The Plot:
Over 200 years ago, a desperate, dying Earth decided that an emergency plan had to be implemented. So scientists developed the underground city of Ember, utilizing a massive generator and an available water source to keep mankind from becoming totally extinct. Now, two centuries later, the city itself is falling apart, the attempts at repairing the power source failing left and right. When adolescents Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow attend the right of passage known as Job Assignment Day, they each hope for a brighter future. He wants to work in the generator. She just wants to help her fragile community. Both soon uncover a conspiracy to keep the citizens of Ember uninformed about their failing infrastructure, and together with Lina's baby sister Poppy, and some help from old timer Sol, they may have found the key to saving the populace - and giving everyone a chance to return to the surface once again.

The DVD:
Gil Kenan deserves better. First, his fantastic CG fantasy Monster House gets released in the Summer of 2006, in complete contrast to the film's Halloween perfected sentiments. It was a Fall movie from beginning to end and yet some unsound studio marketing tips determined that July would suit the shivers better. Right. Then he goes after the complicated Books of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, revolving around the end of the world, an underground city, a multipart mythos, and the adolescent heroes who attempt the save their failing homeland. Aimed squarely at a demo made up of book lovers, geeks, and the more intelligent in the underage set, Kenan did his best Comic-Con pimping. There was even a period train tour to San Diego for the effort. And yet again, there were no ticket takers. City of Ember didn't survive. Instead, it slowly disappeared into the quagmire Hollywood considers as viable kid-friendly entertainment. This includes the horrifically unfunny Madagascar movies, the lame as lunch loaf Spiderwick Chronicles, and any number of Harry Potter wannabe franchise rip-offs. Like Jon Favreau's fantastic Zathura before it, it got a reactionary raw deal.

This film clearly suffers from a creative case of "what more do you want?" Kenan generates a unique and impressive looking world, one where the fictional rules and regulations never violate our inherent understanding of how things are supposed to work. The characters are convincing without being unduly stylized or simpering, and elements which may seem outlandish - oversized moths, mammoth moles - are used with care and consideration. There's even an intriguing amalgamation of production designs, from the pseudo art deco dimensions of Ember itself, to the wonderfully old school physical effects utilized to execute the water rapids finale. Yet perhaps all these factors cause Kenan's conceptualization to become clouded, especially in the eyes of individuals who like their speculative storylines spoon-fed to them. The digital babysitter bunch doesn't want homages to celluloid glories past. They don't cotton to intricate narrative threads, unexplained subtext, and an overall feeling of actual adventure. City of Ember is not a safe, stick-it-in-the-machine-and-walk-away title destined to keep brain-addled babies at bay for 90 parental repast minutes. Instead, this is an actual movie, made up of actual ideas.

Perhaps DVD is where most of these impressive if ill-considered efforts belong. Tinsel Town has micromanaged the movies down to such a specific marketing science that something as awful as Fly Me to the Moon or Space Chimps can make back some of its budget. Yet City of Ember is so much better than these marginal releases, pulsating with invention and outright originality that to argue for its lack of success seems insane. The acting by the young performers, including Oscar nominee (for Atonement) Saoirse Ronan, is marvelous, and the casting argues for something more substantial than your average kid flick - even with Bill Murray as an indirect bureaucratic bad guy. Where else would you find Tim Robbins, Toby Jones, Martin Landau, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste in one intriguing company? In the end, some considerations are hard to fathom. Certain movies make millions, while others more deserving go unnoticed and unacknowledged. As Kenan moves onto his next project, as Monster House secures its seasonal place in the October 31st rotation, there will be those who suddenly discover the innate pleasures of City of Ember and wonder why they missed it the first time around. The answer is as obvious as it is regrettable.

The Video:
Presented by Fox in every critic's favorite "Screening Only" review copy format (complete with random logo placement), it's hard to comment on the image here. The transfer offered is impressive, but then again, it's not final product. In the theatrical release, the different between the occasional computer generated material and the old school physical effects was not all that obvious. On screener DVD, you can tell when miniatures and other faked elements are used. Still, the 2.35:1 anamorphic image is colorful and clean. What it looks like once the disc hits shelves on January 20th is anyone's guess.

The Audio:
Though information indicates that this screener provides all the necessary sonic situations of the final Fox packaging, this critic will again reserve judgment. The Dolby Digital 5.1 offered was good. The back channels come alive whenever the action starts up (especially during the water turbine sequence), and there are some nicely ambient moments of underground subsistence. The rest of the time, the speakers hardly spark. The musical score is fine, however, and the dialogue is easily discernible.

The Extras:
Sadly, there is not a single viable bit of added content offered here. We get trailers for three other age-appropriate titles, and that's it. No commentary from Kenan. No look at the movie's making. No attempt to address the books upon which the film was based. Just as close to bare bones as one can get without actually providing nothing. Again, this was a screener, but here's betting Fox's faith in the movie will be matched by the extras (or lack thereof) it offers in the end.

Final Thoughts:
A movie like City of Ember stands as a difficult decision for a critic. Since most film reviewing is based solely on opinion, one man's classic is bound to be one viewer's crap. Still, it's hard to see what audiences disliked about this broad in scope, sweeping in vision effort. It easily earns a Highly Recommended rating, and hopefully we go down as one of 2008's forgotten gems. As further examples of cinematic stasis keep stinking up local multiplexes, it's clear that audiences aren't always enamored of the below-average offering (we're looking at you Delgo). Still, something like the failure of City of Ember definitely gives one pause for reflection. There is nothing wrong with Gil Kenan's imagination, execution, or the end result. Why the marketplace failed to connect with the material will remain a subject for studios to ponder before the next attempt at matching a successful franchise's financial mantle comes to pass.

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