VALIANT (DVD Review) - 10/7/06

I've heard a lot of negative reviews about this film and can quite happily say that they are wrong! According to the Making Of Featurette on this Region 2 (UK) DVD this was the first full-length CGI film to be made in England - Produced by Vanguard Animation at Ealing Studios we get a Second World War story about Homing Pigeons; vaguely based on true facts, as the serious part of this tale concerns the Awards of The Dickin Medal awarded for bravery to animals. An underdog story we have a beautifully rendered and lush textured palette displayed on screen across all levels from the plot & background, to the wonderfully defined character's brought to life by people like Ricky Gervais and Tim Curry and a whole host of great British talent including John Cleese, Hugh Laurie and the list goes on. The colours and animation are superb and it is all very reminiscent of "Wallace & Gromit" in the Soundtrack and in the attention to detail. I enjoyed this film and suggest that even if you don't wish to buy it - It is certainly worth checking out at least once on Rental! SPECIAL FEATURES: These comprise a nice "Making Of " Featurette, Scene Progressions & Rendering, Recording Sessions with the Voice Artists, Animated Bloopers (In the "Toy Story" style) plus the World Premiere & Trailer and a nice little 3-part "Valiant Training Challenge Game". Ratio Aspect: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen 16x9. Dolby 5.1. PAL Colour. English Subtitles & Descriptive Audio. Runtime: 73 Mins Approx. Rating: U. Entertainment In Video. UK Film Council National Lottery Funded. EDV9307/ISBN # 5017239193071>