The Film
Long before Pixar introduced us to the adventures of Buzz and Woody, Aardman Animation was cranking out the adventures of a different duo known as Wallace and Gromit.
Wallace is a man, who loves his cheese, his inventions, and his dog Gromit. Both are stop-motion creations, with a huge following and even multiple Academy Awards. So fans were probably frothing to hear that Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention was coming to Blu-ray.
Now, here comes the sadness: Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention is not another installment in the Wallace & Gromit film series. It's actually a weird little science show that aired on the BBC back in 2010. In fact, the two characters are barely present. The show is mainly narrated by actress Ashley Jensen (Extras, Ugly Betty), with Wallace and Gromit providing blink-and-you'll-miss-it bumpers in between each of the segments.
The big connection between the two seems to be Wallace and Gromit's love of man-made contraptions, which is the bulk of the show's subject matter. Series topics include insect-powered machines and other animal-inspired inventions, an invisibility cloak, injector seats, methods of transport, and other cool contraptions.
All six 30-minute episodes that were created are present here. It's certainly delves into some very cool, very unique science topics. It just doesn't have a whole lot of Wallace and Gromit. As long as you're cool with that, you should enjoy the series -- and maybe even learn a thing or two.
The Picture
The World of Invention features a variety of source material, so this 1.78:1 transfer is a bit of a mixed bag. There's nothing that will have you throwing things at the screen, but the documentary portions do run the gamut between horrible and pretty darn cool. The parts with W&G are fairly sharp, but aren't as nice looking as the duo's theatrical efforts. That said, they are pretty fleeting.
The Sound
Lionsgate released Wallace and Gromit's World of Invention with a lone DTS-HD Master Audio track. It's a front-centric affair, which is sort of a bummer, considering the subject matter. Of course, dialogue is the main focus, but there are some very cool items displayed -- ones that should be emitting much better sound. This is where W&G gets the chance to shine a bit more, as the animated segments do offer a noticeably bigger bass punch and overall surround sound.
The Extras
Don't expect Wallace and Gromit to be hanging out in this section. That said, there are some cool little tidbits in the long extra, "Your World of Invention." In about 38 minutes, you'll learn to make six interesting contraptions, including a spy camera, an air rocket, and an "upside-down-o-scope." Just a warning, though: None of the projects are really connected to the series and they definitely aren't for kids of all ages -- or all skill levels. Still, it's a neat little extra and will be appreciated by the people that can appreciate the show's content.
Final Thoughts
Kids and frothing W&G fans will be disappointed at the lack of the duo in Wallace & Gromits World of Invention. The characters are merely a segue into the show's various segments. It's still a neat little science show, though. It covers a lot of weird items that you wouldn't normally see while flipping past the Discovery Channel. Just don't expect the Chicken Run set to sit too long for this one.
Product Details
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