BLU-RAY REVIEW

Cars 2 3D

Featured In Issue 161, November 2011

3D Picture5
Picture5
Sound5
WSR Score4
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
Walt Disney Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
107929
(MPAA Rating):
G
(Rating Reason):
(Retail Price):
$49.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
106
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A, B & C
(Theatrical Year):
2011
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
11/01/11
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
John Lasseter & Brad Lewis
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
Dolby Digital Surround EX, DTS HD Lossless 7.1
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(French Language):
(Spanish Language):
(Chinese Language):
(Subtitles):
(Cantonese Language):
(Mandarin Language):
(Japanese Language):
(Italian Language):
(German Language):
(Portuguese Language):

In Cars 2, star race car Lightning McQueen (Wilson) and his pal Mater (Larry The Cable Guy) head overseas to compete in the World Grand Prix race. But the road to the championship becomes rocky as Mater gets caught up in an intriguing adventure of his own: international espionage. (Gary Reber)

Special features on Disc One of the Blu-ray Disc include director commentary; the Hawaiian Vacation short (HD 05:53); a Cars Toon: Air Mater, which is also on the 3D Disc (HD 05:25); sneak peeks; and up-front ads. The second Blu-ray Disc is a bonus disc that offers the following special features: an interactive world tour where you can choose your own adventure with interactive access to deleted scenes, documentaries, animation, and more from different locations in the movie. "The Pacific" includes Somewhere In The Pacific (HD 03:34), Making Lemon-Aides (HD 04:02), "Oil Derrick Set Exploration" (HD 00:22 ), and an art slideshow. "Emeryville, USA" includes Motorama (HD 07:40), He Lives! Making The Finn McMissile Toy (HD 03:48), Animation Pit Stop (HD 04:17), the U.S. domestic teaser, and the U.S. domestic trailer. "Radiator Springs, USA" includes a "Tall Tale" deleted scene (HD 03:35), The Origins Of "Cars 2" (HD 06:04), "Radiator Springs Set Exploration" (HD 00:30), and an art slideshow. "London, England" offers Brawl At Big Bentley (HD 05:28), Spyified (HD 06:27), Spy Training: London (HD 00:47), "Big Bentley Set Exploration" (HD 00:12), "Tower Bridge Set Exploration" (HD 00:09), "The London Eye Set Exploration" (HD 00:17), "Buckingham Palace Set Exploration" (HD 00:12), the UK trailer, and an art slideshow. "Paris, France" includes a "Paris Race" deleted scene (HD 06:00), Streets Of Paris (HD 04:32), Spy Training: Paris (HD 00:43), "Arc De Triomphe Set Exploration" (HD 00:17), "Eiffel Tower Set Exploration" (HD 00:12), "Paris Market Set Exploration" (HD 00:19), and an art slideshow. "Munich, Germany" includes a "Germany" deleted scene (HD 02:37), an "Oktoberfest" deleted scene (HD 04:23), Mater-Hosen (HD 00:10), the German trailer, and an art slideshow. "Prague, Czech Republic" includes the "Prague Chase" alternate opening (SD 02:58) and an art slideshow. "Porto Corsa, Italy" offers Finding Porto Corsa (HD 07:32), The Heart Of Italy (HD 04:16), International Insurance (HD 00:17), "Uncle Topolino's Square Set Exploration" (HD 00:17), "Porto Corsa Set Exploration" (HD 00:19), and an art slideshow. "Tokyo, Japan" includes the "Tokyo Race, Lap One" extended scene with optional filmmaker commentary (HD 03:04), Mater Takes Tokyo (HD 04:54), Many Nations, One Race (HD 07:07), Spy Training: Tokyo (HD 00:43), the Japanese trailer, "Museum Set Exploration" (HD 00:12), and an art slideshow. Also included are two easter eggs (HD 01:02) and (HD 00:48) and a sneak peek at The Nuts & Bolts Of Cars Land (HD 06:47). The five-disc set includes the 3-D version, the Blu-ray, a Blu-ray bonus material disc, the DVD, and a digital copy of the film.

Theatrically released in D-Cinema 3D and IMAX DMR 70 mm blowup dual-strip 3D, the 2.39:1 1080p MVC picture is terrific! The 3-D rendering is perfect, with exceptional depth perception and perspective. The motion of the cars in 3D is a lot of fun, often with the cars projecting out of the screen. The action is virtually non-stop, with impressive 3D extending from the foreground to the background, even in wide shots of showing cars and buildings at locales in Japan, Italy, England and other countries. The depth perception is amazing, with a seemingly perfect rendering of perspective and separation between cars and environments. While the primary visual focus is a positive parallax viewpoint, there are instances in which negative parallax out-of-screen action is effective and enhances the experience. The 3D is simply mesmerizing! Picture quality, in terms of color fidelity and contrast, is excellent with nicely saturated bold and vivid hues and deep, solid blacks with revealing shadow delineation. Resolution is exceptional, with razor-sharp clarity that reveals nuanced textures, whether rendered on cars or on intricate building facades. Even the stretches of the World Grand Prix are perfectly rendered, to reveal every nuance. Detail is simply fantastic! Crosstalk ghosting artifacts are virtually non-existent. The bottom line is that the picture delivers one of the most impressive 3-D presentations thus far. Everything is more thrilling and exciting in 3D compared to the otherwise-excellent 2-D presentation. The film is definitely better in 3D and elevates the storytelling and the visual impact
dramatically. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel soundtrack is an impressive production. Dialogue is nicely integrated with the animation, with at times, an excellent sense of perspective and spatial depth. Michael Giacchino's music score is energetic throughout, with excellent dynamics and spatial dimension, both across the frontal soundstage and within the enveloping qualities of the soundfield. There are instances of Bernie Dresel's exceptional drumming, which excitingly propels the action and effectively cuts through the multi-layered sonics. The surround field is constantly energized, with the added 90-degree channels perfectly enhancing the sense of holosonic® dimensional depth and envelopment. The atmospherics and sound effects sound real and add to the thrills. The sound of roaring engines and explosions is enhanced with an active .1 LFE channel that, at times, extends to sub-25 Hz frequencies. There is so much diversity of sound and the races sound exciting and dynamic. This is an excellent soundtrack experience that delivers a lot of excitement. (Gary Reber)