Wrinkle In Time (DVD)

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Additionally, children won't notice too much the amount of hand-holding and winsome smiling going on, nor will they probably be distracted by the background music that struggles to be grand and eloquent and heroic but generally comes off bland and banal. The movie is a "Wizard of Oz" type of adventure, but without the essential magic or the sense of wonder that adults as well as children find in the older classic.

"A Wrinkle in Time" comes off in its movie form like a typical Disney product. It is lightweight, saccharine, rather slow going most of the way, and somewhat simplistic in its motifs. Like many other TV movies, its acting is not always persuasive, its pacing is sometimes clunky, and its script is often uninspiring. As I've said, I haven't read the book, but I can't imagine, given its popularity, that it would have been read by as many people as it has if it were as mundane as this movie. Still, as I've also said, this is a children's movie, and while it may not appeal to every older teen or adult, youngsters may find it more than acceptable.

Video:
In all respects the picture looks like a good, standard-definition TV broadcast. The 1.33:1 fullscreen ratio goes a long way toward reinforcing this impression, along with a small degree of grain and a murkiness in darker scenes, some overall blur, a touch of color bleed-through, and a few instances of wavy, jittery lines. In bright daylight shots, the picture looks fine, however, and I doubt that the kids for whom the movie was intended will mind some minor imperfections.

Audio:
The sound is rendered via Dolby Digital 5.1 reproduction, and it is probably the best technical aspect of the movie. There are some nice aural effects all the way through the film, with deep, solid bass; strong dynamic impact; and more than a few occasions of lively rear-channel action, starting early on with rolls of thunder in the surrounds.

Extras:
There are only a couple of extras on the disc, but, then, this is not exactly "Gone With the Wind" we're talking about, either. The most important bonus is a ten-minute interview with the author, Madeleine L'Engle. I found listening to her comments more interesting than watching the movie. Also of interest are five deleted scenes, most of them apparently belonging to a lengthy introductory sequence that was shelved, dealing with the father and his Tesseract experiments. Then, there's an eleven-minute, behind-the-scenes featurette, which serves mainly as a promotional item for the film as the cast and crew praise everything about the production. Finally, there are some Sneak Peeks at other Buena Vista releases; a whopping twelve scene selections; English as the only spoken language; and English captions for the hearing impaired.

Parting Shots:
The most obvious literary comparison to Madeleine L'Engle's "Time Quintet" is Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy: "The Golden Compass," "The Subtle Knife," and "The Amber Spyglass." I would hope that anyone who has read "A Wrinkle in Time" in his or her youth might also consider tackling Pullman's smartly written take on dimensional travel; and because of the strong appeal of the Pullman books for adults as well as for older children, I look forward to their coming to the big screen sometime soon.

In the meantime, the movie "A Wrinkle in Time" is aimed mostly at children. As such, grown-ups may find it hard slogging through the clichéd and often cloying sweetness and light. Kids, however, may be delighted by its colorful characters, straightforward adventure, and unaffected themes.

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