Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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131 of 133 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
New, but familiar, November 16, 2005
Animusic 2, like its predecessor "Animusic", contains computer rendered animations that are set to music - in fact, the essence of the animations is that they are driven by the music, each musical note being connected with some action in the animation. While this fact may be of more interest to people concerned with the "how" rather than simply the experience provided by the final product, I think that understanding the process that goes into Animusic is part of the fun. If Rube Goldberg conducted an orchestra in cyberspace, it might look like some of the animations in Animusic 2.
I enjoyed the first Animusic tremendously, and this DVD presents more of the same. While there are a few aspects in which Animusic 2 differs from its predecessor, the similarities outweigh the differences and the overall experience is remarkably similar.
This album is similar musically to the original. It features a range of styles, and relies mostly upon struck or plucked strings and melodic percussion (such as xylophones / marimbas) to carry most of the tunes. Drums and synthesizers also feature heavily.
The music is interesting enough when played with the animation, but does not stand alone simply as music as well as the first album did. Still, the tunes are catchy and enjoyable, and you will find yourself tapping your toes and bouncing your head as you watch / listen.
The animation is detail intensive and exceptionally well rendered. The instrument models and sets are clever and interesting to watch. On the whole, even if the experience is essentially another iteration of the original Animusic concept, this is not at all a bad thing.
There are some differences, and they are generally for the better. For example, the instruments/players show more "personality" than in the previous outing, swinging their arms or bouncing to the beat even when they aren't actually playing. And the special features are more varied than they were previously. But these differences are evolutionary, rather than dramatic.
On the whole, this is a great example of musical animation and is lots of fun to watch (I watched it 3 times through the first time I put it in the player). Although I may enjoy the original slightly more, this is a worthwhile experience for anyone who enjoyed the original, or has an interest in animation. I have no doubt I will watch this many, many times.
Product details:
There are 8 animations on Animusic 2, and while most make use of instruments that are different from those seen in the first album, the overall style is similar. Included are some acoustic pieces that feature organic sounding (albeit fanciful looking) instruments, such as "Resonant Chamber" and "Pipe Dream 2", as well as pieces that make extensive use of synthesized sounds, such as "Heavy Light" and "Fiber Bundles". Also included is a drum solo, "Gyro Drums".
The special features include commentary by the director, as well as design stills, set build-ups, and some interesting multi-angle presentations of the animations. The disc includes both 5.1 and 2.0 surround audio mixes, as well as full-screen (4:3) and widescreen presentations of the animations, so this disc can be fully appreciated on a wide variety of systems, whether you have a standard stereo television or a home-theatre with all the bells and whistles.
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Computer Graphics Wet Dream, November 22, 2005
I was a big fan of the original Animusic, and the even earlier "Pipe Dream" animation, so it was with great anticipation that I popped in Animusic 2 to my DVD player. Simply put Animusic 2 doesn't disapoint, it's fabulous! There are 8 animations, one of which is a sequel to Pipe Dream, imaginatively called Pipe Dream 2 ;-) The graphics are all top notch and the music is terrific. On occasion the music seems to drag on but the graphics picks up the slack. The DVD should win an award for DVD mastering (if there is such a thing). Both wide screen 16:9 and standard screen 4:3 versions are on the disk. I must confess I haven't bothered to watch the 4:3 animations since I was busy salivating over the wide screen version.
The extras included for each animation are also terrific. Some show different musical mixes, and others let you control different viewpoints via the Angle capability of DVD players. The director's commentary is also quite fun and Lytle sounds like he sitting there with you discussing the show.
Note to Pixar: use this stuff for backgrounds in a movie
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Step Forward...Yet Backwards..., December 28, 2005
I saw the preview for `Animusic 2' and was very eager to get my hands on this new 8 track DVD. After watching it I would have to say that this DVD was just a bit over hyped. `Animusic 2' is not a bad watch at all. I enjoyed watching it, but I think that is the secret word here. This DVD was more visual than musical. The original's music was what really made the overall DVD great. I loved the new sequences from a visual standpoint. It was a huge step forward from the original. The highpoints were the return of the stickman with his new posse as well as the starship grooving robots and who can forget the amazing finale in `Heavy Light'. The visuals were great but the music was just not the perfect match and that was a huge step back. If there will be an `Animusic 3', which there are very few rumors about, I feel Wayne Lyttle needs to remember that its not `Animusic' with out the music.
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