Boo!-Volume 1: Faraway Places (2003)

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General		Extras
Category	Childrens	Main Menu Audio & Animation Menu Audio Game-Mix 'n' Match Bonus Episode-Space Music Highlights-Song Selection Menu
Rating
Year Of Production	2003
Running Time	70:20
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Mark Taylor
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Justin Fletcher Kate Harbour
Case	?
RPI	$29.95	Music	Graham Pike

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.75:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.75:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Volume 1 of Boo! includes seven episodes of Boo and his friends visiting different outdoor locations and the wildlife that inhabits these places. The series is completely comprised of colourful, simple computer animation and is very eye catching.

    As well as being the name of the main character, Boo! is the game that the characters play with the viewer - jumping out from behind bushes, rocks and other objects. My young co-reviewer found the surprises hilarious and often leapt out of her chair to point at the screen when she spotted something. Each ten minute episode includes a short musical piece and a puzzle.

    Some of the places visited in these episodes include the Australian bush (not really a far away place for us), the jungle, a desert, a prehistoric land, a coral reef, wild Africa and outer space. I'm a little intrigued as to why all the animals and characters have to have an adjective in front of their name - for example, rather than call a Koala by its name, it's called a "Climbing Koala" and Duck is called "Laughing Duck", and so on. I'm not a child psychologist, but I guess that even though I find it a bit weird it probably helps children make word associations, or something like that.

    Boo! is a great program for toddlers or pre-schoolers and combines colourful computer animation with music and activities. My co-reviewer certainly gives it her approval.

Video

    The video transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.75:1, complete with 16x9 enhancement. It appears that this transfer has been taken directly from the digital source, making it nearly faultless.

    This is a very sharp and clear transfer. Although the animation is rather simple there is lots of detail present. There was no low level noise evident in the transfer.

    The colouring is very rich and eye-catching, without any bleeding at all.

    MPEG compression artefacts are nowhere to be seen. Some jagged edges and a little aliasing is evident during pans, but isn't too distracting.

    There are no subtitle streams included on the disc.

    This disc contains a single layer (DVD5 format), and as such doesn't contain a layer change.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    This disc contains English and French language options, both in Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. I sampled the French option and found it to be very similar in structure to the English track, with the same effects and music.

    The English dialogue and narration is very clear and always easy to understand. The audio sync for vocals and effects is spot-on.

    There isn't a lot of panning to be found in the stereo field, but the soundtrack and its score is very spacious.

    Each episode contains a short musical interlude relating to the setting. The instrumentation is entirely electronic but comes across fairly realistically.

    There was obviously no surround or subwoofer activity present in these stereo soundtracks.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Menu

Game

    This is a short puzzle in which the viewer has to match a number of differently clothed Boo characters with assorted scenes from the feature.

Music Clips (8)

    A simple menu that allows you to select a specific song from the feature, or play them all in sequence.

Bonus Episode - Outer Space

    Not really a bonus, this episode is played automatically after the feature (included in the feature's total runtime), and isn't accessible via the scene selection menu.

    The video transfer is very clear and sharp, with bold colouring.

    The audio transfer is a simple stereo mix that does a good job.

    The only real extra is a puzzle.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall