Jillian's Travels: Africa 3D Blu-ray offers solid video and audio in this enjoyable Blu-ray release
Viewers will take a trip into the heart of Africa, and become immersed in a spectacular world where wild animals seem so close you can touch them. Our guides on this adventure are sixth grader Jillian Palmer and her 10-year-old brother, Jack. When their parents invite them on a week long African safari, Jillian gets the assignment from her school principal to record a video diary for her classmates at North Hills Junior High School, sharing everything she is seeing and learning about. The bubbly and outgoing Jillian proves to be a fun and colorful host. She enlists the help of Jack, her bookish younger brother, to add lots of fascinating facts he has learned.
Who needs school when little Jillian offers an education in sixty minutes and for under twenty bucks? Young students of Africa or those simply
interested in
that continent's wildlife, geography, and peoples will find much to love in the balanced and comfortable Jillian's Travels: Africa 3D, a kid-centric
journey into the heart of the African continent, and the nation of Kenya to be exact. The film is hosted by a brother-sister middle school-aged duo with
whom the target audience will relate. They provide an easily-digestible overview of the land and its human and animal inhabitants. It's nothing
remarkable, nothing viewers of this sort of film haven't seen before, and in fact, those who have seen 3D Safari Africa indeed have seen this before; Jillian
simply repurposes much of that film's footage and rewrites the narrative for a younger audience. And even if the young explorers apparently never
actually set foot
in Africa -- they appear only superimposed over a few African backdrops and stand in a soundstage tent -- the film will give younger audiences a taste
of Safari and a base level knowledge of what the world is like half a world away.
All that's missing is a ball of yarn and some Meow Mix.
Young Jillian (Taylar Hender) is traveling with her mom, dad, and younger brother Jack (Garrett Ryan) to the African nation of Kenya for a little
sightseeing, middle school style. It's the middle of the school year, and Jillian and her family have managed to convince her principal that a week
away from the classroom for an African adventure is an absence worth granting. There's just one condition: Jillian must document her trip via home
video and share with her classmates what she learns while studying some of the world's most famous wildlife all up-close and personal-like. She has
no cell phone reception, her bookworm know-it-all brother is always in her hair, and mom and dad are eager to maintain their tight schedule, but
Jillian's
determined to have a great trip and make it one she -- and her audience -- will never forget.
Jillian's Travels: Africa 3D plays like a warm and cutesy Adventure video for kids with an evident academic function. The film aims to
educate
and entertain simultaneously, which it does, though of course retention will depend largely on how active the young ones watch and practice what
they learn. Nobody will come out of the video speaking Swahili or transformed into a walking encyclopedia of African wildlife, but a slightly expanded
vocabulary and a
working basic knowledge of the animals will make this video invaluable for the classroom (assuming the classroom has a 3D television and enough
glasses for all pupils), a small group, or home schooled youngsters. Through the course of the film, students will learn about the basics of hot air
ballon
technology and travel, the differences between Africa's herbivores and carnivores, the "Great Migration" of the Wildebeest, Kenyan culture, lions (the
Swahili
word
for "lion" is "simba"), the uniqueness of zebra stripes, the stomach acid of the vulture and
the creature's unique ability to fend off prey, the importance of rain and water to the area, the differences between monkeys and apes, rhinoceros
nomenclature, and plenty more. There's a little something for everyone here; it's focused on zoology, but there's enough science, culture, and
geography to make this a well-rounded basic educational piece.
Although this film in its final state is far better, more polished, more complete than anything a middle schooler -- save a real video prodigy with
incredible access and
equipment -- could put together, the rather makeshift, somewhat forced narrative doesn't really hurt the film. The few fleeting moments of fun and
games and brother-sister rivalry in
the tent add a little charm, albeit largely unnecessary charm, to the proceedings. The kids are likable enough and do a fine job acting out their skits
("mom" and "dad," voice acting from the other side of the camera, however, sound as if they're just reading their lines), but they aren't the
highlight
or the
reason to watch, simply serving instead as pint-sized hosts suitable for pint-sized audiences. Jillian's Travels: Africa 3D plays it safe, usually,
simply showing animals at life in their habitat, though
there are a few scenes of half-eaten animal carcasses that might frighten the youngest children. But as far as these "this is how the world works"
videos go, this one's relatively tame. There's the obligatory "save the Earth" plea tossed into the narrative, but there's otherwise nothing polarizing
or
political about the film. It does a very nice job of the who's and what's and when's and where's and why's of African wildlife, and the sprinklings of
science, geography, and culture are merely added bonuses along the way and in between scenes of cute cats, giant giraffes, and whacky wildebeests.
Jillian's Travels: Africa 3D features good 3D video but a rather flat and lifeless general picture quality. The image appears somewhat hazy and
flat. Details often appear washed out and lifeless, evident from the beginning when audiences first meet Jack and Jillian in their tent. Faces appear
pasty, and only basic definition is visible on clothes and the odds and ends around the makeshift sleeping quarters. Shots out in the field follow suit;
there are a few downright blurry shots, some flat and unappealing, and some that are marvelously detailed. The image sometimes straightens up and
yields some amazing HD footage of animals, presenting amazing textures on rough crocodile skin or great clarity evident on giraffe bodies. It's too bad
it's not more consistent, because the good parts look great and the lesser shots are quite disappointing. Colors are rather flat, but then again much of
the show is made of earthen, ordinary hues. When the screen is packed with pink flamingos, however, that pink color really pops. There's no real
banding or noise of which to speak; the transfer's general attributes hold up adequately with moments of greatness. The 3D elements, however one-up
the rest.
Indeed, Jillian's Travels: Africa 3D delivers what is a generally excellent 3D presentation. There's a very strong, very real sense of depth to most
of the movie. Some shots that stretch for some distance prove very lifelike, while even more general depth -- a few blades of grass in front of a posing
crocodile -- are stunningly realistic. The image works both far and wide, and viewers will enjoy a very natural, very immersive sense of real-life space
within this transfer's confines. Graphical elements, generally text, appear to float off the front of the screen. The animated airplane that show's Jillian's
route from the United State to Kenya seems to fly around well outside of the physical limits of the display. Playback on the review Panasonic 50" plasma
3D set resulted in only minimal crosstalk but wonderfully natural and evident depth. This isn't quite a reference 3D image -- the detailing is far too
hit-or-miss -- but the 3D attributes are quite good and make this movie worth watching.
Jillian's Travels: Africa 3D arrives on Blu-ray with a satisfactory Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Level 33's audio presentation accentuates
dialogue and music. Ambient and general sound effects never really go anywhere; splashing water, general land-based African atmospherics, and the
odd sound effect more or less melt into the background, never playing with a front-and-center posture. Music is rather lively, however, playing primarily
across the front and with adequate spacing, sufficient clarity, and decent body. Bass gets rather heavy during the Cape Buffalo sequence in chapter five,
representing the deepest and most intense sonic moment in the film. Music is generally airy and light and catchy, however, suiting the material and the
two young hosts well. Jillian and Jack's dialogue plays smoothly and accurately from the center channel, enjoying good vocal balance and clarity. This
track definitely plays second fiddle to the video, but it's fine for what it is. Level 33 has also included an English Dolby Digital 2.0 track.
Jillian's Travels: Africa 3D disappointingly repurposes much of the same material from a previous Blu-ray 3D Africa release, but the narrative is
sufficiently different and it's made for a younger demographic. Viewers who have already purchased 3D Safari Africa might not want to spend
any extra money
for what is basically the same thing content-wise, but those looking for an educational 3D video for their children shouldn't hesitate to pick this one up.
It's
well made
and informative, and the kid actors do a fine job, even if they never really appear in Africa. Level 33's Blu-ray release of Jillian's Travels: Africa
3D features solid video, decent audio, and a couple of extras. Recommended.
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