Spark: A Space Tail - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Spark: A Space Tail

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
It used to be that animated films were reserved for something special, ala Disney. Hand drawn animation is much more expensive to do and when they came out it was a giant “event”. As the proliferation of CGI animation took over more and more studios were able to pump out animated films without having to blow the budget. The last 15 years has seen an incredible drop in the price of CGI (or at the very least, CHEAP CGI. Some of the high-end stuff is still pretty pricey) and studios are able to pump out low end films at just a fraction of what it cost 20 years ago to do, let alone 50 years ago. Now, it’s kind of like “mature” television shows. At first it was only Game of Thrones and maybe True Blood, but now every cable TV station on the planet is putting out blood soaked, nudity filled, language heavy shows in an effort to capitalize on the market. The same can be said for animated films as we have a complete glut of them on the market with everyone and their mother pumping them out. Spark: A Space Tail is a victim of an oversaturated market that has been done to death so many times that it just ends up being a mashup of a dozen other better movies before it.

The planet of Bana is narrated as being a complete and utter paradise for the sentient monkeys living there. They had a benevolent monarchy with a much loved King and Queen, and the prosperity was the way of life. That is, until the King’s brother Zhong (A.C. Peterson) decided to steal the throne and in the resulting conflict unleash the space Kraken (a creature who can create black holes) on the planet, effectively shattering the world and leaving shards of itself spread out over the solar system. Fast forward 13 years and we see one of the only “free” monkeys left. A young teenager by the name of Spark (Jace Norman) who is bored out of his mind living on one of the furthest shards in system. A shard that just so happens to act as the dumping ground for what’s left of Bana.

Living with a couple of space pirates named Chunk (Rob deLeeuw) and Vix (Jessica Biel), Spark dreams of being so much more than he is now. When a super-secret message for Vix and Chunk is intercepted by the young boy, Spark decides to set out on his own and prove that he IS able to go on missions with his guardians. The only thing is, the impetuous youth finds out that the world is a lot tougher than he though, and his own naivety very well may end up dooming the rest of Bana and countless other planets beyond that.

Spark: A Space Tail is really quite simple at heart, and overwhelmingly familiar. That stems from the fact that it really is just a mashing up of every space epic that has come before it. There are obvious elements of Star Wars, Firefly, Star Trek, Titan A.E. etc etc etc. Spark is your typical young hero who lives on Tatooine…..era a shard… and wishes to do something great with his life. A few adventures later and he soon reveals his true potential and is able to save the galaxy by becoming the leader he never knew he could be. Sound familiar?

The thing is, Spark really isn’t all that bad if it hasn’t been done to death time and time again. There’s some spotty voice acting with Zhong, and the kiddy humor sometimes gets a little overwhelming, but the film has its heart in the right place. Norman is solid as Spark, and the rest of the crew fits into their respective roles rather easily. The only one that really felt out of place was Patrick Stewart as the old Captain of the guard. It was an obvious phone in performance if you’ve ever been privy to the legendary actor’s skills.




Rating:

Rated PG for some action and rude humor




Video:

While the encode for Spark: A Space Tail is pretty solid, the animation for the film is decidedly VERY weak (which accounts for my middle of the road rating on the image). Digital animation is cheap and easy nowadays, and you can tell that’s the direction the film makers went. Colors are bright and shiny, but overall detail levels are pretty flat and bland, with large portions of the film looking like they’re one continuous piece of scenery instead of nuanced and individual pieces. Up close details, such as the lines and creases on Bananny, are impressive enough, but most of the time the film just looks very low budget and cheap. There is some good fluidity with the character movements, and there are some OBVIOUS shots that look like they were framed for 3D (the film has more Chinese ties than Huwaii so that doesn’t surprise me in the least as China is still HUGE into 3D films). Blacks are good for the most part, and everything is very competently done, if not done just a bit cheap.




Audio:

While the video and the movie aren’t the greatest, the 5.1 DTS-HD MA audio mix is actually quite impressive. I won’t say that the mix is going to rival a giant blockbuster, but it is very aggressive with the LFE and has quite a bit of sonic placement around the sound stage. Vocals are crisp and clean, while the surrounds get a hefty amount of activity with the generic pop songs and space action. There’s a fluid sense of movement to the background effects, and they flow effortlessly from one side of the room to another, creating an immersive experience that is actually quite pleasing. I did mention the LFE being aggressive, didn’t I? Yes, that’s easily one of the most impressive moments of the film, as the bass is heavy and deep, adding quite a bit of weight to the action sequences.

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Extras:

• A Creative Spark: Voicing the Characters
• Bringing Spark to Life
• Spark Concept Art Reel

Final Score: ​

Spark: A Space Tail isn’t really an AWFUL movie, but it is in no way a good movie either. It’s a vacuous film that just exists as a basic conglomeration of a dozen different films, and retreads so many tired and well worn tropes that it just ends up “existing”. The animation style is very bland and unoriginal, and the plot line mirrors that effort to a T. Extras are a bit slim (as usual) and besides the excellent audio track there isn’t a whole lot of praise worthy things I can say about the package. Honestly, it’s a film better left unwatched as there are much better animated films out there for the kids to watch. If you ARE interested, be comforted in the fact that it’s an inoffensive little film that won’t have parents worrying too much if it’s appropriate for their children. Still, Skip it.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jessica Biel, Patrick Stewart, Susan Sarandan
Directed by: Aaron Woodley
Written by: Doug Hadders, Robert Reece
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1
Studio: Universal
Rated: PG
Runtime: 92 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: July 11th, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Skip It