BLU-RAY REVIEW

Cars 3D

Featured In Issue 181, November 2013

3D Picture5
Picture5
SoundNR
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):
111716
(MPAA Rating):
G
(Rating Reason):
All ages
(Retail Price):
$49.99
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
116
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A, B & C
(Theatrical Year):
2006
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
10/29/13
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
John Lasseter
(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 TrueHD 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, PCM 24/48 5.1
(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):

Lightning McQueen (Wilson) is one of the finest-looking young Cars on the racetrack, but the young hot rod has a thing or two to learn about team playing. When McQueen ends a race in a three-way tie, he is given one week to get to California to compete in the Piston Cup Championship. But while on Route 66 in the town of Radiator Springs, Lightning falls for a pretty little Porsche named Sally Carrera (Hunt) and discovers that there's more to life than winning a race. (Tricia Spears)

The Ultimate Collector's Edition includes a 3D Blu-ray Disc™, a Blu-ray Disc, a DVD, and a digital copy. Special features include the shorts Mater & The Ghostlight (HD 07:09) and the One Man Band (HD 04:33); an Epilogue (HD 04:20); Boundin' Cars (SD 00:46); a Movie Showcase; the Inspiration For Cars behind-the-scenes featurette (HD 16:02); five deleted scenes; the following "Documentary shorts": Radiator Springs (HD 05:25), Character Design (HD 06:06), Animation And Acting (HD 05:16), Real World Racing: Getting Geeky With The Details (HD 05:30), Hudson Hornet (HD 02:44), Graphics (HD 03:34), and Darrell Waltrip Museum Tour (HD 07:13); and sneak peeks. Under "Games" there is Cine-Explore and an interactive Carfinder game that gives you cool facts about the automobiles and allows you to search for the cars while watching the movie.

The re-mastered 2.39:1 MVC 3D picture 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 in the racing stadium and along the western Route 66 route. The depth perception is impressive, 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 incredibly 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 well defined, with razor-sharp clarity that reveals nuanced textures, whether rendered on cars, on intricate building facades, or in the depiction of western landscapes. The stretches of the Grand Canyon are perfectly rendered, to reveal every nuance. Detail is simply fantastic! Crosstalk ghosting artifacts are virtually nonexistent. The picture delivers one of the most impressive 3D presentations thus far released. Everything is more thrilling and exciting in 3D compared to the otherwise-excellent 2D presentation. The film is definitely better in 3D and elevates the storytelling and the visual impact dramatically. (Gary Reber)

The Dolby® TrueHD 5.1-channel soundtrack is very good, with well-placed images around the room and good pans. Side-wall images are crafted well, creating a fully immersive experience. Dialogue is directionalized around the room with respect to the subject's on- or off-screen position and sounds decently integrated spatially. When directionalized across the front stage, phantom imaging between loudspeaker positions is maintained. Dynamic range is impressive, and dialogue is recorded well. This is a fully immersive soundtrack that brings to life fun cars dressed as vehicles. (Gary Reber)