There seems to be a new trend starting for making CG animated movies in 3D. It looks like theaters are looking for a way to get more people to go to the movies by showing something you can't (yet) view at home. The great thing about CG animation is that it's relative simple to make a 3D version: they just have to render the movie twice from two different camera perspectives to create the stereoscopic view.

I just recently saw "Open Season" in 3D on an Imax screen. Visually, the movie was spectacular. The image on the Imax screen was bright and sharp and allowed you to see tremendous detail. You could see individual hairs in the fur on the animal characters. They used the polarized light technique to let you see the 3D image, and it really added a lot to the look. So much better than looking at the normal flat image. The story itself was OK. It was amusing, but nothing to get really excited about (nowhere near as funny as say the Shrek movies). The movie is rated PG due to some crude humor. The main character is a bear, and so they addressed the famous rhetorical question of what a bear does in the woods. :P The story is somewhat forgettable, but I thought it was worth seeing for the visual experience.

I also recently saw the 3D re-release of "Nightmare Before Christmas". This obviously isn't a CG movie and it was originally shot with a single camera of course. They created a 3D effect by digitally processing the movie and adding depth cues. It didn't look anywhere near as good as Open Season, but considering it's a regular 2D movie that has been converted to 3D, it looked pretty good. I thought it was worth seeing. I wonder what other movies Disney will be converting to 3D now. Since all their movies are now on home video, they can't re-release them anymore unless they do something to make it a new experience. If they're going to do more conversions, I hope they do "The Lion King."

When I went to see "Open Season", they also showed a trailer for "Happy Feet" which was also in 3D. I knew they going to show "Happy Feet" on Imax screens, but this was the first I heard that it might be 3D as well. Needless to say, the trailer looked great. If they show it in 3D, I will definitely go see it.

Disney has had 3D movies showing at their theme parks for quite a long time now (anyone remember "Captain Eo"? :D). They're fun and I'm glad to see it become more mainstream. I hope they do 3D versions of future Pixar movies, and maybe go back and re-render "Toy Story" to be in 3D for a re-release. That could be fun.

If you've never seen a 3D movie with modern technology, I recommend you go see one of these, particularly if you have an Imax screen near you.

YAY!!!

we should pray for a DRAGON BOOSTER CG or ·D MOVIE!!!!!

Seriously. That would be almost too good to be true. The racing and fight scenes would look just fantastic in 3D. :faint: If only...

3D movies seem a little gimicy to me. I saw "The Nightmare Before Christmas" in 3D the day it came out and quite liked it. Like you said, you have to remember how it was made. The scene with Oogie Boogie was excellent. I've been to IMAX theatres, but I'm not sure I would want to see 3D more often than that. It strains your eyes sometimes and with as often as I go to the movies, I can't imagine seeing all the cartoons in the third demension. I think it's already been proven that 3D doesn't apply well to non animated (assuming it's not educational live action) features - "Jaws 3D" anyone?

There have been a lot of poor live action 3D movies because they cut corners to save money. Most of them aren't true 3D which requires shooting with a dual camera (expensive). They usually do some post processing tricks which don't work very good. It's also difficult to light the set properly. They need to shoot with a smaller aperture on the camera for 3D to increase the depth of field so that everything you'll want to look at is in focus. A smaller aperture means a lot more light is needed, and that's more difficult (expensive) to set up, so corners get cut there as well.

The best live action 3D movie I've ever seen is the "Terminator 2" attraction at the Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando and Los Angeles. The attraction is actually a sequel to Terminator 2 and was written and directed by James Cameron and includes all the main actors from Terminator 2. It's incredibly well done. The whole experience runs about 40 minutes and the 3D images on the screen are coordinated with live actors and special effects in the theater. It's a really amazing show and the 3D movie is crystal clear. Disney has several 3D movie attractions in their parks, but none of them even come close to this experience. This attraction shows what good 3D can be like.


Happy Feet

I mentioned above the trailer for Happy Feet was in 3D above, but it turns out the movie isn't in 3D. They just made a 3D trailer to show before "Open Season". I went to go see it the other day on the Imax screen anyway and visually it was stunning. They made a 70mm print for the Imax screenings and wow was it sharp and clear. And the 3D visuals really showed how good they were when viewed on such a big screen.

It's the familiar story of a misfit who's shunned and ends up saving the day by the end of the movie, but I thought the journey the story took was pretty good. It didn't flow exactly the way this plot line normally goes which was nice and I wasn't sure where things were headed exactly. There's an environmental message in the movie (though not as bad as say, Ferngully), and also a little commentary about religion. They had a bit of fun with the voice acting: each animal species has its own accent which added a little amusement. :)

The animation is really great in this movie. Tons of detail in the character models. Really outrageous singing and dancing numbers with huge crowd scenes. Some of the shots must have had 10,000 penguins on screen at once. I can't imagine how long those shots took to render. The environment and weather effects were all stellar. I had to keep reminding myself that it wasn't real. :)

I thought it was worth the extra $4 to see it on the Imax screen myself. The visuals are really stunning and the experience is better on a huge screen like that. I had fun. :)

Meet the Robinsons

This movie is being shown in 3D in "select" theaters, and I went to see it last week. It's not a super great movie, but it was much better than I expected, and the 3D is excellent. This is the first Disney made animated movie in a long time that isn't a dud. John Lasseter is listed as Executive Producer, which I'm sure helped a lot. :)

Like I said, the 3D was great. For CG movies, it really enhances the experience as it seems like the CG world is right there with you as opposed to just watching a movie on a screen. It's much easier to forget you're in a theater. The CG rendering is really something as well. They really went all out on surface textures, particularly the clothing. Sweaters have a slight fuzzy look to them and all the fabrics look much more like real fabric than one normally sees in CG animation. Eye candy wise, the film is just wonderful. The animation was superb as well. Lots of detail and nuance in motion and facial expressions.

The story is not bad either. The plot seems a little bizarre at first glance, and there are places where stuff happens that seems random, but everything comes together and makes sense by the end of the movie. I like the way it all wrapped up.

My only disappointment was that Tiny the T-Rex has only a very small part in the movie. He's too cute not to have a bigger part. :D His skin texture is really great looking, by the way.

I think this movie is worth seeing, and I'd go the extra distance to see it in 3D if there's a theater showing it that way near you. I don't think the previews and the trailer do the movie justice. I think it's much better than the impression they give you. Like I said, I was pleasantly surprised.

Trailers can be found here.

I'd like to see that movie, now that it's gotten good reviews.

I loved Happy Feet. Did you know it's now the most successful Australian film ever? It knocked Crocodile Dundee off that position.