Magic Journey to Africa 3D Blu-ray (2010) [Region Free]

[pickit60]

Moderator note: The US edition is REGION FREE despite appearing to be Region A locked. It has been edited down to 49 minutes. The German edition runs for 92 minutes and is also REGION FREE despite appearing to be Region B locked. There's also a Spanish edition which is uncut and includes English audio, but the region coding status is unknown.



Original post (referring to the US edition):
Found this recently on Amazon. The ad said that it's a 3D Blu Ray but there isn't a 3D logo anywhere on the case. I took a chance and sure enough, The film has a 2D and 3D option.

The depth and before the window 3D experience here are really good! I feel some of the scenes rival the 3D in IMAX Born to be wild. Don’t pay attention to the 3D review on blu-ray.com which called it, “ a flat, uneventful 3D experience.”

There are some minor errors, a couple of 2D shots and weak CGI but this film has strong 3D. It's well worth it for 3D collectors.

Edit: the US disc also contains two bonus making of features that show the ARRI stereo camera rigs up close and detailed. It also has 7 IMAX 3D trailers that look fantastic!
1. The Ultimate- Wave Tahiti
2. Legends of Flight
3. Wild Ocean
4. Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs
5. Dinosaurs Alive,
6. Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia,
7. Rescue 3D

[HDM_fan]

Thanks for your thoughts @pickit60. How's the content itself? This site's review wasn't kind to say the least.

[pickit60]

Hey HDM_fan, it’s definitely made for children or adolescents

[Show spoiler]but has a scene with poachers shooting a lion(cgi blood spatter) and a scary looking spirit of fire. Lol The creepy crows are cool too.

To my surprise, the disc worked in my region B player. I ended up watching the whole movie again on the Epson as there are so many demo worthy 3D scenes!

The movie is about a young girl named Jana. While having lunch with her father at a restaurant in Barcelona, she saw a young homeless African boy who got caught stealing. Immediately, she felt empathy and compassion towards him. She wants to make a connection,

[Show spoiler]but unfortunately, unbeknownst to her, he is sick and dies before she gets to know him. It’s not actually clear what happened to him but that is how I interpreted it. While lying in a hospital bed, he tells her, “My heart stands on a hill and the heart of a bushman always goes back to where it came from.”

At that moment, she became curious about his culture and wants to learn more. When she falls asleep, she travels to Africa in her dreams where she learns about the customs and myths of the African Bushman and meets a few animals along the way. The rest of the movie takes place within her dream - and oh what a 3D trip it is!

[emailking]

Shoot it's already sold out.

[Joe D.]

Originally Posted by emailking

Shoot it's already sold out.

Pickit should get some sort of commission.

[the13thman]

It appears that the US version is cut by 43 minutes.

I'm going by the back cover of the US version, which states 49 minutes. The back cover of the German edition states 92 minutes.

IMDb lists it at 90 minutes so it seems like this is another case of the US edition being a cut-down version, much like Flying Monsters (though presumably for IMAX in this case rather than for TV).

[Joe D.]

Originally Posted by the13thman

It appears that the US version is cut by 43 minutes.

I'm going by the back cover of the US version, which states 49 minutes. The back cover of the German edition states 92 minutes.

IMDb lists it at 90 minutes so it seems like this is another case of the US edition being a cut-down version, much like Flying Monsters (though presumably for IMAX in this case rather than for TV).

Hi 13,

Wish I knew that before placing the order.

[chrisp32]

I have the German edition on the way so will update when I receive it.

[the13thman]

Originally Posted by chrisp32

I have the German edition on the way so will update when I receive it.

I also have it on the way, I did have an order in for the US edition but managed to cancel it once I'd spotted that it was an edited version.

[Paul H]

Originally Posted by chrisp32

I have the German edition on the way so will update when I receive it.

Originally Posted by the13thman

I also have it on the way, I did have an order in for the US edition but managed to cancel it once I'd spotted that it was an edited version.

I'm going to keep active my U.S. order just for the English cover and found for a decent price a "used-in-excellent-condition" German version, shipping to the U.S. from Amazon Japan. Will add that to the case.

[Joe D.]

Been able to find the German copy at a decent price but have to find out if ship to USA. I saw the back cover and it does say 92 minutes and English 5.1 audio

Update: Too expensive for the seller to ship to the United States.

[emailking]

$66.18 shipped from Amazon, dang.

Ordered.

[Joe D.]

Originally Posted by emailking

$66.18 shipped from Amazon, dang.

Ordered.

Too rich for my blood. I'm still looking however.

[emailking]

Originally Posted by emailking

$66.18 shipped from Amazon, dang.

Ordered.

Well the 3D is incredible. Think Marvel. Unfortunately the movie is very dumb. So much so that it takes away from the 3D. Cannot recommend at that price.

Even though the back says region B I can confirm it plays in Region A as well. So I guess all versions are region free. You do need a player than can convert 50 Hz for the special features in NA though.

[chrisp32]

Still need to check this one out. I have a copy of the German version. Sounds like something I'll need to watch on my own and not force my girlfriend to sit through ...

[gazadams]

Not a bad film and great 3d in it

[Joe D.]

I did not realize I was purchasing a shortened version of this even that is quite good and the 3D excellent

[Jay G.]

It looks like there's a Spanish edition as well, UPC 5051893038811.
https://www.amazon.es/Viaje-M%C3%A1g...dp/B0053CBGY4/

There's a listing for 23,99 €, but the seller won't ship to the US.

It was also part of an OOP box set with 2 other titles. That listing includes a higher resolution image of the back cover:
https://www.amazon.es/Triple-Pack-Ex...dp/B00965PDO8/

The running time is listed at 90 minutes, so it's the longer version of the film.

[Jay G.]

I managed to find a fairly cheap copy of the US Blu-ray with the 49-minute version of the film.

There's another copy of the US Blu-ray on eBay right now:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/384569925336

Unfortunately, I agree with others that while the 3D is strong, showing good depth, the story is very sub-par. It's very patronizing, both seemingly targeted at very young audiences is how it overexplains things in simple language, sometimes multiple times, and in how it handles its view of Africa. The storyline comes of very "white savior" and reductionist in how it treats the story of a white girl traveling to a "magical" land to save an African boy. She also comes off as an insufferable know-it-all a lot. The story is also very episodic, and jumps around a lot with little narrative cohesion. The CGI for the magical creatures also doesn't hold up.

I managed to find a 2D version of the 90 minute cut online, and skimming through it, my impression is that it's more, but not necessarily better. It looks like the 49 minute version mostly cut a lot of dialogue, although there's a few whole scenes missing.

The differences I noted on a quick scrub through:

• The longer cut has more dialogue in each scene in the opening segment in Barcelona. The shorter cut trims these scenes, which actually improves the pacing and gets the story to Africa faster.
• The red fairy scenes in the longer version are cut entirely, the red fairy does not appear at all in the shorter cut.
• A sequence involving a potted sunflower that fell off a truck in the desert is completely cut, as is the follow-up scene at the end.
• A sequence involving monkeys in a tree playing with various toys is cut.
• The flying horse doesn't talk in the shorter cut, that scene was cut.
• The fire spirit's story about about two trees on a mountain was cut.
• The sequence involving the girl Gana is completely cut.

Due to the episodic nature of the film, these missing scenes don't really harm the overall narrative, because there barely is one. It's a case where more is more, but not necessarily better. If you don't like the shorter cut, I don't think you'll like the longer cut much more. That said, I did like the fire spirit's story about about two trees on a mountain, and think that would've been a nice sequence to see in 3D.

[Jay G.]

A new Ebay listing, asking $47.17 for the US disc:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/384940297370

It seems sellers are realizing this disc is rare, and are hoping they can fetch a higher price for it.