The Lion of Judah 3D Blu-ray offers solid video and audio, but overall it's a mediocre Blu-ray release
Follow the adventures of a bold lamb (Judah) and his stable friends as they try to avoid the sacrificial alter the week preceding the crucifixion of Christ. It is a heart-warming account of the Easter story as seen through the eyes of a lovable pig (Horace), a faint-hearted horse (Monty), a pedantic rat (Slink), a rambling rooster (Drake), a motherly cow (Esmay) and a downtrodden donkey (Jack). This magnificent period piece with its epic sets is a roller coaster ride of emotions. Enveloped in humor, this quest follows the animals from the stable in Bethlehem to the great temple in Jerusalem and onto the hillside of Calvary as these unlikely heroes try to save their friend.
If you haven't perused the shelves of a Christian bookstore lately, chances are you aren't a part of Lion of Judah's target demographic. If you frequent your local LifeWay, though, chances are a copy of Lion of Judah is already sitting pretty in one of your kids' Easter baskets. Luckily, there are still a few days left to dig out your receipt and get your money back. It's not the film's outmoded CG animation, which is as humble but adequate as a straw-lined manger. It's not the integrity of its message, which is as pure as the Son of Man whose name it lifts on high. And it's certainly not the heart of its filmmakers, which is as unblemished as a sacrificial lamb. No, its problems course much deeper. As tempted as I am to give Lion of Judah a their hearts are in the right place pass, the end result is too convoluted, too unfocused, and falls much too short. And no, the "judge not lest ye be judged" irony of this review hasn't escaped me.
When a fearless young lamb named Judah (Georgina Cordova) is sent to Jerusalem to serve as a Passover offering in the Jewish temple, a motley band of stable-yard animals -- many of whom witnessed the birth of Jesus thirty years ago -- set out to save Judah from his grisly fate. (Because, apparently, 98% of the animals in Lion of Judah are completely oblivious to the centuries-old traditions of the culture in which they live.) Along the way, they stumble into some of the most memorable Easter stories in the Gospels, including the Triumphant Entry, the expulsion of the money changers from the temple, Peter's denial, and Christ's trial, walk to Calvary, crucifixion and resurrection. It's a clever premise, sure; the stuff of Sunday School gold even. But it doesn't take long before a very cold, very hard reality sinks in: the Lion of Judah animals are an irritating lot.
Judah is an obnoxious brat with delusions of grandeur (Cordova's creaky voice only makes the lamb that much more unbearable); scruffy Cajun cutup Horace the pig (Omar Benson Miller) is the culmination of a string of baffling character concepts; Esmay the kindly cow (Sandi Patty, over-delivering) and Monty the neurotic horse (Anupam Kher, bringing Bollywood flair to animated Christian entertainment) are cheap knockoffs of Madagascar's Gloria and Melman; rambling rawky-squawky rooster Drake (Alphonso McAuley) and Slink the cantankerous rat (Ernest Borgnine, the lone standout in an otherwise mediocre cast) have been cloned from the DNA of more memorable animated icons; and easily discouraged Jack the donkey (Scott Eastwood) is the only fully realized beast in the bunch (if by "fully" you read "most thoroughly," and then take "most thoroughly" with a grain of salt). Other talking animals (quite literally) litter the journey too, among them a gang of ravens dubbed the Uncleans, their steely eyed leader Boss (Michael Madsen), a doting hen (Adrienne Pearce), Judah's mother (Samantha Gray), and a pair of doves (Matthew Rutherford and Roger Hawkins) trying to come to terms with their martyrdom.
And the hits just keep on coming. As an animated comedy, Lion of Judah is uneven and unfunny, charging its voice actors with turning hastily plotted, furiously scribbled lead into viable big screen gold. As an Easter drama, it's left beaten and battered by the side of the road, with no Good Samaritan in sight. Judah and his new friends eventually take a turn for the serious, but only when the stakes are so high that the comedy begins to wear out its welcome. (For the record, no: turning a man's devastating betrayal into a slapstick vehicle for the Jar Jar Binks of roosters isn't hee-larious or heartbreaking.) As a story about Christ's sacrifice, it's functional... if, that is, your kids are entrenched in the intricacies of the New Testament. Jesus the man and Jesus the Son of God are eclipsed by Jesus the incarnation of sacrifice, which only works if you know what it is that makes His sacrifice everything that it is. We're offered no glimpse into His life prior to His last days in Jerusalem, no look at the years or even final hours spent with His disciples, no overview of His ministry or what it entailed, and hardly a hint of His message or teachings; all things that might lend power to those moments the animals encounter "The King." If animated Christian entertainment took a sharp right at Veggietales and began preaching exclusively to the kids' choir, this is what it would look like.
Don't misunderstand, moral and spiritual lessons abound in Lion of Judah, all of them wholesome and family friendly. Presented in one 87-minute deluge, though, the barrage of mini-lessons amounts to a garbled Sunday morning hits reel, complete with an endless stream of philosophical exposition that only makes everything much more confusing than it need be. Jesus set out to simplify and renew a covenant that had become bogged down by practice and ritual. Lion of Judah would have really benefited from the presence of a more experienced filmmaker who was willing and able to do the same.
Here we go again. I feel the sudden urge to shrug my shoulders and say "well, at least their hearts are in the right place." Unfortunately, that doesn't make Lion of Judah's 1080p/MVC-encoded video transfer and subsequent 3D presentation any less problematic. Colors are lively and energetic (even if they lack vibrancy and richness), black levels are solid, and contrast is consistent, to say nothing of detail and edge definition, which is straight-from-the-digital-tap perfect. Not that the film's animation is primed to withstand much high definition scrutiny. Mapped textures are flat and lifeless, animal fur is rigid and sparse, movement is stilted and stocky, and the backgrounds are as barebones as they come. And while that isn't the fault of the technical encode, it doesn't make things any easier to enjoy. Other issues don't trace back to the source, though. Banding is prevalent and distracting, aliasing intrudes on occasion, and the 3D effect is unmistakably hit or miss. Some scenes pop reasonably well (insofar as the animation allows); others look as if they haven't been rendered in 3D at all. Some shots boast nice separation between foreground and background elements; others don't fare so well, as if any sense of depth and dimensionality has been quashed entirely. Moreover, those whose 3D displays are prone to crosstalk will notice a bit of mild to moderate ghosting, especially in wide shots of Jerusalem and closeups of animals with bushy fur. (For those not in the know: not every display is prone to crosstalk. Some are quite adept at eliminating the anomaly.) All things considered, Lion of Judah looks pretty good in 2D, eeks by in 3D, and doesn't disappoint nearly as much as the film.
Warner's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is proficient; it's Lion of Judah's sound design that struggles to leave a lasting mark. Dialogue is bright and intelligible throughout, although voices don't quite rest on the same plane as music and other effects. It all seems a bit disjointed really, and Greg Sims' score and the film's original songs don't fill the soundfield as fully as they could (or perhaps should). Directionality is decent, though, as are cross-channel pans and rear speaker support, even if all of it lacks the sort of convincing realism more involving and immersive sonics might entail. Likewise, LFE output is relatively strong, even if it lacks the weight and finesse that might come with a more aggressive soundscape. Suffice it to say, Lion of Judah sounds about as good as it conceivably could. Just don't expect anything that transcends the animation it accompanies.
The only extra to be had is a fluffy but reasonably informative production documentary (HD, 24 minutes) that digs into the fim's development, casting, animation, performances, and low-budget challenges.
Lion of Judah will really only appeal to Christian families searching for a wholesome and inspirational animated adventure. Even then, it will only appeal to those willing to overlook a great many shortcomings and missed opportunities, some budgetary, some creative, and some narrative. As Easter movies go, it has its merits. Easter movies are in exceedingly short supply, though, so that isn't saying a whole lot. Warner's Blu-ray release is better, but only by a slight margin. Its video encode and lossless audio track are decent, but its 3D presentation doesn't deliver and its supplemental package doesn't have much to offer. Parents will find it to be a more worthwhile choice than Hop, but only because of its message and connections to the story of Christ's death and resurrection. I'd recommend slipping The Miracle Maker or Jonah: A Veggietales Movie into your son or daughter's Easter basket (not that the latter is an Easter movie).
Warner Home Entertainment will bring The Lion of Judah to Blu-ray 3D next year. Starring the voices of Ernest Borgnine (The Wild Bunch) and Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs), this animated adventure follows what happens after Judah the Lamb is removed from his Bethlehem ...
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