete is different matter entirely some film mixes tend to mute the centre channel or the surrounds in different parts of the film. I could list a whole bunch and ways to make it fully active in the centre and surrounds.

Finally received will watch tonight.

Here is a copy and paste of my impressions from the audio tier thread. Ralph, you nailed this one PQ was the best I have seen of the animated titles (which is saying alot!).


Kung Fu Panda............. Reference

This was one of the most perfect tracks I have listened to and I now understand Ralphs 100 score. Having said that, I dont know how much I will use this for demo purposes just because it is more the whole movie that wows as far as the sound and not just one scene (allthough the escape scene I could see using as a demo....awesome!)

First off the LFE.....What I loved about the LFE in this movie is all the dif types of LFE sounds along with all the various volume levels it threw at you. It was not just loud to be loud....when it was LOUD it was appropriate and when it was subtle it was appropriate. Depending on the scene, the LFE ranged anywhere from very, very subtle to FOUNDATION SHAKING LOUD and everything inbetween. It was never overdone (which I dont mind), but was never underdone either. The LFE was extremely well done. There were definately quite a few moments that startled me with the chest pounding/house shaking power though!

Surround use was absolutely amazing. The rears were engaged the entire movie from the great action scenes to the quiet ambience type scenes. I had PLIIx engaged and the 360 degree soundfield was amazing. The speakers truly dissapeared and I had sounds coming from all over.


All other parts of the mix were just as good including dialog, dynamics, etc..... This is definately one of the best all around tracks I have ever listened to as there is nothing you can complain about. I was skeptical seeing Ralphs score especialy along with the other ref scores, but I agree on those opinions

100% expressed my sentiments!

The mix was appropriate to every moment of the film with amazing clarity!

Ralph,

Thanks for your review. I remember watching this in the theater and not being all that excited about it. However, I think this had to do with the fact that I was distracted. It seemed as if the subs weren't on, because there was virtually no bass whatsoever. I think this distracted me enough that I wasn't actually paying much attention to the movie. At any rate, your 100/100 score convinced me that it was worth picking it up to give it another shot. I just watched it with my family and it was a total blast. I completely agree with your review - PQ was amazing all the way through, and the audio mix was superb. Oh, and the story was quite entertaining as well. Keep up the great reviews, Ralph, and thanks again.

Stephen