Boy And The World

Boy And The World depicts a clash between village and city, nature and industry, the rich and the poor—and despite the tumult, the heart and soul of the people beats on as a song. The story follows Cuca's cozy rural life as it is shattered when his father leaves for the city. Determined to reunite his family, Cuca embarks on a journey that unfolds like a tapestry—as the stunning visuals become more complex as his small world expands. Nominated for the 2015 Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature. (Gary Reber)

Special features include a making-of featurette (HD 25:58), the music video Aos Olhos De Uma Crianca by Emicida (HD 03:51), a theatrical trailer, upfront previews, and an UltraViolet digital copy.

The 1.78:1 1080p AVC picture exhibits an artsy animated line drawing stylization with simplistic imagery. The character design and backgrounds are rendered with crisp textures, often against a complete white or black background as well as colorful backgrounds. The color palette is brightly hued with bold primaries that often pop. Contrast is well balanced with deep blacks and shadow drawings in the darker scenes that reveal excellent delineation. Resolution is terrific, with fine detail exhibited throughout. This is a most unusual animated feature that is mesmerizing in terms of its intense color palette. Reference quality throughout. (Gary Reber)

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is nicely dynamic sounding with an aggressive surround presence by way of the well-recorded music score. The percussion-driven music is spread wide and deep, with strong extension to the surrounds, for an effective holosonic® presence. Atmospherics effectively contribute to the storytelling, both nuanced and strong, especially during the city scenes. Sound effects such as trains, thunder, rain, etc. are all strongly presented with aggressive surround directionality and a panned soundstage. Deep bass extends to sub-25 Hz levels in the .1 LFE channel. What limited dialogue there is, sounds clear and punctuated at times. This is a wonderfully powerful soundtrack experience that really brings the imagery to life. (Gary Reber)