Is there
any planet in our solar system that has produced more
curiosity in the human race than Mars?
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I would
venture to say no. We've been fascinated by it since
we first started looking up to the heavens. Over
the centuries, we've been treated to all manner of speculation
as to what exists there. Are there canals?
Warrior princesses? Little green men? All of
these questions have been debated in serious discussions
over the years and once we started shooting rockets into
the sky, it was only a matter of time before we attempted
going there to find out the answers.
Roving
Mars is an IMAX production that follows the NASA Mars
Rover missions of Spirit and Opportunity from their
final days in production, through their launch and
subsequent sucessful missions on the red planet. As
befitting any title with the word IMAX included, the production
is amazing. There is quite a bit of CGI involved
in this as the documentary recreates the launch, landing
and first missions of the rovers themselves, however the
animation is absolutely incredible. Seriously, there
are moments where the transition between real footage
and CGI is completely seamless.
Don't
begin to think that this film is all animation though. The
thing that Roving Mars has that most  other IMAX movies
don't is an incredibly involved and moving human element. The
IMAX cameras are in the control room during launch and
landing. The interviews are engaging and the importance
of the mission is brought home in every worried look
and elated reaction. You will find yourself cheering
along with everyone else as the rovers beam back their
first signals.
All told,
Roving Mars may be the first IMAX movie I've seen where
I really did become emotionally involved with the "characters",
if you will.
That's saying something about a documentary that is primarily
a very detailed and informative piece on a space mission.
If you
haven't seen this at an IMAX theater, you really should
check out this DVD. Then again, if you have seen
it, you may still want to check out the DVD for the extras.
 Presentation
This
looks incredible. As I mentioned before, the animation
is of the highest caliber and the colors are magnificent. The
audio is also fantastic and the score by Phillip Glass
is used perfectly. No complaints at all on this
DVD.
Extras
Here's
where some truly fun stuff can be found. There are
only two extras per se, but both are fascinating. The
first is the documentary on the making of the movie. Broken
down into past, present and future, the documentary talks
about both the making of the film and the effect the
presence of the film crew had on the scientists working on the
project. It's a great piece, very informative and
entertaining.
 The highlight
here though is the inclusion of an episode of the 1957
show Disneyland, hosted by Walt Disney himself. The
episode is called Mars and Beyond and it is presented
entirely unedited. It's a fantastic look at what
other cultures thought of the red planet as well as where
exploration was headed fifty years ago. Full of
1950's animation and sci-fi fun, the documentary is "fact
based" while not being dry in the least. I
can't think of a better extra to have on this disc. Other
than here, it is only available on the limited edition Disney
Treasures release Tomorrowland.
The
Bottom Line
Roving
Mars is really a must see documentary. It's entertaining. It's
informative and it's one of the few IMAX movies I've seen
that really is a solid homerun. Do yourself a favor
and check this out.
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