Khumba 3D Blu-ray (2013) [Region Locked]

[Paul H]

Khumba 3D 2/11/14 Wide Release

* Note: Also, on January 14, this is a Walmart exclusive (Online @ $12.96 or in store @ $14.95)
Studios:
Triggerfish Animation Studios
Cinema Management Group
The Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa
Media Companies: Millennium Entertainment
Overview:
Life is not all black and white for Khumba, a young zebra born with only half his stripes. When his superstitious herd blame him for the sudden drought affecting the land, Khumba teams up with a sassy wildebeest and a flamboyant ostrich to find the legendary waterhole where the first zebras got their stripes. On his daring quest across the Great Karoo desert, Khumba meets a host of quirky characters and comes face to face with a tyrannical leopard in an epic battle to earn his stripes.
Genres:
Animation
Fantasy
Adventure
Features:
Scene Access
Bonus Trailers
Featurettes
Interviews
Audio Tracks:
English Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo
Cast:
Jake T. Austin as Khummba
Steve Buscemi as Skalk
Loretta Devine as Mama V
Laurence Fishburne as Seko
Richard E. Grant as Bradley
AnnaSophia Robb as Tombi
Liam Neeson as Phango
Anika Noni Rose as Lungisa
Catherine Tate as Nora
Ben Vereen as Mkhulu
Adrian Rhodes as Mantis
Sam Riegel as Jock
Bryce Papenbrook as Zebra 1
Devon Graye as Zebra 2
Roger Jackson as Zebra 3
Alexander Polinsky as Nigel
Greg Ellis as Thabo
Joey Richter as Themba
Hope Levy as Cheerleader Zebra
Kat Cressida as Cheerleader Zebra
Stephanie Sheh as Cheerleader Zebra
Jennifer Cody as Fifi
Juanita Jennings as Zuki
Greg Ellis as Elder 1
Phil Lamarr as Elder 2
Jeff Bennett as Elder 3
Nhlanhia Mkhwanazi as Gemsbok 1
Anele Matoti as Gemsbok 2
Sindiwe Magona as Gemsbok Healer
Charlie Adler as Wild dog 1
Khary Payton as Wild dog 2
Rob van Vuuren as Bokkie, Captain, Koos
Nik Rabinowitz as Frikkie, Percy
Matthew Dylan Roberts as Jannie, Sakkie
Julianna Rose as Meerkat Girl
Andre Robinson as Meerkat Baby
Dee Bradley Baker as Meerkat Father
Mason P. Charles as Meerkat Boy
Jeff Bennett as Rabbit
Roger Jackson as Black Eagle
Jon Olson as Additional Critters

[Zivouhr]

Thanks Paul. Khumba 3D will hopefully match the strong 3D from Madagascar 3D. Looks interesting. I like the story concept and the cast is impressive. Along with the price 14.99 new.

[jgabany]

I finally got around to watching Khumba last night. I was astonished by the strong use of 3D throughout this movie- it had significant use of depth and several great pop-outs, too. More importantly, many of the shots were organized with 3D in mind. The story and animation was not up to Pixar or Dreamwork's standards but this did not distract. The movie was engaging and I lost track of time while watching it. Viewing this film was an unexpected treat.

[sookymonster]

Just starting to watch this one after picking it up for 15$ which is cheap here for Australia!

Already though I can see the 3d is strong so it looks the goods so far...on with the show!

[Nicholas_A]

I bought this recently for under $8 in Australia. Watching the 3D however, I noticed something very wrong with it. During static, or fairly slow-moving scenes, the 3D looks fine. But the moment there is any reasonably fast movement, the moving objects are unwatchable -- they are a blurry mess which really is unpleasant to focus on for too long. I own well over fifty 3D Blu-ray titles, and I have NEVER had this issue before. I have used this particular title on two completely separate systems -- one was on a 3D projector, the other was on my 3D TV. In both cases, the flickering problem exists. I am going to take the disc back to the store from which I purchased it and ask for a replacement.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by Nicholas_A

I bought this recently for under $8 in Australia. Watching the 3D however, I noticed something very wrong with it. During static, or fairly slow-moving scenes, the 3D looks fine. But the moment there is any reasonably fast movement, the moving objects are unwatchable -- they are a blurry mess which really is unpleasant to focus on for too long. I own well over fifty 3D Blu-ray titles, and I have NEVER had this issue before. I have used this particular title on two completely separate systems -- one was on a 3D projector, the other was on my 3D TV. In both cases, the flickering problem exists. I am going to take the disc back to the store from which I purchased it and ask for a replacement.

Thanks for the details. I wonder if it's the way the 3D was compressed onto the disc or processed? Or as you suggest, maybe it's just a faulty disc?

[dartfrog298]

My 3D BR of Khumba plays flawlessly. Hope your replacement cures the problem.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by dartfrog298

My 3D BR of Khumba plays flawlessly. Hope your replacement cures the problem.

Good, thanks. How did you like the 3D in Khumba, Dartfrog? Mild, medium, strong 3D?

[Zivouhr]

Okay, finally got to watch Khumba 3D. Khumba 3D of 2013, is similar in theme in major ways to the Lion King but with a Zebra instead of Simba the Lion. Also similar in theme to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Rankin/Bass.
Theme:
Rejected Hero outcast.
Spoiler:

[Show spoiler]Loss of Parent

Quest with 2 other odd characters (Like Timon and Pumba)
African Wild Animals (but actually no lions, just a big cat Jaguar type animal). Wild Dogs, Antelope, Zebras, Ostrich, Wildebeest, etc.



Quick Khumba 3D Review:
Viewed on: ViewSonic 3D projector, 100" screen, sharp, clear picture, great brightness/contrast. Sat about 9 foot away from screen. Active 3D DPL glasses.

3D Layers: Low Medium to Medium 3D layers throughout, with some high medium 3D layering. I didn't see any strong 3D in this, and it pales in comparison to Madagascar 3's strong 3D. Thankfully no mild 3D.
3D Pop Outs: Hardly any big pop outs. There are a good number of moments where characters will lean out of the screen a bit that looks cool.
3D Framing: Looks like most of it was made with 3D in mind with many shots, showing foreground, mid and background layers in a good composition. Lots of Zebra characters layered onscreen often too.
Favorite 3D Shot: There are some great 3D shots where the characters are walking from the foreground into the midground, towards the background reaching a nice distance into the screen, with a tree on the right, and the road in the middle, and some roadside objects further back. A few shots like that. Underwater at the end was really good too, with high medium layering.
Another awesome shot that actually reaches high medium layering and almost strong 3D, would be when the trio are around the fireplace, and you see them clearly apart from the surrounding darkness, with embers of fire floating up and sometimes out of the screen. Nice!
Least Favorite 3D Shots: Night time and dusk. They use the sun's natural lighting, so when dusk, the lighting goes flat, as in real life. But because the 3D during those shots is low medium to medium, the impact is lessened too a bit. At night, there's hardly any moonlight, so everything is dark. They let the characters fade into the darkness. No special lighting to highlight them and make them stand out more.
3D Summary: 7/10. Mostly low medium to medium layering with some high medium 3D layering. Nothing convincingly strong though for the 3D. It looks good, but they could've pushed it quite a bit more for much more visual 3D impact.

The movie is sort of interesting once they start off on their desert quest over a few days time. For the first half hour though, lots of complaining Zebras in a very small area. I was relieved the film is a quest film, and that the lead Stripe-less back Zebra and the Ostrich and Wildebeest finally went on a cross road adventure, with Liam Neeson as the big Cat stalking after them.

Replay value: 7/10 3D, so not bad there. The movie is okay but clearly made for kids with a lot of the jokes and humor. In comparison, a Pixar film tends to be written with grown ups in mind many times. This is more on par with an NWave film, like Robinson Crusoe/Wild Life in terms of story.
I probably won't watch it much as with Hoodwinked 2, etc., as the characters can be really over-the-top a bit too much, and most of them don't like each other, so it's a bit of a challenge to watch in that aspect. There are a couple musical singing songs in it that are okay I guess.
Nice animation and the background scenery looks great. The character designs are not too bad, and less exaggerated than the Madagascar series.
I liked the main Zebra outcast. Liam Neeson was decent as the Jaguar type Cat predator.

[Spectra]

Thanks Zivouhr...appreciate the effort you put into these reviews and the ratings for different aspects of the film. Good work