JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH on Blu-ray and DVD, a new Tinker Bell adventure from Disney on Blu-ray and DVD, plus MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 celebrates 20 years and THE POLAR EXPRESS is re-released in 3-D on Blu-ray and DVD.
JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH on DVD and Blu-ray
Brendan Fraser stars in this action-packed adventure based on the Jules Vern classic from Warner Home Video. On a hunch to find the center of the earth, Trevor Anderson (Fraser), his nephew and their tour guide make a breakthrough discovery that launches them on a thrilling journey into the unknown. On a scramble to find their way back, the group travels through a never-before-seen world encountering creatures and objects never imagined. Whether in 3D with glasses or in 2D , get close to the action, engage your sense of wonder, and take your own journey to the center of the earth.
For Eric Brevig's remake
JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH , not only is it chock full of vfx but it also represents the first big live-action test case for 3-D.
There are virtual environments, fully CG creatures, atmospheric effects, water simulations, set extensions, digital doubles and complex live-action integration. As for the stereoscopic impact, for those fortunate enough to catch it in digital 3-D, the vfx team found it extremely challenging.
No less than five visual effects firms worked on the production. All five -- Meteor Studios (now defunct), Hybride (now sold to Ubisoft), Frantic Films, Mokko and Rodeo FX -- did CG environments, complex simulation work and stereo compositing. In addition, Meteor did CG creatures (the dinosaur). Hybride also did flowing water (river) and lava creatures (carnivorous plants, glowing bird and dandelions). Frantic Films did water (ocean) and lava creatures (flying fish, water dinosaur).
Coordinating their efforts and overseeing all the visual effects work on the film was a monumental task, one handled quite capably by Chris Townsend. Working hand-in-hand with Brevig (the vfx supervisor turned director), was Chris Townsend, the overall visual effects supervisor, to ensure that all the effects synced up in a stereo format.
"Everything had to work in stereo," Townsend stated. "All the tricks we are so used to using in the world of feature film visual effects in a mono world, had to be reconsidered." That proved to be, as one might expect, the most challenging aspect of the production.
Special Features Include:
--Commentary by Brendan Fraser and Director Eric Brevig
--A World Within Our World: Various Historical "Hollow Earth Theories"
--About What Lies Beneath Our Planets Crust
--Being Josh: Profiling 12-Year-Old Co-Star Josh Hutcherson
--How to Make Dinosaur Drool
--Adventure at the Center of the Earth Challenge
TINKER BELL on DVD and Blu-ray
For the first time in history, Tinker Bell, one of the world's most beloved animated characters, will speak in an all-new original film that reveals many of life's wondrous mysteries of nature. From the storytellers at Walt Disney Pictures, comes a spectacular, full-length CG animated movie filled with magic and adventure. TINKER BELL takes flight on October 28, 2008 with a treasure trove of captivating bonus features on Disney DVD and Blu-ray.
Introducing extraordinary new characters, TINKER BELL is enhanced by an impressive voice cast widely acclaimed for performances on stage and screen. Mae Whitman (INDEPENDENCE DAY, ONE FINE DAY) gives Tinker Bell her first true voice, and Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner America Ferrera (UGLY BETTY) provides the voice of the mischievous Fawn, an animal fairy. Five-time Image Award honoree Raven-Symone (COLLEGE ROAD TRIP) fills the illuminating role of Iridessa, a light fairy; Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth (PUSHING DAISIES) offers the elegant tones of Rosetta, a garden fairy; and two-time SAG Awardee Lucy Liu (DIRTY SEXY MONEY) plays Silvermist, an endearing water fairy. In addition, singer-songwriter Jesse McCartney lends his voice to Terence, keeper of the pixie dust, and Academy Award winning actress Anjelica Huston (PRIZZI'S HONOR) reigns over Pixie Hollow as the voice of Queen Clarion.
Long before Peter Pan and the Lost Boys soared into Never Land, the world's most beloved fairy and her friends were creating their own special magic. For the first time in film, TINKER BELL opens the doors to Pixie Hollow, a secret hideaway deep in the heart of Never Land, where the Disney Fairies make their home.
Have you ever wondered how a flower gets its color, or pondered the source of a dew drop, or contemplated from where rainbows originate? It's all the work of fairies! This motion picture from DisneyToon Studios reveals the story of Tinker Bell's early life in the fantastic world of Pixie Hollow. Each fairy is born with a special talent, whether it's making flowers grow, giving fireflies their light or tracing beautiful patterns into a winter morning's frost. Tinker Bell thinks her fairy talent as a "tinker" isn't as special or important, because tinkers don't go to the mainland like the other fairies. But when Tink tries to change who she is, she creates nothing but disaster! With encouragement from her friends Fawn, Iridessa, Rosetta and Silvermist, Tink learns that the key to solving her problems is found in her unique abilities, and discovers that when you stay true to yourself, magical things can happen.
TINKER BELL is the first in a series of films featuring the Disney Fairies. The Disney Fairies represent a major initiative across The Walt Disney Company being incorporated into divisions such as Disney Consumer Products, Disney Publishing, Disney Interactive Studios, Disney on Ice, Disney Parks and Resorts and Disney Online and more.
TINKER BELL has a suggested retail price in the U.S. of $29.99 on DVD and $34.99 on Blu-ray. Canadian suggested retail price is $35.99 on DVD and $44.99 Blu-ray.
Special Features Include:
--Exclusive DVD bonus features, including a set top game, a behind-the-scenes "making of" featurette and more are divided into two distinctive menus. The Blu-ray contains all the same bonus features as the DVD, plus new Disney BD Live Network Incentives
**PIXIE HOLLOW -- Takes viewers inside the mysterious Fairy world:
--"Magical Guide To Pixie Hollow" -- New fairies and visitors to Pixie Hollow get to explore this treasury of pixie lore and discover the ancient realm of fairies with Queen Clarion and Tinker Bell as their personal guides.
--Tinker Trainer DVD ROM -- Players hone their skills as a Tinker Fairy in a multi-level suite of four games that will help turn winter into spring. Fairy Mary gives the orders.
--"Ever Wonder" -- Ever wonder how a rose bursts into bloom? Or how a rainbow stretches across the sky? Or how the morning dew paints a cobweb? "Ever Wonder" shows how fairies put the "wonder" in natural wonders.
**THE MAINLAND -- Explores the making of the movie:
--Creating Pixie Hollow -- Discover how the filmmakers created the physical realm of Pixie Hollow along with its history and fairy society.
--Deleted Scenes -- With filmmaker intros.
**Disney BD Live Network -- Enjoy enhanced interactive features via your TINKER BELL Blu-ray:
--Disney's all new BD Live Network offers Blu-ray owners a host of innovative internet connected features for the global living room. Viewers can engage in technologically-advanced web platforms, such as instant messaging, video streaming, online shopping and more, all through their Blu-ray player set top.
--For TINKER BELL Blu-ray Disc owners who score high points in the Tinker Trainer Game, they automatically accrue Movie Reward Points, via their BD-Live Network membership, that can be redeemed for TINKER BELL wallpapers and exclusive virtual jewelry their fairy can wear online.
--Additionally, if the player can collect contraption parts while exploring the Tinker Trainer Game to build, a music box that plays music once all parts are assembled.
THE POLAR EXPRESS: 3-D on Blu-ray and DVD
When a doubting young boy takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe, now in 3-D from Warner Home Video.
Combining classic storytelling with cutting-edge filmmaking, THE POLAR EXPRESS debuts a highly advanced version of motion capture technology developed and tailored to meet Zemeckis' uncompromising vision and is the first feature ever to be shot entirely in this format.
Sony Pictures Imageworks, with senior visual effects supervisors Ken Ralston, a five-time Oscar winner, and Jerome Chen, a 2000 nominee, help bring this enchanting holiday story vividly to life in full CG animation through a brand new system called Performance Capture, Imageworks' next-generation motion capture process. This innovative technique allows the actors' live-action performances to drive the emotions and movements of the digital characters in a way never seen before, throwing open the door to a whole new era of freedom and creative options for actors and filmmakers.
Special Features Include:
--"Smokey and Steamer" song not seen in theaters
--Tom Hanks interviews: Hear about Tom Hanks' five unique roles, how each character was different, and what it took for him to bring each one to life.
--Featurettes:
**Performance Capture
**Virtual Camera
**Hair and Wardrobe
**Creating the North Pole
**Music
--Chris Van Allsburg interviews: The author discusses his artistic background and how he conceived the idea for THE POLAR EXPRESS book.
--Josh Groban Music Video and Groban at the Greek performing the Academy Award-nominated original song "Believe"
--Flurry of Effects: five motion-capture sessions
--Filmmaker interviews: Moviemakers' Christmas Memories
--Theatrical trailer
MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition on DVD
Multiple Emmy-nominated and Peabody Award-winning MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 (MST3K) is a true cult classic. Its high-camp rendition of B-movies from every genre to the small screen makes it one of the most memorable pop culture shows of our time. Brimming with laugh-out-loud commentaries from caustically hilarious space travelers Joel Robinson, Mike Nelson and their robot pals Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo,MST3K was a genuine phenomenon. Its popularity spawned an MST3K fan following that numbers over hundreds of thousands of fans worldwide.
Celebrating 20 years after MST3K's premiere on television, the entire creative team reunites for the first time when Shout! Factory presents its MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition DVD box set on October 28. An ode to this cult-classic series, the 20th Anniversary Edition DVD box set features four of the show's most requested unreleased film episodes -- FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS, LASERBLAST, WEREWOLF and FUTURE WAR, and boasts exclusive DVD bonus content that explore the genesis, life and afterlife of MST3K.
Fans will thrill to watch all new interviews with the entire MST3K family -- including Joel Hodgson, Jim Mallon, Trace Beaulieu, Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, Kevin Murphy, J. Elvis Weinstein, as well as footage from the 20th Anniversary Reunion panel and more. This 4-DVD box set contains collectible lobby cards and a figurine of the world famous Crow T. Robot -- all assembled in a collectible embossed tin and only available with the purchase of this DVD box set.
The MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: 20th Anniversary Edition DVD box set is the first of a series of DVD box set from Shout! Factory, in association with Best Brains, Inc.
FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS
In the 1960 sci-fi thriller FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS, a mysterious magnetic spool found during a construction project is discovered to have originated from Venus. A rocket expedition to the mysterious cloudy planet is launched to discover the origin of the spool and the alien race that created it.
LASERBLAST
In 1978's LASERBLAST, young actor Kim Milford plays an ostracized teenager who stumbles upon the remains of murdered mutated alien in the California desert. Along with the alien's remains, a high-tech laser gun and power source are accidentally left behind by the extraterrestrial murderers. While examining the equipment, the teen inadvertently mutates himself with a laserblast, and embarks upon a murderous rampage.
WEREWOLF
1996 horror flick WEREWOLF begins with an archeological dig in an Arizona quarry. The Native Americans at the dig site recognize an unearthed skeleton as the remains of a werewolf, yet the team of archeologists are skeptical. When a dig assistant becomes infected and transforms into a werewolf, the ambitious team leader begins a horrific experiment, infecting the oblivious townspeople with the werewolf virus.
FUTURE WAR
In 1997's action-packed FUTURE WAR, a race of evil cyborgs kidnap humans from Earth's future to use as slaves, and take dinosaurs from the past to use as trackers. A determined slave, the "Runaway", escapes and makes his way to present-day Los Angeles. There he must fend off the cyborgs and their trackers, the police, and the government, befriended by a prostitute-turned-nun who runs a halfway house.
The MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 series was created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc. After a year on KTMA TV in Minneapolis, its national broadcast life began in 1989 on the Comedy Channel (later to become Comedy Central), where it ran for seven seasons. The show's final three seasons aired on the Sci-Fi Channel.
The premise of the series features a hapless man who is trapped by mad scientists on a satellite in space and forced to watch old B-movies of questionable worth. To keep sane, he's built two robot sidekicks, and together they do a running commentary on the films, affectionately mocking their flaws with inspired wisecracks and acting as a demented movie theater peanut gallery. Series creator Hodgson originally played the stranded man, Joel Robinson. When he left in 1993, series head writer Mike Nelson replaced him as the new B-movie victim Mike Nelson, and continued in the role for the rest of the show's run. The format proved to be popular. During its 11 years and 198 episodes (including one feature film), MST3K attained a loyal fan base and critical acclaim. The series won a Peabody Award in 1993, and was nominated for writing Emmys in 1994 and 1995.
DEAD SPACE: DOWNFALL on DVD and Blu-ray
Our own worst nightmares have come to life in Anchor Bay Ent.'s October 28 DVD and Blu-ray releases of DEAD SPACE: DOWNFALL. The movie is a must-have feature, bridging the gap in the narrative between the DEAD SPACE comic series and the highly-anticipated DEAD SPACE: DOWNFALL, EA's upcoming video game that will be released in late October. Produced and animated by Film Roman, (THE SIMPSONS, KING OF THE HILL) DEAD SPACE: DOWNFALL completes one of the most ambitious and terrifying multi-media story arcs in recent horror history.
An ancient religious artifact has been recovered by a deep-space mining ship, and for the crew of the USG Ishimura, life just became a living hell. Unearthed on a far-away planet during a mining operation, the relic is worshiped by some, even seen as proof of God. But when it's removed from its resting place and brought on the ship, the artifact unleashes a long-dormant alien race, one bent on ripping apart -- and taking over -- every human aboard. Their screams can be heard in space... but only the slashers are listening.
DVD Special Features Include:
--Isolated soundtrack in DD 5.1
--Deleted Scene
--"Cheat" Codes for EA Game
--Movie and Game Trailers
Blu-ray Special Features Include:d
--Digital copy DVD
--Isolated soundtrack in DD5.1
--Deleted Scene
--Art Gallery
--Movie (HD) and Game Trailers
--BD-Live capable
THE BERENSTAIN BEARS: CHRISTMAS TREE on DVD
This holiday, join Bear Country's most loveable family as they learn that the best Christmas gifts are not under the tree but in your heart. Sony Pictures Home Ent. will release THE BERENSTAIN BEARS: CHRISTMAS TREE on DVD on October 28.
THE BERENSTAIN BEARS: CHRISTMAS TREE will include the classic holiday special, which originally aired on NBC, plus four additional episodes, starring Mama, Papa, Brother and Sister Bear. As in all THE BERENSTAIN BEARS adventures, this close-knit family presents positive role models for parents and children.
Based on the classic children's book series (over 260 million copies sold to date) from Stan and Jan Berenstain, THE BERENSTAIN BEARS have fascinated children for more than four decades. THE BERENSTAIN BEARS TV and home video success has proven that their enduring message of love and patience easily translates from the printed page to the small screen. THE BERENSTAIN BEARS: CHRISTMAS TREE represents the latest SPHE release of the popular brand. Like all other titles CHRISTMAS TREE also contains Sony Pictures Home Ent.'s "Quick-Start" auto-play feature.
Episodes Include
"Christmas Tree" -- In this holiday classic, the Berenstain family sets out to find the perfect Christmas tree. Papa takes Brother and Sister Bear along on his trek, only to discover that all the trees he desires are the homes of other animals. Papa hurries back to buy a tree, but they are all sold out. To their surprise, the woodland creatures have made a special gift, giving the family a Christmas they won't soon forget.
"The Ice Monster" -- Papa prepares for the festivities at the Winter Carnival, but the next day the townspeople are stunned to find a giant Ice Monster stomping through the carnival grounds. Is it truly a monster, or are the bears letting their imaginations get away from them?
"Learn About Strangers" -- Concerned for his sister, Brother Bear cautions her about speaking to strangers. After Sister reads a story about a missing cub, she comes to view every stranger with mistrust. Mother provides much-needed comfort explaining to Sister how to behave around strangers when Mama and Papa Bear are not around.
"Forget Their Manners" -- Mama Bear is beside herself when she realizes the Bear family's poor manners have gotten out of hand. So clever Mama Bear plans to have each Bear perform a chore every time they are rude. Mama Bear is delighted to see that not only is the house cleaner, but her family has quickly embraced good manners.
"Get Stage Fright" -- After the bear cubs are cast in the school play, Sister worries about remembering her lines while confident Brother Bear hasn't a concern about his performance. Sister learns that practice makes perfect after Mama encourages her to rehearse her lines frequently.
THE FLIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS on DVD
Emma Roberts (NANCY DREW, AQUAMARINE) and funnyman Norm MacDonald (THE NORM SHOW, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE) round out the all-star cast in this touching CG animated tale. A perfect addition for the holiday season, A FLIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS will keep the whole family smiling from The Weinstein Company and Genius Products.
A young reindeer named Niko dreams about flying like his father who he believes is a member of Santa's famous Flying Forces. Despite suffering from severe vertigo, he sneaks out of his home to take flying lessons from his friend Julius, a clumsy flying squirrel. Soon after, Niko and Julius learn that Santa and his reindeer are in serious trouble so the pair gather their forest friends and head North to save the day.
