Anyone wanting to ditch their Studio Laika Blu-ray collection will find the collectable Steelbook releases of Coraline and Paranorman worth the upgrade. This ultra high-definition release by Shout! Factory have a lot of fantastic artwork to admire. Not only do fans have a beautiful display piece which César Moreno and Kevin Tong crafted that honours the spirit of each film, but also love the expanded Dolby ATMOS soundscape.
In this remastered edition, Dolby Vision is used to enhance the detail. For example, Coraline’s hair is even more defined than I remember, and the colour palette is exquisite. When examining this work up close, all those textures are even more realistic. That’s moreso because of the sets than the characters. In Paranorman, the transparency effects used on the ghosts are more pronounced. Also, I wanted to see if I can notice where the digital effects overlaps with the stop-motion. It’s tough to spot!
In this package, the mini-essay that’s included reminds fans why the movies from this Portland, Oregon studio are special. The talents behind each work put their heart and soul to these animatronics, and to spend years animating a few minutes per day is better explained with the bonus material that’s on the included Blu-ray disc, which is basically the past release. I’m glad that two versions are offered since I can trade in my old discs for some other titles, and I’ll be upgrading my collection for sure!
