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Follow That Bird
Warner Bros. // G // April 2, 2002
List Price: $19.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Millions of children grew up watching "Sesame Street", a terrific television show that had a low-budget, but terrific characters that offered unforced lessons each weekday afternoon. Eventually, it became apparent to the show's creators that the characters could be opened up into a bigger world in a cinematic adventure and in 1985, audiences were presented with "Follow That Bird".
The picture revolves around the main character in the series, Big Bird. The giant yellow feathered friend has always found his home in Sesame Street, but the Feathered Friends Society has decided that Big Bird should be with his own kind instead of a mixture of characters from other backgrounds. Big Bird then packs up his possessions and heads to Ocean View, Illinois to join his new bird family. When it becomes apparent that things aren't going the way that he planned, he tries to find his way back to Sesame Street, but begins to realize the fact that the journey may not be so easy.
To give the adults some laughs, the film offers some cameos from stars like John Candy and Chevy Chase, but I still think that this is one of those movies where parents and children can both enjoy the film. The jokes and dialogue are fairly clever and the lessions included aren't forced upon the audience, but delivered in an enjoyable and fun way. It's not the greatest children's film, but it's more than satisfactory family entertainment.
The DVD
VIDEO: In a move that will dissapoint many, Warner Brothers has only included a full-frame transfer rather than a nice, new anamorphic widescreen presentation of the picture. As for the picture quality of this presentation, it's merely decent. Sharpness throughout the presentation is inconsistent, with some sequences appearing moderately softer than others.
Unfortunately, the flaws that are visible throughout are a bit more consistent. Slight-to-mild grain was present during the entire picture, as were some noticable specks and marks on the print use. A few slight traces of edge enhancement and pixelation were also seen. None of these flaws were hugely distracting, but they still took away from the viewing experience.
On a positive note, the film's bright color palette looked terrific. The bright yellow of Big Bird and the colors of the other characters remained vibrant and bold throughout, with no smearing or other flaws. While this certainly isn't an unwatchable presentation, it's really dissapointing that Warner Brothers didn't take a bit more time and offer up a stronger presentation in the film's original aspect ratio.
SOUND: The 2.0 soundtrack is certainly satisfactory, given the material. There's little going on besides the dialogue and music and both come through quite clearly.
MENUS: Some minor animation livens otherwise rather ordinary backgrounds.
EXTRAS: Trailer and direct-to-song access.
Final Thoughts: "Follow That Bird" is cute family entertainment that is often pretty amusing and enjoyable. The DVD is a dissapointment though, with very minimal supplements and no widescreen edition.
Millions of children grew up watching "Sesame Street", a terrific television show that had a low-budget, but terrific characters that offered unforced lessons each weekday afternoon. Eventually, it became apparent to the show's creators that the characters could be opened up into a bigger world in a cinematic adventure and in 1985, audiences were presented with "Follow That Bird".
The picture revolves around the main character in the series, Big Bird. The giant yellow feathered friend has always found his home in Sesame Street, but the Feathered Friends Society has decided that Big Bird should be with his own kind instead of a mixture of characters from other backgrounds. Big Bird then packs up his possessions and heads to Ocean View, Illinois to join his new bird family. When it becomes apparent that things aren't going the way that he planned, he tries to find his way back to Sesame Street, but begins to realize the fact that the journey may not be so easy.
To give the adults some laughs, the film offers some cameos from stars like John Candy and Chevy Chase, but I still think that this is one of those movies where parents and children can both enjoy the film. The jokes and dialogue are fairly clever and the lessions included aren't forced upon the audience, but delivered in an enjoyable and fun way. It's not the greatest children's film, but it's more than satisfactory family entertainment.
The DVD
VIDEO: In a move that will dissapoint many, Warner Brothers has only included a full-frame transfer rather than a nice, new anamorphic widescreen presentation of the picture. As for the picture quality of this presentation, it's merely decent. Sharpness throughout the presentation is inconsistent, with some sequences appearing moderately softer than others.
Unfortunately, the flaws that are visible throughout are a bit more consistent. Slight-to-mild grain was present during the entire picture, as were some noticable specks and marks on the print use. A few slight traces of edge enhancement and pixelation were also seen. None of these flaws were hugely distracting, but they still took away from the viewing experience.
On a positive note, the film's bright color palette looked terrific. The bright yellow of Big Bird and the colors of the other characters remained vibrant and bold throughout, with no smearing or other flaws. While this certainly isn't an unwatchable presentation, it's really dissapointing that Warner Brothers didn't take a bit more time and offer up a stronger presentation in the film's original aspect ratio.
SOUND: The 2.0 soundtrack is certainly satisfactory, given the material. There's little going on besides the dialogue and music and both come through quite clearly.
MENUS: Some minor animation livens otherwise rather ordinary backgrounds.
EXTRAS: Trailer and direct-to-song access.
Final Thoughts: "Follow That Bird" is cute family entertainment that is often pretty amusing and enjoyable. The DVD is a dissapointment though, with very minimal supplements and no widescreen edition.
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